I obtained a overview copy from the writer. This doesn’t have an effect on the contents of my overview and all opinions are my very own.

Useless Weight by Hildur Knútsdóttir

Mogsy’s Score: 3 of 5 stars

Style: Horror

Sequence: Stand Alone

Writer: Nightfire (Might 26, 2026)

Size: 160 pages

Creator Data: Web site

After having fun with The Evening Visitor, I used to be fairly curious to see what Hildur Knútsdóttir would do subsequent, particularly since her model appears tailored for bizarre little psychological horror novellas. Sadly, Useless Weight ended up being a little bit of a letdown. First off, I don’t assume it was marketed accurately. Whereas it’s pubbed by a horror imprint, I agree with plenty of different reviewers who felt this didn’t really feel like horror. For me, it was barely even a thriller. Possibly a low-key suspense story could be extra correct? And but, the stress hardly builds. As a substitute, the ebook largely drifted alongside in a type of muted haze earlier than arriving at a unusually underwhelming ending.

The story follows Unnur, a lonely and emotionally indifferent lady dwelling a quiet, remoted life in Reykjavík, when a black cat out of the blue begins displaying up in her house uninvited. Attempting to do the accountable factor, she tracks down the cat’s proprietor, a younger lady named Ásta, who arrives wanting visibly flustered and greater than a bit unsettled when she comes to gather her pet. It shortly turns into clear that Ásta is coping with severe issues of her personal, although Unnur initially desires no half in getting concerned. Nonetheless, the cat, Io, retains returning to her house, virtually as if it has chosen Unnur for itself. Earlier than lengthy, the scenario turns into even more durable to disregard when Io unexpectedly offers delivery to a kitten in Unnur’s mattress.

Distraught over transferring the mom and new child, Ásta convinces Unnur to let Io keep quickly in order that the kitten might be raised in a protected and steady surroundings. Ásta admits that her own residence doesn’t have that type of safety proper now, although she guarantees to cease by repeatedly to assist look after the cats. Reluctantly, Unnur agrees, and what begins as a clumsy association slowly develops into an uneasy friendship between the 2 girls. As they spend extra time collectively, the story begins exploring their private lives, their loneliness, their unhealthy relationships, and the issues they’ve quietly satisfied themselves to tolerate. Beneath the floor, a rising unhappiness hangs over each girls, tied up within the emotional weight of the alternatives they preserve making.

To be honest, the setup itself isn’t dangerous in any respect. I did discover myself drawn to the ambiance and to Unnur’s character at first. Whereas Knútsdóttir’s writing model is admittedly a bit inflexible and aloof, I can’t assist however surprise if a number of the authentic prose’s texture and nuance may need been misplaced in translation. Regardless, it really works surprisingly nicely for a narrative constructed round individuals navigating emotional scars or coping with hardship. There’s a quiet strangeness to the novella that saved me studying, particularly within the opening chapters, the place simply sufficient intrigue is established to carry your consideration and carry you ahead.

However the additional I received, the extra I discovered myself wanting from the story, which turned an issue when the ebook by no means actually delivered what I hoped it might. Regardless of delving fairly intimately into each Unnur and Ásta’s lives, Useless Weight by no means fairly develops the momentum or depth required to make their relationship really feel totally realized, which made the making certain crux of the novella really feel much less vital than it ought to have. I didn’t really feel a lot urgency or escalation, even when darker parts began unfolding. The whole lot felt oddly distant and rote. Fairly actually, the cats ended up being essentially the most compelling a part of the entire ebook. Between Io and her kitten, there have been genuinely extra cute moments than tense ones (which isn’t essentially a nasty factor, I suppose).

The largest subject for me, although, was the dearth of payoff. The novella spends its complete runtime hinting at one thing extra, however when it lastly arrives, it barely seems like a climax in any respect. To be honest, I’d simply be used to studying extra intense horror and thriller, thus making this really feel far more refined and tame. Even so, I had anticipated extra affect to justify all of the buildup. I don’t assume the quick size was the difficulty both, as a result of the ending itself feels abrupt in a manner that doesn’t make the ebook really feel full. It simply type of stops, and I used to be left questioning, past the plain metaphor of ridding your self of life’s burdensome liabilities, what was the purpose?

Nonetheless, I can’t say I disliked Useless Weight. A bite-sized novella, it’s a simple sufficient learn and it labored completely nicely as a palate cleanser for me between heavier books. Though it was mildly irritating as a result of I needed extra, it nonetheless works as a good diversion for a day.