A Botanical Daughter, Noah Medlock
A Botanical Daughter, Noah Medlock
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

A Botanical Daughter

Author: Noah Medlock

Narrator: Keval Shah

Unabridged: 11 hr 41 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 04/16/2024

Categories: Fiction, Lgbtq+, Horror


Synopsis

It is an unusual thing, to live in a botanical garden. But Simon and Gregor are an unusual pair of gentlemen. Hidden away in their glass sanctuary from the disapproving tattle of Victorian London, they are free to follow their own interests without interference. For Simon, this means long hours in the dark basement workshop, working his taxidermical art. Gregor's business is exotic plants—lucrative, but harmless enough. Until his latest acquisition, a strange fungus which shows signs of intellect beyond any plant he's seen, inspires him to attempt a masterwork: true intelligent life from plant matter.

Driven by the glory he'll earn from the Royal Horticultural Society for such an achievement, Gregor ignores the flaws in his plan: that intelligence cannot be controlled; that plants cannot be reasoned with; and that the only way his plant-beast will flourish is if he uses a recently deceased corpse for the substrate.

The experiment—or Chloe, as she is named—outstrips even Gregor's expectations, entangling their strange household. But as Gregor's experiment flourishes, he wilts under the cost of keeping it hidden from jealous eyes. The mycelium grows apace in this sultry greenhouse. But who is cultivating whom?

About Noah Medlock

Noah Medlock is a novelist and theatre musician living in York, United Kingdom. He writes vivid and off-beat stories which sit somewhere between horror, fantasy, and historical. Noah plays piano and trombone for shows and teaches singing and performing arts in York. A passionate devotee of all musical theatre, but especially Stephen Sondheim, Noah is the kind of person who will happily start crying at the overture. He once worked as a horticultural advisor at a garden center, which inspired the completion of his debut mycelial horror novel A Botanical Daughter.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Anniek on March 14, 2024

Sometimes a family is a botanist gay dad, a taxidermist gay dad, their housekeeper, and their monstrous plant daughter. I'm very specific in my horror reading tastes, and this hit the spot for all of them. I would describe this as a cosy horror. Even though it's unsettling, it's also filled with so m......more

Goodreads review by Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) on May 04, 2024

3.0 Stars Video Review [URL not allowed] I enjoy queer horror and plant horror so was quite excited for this premise. This one is quite slow and character focused. I don't mind these things if done right, but I did struggle at times with this one. I love the representation of queer characte......more

Goodreads review by Gabriel on May 22, 2024

I was hyped to read this book for ages. The cover is gorgeous, and the blurb has everything I like: gothic horror, the Victorian era, gay people, and spooky plants. Unfortunately, this ended up a classic case of fantastic premise/terrible execution. The book's first major issue was its narrative voi......more

Goodreads review by WickedReading on August 08, 2024

4.5 I ended up enjoying this so much more than I thought. The writing was great and really leaned into the victorian era of the story. I found the characters to be so dynamic and dimensional with some quirks and faults that made them feel more real. The imagery was so well described. I smiled and lau......more

Goodreads review by Mel (Epic Reading) on June 08, 2024

The first three quarters of The Botanical Daughter is beautifully written with a rich gothic feel. We meet our closeted gay men and feel the sorrow at how close a secret their relationship must be kept. As we progress into getting to know our other main character, and leading lady, we realize she to......more