When I Arrived at The Castle

Absolutely wonderful. I only wish it was longer. It's really not that confusing and it can be made even more clear on a second read. If you like this art style and desire something that is a bit less straightforward than some 'fairy tales" then by all means add this to your collection.

Saw it recommended on Reddit, glad I picked it up - crisp storytelling, super engrossing. Not everything needs to be a multi-volume epic. One of the best things I’ve read this year.

I was so excited when this arrived! The story is very tense and doesn't reveal itself right away. I found myself thinking about the characters and how I interpreted their ending long after I turned the last page.

The artwork is surreal and grotesque, though I didn't like the aesthetic of the anthropomorphic main character. The majority of Carroll's stories tend to involve human characters who succumb to horrors unspeakable, while this story turns the tables on the antagonist and reads like the author's working through some issues. This is great for Emily Carroll, though not so much for the reader. The story doesn't end with an unknowable existential horror, or sinister conclusion, but something akin to self-empowerment. The story and art tells a very abstract tale of vampires, erotica, and death. The bold art uses black and white with flourishes of red, which unnerves through nightmarish imagery while also being gorgeous in a grotesque way. Emily Carroll is easily on par with the likes of Junji Ito in conveying a sense of creeping dread. As she evolves and grows as an artist/writer I only hope she doesn't lose what makes her work truly shine: Endings which are pitch-black and unknowable.

On top of having the level of art you'd expect from such an experienced and powerful artist, the level of layering in the story, the background details on the pages, it all comes together to make a story that's both eerie and intriguing. I enjoy especially a horror story that leaves to with puzzles to muddle over, and ideas to untangle. I also enjoy when an author writes in such a way that the second reading is entirely different from the first--that a twist makes it so you can't help yourself but have to flip back to the beginning again and experience it in a whole new, equally intriguing way

This was such a unique story, the art inside was absolutely beautiful.

A beautiful work of art, the only possible flaw would be that the story is shorter than expected. I will definitely be buying more from this artist in the future!

I love the art and style- Emily's use of color is brilliant- but the book is very short with a fairly confusing plot. The little details in the art and wording is amazing, though.

A very enjoyable macabre tale. If you have read Through the Woods, this is like one extended story from that, although it should be stated it is a rather shorter book in total. In other words, it reads like a macabre fairy tale where art and writing intertwine to create on long art-gallery-of-a-story. The ending is a little confusing, but I think that is supposed to be part of the magic. Looking forward to seeing what Carroll does next!

the cover and the art is so beautiful.

This is a fantastic short story, with beautiful start b&w & red artwork. It's deeply unsettlingly, and the pacing is excellent. One of the better spooky stories I've read in years.

Bought after reading and adoring A Guest In The House. It's a very short read, but it feels so nice to own the whole book. It's good quality, physically, and the kind of story I'm now raving about to all the women I know that will listen.

A few years ago, purely by accident, I stumbled across a book by Emily Carroll called "Through the Woods." I read it on the New Year's Eve night, just before going to sleep. And I still remember the pain of the large graze I discovered the next morning, at the base of my spine. I'm not sure what, exactly filled my dreams that night, but I also remember waking during the night, and finding myself on the floor, by my bed. Something clearly spooked me, and I think why the book had such a powerful effect on me was partly because it was illustrated; the addition of Carroll's illustrations to the stories gave the tales she told something more; it made them more visceral, in a way. Since then, I have longed for her to release another collection. So, when I found that she had released "When I Arrived at the Castle," I eagerly ordered it. Well, this time, I have read it during daylight hours! In some ways, I'm not quite sure what I have read. The tale is a strange one, to be sure. There seems to be a woman, who lives in a castle, and there is a female cat, who walks on hind legs, and goes to the castle with the intention to spill blood. For this volume, the colour palette is simple black, white, with splashes of red. As ever, the illustrations are beautiful, and sometimes nightmarish. Just as I remember with "Through the Woods," the tales are sparse from prose. You are given some details, but you have a sense that you are not being told everything. This means that, when you finish the book, you may have more questions than when you started. But, it is certainly a tale that stays with you.