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A review by graveyardpansy
The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson
4.0
3.5 leaning towards 4. There was a lot i liked, and a little bit I didn’t. The characters were kinda flat, esp Ezra and Leah just didn’t feel like actual people and were very confined to one or two character traits. The plot was also less surprising/twisty than i usually enjoy in horror — it was very predictable, but that also created some fun dramatic irony.
However, the atmosphere, premise as a whole, and imagery and description that was present.... wow!! very enjoyable!! The worldbuilding was easy to follow and well-done, even though it wasn’t anything fantastical or unrealistic. I haven’t read a lot of horror centred around witchcraft as I don’t always love the tropes that come with the subgenre, but I still did enjoy this one. The moral greyness of a lot of the groups and the way that evil came from both ‘sides’ was really well done, and made the story as a whole more complex and real.
I feel a bit conflicted with the overall theming of misogyny and religion and racism. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE horror that also provides genuine and well-thought-out societal critique. It’a much better than horror where stuff is scary because it’s gay. But this did feel a liiiittle heavy-handed. Overall I thought the theming was laced into the plot and the horror pretty well, but as someone who’s pretty sensitive to social issues, there were multiple points where I felt like I was being poked with a stick like “hey, did you notice this society is racist? did you notice the misogyny?” Regardless, I think that’s just a thing that’s gonna depend on each reader and isn’t a flaw of the book itself.
As a whole, I thought this was well-written with a good atmosphere and decent plot. Even though the characters were a bit personally disappointing, the way the themes added to the horror was really nice. It kinda reminds me of The VVitch movie, but better and more social commentary. If it sounds up your alley, you probably won’t be disappointed, just don’t go in looking to love the characters!
However, the atmosphere, premise as a whole, and imagery and description that was present.... wow!! very enjoyable!! The worldbuilding was easy to follow and well-done, even though it wasn’t anything fantastical or unrealistic. I haven’t read a lot of horror centred around witchcraft as I don’t always love the tropes that come with the subgenre, but I still did enjoy this one. The moral greyness of a lot of the groups and the way that evil came from both ‘sides’ was really well done, and made the story as a whole more complex and real.
I feel a bit conflicted with the overall theming of misogyny and religion and racism. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE horror that also provides genuine and well-thought-out societal critique. It’a much better than horror where stuff is scary because it’s gay. But this did feel a liiiittle heavy-handed. Overall I thought the theming was laced into the plot and the horror pretty well, but as someone who’s pretty sensitive to social issues, there were multiple points where I felt like I was being poked with a stick like “hey, did you notice this society is racist? did you notice the misogyny?” Regardless, I think that’s just a thing that’s gonna depend on each reader and isn’t a flaw of the book itself.
As a whole, I thought this was well-written with a good atmosphere and decent plot. Even though the characters were a bit personally disappointing, the way the themes added to the horror was really nice. It kinda reminds me of The VVitch movie, but better and more social commentary. If it sounds up your alley, you probably won’t be disappointed, just don’t go in looking to love the characters!