Description
Enter the sanctuary at your own risk. The primal and unsettling tale of just how far a woman must go to protect nature and its inhabitants, perfect for fans of Francine Toon and Andrew Michael Hurley.
🍎 'Unflinching... I loved it' Lucy Rose, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Lamb
🦌 'Disturbing, seductively written fiction about power and female rage' Guardian
🍁 'A genuinely beautiful piece of work, and has an incredibly strong narrative voice, mixing nature, love, sex and gore, with a palpable sense of rage, betrayal and familial dysfunction at its heart' SFX
'The devil came on the autumn equinox, as he always did.'
Tess Wynne keeps mostly to herself in the hills of Appalachia. Her wildlife sanctuary is a refuge for the wounded and unwanted - and the only home she has left. She has built it carefully, with old rituals and even older bargains with the ominous visitor that comes each year.
Then she finds a doe split open on the road.
Beside it is the fawn who survived. Red-mouthed. Full set of teeth. Hungry.
From the moment Tess brings it home, whispers gather in town. A new pastor starts asking questions. And inside Tess, something primal begins to wake: anger, appetite, the slow understanding that prey is only prey for so long.
Dark, tender and eerie, Fawn is a slow-burning folk horror of nature, ritual and feverish femininity - a story about what a woman must become to protect what is hers.
🦌 'I want to grind this book into dust and sprinkle it in my coffee. It's feral.'
🦌 'This book had me reacting OUT LOUD'
🦌 'A perfect amalgamation of horror, feminist rage, and spooky witchcraft'
🦌 'Gets under your skin without really trying'
🦌 'Rachel Harrison meets Grady Hendrix'
About the Author
C.N. Vair (she/her) is a horror and dark fantasy author living in Western New York. A former journalist, she's interested in the history and haunted corners of small towns, the magic and malice of the natural world, and power in all its forms. When she's not writing, you can find her wandering in woods and cemeteries, growing poisonous plants in her garden, or spending time with her husband and dogs.
Reviews
A genuinely beautiful piece of work, and has an incredibly strong narrative voice, mixing nature, love, sex and gore, with a palpable sense of rage, betrayal and familial dysfunction at its heart * SFX *
Stephen King-ish... a well-written novel * The Sunday Times *
Disturbing, seductively written fiction about power and female rage * The Guardian *
Finally: a witch book that doesn't f*ck around. -- Kirsty Logan, author of NO & OTHER LOVE STORIES
C.N. Vair has cast such a spell over me with her bewitching debut, I doubt any other book will ever break it. Sell your soul, sign your name in the Devil's ledger, just do whatever you have to do to get your hands on this book. Damnation never read this good. -- Clay McLeod Chapman, author of GHOST EATERS
An unflinching Appalachian horror and a book filled with bite, brutality, tenderness and evil. I loved it -- Lucy Rose, Sunday Times bestselling author of THE LAMB
A lush, eerie, utterly spellbinding contemporary tale with all the makings of a classic, elegantly rendered by an exciting new talent. Exquisitely unsettling, hauntingly beautiful, and quietly profound. Beware, this book is pretty but it has sharp teeth. -- Rachel Harrison, New York Times bestselling author of PLAY NICE
Vair has created an atmospheric, uncanny world in FAWN that drew me in and kept me reading. With every page I was faced with the question that comes with all good storytelling, what will happen next? A mesmerising read. -- Mahsuda Snaith, author of THE THINGS WE THOUGHT WE KNEW
A compulsively readable, propulsive tale of what it means to bare your teeth and reclaim what belongs to you. Even if the cost is great. I didn't want to leave Tess' world and am still thinking about it days later. This is the sort of book I'll revisit again and again. -- Kristi DeMeester, author of DARK SISTERS and SUCH A PRETTY SMILE
C.N. Vair conjures a world of blighted beauty, old magic, and terrible appetites. Fawn is spellbinding, vicious, and impossible to look away from. -- Daphne Fama, author of HOUSE OF MONSTROUS WOMEN
Book Information
ISBN 9780857508805
Author C.N. Vair
Format Hardback
Page Count 368
Imprint 3AM Books
Publisher Transworld Publishers Ltd
Weight(grams) 572g
Dimensions(mm) 243mm * 164mm * 34mm
