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Curiosities of the Eldritch · Book 1

The First Glimpse

by K.W. Bussard
3.5
· 2 reviews 2 shelved
Fantasy

Oh hello, dear customer… The shop has chosen you.

When young Corin stumbles into a shop that shouldn’t exist—tucked in a forgotten alley of Arden’s Wake—he’s seeking an escape from grief, from nightmares, from the ghost of a dream he once held dear. What he finds instead is a relic: a bookmark that doesn’t mark pages, but portals.

Drawn into a vast, timeless library that bends reality itself, Corin must face riddles, memories, and challenges crafted from the threads of fate itself. Each step forces him to confront what he fears most—not monsters, but truth.

The First Glimpse is the debut novella in the Curiosities of the Eldritch series—a dark fantasy journey for fans of shadowed magic, mysterious artifacts, and stories that whisper long after the final page. If you crave supernatural intrigue with emotional depth and eerie wonder, your invitation has arrived.

The shop is open. Will you uncover what you seek… or something you never expected?

Read the review by J.Z. Pitts!

Format
Ebook, Audiobook, Paperback
Published
Jun 2025
Pages
118
Language
EN

Content rating

Author-supplied. Hover a meter for the rubric.

Language
0/4

None

Violence
0/4

None

Romance / Sex
0/4

None

Biblical Themes
0/4

None

Vibe & themes

What this book is like. Log in to confirm these or flag ones that don’t fit.

Tone

Dark
Epic
Cozy

Themes

Redemption

Point-of-View

1st person past
3rd omniscient

Tropes

Character-driven

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Reader reviews

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3.5
2 reviews
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P

P.R. Infidel

Sep 20, 2026

Paperback

Fun, reflective Fantasy

This contemplative fantasy reads like an introspective fever dream. It fearlessly contemplates the themes of loss, regret, survivors guilt, and then randomly crowns it with elf ears. The author's writing style also makes this an enjoyable read. It is unique, descriptive and even somewhat poetic. My only gripe is that the style and theme would fit with a longer style novel, but this complaint is minor and doesn't detract from the enjoyability of this quaint novella. If you're looking for a quick and enjoyable read with an unexpected layer of depth, then this is it!

Ebook

Abstract

I spent some time pondering this story after I read it. My opinion is mixed and I wonder if partly I'm just not used to some newer writing styles. This story shifted from first person (the shopkeeper) and third, and by the end I had decided the intention was that we were always from the Shopkeeper's perspective viewing the dwarf Corin. Beyond that, this story was highly abstract and introspective. With minor details that could be explained by saying 'it's just magic or part of his mind' but irked me all the same... such as a river splitting into streams (rivers don't split, streams merge into rivers), and splitting a mountain in half for a road. But I think this was all intended to be representations of inner struggles more than anything. Overall the concept of this story and its writing was well done. It didn't quite land for me, but I would be interested in giving this author another try.

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