Beauty

Years after the women died to a mysterious illness, storyteller Nate brings back new secrets from the woods; peculiar mushrooms growing where the women's bodies lie buried, the first sign of a strange new presence unlike anything ever known before. With a new introduction by M. R. Carey, and bonus novella The Arrival of Missives.

Nominated for the Shirley Jackson and Saboteur awards. The tenth anniversary edition of the critically acclaimed short novel, with an introduction by M. R. Carey. Somewhere away from the cities and towns, in the Valley of the Rocks, a society of men and boys gather around the fire each night to listen to their history recounted by Nate, the storyteller. Requested most often by the group is the tale of the death of all women. They are the last generation. One evening, Nate brings back new secrets from the woods; peculiar mushrooms are growing from the ground where the women’s bodies lie buried. These are the first signs of a strange and insidious presence unlike anything ever known before… Discover the Beauty. Also includes the novella The Arrival of Missives .

Autorentext

Aliya Whiteley's speculative fiction has been shortlisted for multiple awards, including the Arthur C. Clarke award and a Shirley Jackson award. Her future fantasy travelogue novel, Three Eight One, was published by Solaris in January 2024 and won the British Science Fiction Association award for Best Novel. Her short fiction has appeared in many places, most recently as a 2024 NewCon Press collection on the subject of transport called Drive or be Driven. She lives in Sussex, UK, and blogs regularly about plants, planets, and other strange things at aliyawhiteley.uk.