ARC Review: "Besting the Beast and Other Fantasy Tales" by Scott Crawford ★★★★

ARC Review: Besting the Beast and Other Fantasy Tales by Scott Crawford

A magnificent and beguiling collection of five fast yet intricate and imaginative stories, spun into one big tale of adventure, horror, mystery and betrayal. Crawford transports you to another place altogether! Filled with magic, monsters, mythic elements, and even life lessons, I could not put this down and enjoyed it immensely. I only wish there was more to read!

[Contains some spoilers]

PLOT SUMMARY
The Carving of a Warrior (2020): Resh Karsto and her family flee their farmland to escape a massacre, hoping to cut through the Umbran forest so they can find farmland and start anew in time for the harvest. Resh is tired of her old life and wants something new for herself. However, this forest is infested with Imps, Cerebeasts, Winged Wolves and a barely humanoid demon – and they do not take kindly to strangers.

Heart of a Samurai (2019): Kokoro Kenzo though a samurai was once a fierce and proud warrior. The Civil War and the loss of many have taken its toll, Kokoro now chops wood for a living waiting for revenge for his friends. He discovers a village where he saves a little white cat from samurais. He instils wisdom in the cat and names him Scrapper. But all is not as it seems.

A Thief’s Work (2020): In the city of Zintro, the evil sorcerer Rhio Honta has taken over. Most of the civilians have drunk a magical drug Sorcel, turning them into Droolers (due to their “chins slick with drool from their gaping mouths, robbed of speech and will, they carried out any command Honta gave, careless of pain or death”).
Vora is a thief who has joined the rebels hoping to free the city from the tyrant. Under Jordi’s instruction (a man who previously helped govern the city), Kaz’s encouragement (a swordsman) and with some difficulty, she breaks into the castle. But it is not just Honta who has been behind this, for there is a traitor in their midst.

Besting the Beast (2021): Kai used to be a bandit who is now trying to be a samurai worthy of the name. On the battlefield, he and his master’s army face The Guardians of the Sleeper led by Hierophant Jomon as well as Oni (troll), Tengu (bird men) and Kaijin (strange men, monsters). They believe that The Mother, a female monster who lurks in the pool will awaken again and all will feel Her wrath. Kai follows The Guardians in the hopes of getting revenge by slaying Jomon, but he discovers more than that: The Mother – and what’s more, his bandit abilities may come in handy.

Half-Baked Hero (2019): Janza ul-Varoon is a Gurkmani bodyguard. There have been mysterious deaths of Dukes. She encounters a Tangian merchant, Kong Si, and journeys with him to the city of Leng’koo. As Kong encourages her to travel with him to see the world, she hesitates, torn between duty and vengeance. But there is more to this merchant than meets the eye.

INTRO TO THE BOOK/AUTHOR
These were written as individual short stories for magazines and anthologies, ranging from the years 2019 to 2021 (see my plot summary above). It could be argued that Crawford’s style of writing has not changed much since then, though I would say his descriptions have got more immersive and sophisticated.

Crawford currently lives in Japan and I feel this is evident through his stories, having a certain fighting style, the word samurai mentioned a lot, and the tentacle-like monsters that appear at various times. The Heart of a Samurai tale is inspired by Japanese ghost stories, which I will explore below.

The cover of the book is one of the three panels of the Japanese woodblock print “Recovering the Stolen Jewel from the Palace of the Dragon King” by Utagawa Kuniyoshi in 1853. There are a number of things happening in the design, which could be reflective of the book itself as there are also a lot of things that occur in the stories. The title of Crawford’s book merges so well with the print design that it’s like it has always been there and was meant to be! The story behind the print is rather fitting too: the scene depicts Princess Tamatori diving into the sea and fighting all manners of monsters from the Dragon King’s court to retrieve a sacred jewel that was meant to be a gift for Japan which had during a storm fallen overboard. She cut open her breast to hide the jewel, and died from her wounds when she reached shore.

This tale actually sets the mood for the stories within this book: most main characters have to fight some monster or other so the stories are quirky like this and also contain violence. The story most like this tale would be Besting the Beast, as there is fighting in water. This is probably why this was also picked as the title for the book. Ingenius!

OVERALL OPINIONS
I liked these stories; they each contained some kind of uniqueness but all had similar themes so neatly woven into each other like a tapestry. They are all dark, a little violent, very mysterious – and just about all of them have a betrayal or plot twist.

I felt nearly all of them had bittersweet endings, but this reflects the type of stories they are: most mythologies are usually tragic. This made some of the tales feel incomplete, like there should have been more to it than that. Ultimately, I do not mind.

There was excellent world-building in each story that felt necessary but supplied in such a way that didn’t feel too complicated or quick. It was also realistic in the sense that each character served a purpose and not all of them made it until the end. The characters themselves were done very well: there is an even amount of male and female characters, all strong in their own ways, particularly the women, but have weaknesses. There were so many monsters, all of them either with horns or something green about them, whether it be their skin or their blood. There were a few plot holes here and there, but nothing that did not make sense or detract from the overall story.

My personal favourites from this collection were Heart of a Samurai and A Thief’s Work. This is because, of all the stories, these two both had the most amount of plot, characterisation, depth, and contained backstories that could be quickly understood.

-ˋˏ ꒰ The Carving of a Warrior꒱ ˎˊ-
I loved the concept of this story. There were a lot of things about this that was good: her mother saving her from their doom was touching, I like that there was regret in not listening to her father more (I think a lot of people experience this). She is very brave to face the monster. There was a moment I thought it was all a dream, and I would have lowkey preferred this ending haha but I really did like it.
I especially adored that it is her own weapon, her carving knife, that she uses in the end. That was poetic justice! She no longer needed her late father or his influence, and the very knife/hobby that he frowned upon saved her life. It is a good reminder that creativity can set you free – in more ways than one.

