The Slantwise Histories: Collected Stories

by Alix E. Harrow

From the award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of The Everlasting and Starling House comes a new fantastical collection of stories about tricksters and ghosts, magics ordinary and spectacular. Alix E. Harrow spins tales never-told and seen just outside the periphery of reality--in the tradition of Angela Carter, Anne Sexton, and Carmen Maria Machado, these hauntingly resonant and defiant stories leap from the page and dance in and out of a history that never was (but could have been) and into a future startingly like our own.

Before I was a liar I was a historian, which is a kind of storyteller who doesn’t make any money and likes footnotes.

These are stories about the past as it wasn’t quite, but might have been, from ancient battlefields all the way up through roadside attractions off I-70. They’re about the people caught in the mean jaws of history: the women and workers, the soldiers and mothers, everyone shoved into the margins of the world.

But these aren’t singular tragedies―these are the stories of the ones that got away. The ones who defected and dissented, who broke the rules, who ran and tossed a match behind them. SLANTWISE HISTORIES AND OTHER STORIES collects the best known short fiction of Alix. E. Harrow, including the Hugo-award winning "A Witch's Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies" and for the first time in print, Amazon original titles "The Six Deaths of the Saint" and "The Knight and the Butcherbird". Updated to reflect the author's preferred editions, Slantwise Histories also includes "The Long Way Up", "Roadside Attraction", "Mr. Death", "The Ransom of Miss Coraline Connelly", "The Sycamore and the Sybil", "Do Not Look Back, My Lion", "The Whisper in the Weld", "Dustbaby", and four all-new short stories.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Fiction, Adult, Historical Fiction, Anthologies, Historical

304 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication October 20, 2026

About the author

a former academic, adjunct, cashier, blueberry-harvester, and kentuckian, alix e. harrow is now a full-time writer living in virginia with her husband and their semi-feral kids.

she is the hugo award-winning and nyt-bestselling author of THE TEN THOUSAND DOORS OF JANUARY (2019), THE ONCE AND FUTURE WITCHES (2020), a duology of fairytale novellas (A SPINDLE SPLINTERED and A MIRROR MENDED), STARLING HOUSE (2023) and various short fiction. her next book, THE EVERLASTING, will be out on october 28th, 2025!

her writing is represented by kate mckean at howard morhaim literary agency.

newsletter: https://buttondown.com/alixeharrow
email: alixeharrow at gmail.com
insta: alix.e.harrow
bsky: ‪@alixeharrow.bsky.social‬

**I AM NOT ON FACEBOOK OR TWITTER, nor will i ever offer to connect you with my "marketing team." this is a scam.

Reviews

[h o l l i s]

we're getting THE SIX DEATHS OF THE SAINT in p r i n t.

[Raquel Flockhart]

Looking forward to reading these stories, and especially excited to finally have The Six Deaths of the Saint in print!

[giulia ✿]

alix e. harrow can't do no wrong in my eyes, it doesn't matter the length of her novels she is capable of encapsulating so much even in such short stories. you'll definitely find her at her usual best in this one, i'm usually not the biggest fan of collections because you get that one good story and ten barely enjoyable ones, but i've gotta say this one is strong even when they're not favorites, her writing is absolutely outstanding every time.

[Alex]

"Six Deaths of the Saint" in print? SAY LESS.

[Siobhan]

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan MacMillan/Tor UK for this E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5⭐️

Alix E. Harrow is such a talented writer, and this collection really showcased the incredible quality and range of her writing. This is the strongest short story collection I've ever read, and by far the highest rated. With her signature vivid and lush prose, this collection explored stories of such poignant emotions, with a particular focus on moving and nuanced explorations of grief and the love that persists in the face of it. There was also theming, with relevant and beautifully woven political commentary, critiquing themes such as empire, industry, corporations, censorship, environmental destruction, and patriarchy, but above all, the power of stories and histories and the hands and voices that shape them. This collection of stories worked so very well together, both thematically and emotionally.

Below I will give individual ratings and some brief thoughts for each short story! Just to note though, that I had previously already read 'The Knight and the Butcherbird' and 'The Six Deaths of the Saint', so I have only included their ratings here (both 5⭐️) and you can find my individual reviews for them elsewhere on my social media/Goodreads/Storygraph!

The Tale of the Two Brothers, Or, The Famous Folklorist Confesses Fratricide -> 4.5⭐️
- a fun twist on the classic fairytale structure and history, playing with truth and lies, and the corruption of greed

Mr. Death -> 5⭐️
- a really moving exploration of grief and life and the value of love even after death

A Whisper in the Weld -> 4.25⭐️
- another beautiful exploration of life and death and the fierceness of a mother's everlasting love

The Knight and the Butcherbird -> 5⭐️
- see individual review!

The Six Deaths of the Saint -> 5⭐️
- see individual review!

The Final Voyage of the Good Ship Fortune -> 4⭐️
- not as stand out as some of the other stories, but still a fun structure, playing with an unreliable narrator, and fun characterisation

Do Not Look Back, My Lion -> 5⭐️
- an absolutely stunning and emotional short story, with intriguing and vast worldbuilding, excellent characterisation, and an exploration of the violence of empire. This absolutely works as a perfect short story, but I would love to see this world again in longer form!

The Ransom of Miss Coraline Connelly -> 4.5⭐️
- a really fun format and excellent humour, but I wished this had been longer!

The Long Way Up -> 3.75⭐️
- I was enjoying this, a wonderfully devastating Orpheus and Eurydice retelling, with a nuanced exploration of grief, but then it ended a bit suddenly when I thought there was more story left to tell

Up In Flames (Working Title) -> 4.5⭐️
- I really enjoyed this and the discussions of censorship and the political power of writing from queer and diverse voices! I also really enjoyed the structure, and I probably would have rated this higher if the formatting of my E-ARC didn't so badly mess up the story's structure (which was vital to the piece)

A Witch's Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies -> 5⭐️
- a stunning, moving, and deeply relevant story of the importance of libraries and the vital power of reading and escapism

Dustbaby -> 3.75⭐️
- there was nothing particularly wrong with this one, I just didn't connect with it like I did the others, but interesting commentary on agriculture and the environment

The Sycamore and the Sybil -> 5⭐️
- fans of The Once and Future Witches will love this! A beautiful story of the power of women and female solidarity, and the desperate things we must do to survive.

Roadside Attraction -> 4.5⭐️
- a bit predictable, but not in a bad way, with a very sweet romance of two people finding a home in each other, and a bonus side of time travel!

