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dantastic's review
4.0
Joe Hark is the Night Marshal of Pitchfork County, a rural area of Missouri plagued by meth and monsters. When someone crucifies a mutilated girl in a church, Joe finds himself balls deep in a mess involving drugs, demonic forces, and dark gods.
Sam Witt wrote [b:The Astromundi Cluster|737337|The Astromundi Cluster (Spelljammer Game Accessory 1087)|Sam Witt|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1177866557s/737337.jpg|723516], a Spelljammer supplement I should get around to writing a review for one of these days. On a whim, I wanted to see what else he wrote and this popped up, for free no less. I've long thought rural fantasy had untapped potential as a genre and I was right in this case.
The lazy way to describe Half-Made Girls is The Dresden Files meets Winter's Bone. There's a lot more grit and a lot more gore than the Dresden files and I don't get the feeling the Night Marshall is working with a safety net like I do with Harry Dresden. The Night Marshall isn't an overly glib white knight, either. He's the guy that gets his hands dirty and does what needs to be done when someone walks the Left Hand Path of dark sorcery.
Set in Pitchfork County, Missouri, a dirt poor place where being a meth dealer is one of the only forms of employment, Half-Made Girls is a tale of dark forces that threaten to consume the earth and the one man that can stop them, the Night Marshall, Joe Hark. Now if he could just put aside his alcohol problem and the curse that has forced a wedge between his family and himself....
Joe Hark is more Roland the Gunslinger than Harry Dresden, a hard man that's been to hell and back a dozen times. When meth head cultist stir up some serious shit, The Night Marshall is forced to do some things he doesn't want to do and question his beliefs and methods in order to set things right. Heavy shit.
As befits the situation, the violence is stark and brutal and no one is making half-assed quips or tired Star Wars references. Even though I knew it was the first book in a series, I felt like all bets were off and I could be reading about a new Night Marshall in the second book.
There's a real sense of place to the book. Sam Witt paints a vivid picture of life in the Ozarks. When he's not painting it in blood and gore, anyway.
Sam Witt is also a much better writer than I thought he'd be. He knows how to write suspense and the dialogue is spot on. Also, he writes things like this: It looked like a bathroom at Hogwarts after a week long meth binge.
Half-Made Girls is a gripping, sometimes gut-wrenching read, so much more than the urban fantasy fluff I was afraid it was going to be. It actually has more in common with Brian Keene's [b:Ghost Walk|2918324|Ghost Walk|Brian Keene|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348536019s/2918324.jpg|2945551]. Four out of five stars.
Sam Witt wrote [b:The Astromundi Cluster|737337|The Astromundi Cluster (Spelljammer Game Accessory 1087)|Sam Witt|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1177866557s/737337.jpg|723516], a Spelljammer supplement I should get around to writing a review for one of these days. On a whim, I wanted to see what else he wrote and this popped up, for free no less. I've long thought rural fantasy had untapped potential as a genre and I was right in this case.
The lazy way to describe Half-Made Girls is The Dresden Files meets Winter's Bone. There's a lot more grit and a lot more gore than the Dresden files and I don't get the feeling the Night Marshall is working with a safety net like I do with Harry Dresden. The Night Marshall isn't an overly glib white knight, either. He's the guy that gets his hands dirty and does what needs to be done when someone walks the Left Hand Path of dark sorcery.
Set in Pitchfork County, Missouri, a dirt poor place where being a meth dealer is one of the only forms of employment, Half-Made Girls is a tale of dark forces that threaten to consume the earth and the one man that can stop them, the Night Marshall, Joe Hark. Now if he could just put aside his alcohol problem and the curse that has forced a wedge between his family and himself....
Joe Hark is more Roland the Gunslinger than Harry Dresden, a hard man that's been to hell and back a dozen times. When meth head cultist stir up some serious shit, The Night Marshall is forced to do some things he doesn't want to do and question his beliefs and methods in order to set things right. Heavy shit.
As befits the situation, the violence is stark and brutal and no one is making half-assed quips or tired Star Wars references. Even though I knew it was the first book in a series, I felt like all bets were off and I could be reading about a new Night Marshall in the second book.
There's a real sense of place to the book. Sam Witt paints a vivid picture of life in the Ozarks. When he's not painting it in blood and gore, anyway.
Sam Witt is also a much better writer than I thought he'd be. He knows how to write suspense and the dialogue is spot on. Also, he writes things like this: It looked like a bathroom at Hogwarts after a week long meth binge.
