I am not at all surprised that I ended up loving The Knight and the Butcherbird. Being more familiar with Harrow’s work by now, I knew that she would throw in some twisty elements that, when they click, they click hard and she managed to do it again with this short story. This is an unconventional love story set in a dystopian future where the results of climate change, environmental degradation, illness, corruption, and war have warped the world as we know it and turned it into a bleak and disease-ridden reality. Even in this future, the ugly side of human nature continues to prevail against the weak majority. It was almost terrifying how easy it was to picture this future because of the state of our world and I think that made this an even more impactful read for me.

I don’t want to say anything that will give this story away because it’s obviously *very short* (too short imho but I will probably always say that about Harrow’s stories) but it’s also a story that I think readers should dive into knowing as little as possible. That said, I loved how Harrow took something that the world sees as horrifying and demonic and somehow turned it into this painful yet beautiful moment of transformation. She does a brilliant job of taking the natural process of change and the resilience of humans over time and creates something so poignant that can be interpreted in various ways—which I think also lends even more power to the message of this story. It’s bleak but hopeful and it’s of loss but also of new beginnings. It doesn’t necessarily have to read that way though and readers it can just as easily be seen as a simple and engaging short story about love and survival set in a dystopian world.

Either way, I think readers who enjoy short stories, dystopian settings, weird love, and portrayals of grief and human nature, will probably find something to enjoy in this story!