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Where the Waters Turn Black (Yarnsworld) Kindle Edition
What lurks beneath the waves?
The Crescent Atoll is a remote string of tropical islands, connected by long canoe journeys and a love of stories. Islanders live in constant contact with gods and monsters, following the rules handed down by their storytellers to survive in harmony with these primal forces.
However, when a young ocarina player called Kaimana discovers the lair of a taniwha - a legendary monster - she attracts the ruining gaze of the god of war. In a land of sea witches, pig-faced gods, and Magpie Kings, Kaimana must trust her growing friendship with her taniwha if they are both to survive.
Where the Waters Turn Black is a standalone novel from Benedict Patrick’s Yarnsworld series. Inspired by the myths and legends of South Pacific island cultures, this book is perfect for those seeking a fantasy adventure in an unfamiliar world.
Get this book today, to discover the story that readers are calling, “dark, mysterious, and ancient!”
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateNovember 16, 2016
- File size689 KB
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See full series- Kindle Price:$14.97By placing your order, you're purchasing a license to the content and you agree to the Kindle Store Terms of Use.
- Kindle Price:$24.95By placing your order, you're purchasing a license to the content and you agree to the Kindle Store Terms of Use.
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This option includes 3 books.
This option includes 5 books.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"If you enjoy books with originality, rich culture, lighthearted adventures, and the mysteries of village folklore, then you will fall in love with this book." -RebelChristian.com
"The story is captivating. The protagonist and other characters are brave and very human. The world-building is fantastic." -Overrated Sensibilities Blog
About the Author
He has been writing for most of his life, and has been reading for prettymuch all of it (with help from mum and dad at the beginning). Benedict's life changed when a substitute primary school teacher read his classpart of The Hobbit and later loaned him the book - he fell in love with the fantasy genre and never looked back.
Receive free stories set in the world of Where the Waters Turn Black by signing up for Benedict Patrick's newsletter: eepurl.com/b4UNHj
Product details
- ASIN : B01MXIOAC5
- Publisher : Benedict Patrick
- Accessibility : Learn more
- Publication date : November 16, 2016
- Language : English
- File size : 689 KB
- Simultaneous device usage : Unlimited
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 218 pages
- Page Flip : Enabled
- Part of series : Yarnsworld
- Best Sellers Rank: #896,238 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #880 in Folklore (Kindle Store)
- #4,131 in Dragons & Mythical Creatures Fantasy (Kindle Store)
- #6,122 in Fairy Tale Fantasy (Kindle Store)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Benedict Patrick is from a small town in Northern Ireland called Banbridge, but has been living and working in Scotland since he moved there at the age of eighteen. Tragically, that was quite a while ago.
He has been writing for most of his life, and has been reading for pretty much all of it (with help from mum and dad at the beginning). Benedict's life changed when a substitute primary school teacher read his class part of The Hobbit and later loaned him the book – he fell in love with the fantasy genre and never looked back.
Try out some free Yarnsworld stories by signing up to Benedict's Readers Group: http://yarnsworldreaders.benedictpatrick.com/2
Customer reviews
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To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book's story delightful and full of adventure, with one noting how the mythology enriches the narrative. The setting receives positive feedback, with one customer describing it as a sunny archipelago, while another appreciates the Polynesian-inspired atmosphere. Customers enjoy the characters and find the writing well-executed, with one review highlighting how the author effectively captures the tone and style of folktales.
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Customers find the book delightful and full of adventure, with one customer particularly appreciating the mythology behind the story.
"Oh my this was such an enjoyable little book...." Read more
"What an enjoyable book. I enjoyed the mythology behind the story. Like so many mythological stories, this one is more fantasy but also relatable...." Read more
"...It’s from this moment onwards that the plot really tightens up and we get to see if there really is a taniwha and the author very smartly alternates..." Read more
"...The love between humans and animals in this book are so touching. Friendship bonds that cannot be broken were forged...." Read more
Customers enjoy the setting of the book, with one customer describing it as a veritable paradise with sandy beaches, while another notes its Polynesian-inspired atmosphere.
