Gothic Reimagining of the Lord of Death
The Bride of Death
New Adult, Gothic Fairy Tale Adaptation
Northern Light Press
March 1, 2024
Kindle
401
As a young child, Zerryn grew up on tales of the Lord of Death, Erlik Khan, and his penchant for stealing wild girls. In her small village, she keeps to herself and tends to the temple gardens, spending her days with her best friend Çelik. But when Çelik begins to act strangely and removes himself to live on a crumbling estate atop Mount Ida, the rumors of him being possessed by a demon begin to swiftly arise. Each month that passes the demon within him grows stronger, his demands of the villagers growing oddly disjointed and nonsensical. Her chances of saving him become all but impossible once Zerryn learns that it is no lesser demon that has a hold of him but Erlik Khan—a demon of untold power who lords over the dead. It isn’t long before word spreads that he is in search of a bride, and creatures of untold power come before him to rule by his side. Zerryn knows that she cannot take down Erlik without power and she cannot gain power without becoming his bride. But becoming Erlik’s wife is nothing as simple as an offer for his hand. To become the queen of the Underworld, she must complete three impossible tasks or risk losing everything she holds dear.
“The villagers had always called her beautiful but strange. As if her beauty was tainted with something unnamable, twisted and crooked like a broken bone that had been set the wrong way.”
The Bride of Death is F.M. Aden’s fairytale-esque piece built around the Turkish myth of Erlik Khan, the Lord of Death and god of the Underworld. Zerryn Özdemir was encountered death as a young child and it lingered with her as she grew, not only in her two different colored eyes but in her ability to see the ghosts and spirits around her. Her oddities and frailness caused her to withdraw into herself while her family tried their best to sheild and protect her from the cruelity of others. Her only friend, Çelik, was the golden boy of the village and was loyal to Zerryn as they grew up together. Zerryn believed she was finally going to get the normal life she desired, a husband and family, until Erlik Khan himself possed Çelik. Now Zerryn will do everything she can to save him.
“She was afraid of the Underworld, of the barrenness and desolation, but she was not afraid of Death. The man in the billowing cloak with the many eyes.”
Aden has created an authentic feeling, adult, gothic fairytale with The Bride of Death. Her writing is reminiscent of the classics in its word choices, dialogue, and character attitudes. While it may seem a little different at first if you are used to reading mostly contemporary works, the farther you get into it the more accustomed or reaquainted to this traditional style of storytelling you become. Or if you have never indulged in fairytales this is your chance to get a taste of this time-tested and well-loved genre. But, while Aden adheres to many of the constructs of a fairytale she puts an interesting twist on a few of these common elements. Her incorporation of magic, three events, and a conflict that needs to be resolved is all quite standard, but her rags to riches, darkly gothic story blurs the line between good and evil with its grey characters, leaving you to wonder, until the very end, who is actually the hero and who is the villian.
“His head bent, and her palm lay on his ravaged cheek. Her sinner and supplicant. Her terror and madness. Her beautiful monster… An that, perphaps, was the crux of her problems. It was never a fear of changing him, it was a fear of him changing her.”
On the surface, The Bride of Death is about Zerryn’s quest to win the challenge put forth by the Lord of Death as a means to be chosen as his bride, and for her personally the ability to save Çelik and her village. However, it is that and so much more. It’s a layered reflection of life, love, and self-discovery. It’s an acknowledgement that where you start is not where you need to end up and that even if from the outside it looks like you don’t have what it takes to succeed, what you are on the inside is all that really matters. It’s an admonishment to choose people who see your strengths not your weaknesses and not to ever settle for normal. It’s an attestation that you “must never wait for someone to save you” but that you are actually your own greatest hero. It’s all these things, and a beautiful cover, that make The Bride of Death a book you must check out!
Tanya’s love for books has been a lifelong passion that she likes sharing with others. Reading is also the thing that relaxes her after a day of juggling the many responsibilities that come with being being wife to an amazing man, mother to four great kids spread around the world, business manager, and farm hand on their place in southwest Missouri; home to Akaushi cattle and a menagerie of pygmy goats, horses, chickens, dogs and cats.
Read the book, watched the movie, and LOVED the miniseries!!