The Six Deaths of the Saint

Groundhog day meets a deal with the devil meets a saved game. This was a clever concept - someone keeps on being brought back, each time able to give advice to the future iteration of themselves to enable them to progress further before dying, becoming the saint of war. Each time they realise more about the deal, their relationships and the ultimate futility of what they are doing. The dawning realisation of who matters forms the core of the story. A clever concept well executed! An excellent short story

They sing of a red-headed devil, one who fights with strength that borders on supernatural and agility as if a sword were born in her hand. But isn't this devil, this dervish, just a serving girl? So goes the tale of The Six Deaths of the Saint by Alix Harrow. This brilliant short story is part of a continuing series of bite-sized fantasy offerings from acclaimed authors Lev Grossman, Nghi vo, Tomi Champion-Adeyemi, and more. They are described thus, “Some truths are carefully concealed; others merely forgotten. In this spellbinding collection, seven acclaimed fantasy authors create characters who venture into the depths where others fear to tread. But when forbidden knowledge is the ultimate power, how far can they go before the darkness consumes them?”

Alix E. Harrow is easily one of the best short story fantasy authors writing today. If you are someone who looks at CVs, you would see Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award nominations and wins. As this young girl in Six Deaths of the Saint battles as if a sword had always been in her hand, Harrow writes as if she was born with pen and paper. That is why this series of stories, and by extension Harrows is such a decadent treat to read. She had me at The Saint of War, be still my shriveled dark fantasy-loving heart.

“I would rather love a coward than mourn a legend.”

The story's protagonist is a servant girl on the verge of death, spared by The Saint of War. “Always mindful of the debt she owes, the girl finds her worth as a weapon in the hand of the Prince. Her victories make him a king, then an emperor. The bards sing her name, and her enemies fear it. But the war never ends and the cost keeps rising—how many times will she repeat her own story?”

There is a unique difficulty in writing a short story; the author must get to things quickly and concisely. The characters must have agency, and be well-rounded in, usually, less than 30 pages. It is a tall order.

“I could have killed you,” you said, and he had answered obscurely, “You never do.”

However, instead of world-building, The Six Deaths of the Saint is a deep character story. Yes, there is gore and battle. Ones that are so vivid that you swear you can smell the copper penny stink of blood and iron, but all of the fighting and descriptions of gore support the characters in their struggles. What struggles, you ask?

I can't give that away. It would ruin the fun.

However, I commend Harrow on creating characters that are now on my favorite ride-or-die list in 30 pages. When you read this, you will know exactly what I am talking about. You should give this story a go, especially if you are a fan of Harrow's other work.

The only word to describe this is simply impressive. The story line, relationship, and villain arc in THIRTY fucking pages was nothing less than utterly shocking. This novella does more that was most authors do in a 3 book series. I am figuring I like my fantasy with more depth but for, I'm going to say it again, THIRTY PAGES, this was so incredibly worth my and anyone's time. That is the only reason it is not five stars.

This was stunning!

I adored Harrow's writing; it's sparing yet evocative and moody and not a single paragraph goes to waste. Every word serves the atmosphere of the story to exquisite effect. I'm already in the process of seeking out their other works to add to my TBR.

Six Deaths has touches of Joan of Arc, Snow White, Arthurian legend, and hangs them on a time loop narrative device that never gets old or wears out its welcome. Each loop brings us closer to the mystery of the Saint, and lays the groundwork for the emotional pay off.

And that pay off though... oooh, I cried real good.

I've really enjoyed every entry in the Into Shadow series so far, but this was by far my favorite. I enthusiastically recommend you pick it up.

If you have Kindle Unlimited, the ebook and the audiobook is included, and personally I'm a huge fan of the narration function in the Kindle iOS app. The audio was quite good, but the narrator randomly starts trying an accent part way through, which weirded me out because I couldn't tell if it was a deliberate choice or not... but still good!

I'm keen to read the rest of the collection, and maybe try to fit them into the Buzzword Reading Challenge for 2023.