The Last Archive -> 4.25⭐️
- a poignant story of censorship and the power of stories and archives as resistance

[Carly]

Im a huge Harrow fan and I think this short story collection is the perfect addition to her body of work. When I picked this up I had already read (and loved) The Six Deaths of the Saint and The Everlasting - I knew her writing style really worked for me. Among the fifteen short stories, every story was unique and thoughtful, reminding me of my own humanity while also stirring up a profound sense of empathy in my soul. They were magical, fantastical, earnest, beautiful, heartbreaking and thought provoking. Alix had me crying on short story number two, Mr. Death, and I don’t know how she does that?! Stunning prose, masterful storytelling, and excellent character work. 4.5/5 ✨

Thank you so so sooo much to Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy.

[Morgan]

"What's a legend but a history told slantwise?"

Alix E Harrow cements herself as one of the greatest writers of our generation through these short stories. To make readers feel something in only a few pages is a talent not many have. Not every story landed for me, but more often than not, they did.

The themes explored throughout this collection of short stories include love (especially queer love), sacrifice, ego, and so many other deep and complex topics. They're explored in such a creative way that I'm struggling to find the words to express how magnificent of a storyteller this author is.

Do yourself a favor and pick this up! Oh, and consider the audiobook. Narrators smashed it!

[Ali Enchanted]

I think this book solidified Alix E Harrow as one of my favorite authors of all time. She is unique in her writing. Beautiful lyricism, powerfully punchy stories. She adapts her voice to suit the narrative. I am in awe. There are so many standouts in this collection: Mr Death, Up in Flames, The Ransom of Coraline Connelly, Six Deaths of the Saint, to name a few.

Just wow.

[Samantha Gaudious]

Of course perfection! 🤎

I loved everything about this collection of short stories about grief, love and life with obviously Alix’s phenomenal writing.

I adore the some what haunting vibes every story has and why do I feel like I learned life lessons 😭
They make you feel complete at the end of each one and I loved them!

I read one everyday and these stories are literally the perfect read for a fall night 🧡

[em]

technically a 4.53 if we take individual ratings into account but. no actually idc this was perfection.

i truly think alix e harrow is one of the greatest writers of our generation.. her prose is gorgeous, and her ability to build worlds and people in such a short amount of time is astounding. this collection was stunning.

ALMOST

the tale of the two brothers, or, the famous folkorist confesses fratricide!
- 5 stars, made me cry. i love stories about what siblings are willing to do for each other

mr death
- 5 stars, also made me cry. what the fuck

a whisper in the weld
- 4 stars, teared up.

the knight and the butcherbird
- 4 stars. such an interesting setting

ALWAYS

the six deaths of the saint
- 5 stars. perfect. the everlasting is really and truly one of my favourite books of all time and finally getting to read where it began means the world. it’s sad and beautiful i love this story so much

the final voyage of the good ship fortune
- 3.5 stars. i struggled to connect to this one on an emotional level, but the writing was beautiful, i loved the story, and the characters were extremely interesting.

do not look back, my lion
- 3 stars. again, struggled to connect to this one. the world and society was interesting, and the writing was obviously perfect.

the ransom of miss coraline connelly
- 3 stars. short and sweet, didn’t do much for me.

the long way up
- 4 stars. almost cried. gorgeous.

AGAIN

up in flames (working title)
- 5 stars. stunning. what a fucking cool story. such a unique structure. would love a full novel set in this world.

a witch’s guide to escape: a practical compendium of portal fantasies
- 5 stars. beautiful, i cried. i love books about books. this just really fucking got me

dustbaby
- 3 stars. beautifully written obviously, just not for me.

the sycamore and the sybil
- 4 stars. stories about womanhood and what we owe each other <3

roadside attraction
- 5 stars. i always avoid time travel stories because they feel like a guaranteed sob session. this was just lovely. sweet, believable characters. such a strong sense of place and setting.

the last archive
- 5 stars. CRIED. god one thing that will always get me is a story - ABOUT stories, about legacy and people and what we leave behind when we’re gone. gorgeous.

thank you to alix e harrow, pan macmillan and netgalley for the advance copy.

[ruhee]

Astounding collection of short stories. Alix E. Harrow is a magician or a witch. She has an uncanny ability to weave together whimsical, magical stories with a heart that makes you ache with longing. I loved this collection of stories - I was either blown away by their sheer ingenuity or I was moved by how much the stories made me feel. This collection is well chosen, written and constructed. I think the sequencing of the stories works great and the themes Harrow has drawn on are moving and unique. I loved reading this collection so much I can't stop thinking about it.

Some of my favourite stories - Mr. Death, The Six Deaths of the Saint, The Long Way Up, Up in Flames (Working Title) - this is my absolute favourite one, Roadside Attraction and The Last Archive.

I think everyone and their mothers needs to get their hands on this collection and read it ASAP.

[Sammantha Gilbert]

Physical copy of six deaths of the saint sign me the fuck up

[Michelle (Bamamele.reads)]

Thanks so much to Tor and Macmillan Audio for the preview. All opinions are my own.

Any collection of stories will have some that are amazing, some you like, some you could take or leave, and maybe some you don't understand. That holds true here, but you'll still never find a better collection than what Alix E Harrow writes. I cried at at least 4 of these (even ones I'd read before). Harrow just makes magic with words and can hit you in the feels in a record amount of time.

Obviously Six Deaths of the Saint is the standout here. I cried all over again. This story is a MASTERPIECE.
Mr Death hit me in the feels HARD. I don't even have kids and this stomped on my heart. That ending was perfect.
The Ransom of Miss Coraline Connelly was so cute and so funny. Probably the shortest story here but I adored it.
Roadside Attraction--oh this was incredible. Achingly beautiful and heartfelt. Just loved it and I teared up.

Harrow does a lot that's dystopian, a little bleak, and always on point. Butcher & the Blackbird, Dustbaby, and a bit Whisper in the Weld all fit here. There are a lot in these stories about motherhood and sacrifice, fighting against a horrible future, the evils of corporations and the patriarchy and more. All of it is powerful. All of it is moving. All of it is a must-read.

As far as the audio, I'm not sure the narrators added anything to the experience, and for some of the stories they actually detracted. Neither really changed inflection or timbre for a change of gender in the characters, so it was actually really hard for me to differentiate the narrative voice between the stories. And my ear naturally rebels against a southern accent (I'm southern myself and can't stand it when it doesn't sound natural).
I'd recommend this more for an eyeball read!

[Faye Anne]

The Slantwise Histories is Alix E. Harrow's collection of 15 short stories, separated into 3 categories: Almost, Always and Again. The collection includes The Six Deaths of the Saint and A Witch's Guide to Escape, both of which seemed to be popular short stories/novelettes before their inclusion in this collection. I hadn't read any of these before though, so all 15 were new to me!