"...a very dark, spooky forest feeling, this one gave me a much sunnier, beachier… volcanoier (you’re welcome for this word) feeling...." Read more
"...I enjoyed the characters, the scene building, and the banter between some of the characters...." Read more
"I loved the setting/world, and I REALLY loved the characters. I'm buying the other books in this series asap" Read more
"...it is a veritable paradise with sandy beaches, coconut trees, tropical atmosphere and a laid back people who support themselves by fishing and other..." Read more
Customers enjoy the characters in the book.
"...The meaning come through loud and clear. I enjoyed the characters, the scene building, and the banter between some of the characters...." Read more
"I loved the setting/world, and I REALLY loved the characters. I'm buying the other books in this series asap" Read more
"...it was full of adventure, sea, mithology, interesting creatures and characters and short stories supporting the main story...." Read more
"...I also just adore the main character...." Read more
Customers praise the writing quality of the book, with one customer noting how the author skillfully alternates chapters, while another appreciates how well the tone and style of folktales are grasped.
"...The meaning come through loud and clear. I enjoyed the characters, the scene building, and the banter between some of the characters...." Read more
"...He builds up an incredible world with the flora and fauna, the sights and sounds, and the legends and the gods as we are completely submersed into a..." Read more
"...the islands were delightful and, best of all, grasped the tone and style of folktales so well...." Read more
"...Where the Waters Turn Black was enjoyable, well-written, and hard to put down. It will make you want a taniwha of your own." Read more
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2018Format: KindleVerified PurchaseOh my this was such an enjoyable little book. It’s a standalone in the Yarnsworld series, definitely, as it takes place in a very, very different part of the world that They Mostly Come Out at Night began to describe. This one takes place in The Crescent Atoll, a series of islands that is more than a little reminiscent of Polynesia. Where TMCOaN gave me a very dark, spooky forest feeling, this one gave me a much sunnier, beachier… volcanoier (you’re welcome for this word) feeling.
Kaimana is a young girl who has left her native island to join a troupe of musicians, much to the chagrin of her parents and sister, who are all fishermen. This story, as it is in the same world, has the same Knacks that the previous did. People in this world develop a Knack for things that they tend to excel in or do in their day to day life. Kaimana’s mother and sister have a Knack for finding pearls, for example, but Kaimana herself has a Knack for playing the ocarina. She’s never found the inspiration for her magnum opus, until she goes back home to perform at the harvest festival and stumbles upon the village’s new resident – a taniwha. A giant, scary monster that eats people. The taniwha notices her, and follows her to the temple of the god of war. Then, the god of war notices the taniwha. And then… well I won’t spoil it for you. Shenanigans!
I really latched on to Kaimana early on, and found myself getting legitimately angry and upset when she was treated so unfairly by her troupe, especially the flute player who was so over the top mean girl™️ that it made it so easy to dislike her and cheer for our protagonist.
The Yarnsworld books truly do read like folktales. There are interludes between chapters that tell an actual folktale about something within the same theme as the story itself. So, this one tells the story of how the god of war became the god of war, just before introducing the god of war. It’s really fantastically done.
- Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2025Format: KindleVerified PurchaseWhat an enjoyable book. I enjoyed the mythology behind the story. Like so many mythological stories, this one is more fantasy but also relatable. The meaning come through loud and clear. I enjoyed the characters, the scene building, and the banter between some of the characters. The story telling was good but not incredible like an epic novel. However, it was very much in the vein of other mythology stories such as Greek or Norse. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good legend.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2025Format: KindleVerified PurchaseI loved the setting/world, and I REALLY loved the characters. I'm buying the other books in this series asap
- Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2017Format: KindleVerified PurchaseOVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Where The Waters Turn Black by Benedict Patrick has many things going for it. It’s the winner of the best cover in the 2017 SPFBO competition as well as it’s a very unusual cross between Moana & the Brothers Grimm fairy tales. This book while being a standalone is set in the Yarnsworld setting.
