Reviews with content warning for Sexism - The Year of the Witching

ARGH! This was so good.

The writing in this book was unbelievable—so atmospheric and full of details without being unnecessarily convoluted. I could quite literally see all of the imagery in my mind’s eye, and there were very clear moments where I was able to watch characters move throughout the space as though I were watching a movie. On the topic of imagery, the horrific elements of this book were so creative and grotesque. I loved every single second of it.

Also, obsessed with our protagonist Immanuelle! Loved her so much. The author did an amazing job writing this character, to the point where even when she made decisions that I didn’t agree with, I still felt as though they were justifiable because of the kind of person she’d been crafted by the author to be.

The only reason why this isn’t getting the whole 5 stars from me is the pacing, namely near the very end of the book.

Understandably, action scenes are meant to be shorter in order to depict tension and high stakes but I couldn’t help but feel that it all felt too rushed. I definitely think it would’ve added to the book if we got to see a little more of the aftermath of the Slaughter on page, rather than just through summary/exposition.

Still, this was a fantastic horror read for autumn written by a black author with a black protagonist! I enjoyed it all so much and will definitely checking out more from this author.

Content Warnings

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challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

In The Year of the Witching, author Alexis Henderson takes the ‘dark bad, light good,’ trope often seen in speculative fiction to its logical conclusion in order to dissect it. The story comes down heavily on themes of corruption and misogyny in (Christian) religious settings—I can’t say if it’s a discussion of a particular sect or denomination, since I’m not Christian. This was a tough, emotional read, but it was very skillfully written and the fantasy elements made the hard-hitting parts more bearable.

I’m going to let this book speak for itself on a few of the topics I thought it addressed really well.

- Misogyny in Christianity: “Bethel has placed its burdens on the shoulders of little girls for far too long.”

- Inaction in the face of injustice: “Good people don’t bow their heads and bite their tongues while other good people suffer. Good people are not complicit.”

- Anti-Blackness in western Christianity: “In all her sixteen years, Immanuelle had never seen any saints or effigies in her own likeness. None of the statues and paintings housed in the Prophet’s Cathedral bore any resemblance to her.”

- The church allowing men to take sexual advantage of children: “It was the sickness that placed the pride of men before the innocents they were sworn to protect. It was a structure that exploited the weakest among them for the benefit of those born to power.”

- White people not coming through for their mixed-race family: Main character Immanuelle’s white grandmother betrays her to the religious authority and Immanuelle later says, “She’s no kin to me.”

- Religious rhetoric being used to justify atrocities: “The Holy Scriptures had always made those conflicts seem like battle sands wars, but in actuality, it was just a massacre.”

This was an excellent book. I wouldn’t necessarily call it an enjoyable read at all times, but it contained lots of great social commentary built on a foundation of rich worldbuilding. I recommend The Year of the Witching to anyone who enjoys intense fantasy and won’t be disturbed by the religious commentary (or will be disturbed in a good way; western Christianity needs to be shaken up this way now and then, in my opinion.)

Content notes: mention of rape in a religious context; spousal abuse; religion-base misogyny; racism/colorism; blood/gore; ritual self-harm; ritual sacrifice of animals; religion-sanctioned child rape; on-page traumatic childbirth; death of birthing parent

Content Warnings