A lot of the stories were themed around death, but there's still a huge variety in them. Even with an anthology by the same author, it's likely that some won't work, but I was very pleasantly surprised to find that I loved 13/15 of them, which is a pretty good result! One of them, Mr Death, made me cry, and to make someone cry 10 pages into a 15 page short story is absolute skill. I started reading the collection today, intending to read just one or two of the short stories, but before I knew it, I'd finished them all!

Disclaimer: I received an Advance Reader Copy from NetGalley, but this is my voluntary and honest review.

[Carrie Smith]

4.5* rounded up

I always find Alix’s writing moving and profound in a completely unpretentious way.

This collection of alternative, could have been histories and might be futures is no different.

I loved the blending and twisting of mythology and folklore with dystopia and speculative cautionary tales.

This anthology champions the marginalised, the ordinary and the diverse, rewriting them as the heroes fighting for their place in history, defying the odds and defining their own destinies.

With some stories fans will recognise and plenty of new ones, these tales do some really heavy lifting, through love and grief, the characters are driven by a desire for a better world. There are sad bits, happy bits and bits that encourage you to take a good hard look at the world.

I sped through these quickly but will enjoy rereading them more slowly and can see myself returning to some new favourites again and again.

[Alice]

I have loved essentially all of Alix E Harrow’s full length novels, however her talent truly lies in her short stories. There are feelings that Alix can make me feel in 15-30 pages that a 500 page novel cannot, which is an incredible feat.

The Slantwise Histories includes some wonderful short stories which all tackle important modern day issues, and it is GLORIOUS we are getting Six Deaths of the Saint in print finally 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

Thank you so much to Tor & NetGalley for the eARC!!!

[Mia]

An interesting read, not for anthology lovers but for anyone that enjoys good read.

[liz gopsill]

perfect

[BookishSteph1]

4.5 stars

[Ace Enni Vinadetta]

I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and feelings below are my own.

As someone who struggles with short stories and short story collections, I probably should've skipped over this one to save myself and NetGalley the hassle, but the knowledge that one of Alix E. Harrow's short stories was one of my favourite reads of last year kept me optimistic. And I'm glad I gave this collection a try.

This is probably the best short story collection I've read in a while. Not every story was a hit, and I'll explain more for each one below, but I could see why every single story was included, and why each story was grouped in the way it was. (Okay... there was one story I didn't understand the inclusion of, but we'll get there.) This was a wonderful collection and getting the chance to revisit that favourite story of mine was a extra yummy treat.

The themes in this collection are wonderful, yet varied in a way that never felt messy or confusing. They flowed so well with each other, and that speaks volumes about Harrow's ability to create people and stories that feel so deeply human and true. In this collection, themes of children and pregnancy and the mess of parenthood mesh with themes of queerness and inclusion/exclusion, as well as themes of feminine rage and power. The theming was so rich that I could tell what the author was trying to do in (nearly) every story, even when I felt things fell a little flat or when executions got a little wonky. And I think the way the stories are grouped - three categories entitled Almost, Always and Again - made sense.

Overall, this collection contains stories that impacted me in a wide variety of ranges, but please, don't let that 3 star rating deter you. I just have a really bad time with short stories, and if you don't, this might work for you way better than it did me. Please give this collection a try, as I think there's some real strong pieces in here, and there's definitely a lot more that didn't necessarily work for me but that I could see working for someone else.

And now onto individual story reviews (that were written after reading each story) and then the final overall story ranking. This is my longest review ever, wow.

1) The Tale of the Two Brothers, Or, The Famous Folklorist Confesses Fratricide!: This story was overall a bit too pessimistic for my tastes, but I found the twist on fairytales and fairytale tropes to be handled in a way that was quite wonderful, and I especially enjoyed William's character. As a younger sibling myself, I get it. 3 stars.
2) Mr. Death: I don't even know what to say. I saw the length of this and thought for sure it'd be too short to impact me, but I found myself in tears at the end of this story. This was so hopeful, so optimistic in a way the first story wasn't and it won my heart. I love me a stubborn, stupid, foolishly hopeful main character and Sam was exactly that. This was wonderful and just wow. 4.5 stars (just because I wanted a smidgy bit more!)
3) A Whisper In The Weld: Hm, I didn't know how to feel about this. On the one hand, I liked what Harrow was trying to do here and I definitely could see threads of themes throughout this rather short story, but ultimately, nothing hit the mark for me. It felt very meh. I don't know. Didn't love this one, but it wasn't offensive, just too short, I think. 2 stars?
4) The Knight and The Butcherbird: Skipped upon reread. Original review: Well that was fucking shit.
5) The Six Deaths of the Saint: This was my third time reading this story, and I don't think I've tired of it yet. It's still so enchanting, so heartbreaking, still one of my favourite things I've ever read. I think about this, and The Everlasting, all too often. Such beautiful work, and in such a short span of pages. Less than 30. How? I don't know, but what I do know is that Alix E. Harrow wrote a fucking masterpiece with this story, and I will forever look back upon it fondly. After all, this story was what prompted me to give this collection a try. Me and short story collections don't really get on, but I trusted Harrow, and so far, it's worked in my favour. 5 stars.
6) The Final Voyage of the Good Ship Fortune: Hm. Much like A Whisper In The Weld, I found this story rather underwhelming. I could see the message it was trying to tell, but ultimately, I found myself uncaring for what was going to happen. None of the reveals shocked me and I came out the other side pretty confounded as to why I read this. 2 stars, because it wasn't offensively bad and I did like the idea of Fortune as a character.
7) Do Not Look Back, My Lion: Again, I could sense the themes that Harrow wanted to explore in this one, but I just found it hard to care. It's certainly better - richer - than some of the other stories I've said this about and therefore will get a higher rating on that alone, but I don't know. This just didn't work for me in a way that was one hundred perfect, which leaves a sourish taste in my mouth. 3 stars.
8) The Ransom of Miss Coraline Connelly: Um. What? No. I liked the idea of this in theory but the execution of it was, by far, the worst one yet out of all the other meh ones so far. This made for an absolutely, miserably boring reading experience. It gets an extra half star for it's attempt at uniqueness and it's concept. Also because hell yeah, Mr. Tiger. 1.5 stars.
9) The Long Way Up: Unfortunately, this is another dud. This story is a retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, which is a myth I admittedly don't know all that well beyond the basics. What I do know, however, is that I didn't like this one bit. Ocean was annoyingly frustrating and Ethan was just so wet doormat bland that I couldn't bring myself to care. This also felt weirdly anti-therapy at the beginning but I do think that was just Ocean's POV and not the author's. It still left a sour taste in my mouth, however, and I think I can sit here now, 63% of the way in, and say this is my least favourite story so far. 1 star.
10) Up In Flames (Working Title): Again, another story that was fine in theory - better than some of the others - but didn't really do a lot to hook me. I love the commentary on censorship, especially with the magical realism theme, and I loved the casual queerness of the whole thing, but beyond that, I can't say I was hooked. Not bad, and maybe it'd hit harder for a different kind of reader. 3 stars.
11) A Witch's Guide To Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies: Again, another story that I'm really torn on. The concept is wonderful and I love me a book-based magic, but this was just not used in the way I thought it could've been. The ending is a bit abrupt in a way that makes the story feel really short, and the references to more modern books had me wrinkling my nose in distaste a little bit. Not bad, but much like some of the others in this collection, it's not one I'll probably end up thinking about. 3 stars.
12) Dustbaby: I'm gonna be so for real... this is the first story where I truly have no idea what the fuck I just read. I thought 'The Long Way Up' was going to be the weakest story in this collection, but at least that had some kind of theme to it. I can't say for sure what this story was trying to say and therefore, I don't like it. After reading some really strong - and some less strong - stories in this collection, I was very surprised by how shockingly low quality this one felt. 1 star and a disappointed one at that.
13) The Sycamore and The Sybil: This feels like a stale attempt at addressing themes we've already covered in this collection. A lot of these stories focus on birth and children, pregnancy and parenthood, as well as the themes of female empowerment and strength, but this one felt bland and uninspired. It felt like I'd read it before, y'know? The ending also annoyed me for reasons I can't quite articulate. 2 stars because it wasn't annoyingly bad and I did like the symbolism we did.
14) Roadside Attraction: YES! This is what I'm talking about! I do wish this story had been a little bit longer and that did impact my rating, but this was a story for me. I love narratives about running away from something that you think hurt you, when in actuality, all it did was expose something you were trying to suppress and that's why you're running away. This was that, exactly so. Again, I wish this was longer, but damn. This hit for me, especially after some of the last few stories. A very solid 4 stars.
15) The Last Archive: What a miserable story to end this collection on, but it does work well thematically. Ultimately, though, it is too pessimistic for my tastes, and I never found myself caring. This sort of fiction doesn't do anything for me except worsen my depression, so forgive me for not having a lot to say about it. 2.5 stars, I guess?