I loved Benedict Patrick’s debut They Mostly Come At Night and so I was even more excited when WTWTB was in my lot. The story focusses on Pukotala and the neighboring Atoll islands as it is a veritable paradise with sandy beaches, coconut trees, tropical atmosphere and a laid back people who support themselves by fishing and other coastal activities. In this setting we meet our main character Kaimana who is incredibly talented in music or as the islanders say she has a “Knack” for music. She has spent the last three years traveling with a musical troupe across the islands and has returned to her home in Pukotala to convince her parents that this is the life she wants. Unlike leading a much simpler existence being wed to someone and living as a fisherwoman or the spouse to one.
The first line of this book is “There’s a monster in the village” and it’s from that exciting beginning we find out more about taniwhas or the term that describes the monsters (of various sizes, shapes & temperaments) across the crescent atoll islands. Kaimana tells the toddler who tells her such that there’s no taniwha haunting their village but goes to investigate nonetheless. It’s from this moment onwards that the plot really tightens up and we get to see if there really is a taniwha and the author very smartly alternates every chapter with a retelling of a legend/myth which is local to these islands. Thus the story goes forward and thematically backward as well.
Benedict Patrick is a good writer but the Yarnsworld is truly something exciting as each book has focused on a different part of the world and this story is no different. He builds up an incredible world with the flora and fauna, the sights and sounds, and the legends and the gods as we are completely submersed into a tropical setting. This experience was something that he has done admirable across all three of his Yarnsworld books (having read all three I can attest to this). This story mixes humans, gods, monsters and a whole bunch of legends, I loved this aspect of the story and there’s a couple of gods featured as side characters who might become fan favorites based on their interactions with the main characters.
Overall I would say this book can be read as a standalone but of course if you read it after They Mostly Come Out At Night, you might even see someone from that book make a cameo. Where The Waters Turn Black is a special book in a special series and you definitely need to read this magical story to inject some magic into the mundane everyday life.
- Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2019Format: KindleVerified PurchaseIt’s the second book, but completely unrelated to the first one and can be read by itself.
WTWTB is alot lighter than TMCOAT, in tone, atmosphere and actual light levels. It’s set on a sunny archipelago where we follow a young musician trying to carve out her place in the world. The entire setting is very polynesian inspired, and if, like me, the only other polynesian tale you can think of is Moana, then tough luck not picturing Kaimana exactly like her.
There’s still quite some brutal slaughter in the story, but it’s quickly followed by warm fuzzy feelings of friendship. I found WTWTB more satisfying overall, cause it’s got the sort of ending I prefer, but TMCOAT was more mysterious and atmosferic.
The MC in WTWTB, Kaimana is a musician knack, so between that and my preconceived notions, this was totally a Tim Burton Disney musical thing in my head. I find BP’s world very easy to picture and stunning. 10/10 would visit if not for all the man eating monsters.
Gods also come into in this one. I’m a huge sucker for myths turning out to be real in stories, so I’m in love.
I looked over the other reviews and I got the impression that people considered the flaws of the first book to be improved in this one, so if you’re looking for something more polished maybe start here.
Top reviews from other countries
- FreighnosReviewed in Japan on February 8, 2019
5.0 out of 5 stars Moana meets The Last Guardian
Format: KindleVerified PurchaseIf you ever wanted to read a book where Moana teams up with Trico from The Last Guardian and Squidward from Spongebob Squarepants, look no further.
In all seriousness, this is another brilliant entry in Benedict Patrick's Yarnsworld series. The Crescent Atoll is a fantastic setting. It's refreshing to see a book draw so heavily from Pacific Islands mythology and culture in a world where most fantasy sticks quite heavily to Western Europe with the occasional dab of East Asia.
