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sarabara's review
2.0
Well, that was unpleasant to read. While it is well-written, much of it reads like torture porn. Is your life not hard enough? Do you want to suffer more? Read this book.
As a woman, I've lived through this kind of shit: the misogyny, sexism, self righteousness from religious bigots, the powerlessness to fight against well-funded powerful men making laws that take away our agency, our dignity, and our choices. I don't need a detailed play-by-play where every single awful thing done to the female protagonist is laid out in excruciating detail.
Did this have some fun creepy folklore and witchy themes? You bet. But if you want to read about badass witches dealing with these same themes, read Alix Harrow's "The Once and Future Witches". In her hands, the story doesn't feel like you're forced to relive all your trauma.
This book made me angry. You don't get to profit off the horrors inflicted on women for millenia by your own fucking gender and not be held to the highest standard.
The icing on this shit cake was the fact that the comeuppance was just okay. If you, the author, are going to torture us for 100 pages with the most horrific shit men and religious zealots can and will do to women, the comeuppance better be fucking spectacular. It was...fine. Had I not lived through 100 pages of torture porn, it might have been satisfactory. But that was not the case.
You might be thinking, but this is a horror novel, it's supposed to give you all of the ragey feels. I'd argue that you can do that without exploiting women's suffering in such a way that makes it feel like you're reliving the shit we undergo to this day. You want to read a good horror that doesn't exploit women's suffering, read T Kingfisher's "The Hollow Places" or "The Twisted Ones". Or watch "Fresh" on Hulu. In the hands of women creators, these stories tend to not feel like trauma porn. And there are male authors that are doing it well, too. Nat Cassidy's, "Mary: an Awakening of Terror" is absolutely spectacular. Seriously, go read it.
In summation, I do not trust this author with my limited free time. There are too many good stories and authors to waste another moment suffering through my literature.
As a woman, I've lived through this kind of shit: the misogyny, sexism, self righteousness from religious bigots, the powerlessness to fight against well-funded powerful men making laws that take away our agency, our dignity, and our choices. I don't need a detailed play-by-play where every single awful thing done to the female protagonist is laid out in excruciating detail.
Did this have some fun creepy folklore and witchy themes? You bet. But if you want to read about badass witches dealing with these same themes, read Alix Harrow's "The Once and Future Witches". In her hands, the story doesn't feel like you're forced to relive all your trauma.
This book made me angry. You don't get to profit off the horrors inflicted on women for millenia by your own fucking gender and not be held to the highest standard.
The icing on this shit cake was the fact that the comeuppance was just okay. If you, the author, are going to torture us for 100 pages with the most horrific shit men and religious zealots can and will do to women, the comeuppance better be fucking spectacular. It was...fine. Had I not lived through 100 pages of torture porn, it might have been satisfactory. But that was not the case.
You might be thinking, but this is a horror novel, it's supposed to give you all of the ragey feels. I'd argue that you can do that without exploiting women's suffering in such a way that makes it feel like you're reliving the shit we undergo to this day. You want to read a good horror that doesn't exploit women's suffering, read T Kingfisher's "The Hollow Places" or "The Twisted Ones". Or watch "Fresh" on Hulu. In the hands of women creators, these stories tend to not feel like trauma porn. And there are male authors that are doing it well, too. Nat Cassidy's, "Mary: an Awakening of Terror" is absolutely spectacular. Seriously, go read it.
In summation, I do not trust this author with my limited free time. There are too many good stories and authors to waste another moment suffering through my literature.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Violence, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Gore, and Blood
illtakethenightshiftx's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book was high on my tbr and I was excited to read it but it ended up being a letdown for me. The plot was a little predictable (which is fine - there are a finite number of ways to tell a 1660s ‘witch trial’ kind of story) but the subplot with the Pequot people being the ultimate impetus for some events taking place reeeeeally rubbed me the wrong way because they’re clearly not the villains in this story. At one point, the character narratives diverge and they felt extremely fragmented and like I was reading 2 different books, even through to the end when the narratives come back together.
That said, I loved how descriptive the author was and parts of this filled me with dread while waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Good for her, I guess?
ORIGINAL: Super interesting concept, loved the vibes, but I just wasn’t in the mood :/
Also, couldn’t renew it :/
That said, I loved how descriptive the author was and parts of this filled me with dread while waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Good for her, I guess?
