So, this is a witch-themed horror novel. (Sorry, I like to start off many of my reviews with a casually obvious statement)
Books like these generally fall into one of two categories:
1. Salem-style: The "witch" in question has no powers and is persecuted unjustly.
2. Magic-everywhere-style!: Magic is thrown around nonchalantly and there are evil forces and good forces battling each other.
Well, Slewfoot is unique in that it's a combination of the two. Brom deftly manipulates the reader's expectations, which is one of the book's strong points. Another strongpoint is a well-defined, three-dimensional, sympathetic protagonist in Abitha. One minor complaint I have is that some of the supernatural passages are overly wordy and become slightly convoluted. This happens mostly in the first act, but is cleared up by the time the action ramps up, and the ending is very satisfying.
This is my second book from Brom (first one was Lost Gods) and I think this one is an improvement.
It will be released from Tor's Nightfire line on September 14th, and would be an excellent addition to your Halloween reads this year.
Grade: B
(note: the final edition of this novel will feature original artwork from Brom, which I'm sure is great, but my digital ARC did not contain any of them)
Review by Jason Cavallaro
jcavallaro42@gmail.com
Twitter: @pinheadspawn
Books like these generally fall into one of two categories:
1. Salem-style: The "witch" in question has no powers and is persecuted unjustly.
2. Magic-everywhere-style!: Magic is thrown around nonchalantly and there are evil forces and good forces battling each other.
Well, Slewfoot is unique in that it's a combination of the two. Brom deftly manipulates the reader's expectations, which is one of the book's strong points. Another strongpoint is a well-defined, three-dimensional, sympathetic protagonist in Abitha. One minor complaint I have is that some of the supernatural passages are overly wordy and become slightly convoluted. This happens mostly in the first act, but is cleared up by the time the action ramps up, and the ending is very satisfying.This is my second book from Brom (first one was Lost Gods) and I think this one is an improvement.
It will be released from Tor's Nightfire line on September 14th, and would be an excellent addition to your Halloween reads this year.
Grade: B
(note: the final edition of this novel will feature original artwork from Brom, which I'm sure is great, but my digital ARC did not contain any of them)
Review by Jason Cavallaro
jcavallaro42@gmail.com
Twitter: @pinheadspawn
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