This book can be read completely standalone but it has several nods to other entries in the series to reinforce the fact that this is all happening in the same world.
- A. S. BradshawReviewed in the United Kingdom on August 7, 2017
5.0 out of 5 stars A fresh story that feels familiar and takes fantasy to a new place
Format: KindleVerified PurchaseWith this book Benedict Patrick has secured himself as one of my favourite authors.
This book has a wonderful cover that ties it into the first in the Yarnsworld series but also makes it feel different. Although I know they say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, I think you can put stock in how much effort was put into the cover and here there's a lot of thought and effort on show.
The book itself follows a similar set up to They Mostly Come Out At Night in that there are miniature stories nestled in between the chapters and they are, just as before, wonderful little fairy tales that expand the world as we go.
It almost feels like a mix between the movies Moana and How to Train Your Dragon but all grown up. And I mean that in the best way; I loved both of those movies for different reasons and this book brings those reasons together. It's a fresh setting; the Crescent Atoll is not another fantasy set in a kind of medieval Europe. And the monsters in the stories are all wonderfully different and just reasonable enough to be relatable but also able to turn into the monsters from stories in an instant.
The gist of the story is that Kaimana, an ocarina player in a travelling troupe of performers, wanders off before a big performance to find a taniwha - a legendary monster. The taniwha are mythical but also part and parcel of life in the Atoll and some villages/islands live peacefully alongside taniwha if they leave them alone/offer them food every now and again. But of course, Kaimana's encounter with a taniwha doesn't end well and sets off the book's story proper.
Benedict Patrick's writing is clear, concise and pulls you in straight away. Although the setting is different to anything I've personally read before it felt familiar and comfortable almost at once. There are some lovely phrases in here which I like to have in a book and there was at least one moment where I got goosebumps.
Honestly, I love recommending Benedict Patrick's books. The stories are fresh and well told but the author presents them in a way that is familiar and comforting all at once. I very much look forward to the next one!
- Adam SparksReviewed in the United Kingdom on January 11, 2017
4.0 out of 5 stars Another great yarn!
Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseAfter the previous novel, I had high expectations for this second tale from Yarnsworld. It didn't disappoint.
Full of an eclectic cast of endearing characters, Where The Waters Turn Black focuses more prominently on interpersonal relationships than Yarnsworld's debut and does so splendidly. The relationship at the heart of the story is captivating and had me constantly intrigued as to how it would develop next, and the relationships of the leading lady and the minor characters that dealt with envy, self-belief, and disappointment were equally well executed.
All in all, Where The Waters Turn Black is a satisfying return to Yarnsworld and I can't wait to see where it goes next.
- Liam MReviewed in the United Kingdom on May 4, 2018
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful story, true tale of gods and monsters.
Format: PaperbackVerified PurchaseI bought this before finishing the previous Yarnsworld novel (They Mostly Come Out at Night) and I loved this story just as much as the first. This one is far removed from the folk lore forest from the previous book, instead taking place on an atoll in the middle of the ocean where you follow the story of a young woman who discovers a friendship with a taniwha, which are different types of monsters.
This book focuses on gods and monsters walking among humanity in this particular ring of islands, which contrasts with the previous book in that they had never heard of gods, and if they ever heard of monsters it would be in the fables and stories parents would tell their children at night. Both books are set in the same world, but they are vastly different environments, which in this case is NOT a bad thing.
Between chapters we get more stories that are told in the particular location the book takes place in, which not only expands the world even further with additional backstory, but also makes you want even more information after reading them.
I loved the story and it had twists and turns to keep me on my toes, I will definitely be picking up the third Yarnsworld novel :)
- happynikiReviewed in the United Kingdom on March 17, 2019
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic
Format: KindleVerified PurchaseCouldn’t put it down. Another beautifully written book full of realistic characters and fantastical beings. Oh and some Gods for good measure, what more could you want?