Half-Made Girls is a gripping, sometimes gut-wrenching read, so much more than the urban fantasy fluff I was afraid it was going to be. It actually has more in common with Brian Keene's [b:Ghost Walk|2918324|Ghost Walk|Brian Keene|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348536019s/2918324.jpg|2945551]. Four out of five stars.
hookerkitty's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Good god the gore descriptions in this were thoroughly disgusting - I loved it. Absolutely not for the squeamish. This is definitely a dark book with some dark topics, like torture, alcoholism, drug addiction (specifically meth), and toxic masculinity made an appearance. I can’t decide if I’m glad they didn’t use or make up an old language that they reference when doing spells, or if I think it was a cop out.
There were several grammatical and spelling errors that were irksome, but it didn’t completely take away from the experience.
There were several grammatical and spelling errors that were irksome, but it didn’t completely take away from the experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Torture, Murder, Violence, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, and Gore
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Drug use, and Alcohol
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Child death
paperbackstash's review
3.0
A dark and twisted book that's seriously dark and twisted. It's like...nothing else actually. Surreal and unique. Oddball characters. Bizarre little town called Pitchfork County. Meth is as big of a demon as the actual demons. The author doesn't hold back on the almost morbid noirish vibe, nor does he hold back from the gory tidbits, violent deaths and outright painful torments. Full review to come.
mzzmia's review
4.0
Half-Made Girls
I don't know where Sam Witt has been, but I'm happy I've finally stumbled upon him. At first I didnt know where this one would end up. It seemed like the author had far too many balls in the air, as far as the plot went. But at the end, he threw a net around them and pulled it all together. He even left enough dangling to make you look forward to the next book. I haven't been this pleased with a new character in a while.
I don't know where Sam Witt has been, but I'm happy I've finally stumbled upon him. At first I didnt know where this one would end up. It seemed like the author had far too many balls in the air, as far as the plot went. But at the end, he threw a net around them and pulled it all together. He even left enough dangling to make you look forward to the next book. I haven't been this pleased with a new character in a while.
thisbeereads's review
1.0
Excessive gore. Seemed to focus far more on disgusting the reader than actually providing interesting characters or story.
see_sadie_read's review
3.0
3.5
There is a lot to appreciate about this book. In a market that is so often flooded with Marty Stus, finding an alcoholic asshole as a main character/hero is pleasant change. The man is definitely fighting on the side of good, but he is what you might call a 'blunt tool.' His methods are violent and heavy-handed to say the least.
In fact, it's the accumulated resentment of these same tactics that the book is based on. Poor Joe has to learn the difference between shepherding and policing a community and it's a hard lesson to learn.
Unfortunately, while I really liked the premise of the book and thought the characters were really interesting, I thought the book tended to drag. There is a lot of rambling exposition and just too much gratuitous gore and violence.
Now, I don't really mind violence or gore; that's not the reason for my complaint. I'm not even bothered by the fact that the victim (intended or collateral) of Joe's wrath was as often a small innocent child as a meth addict or evil god. What bothered me was that it just got so darned repetitive. I got tired of reading variations of the same scene. But also, that single pony-trick didn't allow for very much character development.
This was exasperated by the fact that the community situation that leads to the events of the book has been brewing for 20 or so years and the reader is just told it is what it is. It leaves you feeling like you've missed something important, like maybe a first book.
All in all, though I enjoyed the read. I'd be more than happy to pick up a sequel or another book by Witt
There is a lot to appreciate about this book. In a market that is so often flooded with Marty Stus, finding an alcoholic asshole as a main character/hero is pleasant change. The man is definitely fighting on the side of good, but he is what you might call a 'blunt tool.' His methods are violent and heavy-handed to say the least.
In fact, it's the accumulated resentment of these same tactics that the book is based on. Poor Joe has to learn the difference between shepherding and policing a community and it's a hard lesson to learn.
Unfortunately, while I really liked the premise of the book and thought the characters were really interesting, I thought the book tended to drag. There is a lot of rambling exposition and just too much gratuitous gore and violence.
Now, I don't really mind violence or gore; that's not the reason for my complaint. I'm not even bothered by the fact that the victim (intended or collateral) of Joe's wrath was as often a small innocent child as a meth addict or evil god. What bothered me was that it just got so darned repetitive. I got tired of reading variations of the same scene. But also, that single pony-trick didn't allow for very much character development.
