A Season of Monstrous Conceptions
Ratings5
Average rating4
An eldritch historical fantasy of midwifery, monstrosity, and the rending of the world, for fans of The Essex Serpent and The Death of Jane Lawrence.
In 17th-century London, unnatural babies are being born, with eyes made for the dark and webbed digits suited to the sea.
Sarah Davis is intimately familiar with such strangeness—having hidden her uncanny nature all her life and fled to London under suspicious circumstances, Sarah starts over as a midwife’s apprentice to a member of the illegal Worshipful Company of Midwives, hoping to carve out for herself an independent life. But with each new unnatural birth, the fear in London grows of the Devil's work.
When the wealthy Lady Wren hires her to see her through her pregnancy, Sarah quickly becomes a favorite of her husband, the famous architect Lord Christopher Wren, whose interest in the uncanny borders on obsession. Sarah soon finds herself caught in a web of magic and intrigue created by those who want to use her power for themselves, and whose pursuits threaten to unmake the earth itself.
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I've read the previous two sci-fi novellas from the author and really enjoyed them, so I had to give this new fantasy a try. Set in 1600s London and following an apprentice midwife who happens to have some otherworldly powers, this short book turned out to be atmospheric, spooky, a bit horrific, and very interesting on the whole. Sarah is a nice protagonist to follow - one with a past she is escaping, desires she is scared to act upon lest she lose her reputation and vocation, someone who just wants to be seen as a whole person for who she is. While the book is very short, I liked her character arc and where she ended up. The plot itself isn't too complex and was pretty predictable too I guess, but it still left me satisfied. I don't think this will be a series, so I can only hope for a new installment in the author's Sisters of the Vast Black series.
Honestly, my only issue with this book is that it's too short. I wish it had been a novel instead of a novella.
I found this to be a wonderfully paced short story, it wrapped up well and was engaging the whole time. The main character is great, and the setting makes this a great mix of historical fiction with splashes of horror and fantasy mixed in. Highly recommend for a short sweet read.
