Evocative Tales from the Fae of England

The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann


This beautifully written tale is filled with evocative imagery, a delightful cast of strange faerie beings and an engaging and interesting plot.  It is the story of Bartholomew Kettle and his little sister Hettie, two half-fae children (Changelings aka Peculiars) living in a Victorian era England where the fae had returned, causing calamity and then intergrating with the native populations. The world is beautifully realised and well rendered. The clockwork birds, the creepy Mr Lickerish and the mysterious lady in Plum all wove together into a compelling and captivating tapestry.

It has rather a slow, but luxurious build, with Bartholomew's storyline running parallel with that of Arthur Jelliby, a councillor who finds himself, through a series of befuddled coincidences, wrapped up in it all. After this build, however, the ending came all too swiftly and severed itself shortly after the climax, with no wind-down. This works in the context of the narrative, but did leave me feeling as though I had suddenly become disconnected from a world, and a story, that I had become so drawn into.

I shall be looking forward to delving into this world again, when the sequel is released locally.


View all my reviews