This was exasperated by the fact that the community situation that leads to the events of the book has been brewing for 20 or so years and the reader is just told it is what it is. It leaves you feeling like you've missed something important, like maybe a first book.
All in all, though I enjoyed the read. I'd be more than happy to pick up a sequel or another book by Witt
felyn's review
4.0
This is one hell of a horror ride. The main character - I hesitate to call him the protagonist - is an alcoholic, supernatural Sheriff in the fictional Pitchfork County of Missouri. It's a county plagued by awful, terrible things and Joe's what stands between them and the good folks of the county. There's been lots of meth, plenty of well-described horror-type gore, and more alcohol than I'd care to describe.
It's very well-written, and the plot keeps making these subtle little twists and reveals that kept me reading. This isn't generally my kind of book, as I am more of a fan of cerebral, thriller-style horror. I had to stop and put Half-Made Girls down several times - this is very much a compliment! The fact that I kept coming back to it and had to finish it, and in fact have the next book on my Kindle right now, is a testament to Sam Witt's writing.
It's very well-written, and the plot keeps making these subtle little twists and reveals that kept me reading. This isn't generally my kind of book, as I am more of a fan of cerebral, thriller-style horror. I had to stop and put Half-Made Girls down several times - this is very much a compliment! The fact that I kept coming back to it and had to finish it, and in fact have the next book on my Kindle right now, is a testament to Sam Witt's writing.
skredlitheogre's review
5.0
Half Made Girls is a rural fantasy book (like urban fantasy, but not urban) about Joe Hark, the Night Marshall of Pitchfork County, Missouri. It is a dark, gritty, violent book, and it is really great. This is my second time reading the book and I enjoyed it more this time than the first time. I was able to pick up more of the story than I was the first time.
Joe Hark, the Night Marshall, is a man determined to keep Pitchfork County off of the Left-Hand Path...by any means necessary, with that almost always meaning the business end of his magical shotgun. Because of that, the residents of Pitchfork hate and fear Joe, just the way he likes it. The problem starts when a group of residents, tired of Joe's tyranny, try to bring a new god to town, one that has promised them a great and many things. Joe must rely on his powers and office of Night Marshall (given to him by the Long Man), the long-dormant powers of his wife, and the abilities of two of Pitchfork's most notorious mages (and a weird old god) to battle back the forces of evil and keep Pitchfork County safe.
I really enjoyed this book. Sam Witt really showed us a character, Joe, who is doing what he thinks is (brutally) right, but is in fact the precipitating factor that kicks off the whole story. Joe's problem is that he thought his father, the previous Night Marshall, was too soft, but Joe's roughness is what pushes the people of Pitchfork to try to summon a new god. It all begins with a half made girl being nailed to a cross in a church and continues with two more half made girls needed to summon the god. Joe fights with everything he has in addition to the powers of his wife Stevie the Bog Witch of Pitchfork County, his son Alasdair, a lycanthrope, and his daughter Else, who can summon and speak to spirits. It is a tough battle, but eventually the good guys win, but we find out in the following short story, "Ghost Hunters," that the victory is not 100% complete.
I found this book gripping and that is was almost continuously entertaining. Except for a few things.
1) There was a lot of repetition. Lines about meth heads, how much Joe didn't want to be the Night Marshall, how Joe and Stevie couldn't be together because of the curse put on them by the previous Bog Witch. It got to be a bit much after a while.
2) The assumption that a fair amount of lore was known ahead of time. The number of times I had to pause reading and look up terms like "yarb doctor" kind of took me out of the book the first time I read it. A lot of the folk magicks were unfamiliar as well and we got little to no explanation about who these people were or what they could do. In a lot of cases, the magic was left vague and unable to be picked up by context clues.
Overall, I really enjoyed both this book and "Ghost Hunters" and I'm looking forward to when I can get the rest of the books in the series.
Joe Hark, the Night Marshall, is a man determined to keep Pitchfork County off of the Left-Hand Path...by any means necessary, with that almost always meaning the business end of his magical shotgun. Because of that, the residents of Pitchfork hate and fear Joe, just the way he likes it. The problem starts when a group of residents, tired of Joe's tyranny, try to bring a new god to town, one that has promised them a great and many things. Joe must rely on his powers and office of Night Marshall (given to him by the Long Man), the long-dormant powers of his wife, and the abilities of two of Pitchfork's most notorious mages (and a weird old god) to battle back the forces of evil and keep Pitchfork County safe.
