BOOK REVIEW: THE BALANCE BY ​KEV HARRISON

Convincing reimagining of a Slavic myth set in Cold War Poland
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The character of Baba Yaga pops up here and there in dark fiction and the fascinating thing about this popular figure from Slavic folktales is that she is never quite presented in the same way. Not long ago I came across her in Michael Thomas Ford’s superb Lily and there were also aspects of her in Sophie Anderson’s recent prize-winning kid’s novel The House with Chicken Legs. In Kev Harrison’s version the ancient witch morphs once again in this clever and very readable (almost) modern reimagining.
 
Neither the Ford or the Harrison novels of the books are specifically about Baba Yaga, rather they are stories which are built around her often changeable aura and mystique. Perhaps this is an old folk tale ripe for more extensive rediscovery in modern horror? Kev Harrison certainly believes so, on the excellent This Is Horror website, where he is a regular contributor, he noted: “I believe that there is space in the world for more of the folklore of Slavic nations such as Poland, where my book is set, especially in the horror and dark fantasy genres.” I had previously read Harrison’s entertaining haunted house (long) short story, Warding, and it is always good to see authors produce new stuff, taking their writing down fresh avenues.
 
The best novellas are short-term fixes and The Balance certainly met that criteria, as I sped through it in two one-hour sittings. If you are after an entertaining well-crafted story, with a believable and unique setting, with convincing characters this is well worth a closer look. I particularly enjoyed the vagueness of the setting, which was probably Cold War Poland, with the slow drip of clues edging it towards the fifties. It was hard to tell, but the realistic village and forest setting only added to the atmosphere and at times you could be forgiven for thinking it was set two hundred years earlier. Indeed, there is a scene where for a brief moment the reader believes a woman might be killed for being a witch (remember, this is the fifties not the Dark Ages) with the story being peppered with the clash of the ‘old versus the new’ with superstition trumping technology, which is barely mentioned in the story except for a broken transistor radio. 
 
The Balance opens with sixteen-year-old Natalia bringing her ten-year-old brother Kuba home after a serious accident in which he fell from a tree breaking his leg. The injury is very serious, and the bone is jutting from the wound, there are no antibiotics and the local doctor is fearful the boy may lose his leg from infection. A lot of the story is built around the convincing family dynamics of the two children and their mother, who blames her daughter for not watching Kuba properly when he was fooling around in the tree. Neither is ‘Catholic guilt’ far away as the mother, who is very quick to cast stones, interested in forgiving Natalia who is distraught after the accident and already blames herself. Interestingly, we never see the incident, so are never truly sure whether any stones should be cast at all, or whether the brother was just clumsy.
 
Natalia was a very sympathetic leading character and cannot stand the thought of her brother losing his leg to infection, so she heads off into the woods to find the old lady she has heard others visit when the doctor or priest cannot help. She will do anything to aid her brother, but if the old woman can help, what is her price? To avoid spoilers, I do not want to say too much more about the plot, it has excellent pace throughout and towards the end I was fairly sure how it was going to finish, but it had an extra sting in the tale I could have kicked myself for not thinking of earlier. Other characters are introduced in the second half and Natalia finds herself presented with the most horrible of choices and if you did not already feel for her, you certainly will at this point.
 
‘The balance’ of the title refers to the background theme which permeates throughout the story regarding the balance between nature and religion, but you could also throw science into the mix, and the fear than comes through a lack of education or accepting only one way of life. The Balance also has some excellent set pieces built around these concepts including a church being completely infested with insects and vermin, and another at Baba Yaga’s cottage where she makes her stand.
 
The quality of novellas currently being produced in the world of dark fiction never ceases to amaze me and we are genuinely living in a new golden age in which there is so much to choose from readers are spoilt for choice. Kev Harrison’s The Balance is another fine addition to that ever-growing pile and was exceptionally good company for a couple of hours.
 
4/5
 
Tony Jones
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​THE BALANCE  BY KEV HARRISON 

When myth becomes nightmare … The price of blood is always blood.

Natalia’s in trouble. She only looked away for a second, and now her brother’s hurt. Her relationship with her mother is fractured, her brother’s condition is deteriorating, and her only hope lays deep in the unforgiving forest. A secret spoken only in whispers offers a way out. But when help comes in occult forms a sacrifice may be the only way to restore the balance.

Humanity and nature collide in The Balance by Kev Harrison, a modern reimagining of the Slavic folk tale of Baba Yaga, set in Cold War Poland.

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