Final Ranking: 1) The Six Deaths of the Saint (duh), 2) Mr. Death, 3) Roadside Attraction, 4) Up In Flames (Working Title), 5) Do Not Look Back, My Lion, 6) A Witch's Guide To Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies, 7) The Tale of the Two Brothers, Or, The Famous Folklorist Confesses Fratricide!, 8) The Last Archive, 9) The Final Voyage of the Good Ship Fortune, 10) A Whisper In The Weld, 11) The Knight and The Butcherbird, 12) The Sycamore and The Sybil, 13) The Ransom of Miss Coraline Connelly, 14) The Long Way Up, 15) Dustbaby

[Korynne]

Overall Rating: 3.4/5 stars (rounded up)
I have been a fan of Alix Harrow since her first novel, and I will continue to read everything she writes. I admit I wasn’t the most excited to hear her next book would be a short story collection as I tend to not really enjoy short stories, but of course I had to give it a read regardless. I do wonder why some of Harrow’s short stories were excluded from this collection, such as “Patience and Not-Forsaken” and “The Autobiography of a Traitor and a Half-Savage.” Regardless, I am glad to have more of Harrow’s words to consume, and I think this is a solid collection of stories. Fans of Alix E. Harrow’s voice and beautiful writing style and flawed but deeply human characters will love this collection. I really enjoyed most of the stories myself, and there are many in here that I know I will read again and again.

The Tale of the Two Brothers, or, The Famous Folklorist Confesses Fratricide!—4.5/5 stars
This story was sad but it was also really good. A moral fable of two brothers and the price of greed, a fairytale about wolves and love and what it means to be an honest liar. This was the longest story in this collection, and it deserved every page.

Mr. Death—4/5 stars
I really liked this story. It’s about a reaper who has the job of reaping a little boy who reminds him of his son. The story was tender and more hopeful than I expected.

A Whisper in the Weld—2.5/5 stars
A story of the ghost of a woman during the war who became the ghost of a building and watched over her children. It was an interesting concept, and I liked how Harrow told the story as far as her writing style goes, but the story itself was just okay for me, enjoyment-wise.

The Knight and the Butcherbird—3/5 stars
Original rating from Mar. 2025: 3/5 stars
I had already read this story only one year ago but I remembered nothing about it; it was like I was reading it for the first time again. It’s about a knight who is sent to a village to hunt a demon, and the outlander village girl who tries to stop him. I liked the story and I liked how it ended, but I still don’t think it will stick with me.

The Six Deaths of the Saint—1.5/5 stars
Original rating from Nov. 2022: 1/5 stars
This story could be turned into a full-length novel with the amount of details that are alluded to but never expounded upon. The story is telling the life of a warrior who has become the prince’s “devil,” but the entire story is just telling instead of showing. Years fly by in paragraphs. Epic battles are over in just a sentence. This story needed so much more than it was given. I think I’m the only person alive who likes Alix E. Harrow but did not like this story. I will say, if you liked The Everlasting, you are sure to like this story, and vice versa; they have the same vibes and are both stories about lady knights that are told entirely without “showing” any details in the life of the lady knight, and they are both stories that I did not like but that everyone else seems to love. The only thing I enjoyed about this one was that it is told in second-person, my favorite POV to read from.

The Final Voyage of the Good Ship Fortune—1.5/5 stars
The story of a shipwrecked sailor talking to a sea creature. I didn’t really care for this story, but I do think the ending was fitting.

Do Not Look Back, My Lion—2/5 stars
This has the feel of a historical epic, but unfortunately I didn’t really care for it. A woman at home tries to convince her pregnant warrior wife not to go into battle. The baby in vitro is the real main character as that’s who the focus of the whole narrative is on. This story was both sad and hopeful at the same time.

The Ransom of Miss Coraline Connelly—4/5 stars
A fun and subversive epistolary short story about a fairy queen who steals a child and corresponds with the child’s mother to bargain for her return. I liked this one, and I really liked how it ended.

The Long Way Up—3.5/5 stars
Original rating from Sept. 2023: 4/5 stars
A woman walks the long way down to the underworld to bring her deceased husband back. This story felt unique in the way it was told, which I appreciated. I liked it, even though it’s a little sad and the ending was ambiguous.