Giving in now meant accepting a woman’s life on the farm, toil and pregnancies and worst, hands too fatigue-clumsy to shape wood. She must meet her fear.

-ˋˏ ꒰ Heart of a Samurai꒱ ˎˊ-
This had arguably the best storyline. This is based on Japanese yōkai (spirits) stories. The Japanese folklore contains Kaibyō, which means “strange cat”; a supernatural cat, if you will. There are a few types of Kaibyō. The main one here used for Scrapper is Bakeneko which means “cat-monster”. They have supernatural abilities like shapeshifting, and speaking the same language as humans, who are also deceivers who murder then feast on human corpses.
According to an article on the history of supernatural cats, the Japanese were wary of cats in the 12th century when they quickly multiplied and dominated the lands. They have “long held a folk belief that when things live too long, they manifest magical powers”. Around the 17th-18th century, the country wanted tales of magic and so the idea of spirits manifested, along with this idea of supernatural cats then rumours surfaced of courtesans being cats shapeshifting as humans. The rest is history, and artworks. It’s such a fascinating thing!
In this story, I love that Scrapper goes from being an innocent kitty to this huge demonic cat who uses his master Kokoro’s words about there being honor in “facing a foe you’d never defeat” back at him in mockery. The important message to take from this is to be careful who you place your trust in: especially little seemingly harmless kitty cats.

“Greed and cruelty have poisoned men’s souls. That is what’s twisted. Even the best men – or those thought to be best – bend against such wicked tides. They don’t even see the evil they do.”

-ˋˏ ꒰ A Thief’s Work꒱ ˎˊ-
This was one of the more positive stories. The Droolers was a cool idea! I like that Vora goes from being a thief to wanting to do something more in life and she manages to free the people from the tyrant. The ending is bittersweet yet hopeful because Vora looks up to Kaz only to find out he is not the man she thought he was, but can now rely on herself. But I admired her strength of character and quick thinking.

Soon, rays of sun would blast through windows and awaken the city to its freedom. Vora wondered how she might use hers. Honor and valor shone brighter than stolen gold and silver, she decided.

-ˋˏ ꒰ Besting the Beast꒱ ˎˊ-
This story felt the most random. I expected a different sort of beast rather than The Mother. I loved the bond between Kai and his master/mentor Lord Issei and it is heartwarming that he is such a fatherly figure to him. Out of all the stories, this showed a healthier relationship. He becomes the driving force behind Kai’s decision to seek revenge:
“Issei had taken in Kai as a boy, when he was nothing but a wicked heart and beastly mind, and from those crude parts fashioned a human being. Kai wasted no time now on useless words of farewell. His duty and debt to the man could be fulfilled only by action.” – I got emotional here!

He unslung the war hammer strapped to his back. It had carried him through many battles. It must again today.

-ˋˏ ꒰ Half-Baked Hero꒱ ˎˊ-
As a Scottish person, I appreciated the bagpipes – and using them as a weapon haha. The concept of this story is really odd but intriguing, and I did like the idea of Janza having to fight her doppelganger. It too ends on a bittersweet note, and concludes the collection excellently.

“I will fail, without doubt, but not soon. Not with my coming army. And oh, I shall leave my mark, and live on in the rubble of razed cities and in frightful dreams.”

<< Positives >>
🠚The influence of the Japanese culture is shown positively and excellently through Crawford’s work.
🠚Each story had a good underlying message.
🠚I was introduced to more mythical creatures. I particularly enjoyed the ones that Crawford seemed to have created himself like the Cerebeasts and Tescalor.
🠚Crawford’s descriptions are incredible! Take this example from the first story: “With possibilities ripening in her mind like an unplanned but gorgeous detail in a carving” and from the second story: “his eye caught his swords leaning against the wall of the woman’s hovel, and he fancied that they mocked him for wielding an axe, and not them.”

<< Negatives >>
🠚Some of the stories felt like they finished too quickly.
🠚There was a plot hole in the first story: how does Resh know for sure that her family didn’t escape?
🠚We never get to find out what the significance of the child in the first story was. Why is the monster watching her intently but not harming her?
🠚In the third story, the creature is named “frog-thing”. Being right next to the “Tescalor”, it really deserved a better name!
🠚It takes a moment, due to the lack of information, to discover that Zevka is a goddess. I think this should have been clearer.
🠚I would have liked for some of these stories to be longer and expanded on. Don’t get me wrong, I know they are short stories but the longest story was 20 pages, the shortest around 10, and I was very eager for more!

FAV QUOTES
• “No better pair of weapons than your eyes, if you can make ‘em sharper than swords,”
• “You wouldn’t beat it – but there’s honor in that, facing a foe you’d never defeat – how else to learn the true contents of one’s heart?”
• With the city watch dissolved, Vora might have basked in a golden age, stealing as she pleased. Much to her surprise, when the only city she had ever known was taken from her, she discovered how much she loved it. Whatever she was, Zintro had made her, and now she had to repay that.
• a building was more than a vessel for the plunder it housed. It was a text to be read, a being to seduce of its secrets.
• Ahead, a lightening of shadows – a shimmer of hope.
• “Sad, that you die a hero of a world that will never know you died fighting for it.” | “I will know,” said Janza.

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I received an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review and I’d like to thank Scott Crawford, and BookSirens for the opportunity. This has not affected my opinion in any way.

“Besting the Beast and Other Fantasy Tales” is out Now