Reviews

The Daughters of Salem: How we sent our children to their deaths: Part 1 by Thomas Gilbert

geekwayne's review

2.0

'The Daughters of Salem: How we sent our children to their deaths: Part 1' with art and script by Thomas Gilbert and translation by Montana Kane is a fictionalized take on the Salem Witch Trials.

A young girl in colonial Massachusets doesn't fit in. There is a young man from the Abenaki tribe that she makes friends with even though there is a language barrier. There is also a lot of misguided fear of him, and the girl has to sneak out to see him. Word gets around and tensions build as the men of the village go out and brutally murder a native. The natives retaliate in a night of fire and murder.

This was supposed to be an updated take on this story for today's troubled times. The author boldly compares his version to Arthur Miller. That is a misstep, as this book seems to be more about being voyeuristic and gory rather than trying to teach us anything. The art is crude and works ok for the story, but is not pleasant to view.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Europe Comics and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

lattelibrarian's review

4.0

This comic was beautiful and peaceful and utterly terrifying.  Gilbert did a very good job at taking very real female fears and turning them into something visually horrifying.  Menstruation, fertility, wantonness, temptation, celibacy, so on and so forth are all present, not to mention stoning, murder, attempted sexual assault.  The illustrations appear both simple yet extremely detailed, which is perhaps why such horrifying images were so incredibly successful in creating a squeamish reaction.

Though not entirely accurate, this historical fiction graphic novel makes use of many notable and iconic pieces of history to create such a tale about the witch trials.  He includes Tituba, Puritanism, xenophobia (specifically in regards to Native Americans), and Salem itself.  

Overall, this graphic novel is something engaging, short and sweet, and perfect for the person who loves creepy tales and stories about witches and of times past. 

Review cross-listed here!

alandd's review

3.0

An entertaining account of the dreadful events in Salem Town. The Salem Witch Trials is a topic that never stops reinventing itself, always changing and inspiring new versions of the same story, and this one in particular becomes crude enough, although the most interesting elements are all minimized and often kept at bay. The art is also a problem for me, for it exaggerates the scenes, making them too over dramatic most of the time. It keeps the core and feelings, but takes them too high for them to remain visibly real. There are several ideas that are yet to be explored and hope to see them in the second volume, but I doubt this series will keep my interest if things don't improve.

clem_s's review

dark inspiring reflective sad 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

3.0

magsreadingjourney's review

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

ljrinaldi's review

2.0

This is a peculiar book. It has taken the Salem witch trials, and put in more hatred and death and destruction, and weird things when the main story was weird enough as it was.

It is all very confusing, and there are Native Americans thrown in for good measure, that are attacking the town, and becoming friends with one of the girls of the town.

The art is weird and grotesque, but so is the story.



It could all be a translation thing. I didn't get what was going on half the time, and when I did, it was very disturbing. Perhaps this is not the best book for me. Your milage may vary.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

quietpageturner's review

adventurous dark slow-paced

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

2.5

courtneyy41's review

2.0

I was provided this by netgalley for review.

I have very mixed feelings about this. Some parts I found very entertaining and thought provoking. Other parts I found unnecessary and sickening. I wouldn't continue on with the series.

jessythecactus's review

4.0

"Rather than search for the devil within us... let's hunt the one who looks foreign."

I can't really say anything about historical accuracy because I just don't know anything about the salem witch trials. What I can say though, is that this graphic novel was very nice. It was creepy, scary and lovely. I need the next part!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a copy of this ARC!

Publication date: 16th January 2019

floppypaperback's review

3.0

i love witches