Up in Flames (Working Title)—5/5 stars
Okay, I loved this story. Definitely my favorite in the collection. It’s written as a manuscript being sent to the editor for review, and it has the editor’s comments in it, so there’s the underlying story and then also the one-sided communication the editor is having with the author. I loved that idea, but on top of that I just loved the entire story altogether. I don’t want to say more about the plot because I think this is one of those stories that best read without knowing much beforehand, but do know it’s about love and curses and rebellion and joy.

A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies—5/5 stars
I loved the idea in this story that librarians are witches and they can tell what book a person wants to read based on the scent of the person and how the book literally calls out to them. I fully support the idea of librarians being witches who are able to discern the exact books patrons need and when they need them. There is a magical quality to librarians when you’re younger, and this story takes that idea and makes it real. The writing was excellent and the ending was perfect. I need a whole novel about these witchy librarians, please.

Dustbaby—4/5 stars
This is such an unusual story, but I enjoyed it. The land is changing in strange and unprecedented ways, alluding to the end of the world. A woman finds a baby in a field. Is it her baby she lost, or is it a baby made of the dust of earth, a harbinger of the end? The voice of the narrator is so distinct and really lends to this story being told by an uneducated farm woman in the ’30s. Harrow is very good at writing beautiful sentences while still being able to change her style and word choice to fit the narrative, and this story is really indicative of that.

The Sycamore and the Sybil—4/5 stars
A story of a tree who used to be a woman who used to be a witch. She exists in a forest and watches those who come and go. The tree develops an interest in a particular woman who has come to her truck and is in need of some help. Another enjoyable story with a sad yet hopeful ending.

Roadside Attraction—2.5/5 stars
Original rating from July 2023: 2.5/5 stars
This must be a pretty forgettable story because I had no recollection of having read it before. A young man goes on time-traveling journeys, searching for his destiny. It’s sci-fi lite—the focus is on the main character and what he thinks and learns from his journeys rather than on the actual time-traveling element. I liked the moral of the story that your destiny is what you choose it to be and sometimes it’s right here with you all along.

The Last Archive—4/5 stars
Yet another story that is both sad and hopeful. This is a post-apocalyptic tale told when the world has become radioactive and the Company owns and rules all, but Verity Graves is a woman out to destroy corporate greed and protect the joys of life. It's told from the perspective of Verity's long-time friend, and once again I love Harrow's narrative voice in this story as she fully delves into the mind of the flawed yet redeemable Vex. A solid tale to end this collection with.

I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher via Edelweiss.

[Libby]

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

I had a super fun time reading all of these, even when I didn't love the story. But as you can judge from the ratings below, I loved the majority of these stories! A really fun collection with lots of interesting ideas and themes. I really adore Harrow's writing, and she barely misses a beat here again.

1) The Tale of the Two Brothers, Or, The Famous Folklorist Confesses Fratricide!: Loved this one! I love the look into the relationship between the brothers, the hard-scrabble way they get by and the journey (literal and figurative) that they go on. I loved the werewolf angle too! 4/5
2) Mr. Death: Almost had me crying. I absolutely loved the ending, and the descriptions of the child and his family, living together with so much love and normality. 5/5
3) A Whisper In The Weld: This one didn't jump out at me as much, but I do love the inventive ideas. 3/5
4) The Knight and The Butcherbird: Probably my favourite story in the collection! I absolutely loved all the worldbuilding of this new post-apocalypse world, and the theme of having to change to adapt to the new world rather than clinging onto the past. And the concept of the constantly shifting, shape-changing 'demons'! And the knight with tyre-and-steel armour! And the reveal about his bird (I totally did not see it coming and I loved it). This just painted a world and a history for me in such a short, beautiful, succinct way. I did kind of hate the MC in the beginning, but the ending brought me back around to her. An easy 5/5
5) The Six Deaths of the Saint: I think I probably would've liked this a lot more if I hadn't already read The Everlasting. As it was, I spent the whole time thinking that everything this story did, was done waaaay better in that novel. In comparison, this story just feels like a rushed first draft. 2/5
6) The Final Voyage of the Good Ship Fortune: This one was fun! I liked the going-mad narrator and the cute sea creature girl, and the idea of divers slowly turning into sea creatures/mermaids/whatever you want to call them. Yes, it was pretty obvious from the get-go that the narrator was actually the captain, but I liked that dramatic irony. I loved the ending where he finally accepted who he really was. 5/5
7) Do Not Look Back, My Lion: I really liked the worldbuilding in this, with the two goddesses and the women who could be husbands. I think that needed expanding on a little bit. The real problem though was I didn't really understand what the MC saw in her wife, who seemed like a hypocrite to me. You promise the baby won't be scarred, then go behind the MC's back immediately? You say you love her, and yet you let your kids talk to her like she's trash? Also it felt weird that the narration randomly dropped the fact that the wife had two other husbands near the end, but never expanded on that. The wife tries to redeem herself in the end by killing the Emperor, but it just feels like "too little, too late." I did love that this was a world which was clearly a matriarchy/women taking on the traditional roles of Emperor and soldier, though - and that they showed that wouldn't immediately make the world perfect. 3/5
8) The Ransom of Miss Coraline Connelly: This was super cute and made me laugh! I love the idea of them sharing custody of the kid! I also liked the realistic struggle of the girl's mother, knowing she'll continue to struggle financially and time-wise and everything else by keeping her baby, but of course she can't give her up! 5/5
9) The Long Way Up: A difficult one, but I liked Ocean's character growth and how realistically this portrayed depression. Loved the message that someone seeing the worst parts of you and staying is what's truly important. 4/5
10) Up In Flames (Working Title): I loved the entire set-up of this one! Paper going up in flame if you wrote something 'indecent' on it is so absolutely what the fucking government would do if they could. I loved the relationship between these two, and the different perspectives layered through the story from the main narrative and the editor's notes. I was totally pulled into this one and gripped the whole way through - I'm so glad they found their happy ending! 5/5
11) A Witch's Guide To Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies: I adored every single description of how the MC felt the books reacting to patrons. And as someone who loves both books and witchcraft, and who always finds it weird when characters want to go home after their adventures through whatever magic portal they find... well, this one was practically made for me. I love that the witch bucks the system and gives the boy what he truly needs. 5/5
12) Dustbaby: Didn't jump out at me, but was interesting and nicely written. 3/5
13) The Sycamore and The Sybil: Something in me just doesn't love the "we lost our ancestor's witchcraft" angle whenever it comes up, but apart from that, this story was good. Love the idea of turning dickheads into trees, and I adored all the descriptions of what the MC feels as she lives as a tree! 4/5
14) Roadside Attraction: I adored this one! I love the tender care that builds up between these two. Something about the way Harrow described their life in RV together made me ship them so hard. I also enjoyed the little snapshots of history we saw through MC's travels in time. One of my favourites! 5/5
15) The Last Archive: I could see what this one was trying to do, and the message is important, but it was overall just too depressing for me to enjoy it. I did love the idea of the MC on her library donkey route though! 2/5

[Nicole Pardus]

Alix E. Harrow has the map to my soul.