I really enjoyed this book. Sam Witt really showed us a character, Joe, who is doing what he thinks is (brutally) right, but is in fact the precipitating factor that kicks off the whole story. Joe's problem is that he thought his father, the previous Night Marshall, was too soft, but Joe's roughness is what pushes the people of Pitchfork to try to summon a new god. It all begins with a half made girl being nailed to a cross in a church and continues with two more half made girls needed to summon the god. Joe fights with everything he has in addition to the powers of his wife Stevie the Bog Witch of Pitchfork County, his son Alasdair, a lycanthrope, and his daughter Else, who can summon and speak to spirits. It is a tough battle, but eventually the good guys win, but we find out in the following short story, "Ghost Hunters," that the victory is not 100% complete.
I found this book gripping and that is was almost continuously entertaining. Except for a few things.
1) There was a lot of repetition. Lines about meth heads, how much Joe didn't want to be the Night Marshall, how Joe and Stevie couldn't be together because of the curse put on them by the previous Bog Witch. It got to be a bit much after a while.
2) The assumption that a fair amount of lore was known ahead of time. The number of times I had to pause reading and look up terms like "yarb doctor" kind of took me out of the book the first time I read it. A lot of the folk magicks were unfamiliar as well and we got little to no explanation about who these people were or what they could do. In a lot of cases, the magic was left vague and unable to be picked up by context clues.
Overall, I really enjoyed both this book and "Ghost Hunters" and I'm looking forward to when I can get the rest of the books in the series.
errantdreams's review
5.0
I was in the mood for a good ol’ dark, bloody horror read, and this one completely hit the spot. Joe’s whole family is wrapped up in the horrors of Pitchfork County–unfortunate, because Joe views his job as requiring him to kill anyone who uses their powers in a manner that is evil, that walks the Left-Hand Path. His wife, Stevie, is the daughter of the powerful Bog Witch, and she would be the next Bog Witch if she allowed it to happen. Their son Al (Alasdair) can turn into a demon. And their little daughter Elsa channels spirits–sometimes she even helps her daddy do his work. Which this week happens to be part of a corpse attached to a cross in the church.
Whoops, Sheriff Dan was wrong–the girl on the cross isn’t dead yet. She’s still alive and quite lively despite all the parts she’s missing, and when the Marshal tells the Sheriff to take her back to the jail for the moment, Dan goes along with it, not sure why. I like the back-and-forth between Dan and Joe as the book goes on. They’re fighting different kinds of demons. It’s believable, watching Dan struggle over which road he’s going to take. Each man’s struggle makes sense to him.
The violence and blood are definitely over-the-top, but as long as you’re in the mood for it, it’s a good over-the-top. By the end I just kind of assumed that everything was drenched in blood. Even fist-fights go on for a while, and I was totally engrossed. I’ve also regained some of my fear of bats, so, thanks, Witt, for that.
Because Joe would have to view Stevie’s powers as evil, he refuses her help for most of the book. He’s convinced he’d then have to kill her. He’s sort of a believable idiot in trying to keep Stevie and Al out of the game. I do feel like lately every forbidding male figure in genre fiction has the flaw: alcoholic, subset: whiskey, but to be fair this book was put out two years ago.
The meth plot is interesting, but it does feel heavily moralistic at times (the message of helping these people rather than crushing them). Thankfully that tied into his work as the Marshal; otherwise it really would have felt like a soapbox.
I absolutely loved Half-Made Girls, and have already picked up copies of the rest in the series!
Original review on my site: http://www.errantdreams.com/2016/12/review-half-made-girls-sam-witt/
Whoops, Sheriff Dan was wrong–the girl on the cross isn’t dead yet. She’s still alive and quite lively despite all the parts she’s missing, and when the Marshal tells the Sheriff to take her back to the jail for the moment, Dan goes along with it, not sure why. I like the back-and-forth between Dan and Joe as the book goes on. They’re fighting different kinds of demons. It’s believable, watching Dan struggle over which road he’s going to take. Each man’s struggle makes sense to him.
The violence and blood are definitely over-the-top, but as long as you’re in the mood for it, it’s a good over-the-top. By the end I just kind of assumed that everything was drenched in blood. Even fist-fights go on for a while, and I was totally engrossed. I’ve also regained some of my fear of bats, so, thanks, Witt, for that.
