A Season of Monstrous Conceptions

[psocoptera]

A Season of Monstrous Conceptions, Lina Rather, 2023 novella. There is a lot going on here - midwives in post-Great Fire London! midwives who are witches! babies being born with uncanny features! Christopher Wren! lesbians! magical cosmology! visible difference vs hidden difference! the restoration of the monarchy and the rise of science as fashionable! And by the end it mostly all came together, although honestly I spent a lot of the book feeling like it wasn't. Rather does a good job with historical details, and I thought it was a neat historical moment to set such a story. The central premise felt a bit contrived but the costume drama horror/fantasy vibes were good. I sort of had to play it as a movie in my head and let the visuals and emotions sell me on it.