Reviews
“A succulent, gory, ambrosial fever dream of a tale with prose as luscious as an overripe peach and characters as hard and twisted yet hopeful as the juice-drenched pit torn out with greedy fingers.”
—Delilah S. Dawson, New York Times bestselling author
Praise for Cassandra Khaw:
The Salt Grows Heavy
A Bram Stoker and Shirley Jackson Award finalist! • A Best Horror Book of 2023 (The New York Times, Library Journal) • A Best Book of 2023 (NPR) • An Indie Next Pick
“Khaw’s poetic prose and stylish approach to gore make it a blood-soaked, unforgettable gem.”
—The New York Times
“Devastatingly effective…a folklore-infused world that feels wholly unique. Expertly blending a gothic atmosphere with elements of splatterpunk, this brilliant novella is not to be missed.”
—Publishers Weekly, STARRED review
“With this brilliantly constructed tale that consciously takes on a well-known story and violently breaks it open to reveal a heartfelt core, Khaw cements their status as a must-read author.”
—Library Journal, STARRED review
“A feverishly gory, grotesquely beautiful and baroque fairy-tale-meets-love-sonnet. Cassandra Khaw’s imagination is limitless.”
—Paul Tremblay, New York Times bestselling author of Horror Movie
“The Salt Grows Heavy will hit you in your heart and in your gut at the same time, while never losing its grip on the gorgeous prose that makes Khaw’s work so spellbinding. It’s another riveting success from one of horror’s finest storytellers.”
—Paste Magazine
“The bones of a fairy tale sunk deep in a charnel house of descriptive prose, an elegant confection with a blood-soaked core.”
—T. Kingfisher, New York Times bestselling author of What Moves the Dead
“[B]eautiful in its darkness; much like the mermaids of lore — before they were transformed into manatee-sweet, soft-haired sirens — it has teeth. Readers in the mood to savor a silver-tongued little nightmare will sink happily into its depths.”
—NPR
“Khaw has cemented their status as horror royalty, once and for all, with The Salt Grows Heavy….a grotesquely perfect feast.”
—Locus
Nothing But Blackened Teeth
A USA TODAY BESTSELLER • A Bram Stoker, Shirley Jackson, British Fantasy, and World Fantasy Award Finalist! • An Indie Next Pick!• A LibraryReads Pick
“Brutally delicious!”
—N.K. Jemisin, New York Times bestselling author of The City We Became
“It is beautiful and it is brutal and it is heartbroken. Absolutely recommended.”
—Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author of Every Heart a Doorway
“Sharp, playful, and nasty as hell.”
—Paul Tremblay, New York Times bestselling author of Horror Movie
“Khaw’s prose oozes dread.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Khaw’s got a sterling premise, enduring lore, and the fresh talent to voice it.”
—Josh Malerman, New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box
“Reading Khaw is akin to watching a nightmare ballet, full of beauty and elegance, pain and fragility, and breathless terror.”
—Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author of Ararat and Red Hands
“It’s got a smile so wicked you might just have to grin along with it. I know I did.”
—Stephen Graham Jones, New York Times bestselling author of My Heart is a Chainsaw
