2021/029: Rawblood -- Catriona Ward

2021/029: Rawblood -- Catriona Ward

To see her is to know the vast terror that lies outside the circle of firelight, beyond man’s ideas. The curtain has been torn back, to reveal the gaping chasm in the world. Nothing endures. All is blackness. Horror. We are falling through the dark. We never cease. We never land. We drift in the endless void, suffering. There is no morning light. [loc. 2626]

Rawblood, Iris Villarca's sprawling ancestral home, has stood for centuries on Dartmoor. The house's name means 'the house by the bridge over flowing water': it's not nearly as gruesome or gory as it sounds. The Villarcas are bound to Rawblood, and vice versa. Iris' father tells her that Rawblood is 'written into' the Villarcas, as is a mysterious disease which he calls 'horror autotoxicus'. To avoid this disease, Iris must not have friends, or go among many people. She must live quietly and avoid strong feelings, to protect herself and those around her.( mild spoilers )