Short story collections are rarely five-star reads for me. Even the ones I love usually have a few stories that don’t quite hit. But Alix E. Harrow has once again spun some kind of magic and written one of the most beautiful, cohesive, devastating, and lovely collections I have ever read.
There is something about Harrow’s prose and storytelling that I genuinely struggle to put into words. She lulls me into this little reading trance where I become completely immersed in whatever story she is telling. I don’t want to pick up my phone. I don’t care what time it is. I just want to wriggle deeper into her words and stay there.

And these stories have SO MUCH to say.

Throughout The Slantwise Histories, Harrow explores censorship, death and grief, greed, power, the patriarchy, and the ways political systems shape individual lives. But none of it ever feels like commentary pasted on top of a story. These ideas live inside the characters and the worlds she creates. Despite moving between different places, people, and kinds of magic, the collection feels remarkably cohesive, like every story is speaking to the others from a slightly different angle.
Several of these stories have been published previously, including The Knight and the Butcherbird and The Six Deaths of the Saint, both of which were five stars for me the first time around and, unsurprisingly, remain five stars. I loved getting to revisit them here alongside stories that were completely new to me.

My favorites:
Mr. Death — A look at grief through the eyes of a very nice reaper. Tender, strange, and quietly devastating.
The Sycamore and the Sybil — An absolutely perfect story about women surviving by seeking out one another. This one burrowed directly into my heart.
A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies — A story about the importance of books and libraries, but even more importantly, about recognizing when a child needs a safe harbor and giving them one. Obviously this destroyed me.
The Knight and the Butcherbird and The Six Deaths of the Saint — Both still five stars. Both still incredible. I’ve written about them before, and revisiting them only reinforced how much I love them.

I could probably write something about every story in this collection, but ultimately it comes down to this: Alix E. Harrow writes the kind of stories that remind me why I love reading. Her work can be furious and political and devastating, but there is always this current of tenderness running underneath it. Again and again, she writes about people finding some small piece of hope, love, or freedom in worlds determined to deny it to them.

Five stars. No notes. Alix can continue writing directly onto my soul forever.
Thank you so much to Tordotcom and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copies. The audiobook narration is absolutely perfect and only made it easier to disappear completely into these stories.

Here are some of my favorite quotes
“At six, I’d thought love was a full belly; at sixteen, I’d thought it was wildflowers and gooseberries and Mayapple’s mouth on mine. At seventeen, I knew better: Love is whatever you’re willing to kill for”

“It wasn’t fair that we were always the ones who had to lose, to change, to become-something-else. To give ourselves up. It wasn’t fair that all we had in our defense were these few, desperate magics that hurt no one but ourselves”

“Sometimes when I sink down into the deep-down sleep of trees I can almost remember the wild times in the land-before, when we painted ourselves in madder and clay and danced around solstice bonfires, when every witch had a familiar loping or slinking or winging beside her, when we flew through the night on strips of alder and ironwood. I remember when our magics turned outward rather than inward and the wolves stayed in the shadows, fearful of our flames and the words bright and sharp as knives on our tongues”

“They came for us, and then there were no more midnight bonfires. Burning was for books, then, and for witches.”

“They’ve taken our cemeteries and libraries, our newspapers and documentaries and baby pictures. They’ve taken our histories. But they haven’t taken our stories. Listen: When they burn the books and drown the land—when even our gravestones are cracked, dug up, washed away—when they have won—then all we have left is what we remember, and what we whisper to one another.”

[Abigail]

A lyrical collection of short stories about love, longing and loss. These heartwrenching stories are character-driven and have varying elements of fantasy, science fiction and magical realism. Themes include, but are not limited to, anti-imperialism, environmental catastrophe, and the preservation of stories. Most of the stories feature normalized LGBTQIA+ relationships.

Part 1: Almost
In The Tale of Two Brothers, or, The Famous Folklorist Confesses Fratricide! (new story), two brothers, one endlessly greedy, the other impractically kind, build a life out of lies and folklore. Mr. Death (Apex Magazine, 2021) features a grim reaper struggles with his newest assignment, reaping the soul of a two-year-old child. A Whisper in the Weld (Shimmer, 2014) is about a ghost who haunts the factory she died in, protecting others from her fate. And a woman protects her wife who is undergoing a demonic transformation in The Knight and the Butcherbird (Amazon Original, 2025).

Part 2: Always
The Six Deaths of the Saint (Amazon Original, 2022) is about a warrior selected lifetime after lifetime to bring victory for her king. In The Final Voyage of the Good Ship of Fortune (new story), a shipwrecked pearl harvester saves an injured sea monster who questions which one of them is really more monstrous. Do Not Look Back, My Lion (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, 2019) is the story of an almost-mother who cannot bear to see another one of her almost-children sent off to war. The Ransom of Miss Coraline Connelly (Fireside Magazine, 2020) is a series of ransom notes from a faerie queen who has kidnapped a mischievous child to that child’s overburdened human mother. And The Long Way Up (new story) is about a grieving widow who walks down to the underworld to retrieve her husband, but who is unsure if he will follow her back up.

Part 3: Again
Up in Flames (Working Title) (new story) is a love letter in manuscript form from an author to her editor, with the editor’s notes contextualizing their history. In A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies (Apex Magazine, 2018), a librarian witch contemplates if she should provide a forbidden book to a teen patron who could benefit from its contents. Dustbaby (Shimmer, 2015) is about a woman who has lost her family who finds an otherworldly child abandoned on her barren farmland. In The Sycamore and the Sybil (Uncanny Magazine, 2020) a woman who turned herself into a tree to escape a man offers that option to another. Roadside Attraction (Someone in Time, 2022) is about a man who races through time trying to find his destiny, each time returning to a groundkeeper who may just be that destiny. And in The Last Archive (new story) a librarian seeks to preserve the memory of her love and of her community members who have been systematically harmed by an overwhelming corporate cruelty.

Thanks to Tor Book and Edelweiss+ for providing me with a free eARC.