ORIGINAL: Super interesting concept, loved the vibes, but I just wasn’t in the mood :/
Also, couldn’t renew it :/
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Racism, Sexism, Religious bigotry, and Colonisation
Minor: Misogyny
ghoulishguppyreads's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book was great, a story following a woman with all the odds stacked against her as a convert by marriage into a very religious town. As the town begins to vilify her she goes to prove herself independent and innocent. Great telling of a character that was layered and loveable, best way to describe this book would be a cousin to the movie The VVitch in themes as well as setting but it’s enough of its own to be a fresh engaging story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail
storyorc's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
As should be expected from an author famous for their classic D&D art, the writing is very visual. It paints a clear picture of everything from honey to torture. The creature design is also wonderfully creepy. Brom's website includes art of his monstrous 'wildfolk' too - my favourite is the fish with the face of a child between its teeth.
The plot owes its bite to its human villain, Wallace. It was such a delight to hate that man that I had no choice but to root for Abitha. However, I was surprised to see 50% of the book remaining at the point I felt ready to round up.
Without a Wallace for the half of the plot surrounding 'Slewfoot's' identity crisis, it dragged. It also reminded me how horror films lose something when you see the whole monster. Perhaps that half would have felt more vital if it also involved Abitha (by some Pequot heritage? Since theyplay a big role in the mystery of Samson ). As it was, I was checked out by the time the climactic revenge fantasy hit.
Still, this book does deliver well on both the chills and Good For Her/Support Women's Wrongs fronts. (Although, if ever there were a time formonsterfucking , surely this is it? You can't tell me there's not a draft out there somewhere with it.)
The plot owes its bite to its human villain, Wallace. It was such a delight to hate that man that I had no choice but to root for Abitha. However, I was surprised to see 50% of the book remaining at the point I felt ready to round up.
Without a Wallace for the half of the plot surrounding 'Slewfoot's' identity crisis, it dragged. It also reminded me how horror films lose something when you see the whole monster. Perhaps that half would have felt more vital if it also involved Abitha (by some Pequot heritage? Since they
Still, this book does deliver well on both the chills and Good For Her/Support Women's Wrongs fronts. (Although, if ever there were a time for
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Blood, and Colonisation
The book does not condone the subjects of these content warnings, though there may still be some room for improvement with the portrayal of natives.opossumble's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation
litematcha's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I heard Slewfoot being recommended as a good representation of how cunning women/folk magic practitioners blended Christianity and pagan practices. Also, the ways folk healers were subjected to abuse by Christian colonialists. While this book does have lots of subtle folk magic, Slewfoot is more so a historical, dark fantasy of the horror of living as an widowed, outsider, young woman in a Puritan village. The magical worldbuilding pulls from several different cultures which may not agree with readers who want a heavily realistic portrayal of the Puritan lifestyle and time period. I suggest prospective readers take the time to look at the content warnings to better understand the story they will be reading.
I was surprised by the StoryGraph community’s medium-paced description of Slewfoot. I find Brom’s writing style to be slow, sometimes even coming off as repetitive. I listened to the audiobook edition, and the performance was amazing! The audiobook narrator did an excellent job of creating distinctive voices for each character. The only thing I didn’t like about the audiobook was the length: an average of 14 hours. Most often, I listen to audiobooks around the 7-8 hour mark, so this title was a personal challenge. Even so, I couldn’t put this book down!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Sexism, Torture, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Ableism
People with trypophobia may be squicked out by several scenesdirectorpurry's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racism and Colonisation
Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Death of parent
kpem's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I really enjoyed this book. It was creepy and scary and infuriating, but it was fun to read a horror book where you were rooting for the monsters.
I know that the author spoke with members of the Pequot community about this book, but I found the representation of indigenous people in the book to be poor. The few Pequot characters who spend any meaningful time on the page are shady criminals for hire or villains. At the beginning of the book, I thought that it was heading toward a storyline that would celebrate indigenous beliefs and folk tales over puritanical practices and bigotry. I was disappointed that it didn't end up going in that direction or, in fact, include indigenous people in the meat of the novel. I have read that the book was inspired by indigenous folk tales, but that just feels appropriative considering that the only character who benefits from the folk tale-inspired elements in the plot is one white woman. While it was satisfying to see the misogynist, racist, controlling community ultimately suffer in the end, it lacked something because of the way it failed to meaningfully address or place value upon indigenous peoples, even once lumping them in with white colonists/all of humanity as harmful to nature. I would have given this book a four but am bumping it down to 2 for its poor indigenous representation.
