Title: CabbageAuthor: C.S. Fritz
First Published: October 11, 2023
Publisher: Albatross Book Co
Pages: 56
Genre: Dark Fantasy, Horror, Short Stories
Format: Ebook
Source: NetGalley
Rating:
"Does the seed know it must die?"
One of Rosemary's final requests of her husband was to create the garden of her dreams. A place where she could live the remainder of her days in peace. A place that will remind her of her best moments and memories long past. Thomas toils day and night to complete it, but in a moment of carelessness in the cabbage patch, he unknowingly rips the veil between the natural and unnatural. What was meant to be a gift rapidly blossoms into an overwhelming curse-one that unleashes a cornucopia of dread, tension, and fraught.
In this short story, C.S. Fritz carries the reader into the dark powers of unresolved resentment, lore, and where hope becomes horror.
Strange and fantastical, Cabbage feels like a dark fairy tale bursting with magic. An old man lovingly plants a dream garden for his ailing wife, but the garden becomes something else, something corrupted and wholly unnatural, a force of nature exposing the rot within the marriage.
Illustrations and poetry are peppered in between chapters and it kept the story moving at a fast pace. I really enjoyed the bizarre art, it was beautiful and creepy. The author also thoughtfully included a playlist to listen to while reading which was great for setting the mood. This was a wonderful folk horror piece that kept me wondering where the story could possibly go.
“Does the seed know that it must die, so that greater life will live on?”
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About C.S. Fritz
Casey “C.S.” Fritz grew up on a farm in Oregon, where he milked cows and had a pet pig. To escape the endless chores of cleaning chicken coops and watering tomatoes…Casey would draw.
As a young child, Casey’s family moved to Arizona. It was there beneath the fiery gaze of the Southwestern sun, that he spent most of his life. Graduating school, marrying the love of his life and having two wild kids. It was also there that C.S. Fritz’s work began to take traction with local galleries and art publications.
Most currently, Casey has worked with several publishing houses and editorials such as…Christianity Today, David C. Cook, Tyndale and Navpress.