[Jess]

I received an eARC of The Slantwise Histories from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars

Within the last decade Alix E. Harrow has become one of my all-time favourite writers. I've read every novel and novella, but I first fell in love with her writing when I read her short fiction, so I'm delighted a selection of her stories have been bound together in this collection for more and more people to enjoy.

Rereading the stories I was already familiar with - particularly "The Six Deaths of the Saint", "The Ransom of Miss Coraline Connelly", and "A Witch's Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies" - felt like visiting old friends, the kind you know well enough to have inside jokes with, but my favourite thing about this collection was reading the stories that haven't been previously published.

"The Tale of the Two Brothers, Or, The Famous Folklorist Confesses Fratricide", "Up In Flames (Working Title)", and "The Last Archive" were my favourites, which comes as no surprise when all three of them are about the power of stories, whether those stories are lies, truths, or histories that those who have too much money and too little compassion want to erase. The latter two stories especially are as depressingly relevant today as they would have been in 1930s Germany, but Harrow's writing, even when mournful, is full of the gritty kind of hope you feel when you resurface after your face has been ground in the dirt.

There are of course themes that travel between all the stories - fairy tales and history and storytelling - but what I love most about reading an author's short fiction is seeing them playing around with the seeds of themes that have informed their other work. There'd be no Rebecca without Daphne du Maurier's short Gothic fiction, in much the same way that there'd be no The Everlasting without "The Six Deaths of the Saint" or no The Ten Thousand Doors of January without "A Witch's Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies".

If you're a lover of short fiction or a lover of Harrow's novels, this is a collection that's worth your time and attention, but if you're neither of these I still recommend you give The Slantwise Histories a try. These stories are canapes from a writer who's assured and playful in her craft, and I dare you not to be hungry for more.

[Melmotka]

☘️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


ALMOST

The Tale Of the Two Brothers, or, the Famous folklorist confesses fratricide! - enjoyed the fairytale themes and the tone of this one. Put me in the mood to read a werewolf romance. 4/5

Mr. Death - very sweet & sad. I teared up on the TFL at the end :( 5/5

A Whisper In The Weld - on war and love and ghosts. Melancholy, but lacks anything to make it stand out from the other stories in this collection. 2/5

The Knight and The Butcherbird - loved the mix of dystopia and folklore in this one. Would read an expanded story set in this world, it was trying to do quite a lot for something so short. 3.5/5

ALWAYS

The Six Deaths Of The Saint - is this where the idea for The Everlasting came from? Beautiful and emotional and Romantic. 5/5

The Final Voyage Of The Good Ship Fortune - guilt & transformation. Sweet but relatively predictable. 3/5

Do Not Look Back, My Lion - endless war and a matriarchal society, in which a stay-home woman tries to convince her pregnant warrior wife to not go back to war. I found the ending to be unsatisfying, and the story not as memorable as the others; the setting felt underexplored. 2/5

The Ransom Of Miss Coraline Connelly - a series of letters from a faerie queen to a human mother whose child she's kidnapped. Cute but very short. 3/5

The Long Way Up - a grieving woman goes to the underworld to retrieve her dead husband. This story has a sweet message to it, and I am very fond of Orpheus retellings, but perhaps that's exactly why something about this felt repetitive and forgettable. 3/5

AGAIN

Up In Flames (working title) - interesting structure, a mix of a manuscript and annotations around it (different perspectives on the same events!). Enjoyed the focus on censorship and queer relationships. 4/5

A Witch's Guide to Escape: A Practical Compedium Of Portal Fantasies - not really what I had expected based on the title. On the importance of libraries, books, and escapism. Not definitely sure that I agree with the moral of this one's ending though. 3/5

Dustbaby - a woman finds a baby in the dying fields. 1/5

The Sycamore And The Sybil - a woman who turned herself into a tree to escape a man sees history repeating and hopes to live again. 3/5

Roadside Attraction - a broken-hearted youth goes time travelling in search of his glorious destiny. A short, sweet romance and story of self-acceptance that nevertheless didn't quite convince me; the relationship had too little page-space for development and the ending felt a bit rushed (hint of potential angst that never happens?). 2.5/5

The Last Archive - another dystopian story on censorship. The characters were too similar to the ones in previous stories, particularly Up In Flames, so it was hard to enjoy it for what it is without directly comparing it to all the ones that came before. But the ending did get to me :(. So. 3.5/5

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☘️

[el ✯ ࣪ ˖]

(3.5) Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of short stories, but ultimately, only a few really stayed with me. Harrow’s writing style is absolutely gorgeous, and there were some truly lovely descriptions scattered around, but I found myself wishing for tighter execution and less simplicity. The themes of second chances, love, loss, and transformation were well-done, but some stories exemplified them in more poignant ways, and by the end of the book, some stories felt a little bit repetitive (though they were all very memorable and distinct). I especially loved the queer representation which blanked a good amount of stories. I did think there was a little bit of mis-marketing in “stories of alternate histories,” which I believe is in the blurb. While many of the stories are historical, they are much more fantastical, and don’t necessarily feel like “alternate histories,” though I did like the “almost,” “always,” and “again” sections of the collection. Overall, I would recommend this collection to fans of Harrow’s longer works; the stories make a lovely, atmospheric quick read before bed. I just like sad endings and there are less than I would have liked here.

Here are my ratings for the individual stories.
The Tale of Two Brothers, Or, The Famous Folklorist Confesses Fratricide! (3/5) I liked the fairytale aspect of this, but felt the ending a bit rushed
Mr. Death (4.5/5) My favourite! I cried.
A Whisper in the Weld (3/5) Also sad, but sort of fleeting, quickly resolved and more of a telling of an emotion than a story.
The Knight and the Butcherbird (4/5) Unpopular opinion but I really liked this one. I love apocalyptic transformations (Silt Verses Silt Verses Silt Verses) and I was wondering whether there would be any queer representation and Alix E. Harrow came through. I especially liked the names.

The Six Deaths of the Saint (4/5) Very good! I loved seeing where The Everlasting stemmed from, but I much prefer the novel to the short story. This one emphasises slightly different themes, and leans more towards ideas of power and self-empowerment. I liked it, and it did loads in the short amount of pages, but it was just not super poignant (though it was very memorable).
The Final Voyage of the Good Ship Fortune (3/5) I really like sea monsters (Cthulhu who?) but towards the end it became very explanatory and “hand-holdy” where I would have preferred it to remain vague. The epistolary format was a bit difficult to get into.
Do Not Look Back, My Lion (2.5/5) Eh. The world-building was a bit strange and seemed to exoticise people of colour a bit (though this isn’t confirmed and they could just be a fantasy race). There were some very big ideas, but I guess I just didn’t really feel resolved by the happy ending.
The Ransom of Miss Coraline Conelly (2.5/5) Interesting concept, but I didn’t really feel connected to any of the characters due to the epistolary format. I would have liked some first person narration from the mother as well.
The Long Way Up (2.5/5) Also eh. I understand where Harrow was trying to go with the Orpheus and Eurydice retelling but I just didn’t like the characters that much.