I know that the author spoke with members of the Pequot community about this book, but I found the representation of indigenous people in the book to be poor. The few Pequot characters who spend any meaningful time on the page are shady criminals for hire or villains. At the beginning of the book, I thought that it was heading toward a storyline that would celebrate indigenous beliefs and folk tales over puritanical practices and bigotry. I was disappointed that it didn't end up going in that direction or, in fact, include indigenous people in the meat of the novel. I have read that the book was inspired by indigenous folk tales, but that just feels appropriative considering that the only character who benefits from the folk tale-inspired elements in the plot is one white woman.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death
marcellemml's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Eu não sei o que falar, só sentir, e os sentimentos são: amor pela Abitha, Samsom e seus aliados, e ódio por todo o resto. Tem duas pequenas coisas que me incomodaram um pouco, achei os xingamentos meio contemporâneos demais e a Abitha aceita rápido o pacto final com o Samsom, não foi tão bem construído assim . O resultado final seria aquele, mas uns 3 parágrafos de construção ajudariam. Mesmo assim, 5 estrelas por ter apresentado uma personagem tão incrível quanto a Abitha. Ela é sensata, decidida, batalhadora, e mesmo sendo religiosa, não entra na visão extremista da religião. Infelizmente, por mais que tenham bons seguidores de religião no livro, no geral, só foi mais um reforço pra minha convicção de que religião e comportamento de manada são atrasos para a humanidade. Tudo bem que a intenção do autor é mostrar que não há seres 100% bons ou maus (tirando o Wallace e o Ansel, morram, pragas), mas metade dos problemas do livro seriam resolvidos se os personagens não fossem Puritanos (passando todos os panos pro Samsom).
Esse foi o primeiro livro que li do autor, e gostei da forma como ele construiu a história. Tudo começa simples, mas à medida que a trama avança, os temas de fantasia/folk e horror/crueldade (tem descrições de tortura e morte de animal) vão se intensificando gradualmente. Mas a melhor parte é mesmo Abitha e Samsom, tanto isoladamente quanto a relação de companheirismo deles. Os dois estavam perdidos, ela, sem saber como conseguiria fazer o que era o certo, e ele, sem saber quem era e seu propósito. Os dois se encontram, e ao se ajudarem, não apenas conseguem respostas, como conseguem suporte e acolhimento, algo que não tinham.
Pra quem apoia os direitos e os erros das mulheres, quer terminar o livro pensando "que bom pra ela", recomendo demais essa leitura. Dizem que vale a pena ouvir o audiobook, e estou considerando.
Esse foi o primeiro livro que li do autor, e gostei da forma como ele construiu a história. Tudo começa simples, mas à medida que a trama avança, os temas de fantasia/folk e horror/crueldade (tem descrições de tortura e morte de animal) vão se intensificando gradualmente. Mas a melhor parte é mesmo Abitha e Samsom, tanto isoladamente quanto a relação de companheirismo deles. Os dois estavam perdidos, ela, sem saber como conseguiria fazer o que era o certo, e ele, sem saber quem era e seu propósito. Os dois se encontram, e ao se ajudarem, não apenas conseguem respostas, como conseguem suporte e acolhimento, algo que não tinham.
Pra quem apoia os direitos e os erros das mulheres, quer terminar o livro pensando "que bom pra ela", recomendo demais essa leitura. Dizem que vale a pena ouvir o audiobook, e estou considerando.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death
ohwildes's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I'm conflicted, while it was atmospheric and I think mostly well written the story did drag a little. There are a few questionable things within the plot about native culture and peoples that left a bad taste in my mouth. It also has my most hated content warning which made me deduct stars. Over all I guess I'm a bit disapointed not to love this as much as everyone else seemed to.Especially as I had very high hopes and had to pay extra to get it delivered to my country. Beautiful artwork though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail