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A review by stephanieluxton
Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
My favorite thing about this book was the artwork. The art was great.
This book is about Abitha, a fiery young woman who lives in a very patriarichal and puritan society filled with religious extremism. When her husband is mysteriously killed, Abitha faces possibly losing her farm due to her greedy brother in law and must use her strong will and resourcefulness to succeed in a society that is stacked against her. Also there's a mysterious and powerful entity that we don't know if we can trust to help or hinder Abitha. Also Abitha dabbles in a bit of light witchcraft, so things get more complicated for her.
This book is not a horror book. It's a paranormal historical fiction. Abitha is an effective protagonist. The villains are interesting and believable. My beef with this book is that it took a long time for anything really interesting to happen. The pace was awfully slow. The last little bit of the book picked up but when I finished it, I wasn't satisfied. I genuinely don't know what this book was trying to say.
I thought it was weird that the devil was basically the good guy all along? I don't think that's a great message. I understand that Sampson was more like the spirit of the forest rather than Satan, himself. I also appreciate his character arc of knowing he's capable of violence but wanting to be good. He didn't seem like the devil. I wonder if the other people just saw him as a devil, even though he isn't. IDK. I do appreciate the religious extremism is bad - especially when it dehumanizes and harms other people so the other villains were incredibly effective.
Would I recommend this book? Probably not. It wasn't a cozy feel good read, but it also wasn't very spooky. I know so many people have loved this but I just don't see it.
This book is about Abitha, a fiery young woman who lives in a very patriarichal and puritan society filled with religious extremism. When her husband is mysteriously killed, Abitha faces possibly losing her farm due to her greedy brother in law and must use her strong will and resourcefulness to succeed in a society that is stacked against her. Also there's a mysterious and powerful entity that we don't know if we can trust to help or hinder Abitha. Also Abitha dabbles in a bit of light witchcraft, so things get more complicated for her.
This book is not a horror book. It's a paranormal historical fiction. Abitha is an effective protagonist. The villains are interesting and believable. My beef with this book is that it took a long time for anything really interesting to happen. The pace was awfully slow. The last little bit of the book picked up but when I finished it, I wasn't satisfied. I genuinely don't know what this book was trying to say.
Would I recommend this book? Probably not. It wasn't a cozy feel good read, but it also wasn't very spooky. I know so many people have loved this but I just don't see it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Violence, and Sexual harassment