Up in Flames (Working Title) (3.75/5) I loved the concept and execution here! The idea of magical censorship was very fun. I just didn’t really connect to the characters that much.
A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies (2.5/5) I didn’t really like this one. The characters sort of felt like they were being moved around just so the main character could be in a dilemma. I wanted more of the witchy librarians, how they got there, and their training.
Dustbaby (2/5) My least favourite. After Mr. Death, it just feels like its less interesting cousin.
The Sycamore and the Sybil (2/5) Just like The Long Way Up, I felt the retelling of Daphne and Apollo (Ovid’s Version) just wasn’t executed well. The idea of transformation to escape men is overdone, and this one doesn’t really add much to the story.
Roadside Attraction (4/5) I liked this one! Queer babies through time! I wish there was more romance though, but I liked the concept.
The Last Archive (3.25/5) This one felt a lot heavier and real than the other stories, but I did enjoy it.

[Laura Hill]

Thank you to Tordotcom and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on October 20th, 2026.

This is a collection of previously published stories that the author describes as the “pleasures I have devised over the last decade.” Her “preoccupations and grudges, infatuations and nightmares.” This goes a long way to explaining the diverse set of stories included in the book. Before I tell you how and what I thought about the stories, let me first state categorically that in terms of pure writing, Harrow is one of the best. Her language, humor, compassion, insight and the insistent way she wrenches reactions from the reader are unsurpassed by other writers in my experience. I don’t always care for the subjects of her writing (or the feelings they wrench out of me!) but the quality of her writing is never challenged.

I think about the stories in this collection in three categories (and they aren’t the “Almost, Always, and Again” divisions they are separated into in the TOC — I still don’t get that). My favorites are the humorous stories with the utterly unexpected but totally integrated twists. Most feature a wry wit that recognizes and pokes fun at the very essence of our fears and aspirations. These contain plenty of quality banter (which I love) and often lovely inserts of modernity into canonical tales. The stories in this category are: The Knight and the Butcher Bird, The Ransom of Miss Coraline Connelly, The Long Way Up, and A Witches Guide to Escape: a Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies. The next category clearly aligns with Harrow’s “grudges and nightmares.” They are dark, often depressing (for the emotional sponge that I am), and have a tendency to feature stereotype “Bad Guy” groups. For example, in these stories, all the men are misogynistic a**holes, and all corporations are greedy, abusive, and evil. Great stories, but I don’t like perpetuating these polarizing descriptions. Lastly, quite a few “queer” stories — tales of discovering and exploring someone’s sexuality, often in a speculative fiction setting. These were well done, but not something that I search for.

I’m not usually a short fiction reader — I love to get deep into a novel and stay with it for a while, but it is hard for me to pass up anything that Harrow writes. I had no problem simply skipping a story or two that didn’t work for me and focus on enjoying the rest.

[Weronika]

Alix E. Harrow's "Everlasting" (Hugo and Locus winner and one of the best/loudest fantasy novels of 2025) originated from a short story and I long suspected that the author excels in a short form. I was thrilled to see a compilation of her short stories published and it was the only short story collection that I read almost in one sitting.
This is due to my favorite, opening story: "The Tale of the Two Brothers, or, The Famous Folklorist Confesses Fratricide!" It has one of the best characters I've read in a long time, and one of the most moving brotherly bonds I remember from speculative fiction. It begins in Virginia, addresses belief in fairytales among poverty, briefly becomes a western, and then the action moves to Europe where the brothers aspire to make fortune by following the footsteps of Brothers Grimm and... I won't spoil the constant twists, but the story kept me on my toes and was one of the best ones, the funniest ones, and the most emotional ones in the collection.
Among other highlights are "Six Deaths of a Saint" (mesmerizing predecessors of "Everlasting", worth reading to compare even if - or especially if - you know the novel; or as a standalone), "The Knight and the Butcherbird" which is a modern take on Ovid's Metamorphoses in a vaguely post-apo world, and "The Long Way Up", a gender-swapped retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice and a moving reflection on marriage and depression. I loved "Up in Flames" (still a working title in the ARC), in which Harrow masterfully utilizes second-person narration (a manuscript and comments to it!) to tell a sapphic story of women in journalism. "The Sycamore and the Sybill", a variation of Daphne turned into tree, was also both magical and engaging.
Some stories were less engaging to me or unequal, but nevertheless the collection deserves 5/5 for the overall quality, especially Harrow's evocative language and narration. Each story's rhythm and language is reflective of its narrator, with a lot of folk vibes shining through their fairytale-quality. A lot of them seem to be set in the United States with its lore and folklore and population, which I appreciate!
A trigger warning: I usually do not pay attention to such themes, but I did here which makes me think they were (over?)abundant: a lot of these stories deal with child's death/loss/kidnapping or feature pregnant protagonists in distress (at one point a miscarriage).

[Damara Soto]

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for the eARC of this book! I devoured it.

My Review:

“When they burn the books and drown the land—when even our gravestones are cracked, dug up, washed away—when they have won—then all we have left is what we remember, and what we whisper to one another.” — “The Last Archive”

There is an expectation, I think, that at a certain age beyond what society dictates as childhood, one must dispense with fanciful notions of magic, abandon all yearning for whimsy and grand adventure, and replace them with a strict adherence to *History and *Fact that is widely accepted, but not widely accepting of any questions or amendments. Fairytales and folklore invite questions about the world and its workings, encourage the reader to look beyond what they can (or have been told to) see, and teach lessons that take us to entirely new realities. The Slantwise Histories is a phenomenal collection that walks the path alongside the greatest folktales of humanity, telling grand and uniquely human stories of love, transformation, sacrifice, grief, and connection, while reminding us that our history and our legends are not independent of each other. Rather, history is all the ways in which we love and yearn, scream and sob, fight and escape, create and destroy. And how we tell those stories, how we pass them down generation after generation, how we remember and keep remembering long after the writing on the walls has faded and the dead outnumber the living…well, that there is what is truly legendary.

Favorites from the collection:
• A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies
• The Knight and the Butcherbird
• The Last Archive