Because Joe would have to view Stevie’s powers as evil, he refuses her help for most of the book. He’s convinced he’d then have to kill her. He’s sort of a believable idiot in trying to keep Stevie and Al out of the game. I do feel like lately every forbidding male figure in genre fiction has the flaw: alcoholic, subset: whiskey, but to be fair this book was put out two years ago.
The meth plot is interesting, but it does feel heavily moralistic at times (the message of helping these people rather than crushing them). Thankfully that tied into his work as the Marshal; otherwise it really would have felt like a soapbox.
I absolutely loved Half-Made Girls, and have already picked up copies of the rest in the series!
Original review on my site: http://www.errantdreams.com/2016/12/review-half-made-girls-sam-witt/
deearr's review
4.0
Looking for a story so full of grit that your insides will feel raw long before you’re done? Can’t get enough horror from what you’ve been reading? Sam Witt’s “Half-Made Girls” more than fits the bill.
Truth be told, this is not my kind of novel. It wavers between reality and a place so fantastic it is hard to believe. It runs from straight horror that can lift the little hairs on the back of your neck to demonic images of fiendish animals that leave their victims draped in blood. It makes you want to put the book down while at the same time propels you to read just one more chapter.
Sam Witt is the main reason I kept reading. His writing is descriptive, different in a way that hooks you and entices you to continue. The passages read like pictures, powerful images that explode off the pages and promise nightmares for days to come. It is easy to become involved with the characters. Witt fleshes them out nicely, exposing their strengths as well as their underbellies.
Joe is the Night Marshal of Pitchfork County. It is his job to prevent the horrors he encounters from spilling out and inhabiting the sane world. The entire book is nonstop action, as Joe moves from one battle to the next. He is aided by his wife and children, who have powers that border on the demonic and sometimes cause even Joe to ponder as he walks the line between darkness and goodness.
If there was anything that didn’t make sense to me, it was the banter between Joe and his wife, Stevie. Our initial view of their marriage indicates a pairing that has splintered, although this is more from Joe trying to protect his family from the evils that want to destroy anything he loves. Once they begin working together, their conversations during and after battles seemed a bit too lighthearted to me. Perhaps this is the way folks talk after squeaking out a victory against evil, but for me, it didn’t ring true. Perhaps it is just as well that this only happened a few times over the course of the book.
If you haven’t already guessed, this book is heavily seasoned with vulgar language and disturbing images, and is not for the fainthearted. The religious overtones may also cause other readers to close the book. Horror lovers who crave stories that will drag you through the muck and back will probably not be able to get enough of the Night Marshal. As for me, I have Sam Witt’s books on my “To Read” list. Now all I have to do is gather enough stamina to carry me through another of his stories.
Truth be told, this is not my kind of novel. It wavers between reality and a place so fantastic it is hard to believe. It runs from straight horror that can lift the little hairs on the back of your neck to demonic images of fiendish animals that leave their victims draped in blood. It makes you want to put the book down while at the same time propels you to read just one more chapter.
Sam Witt is the main reason I kept reading. His writing is descriptive, different in a way that hooks you and entices you to continue. The passages read like pictures, powerful images that explode off the pages and promise nightmares for days to come. It is easy to become involved with the characters. Witt fleshes them out nicely, exposing their strengths as well as their underbellies.
Joe is the Night Marshal of Pitchfork County. It is his job to prevent the horrors he encounters from spilling out and inhabiting the sane world. The entire book is nonstop action, as Joe moves from one battle to the next. He is aided by his wife and children, who have powers that border on the demonic and sometimes cause even Joe to ponder as he walks the line between darkness and goodness.
If there was anything that didn’t make sense to me, it was the banter between Joe and his wife, Stevie. Our initial view of their marriage indicates a pairing that has splintered, although this is more from Joe trying to protect his family from the evils that want to destroy anything he loves. Once they begin working together, their conversations during and after battles seemed a bit too lighthearted to me. Perhaps this is the way folks talk after squeaking out a victory against evil, but for me, it didn’t ring true. Perhaps it is just as well that this only happened a few times over the course of the book.
If you haven’t already guessed, this book is heavily seasoned with vulgar language and disturbing images, and is not for the fainthearted. The religious overtones may also cause other readers to close the book. Horror lovers who crave stories that will drag you through the muck and back will probably not be able to get enough of the Night Marshal. As for me, I have Sam Witt’s books on my “To Read” list. Now all I have to do is gather enough stamina to carry me through another of his stories.