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A review by dustghosts
Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Riveting, well-paced, and propellant— I read this in about 2 days and didn’t want to put it down, hands stained black from the cover. Overall, the fairytale-esque feel combined with the colonial horror was enthralling and fun to read.
Sticking points for me: I really struggle with the way indigenous people— individually and as a whole— are dealt with by this book, and feel the ~struggle/war between colonialism and something more primal is really undermined by this. There are a FEW indigenous characters, yes, but the few we see play on harmful tropes for a very brief time and are quickly (and, once, violently) discarded. Father’s ties to nature and to those who once paid him tribute are similarly shoved to the side, while the local tribe provides shelter to the ostensible villain. If Abitha had any sort of ties to indigenous culture, this would have brought everything together nicely. As it is, there’s something… very girlboss white feminism/saviorism that equally disempowers HER story and her grief, sadly.
Overall, a worthwhile read, but one I’ve been chewing on for a while.
Sticking points for me: I really struggle with the way indigenous people— individually and as a whole— are dealt with by this book, and feel the ~struggle/war between colonialism and something more primal is really undermined by this. There are a FEW indigenous characters, yes, but the few we see play on harmful tropes for a very brief time and are quickly (and, once, violently) discarded. Father’s ties to nature and to those who once paid him tribute are similarly shoved to the side, while the local tribe provides shelter to the ostensible villain. If Abitha had any sort of ties to indigenous culture, this would have brought everything together nicely. As it is, there’s something… very girlboss white feminism/saviorism that equally disempowers HER story and her grief, sadly.
Overall, a worthwhile read, but one I’ve been chewing on for a while.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Grief, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail