In which we find out he meant yarn in the narrative sense.

TMCOAN was one of those books that sucked me in instantly and completely, I think it took less than two pages for my kindle to disappear and my vision to be flooded by a wonderful, mysterious and creepy world.

And I’d somehow missed the fairytale mixed with horror info before jumping in. Normally I stay away from horror, and this was giving me seriously creepy vibes, but I couldn’t physically put it down till way past my bedtime.

The spiel of BP’ s books (even his name is long) is the main story is interwoven with seemingly unconnected folk tales. So, if like me, you’re an idiot and speed through the folk tales at first, you’re gonna be sorry. This is true of all the books in the series, and I think it’s a great way to integrate worldbuilding and shape the atmosphere.

I find it very hard to say anything about TMCOAN for fear of giving away too much, as he book reveals information bit by tiny bit. But there’s a village, in a forest, with monsters that come out at night and a mysterious protector. There’s also a young man who has strange dreams and tries his best to protect his loved ones. There’s a lot of fear, and creepy darkness and mean people, but it’s got a great fairytale quality about it.

There are also Knacks, a magic system for ordinary people. Having a Knack makes someone very good at something, like farming, sewing, cooking etc. The MC is an outcast, his status not helped one bit by the fact that he’s failed to develop a Knack.

The story is gripping. We get two perspectives, and both of them are twitsy and intense. They’ re broken up by folk tales, which have a slower pace, but the genuine magic of real folklore. TMCOAT seems greatly inspired by Native American myths and aesthetic.

It’s a short read, and I would have blown through it in one sitting if not for having to go to work in the morning.

I really enjoyed it, and didn’t notice any major flaws myself, but I looked over other reviews on goodreads and people mention some problems with the secondary characters and prose.