Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom

279 reviews

cdiamante's review

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Slewfoot follows the classic narrative of the Puritan witch, a woman who is perceived as dangerous for her differences, who finds solace in none other than the devil. It takes mythology from various belief systems, not sticking strictly to Christian principles of witchcraft.
I found myself enthralled in the narrative from the start. As a protagonist, Abitha was incredibly likable and sympathetic, having human flaws while still being the innocent that the narrative required her to be in order to work. The book balances revenge and mercy with a perfect amount of nuance, it is incredibly satisfying to see how characters get their just desserts, for better and for worse. The side characters all had appropriate depth, and even the antagonists feel well developed.
The one thing that didn’t fully feel resolved to me is the horror aspect, apart from the beginning, I didn’t find Samson threatening, and I didn’t find the ambiance overly eerie, so I treated the book more as a novel than a horror story.
Overall I was incredibly invested in the story, and I found it very well written, I would recommend this book to anyone, horror lover or not, so long as gore is not an issue for them.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Misogyny, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

ppkmoths's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A captivating book about witchcraft, paganism and environmentalism. Whilst entertaining, the book at times is purposefully frustrating. I lost count of how many times I wanted to pummel Wallace, I had to take breaks and put the book down to contain my rage at this man, which is testament to how well Brom writes his characters. 

Abitha is instantly likeable and a force of nature, one of the best parts of the book as she navigates living as part of a Puritan colony where religion and misogyny is rampant. 

The end of the book where revenge was enacted was so fulfilling, although it did feel rather rushed considering the entirety of the book had me on the edge of the seat waiting for the glorious moment as most of the characters were thoroughly unlikeable. 

Overall, a wonderful and dark book that covers topics that are still important in modern day such as the dangers of misogyny, the constant assault on pagan religions and the importance of looking after the environment. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Blood

saxonthecurious's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Murder

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Colonisation

Minor: Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Slavery, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

goldensisyphus's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Fantastic story! Unique and unlike anything I've ever read. I loved this book so much!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

delirious_wraith's review

dark emotional mysterious medium-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? Yes

3.0

Love the strong, smart FMC. Love the witchery, strong and smart women, power of nature and vengeance topic. The addition of soul-searching from the MMC however was not my thing and a bit drawn out. The low points for the FMC, which definitely have their function as they give the fuel for the epic revenge feeling, were very intense and for me, too much to handle. Also animal abuse, making women less than men and injustice fueled by religious fanatism - is the exact combination to hit too hard. So while I recognize it had to be the fuel to create the contrast and relief felt in the parts where the story and luck turns for the better, I had a bad time reading those parts. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Colonisation

karmascycles's review against another edition

dark sad tense 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? Yes

2.0

I found this book to be conflicting for me and throughout the entire story I kept changing how I felt about it. In general I am not a fan of puritan/god-focused/misogynistic books because I find them to be tired, annoying, and overdone. I became more intrigued with Slewfoot after the introduction

to Samson and his interactions with Abitha

However, it seemed to be a constant up and down for me.

The amount of graphic female torture by the male characters in this book was too much for me.

It felt unnecessary to show it in great detail, over and over again, in order to get the point across, really. It's like, in a way, yes I understand we are talking about a 17th century puritan village but like, come on, did we have to describe every detail? Did we have to draw it out over and over and over again when it happened? Besides that, many of the characters felt a little too one-dimensional. They were either mean or they weren't. That was all there was to them.
I think my other issue with books like this, whose entire plot revolves around the suffering of women, is that for me the revenge will never be enough. There is no amount of revenge on abusive men that can be done to ever satisfy me, so I am tired of reading about it.

I'd hoped this book would've been more about Abitha leaving the people behind in order to form a new life with Samson, however that wasn't exactly the case.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Grief, and Murder

bethijay's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This would have been the best book I read in 2024, but it took me until the end of January to finish it. Really intense at times, the story left me guessing. I will definitely be rereading this many years to come.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Grief, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Minor: Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

the bad guys die in the end and vengeance is had for all the brutality earlier in the book

natbat13's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

An atmospheric folk horror novel that perfectly encapsulates the horror of puritanical ideals. I loved seeing the evolution of the main character Abitha and the creature Slewfoot!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Murder

mkd40's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Excrement, and Colonisation

jarolyn's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury