Review: Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom

Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom

Publication date: September 14th, 2021

Pages: 336

Spice: N/A

Synopsis:

Set in Colonial New England, Slewfoot is a tale of magic and mystery, of triumph and terror as only dark fantasist Brom can tell it.

A spirited young Englishwoman, Abitha, arrives at a Puritan colony betrothed to a stranger -- only to become quickly widowed when her husband dies under mysterious circumstances. All alone in this pious and patriarchal society, Abitha fights for what little freedom she can grasp onto, while trying to stay true to herself and her past.

Enter Slewfoot, a powerful spirit of antiquity newly woken... and trying to find his own role in the world. Healer or destroyer? Protector or predator? But as the shadows walk and villagers start dying, a new rumor is whispered: Witch.

Both Abitha and Slewfoot must swiftly decide who they are, and what they must do to survive in a world intent on hanging any who meddle in the dark arts.

Complete with 8 pages of Brom's mesmerizing full-color artwork and chapter illustrations throughout, his latest book is sure to delight.

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Story:

Entering into Brom's world was a bit jarring as you are introduced to a statistic of Slewfoot's death count and then him being awakened with a thirst for blood. But Brom managed to turn the story into a twisted tale of a woman's struggles in Puritan times and what she must do to keep herself alive and keep her husband's farm firmly in her possession. The story is so much deeper than you would imagine at face value. The author manages to turn a true historical plague of fear and cruelty into a tale of strength in the face of oppression. It makes the reader question what is truly the devil's work and balance on the knife's edge of good and evil. I could not get enough of the story once I delved into Abitha's world. I was rooting for her. I was begging for her to find her happiness and felt just as much feminine rage as she did throughout the story. When women were meant to be seen and not heard, Abitha refused to be silenced. She accepted the help of any who were willing, even if the source of that assistance came from unusual places. I think Brom did an excellent job of taking real life moments in history and putting a fantasy spin on them to make their readers root for the side that would otherwise be seen as the antagonists and call for the blood of those meant to be ultimately good.

Characters:

• Abitha - Abitha is what most women of today are. Opinionated and strong-willed. In today's time it is an attribute that is celebrated; but in Puritan time it was a mark of deviltry and an evil spirit. The mass hysteria that seemed so prevalent then can sometimes still be found today but it was something to truly fear back then. Abitha wanted for simple things. She wanted to keep her husband's farm and home for herself and not be forced into a life of servitude. The manner at which she went about achieving that makes her morality come into question a few times but I think that Abitha is simply a woman with a backbone during a time when women were meant to be seen and not heard. I enjoyed how she sometimes told it like it was even when she was not meant to. I celebrated her achievements and sorrowed for her failures. She was a character I was rooting for and one that I grew to adore from one page turn to the next.

• Samson - I didn't know how to feel about Samson. He, of course, came across as this nefarious source of pain and destruction but the way he interacted with Abitha gave me a sense that there was more to him than what he appeared to be. He is a catalyst of what happens when you let others mold and shape who you are instead of finding your own way in life. He was pulled in several different directions and told what he should be and how he should act, but Abitha was the one person who accepted him for two sides of the same coin: not evil, not good, somewhere in between. Isn't that a good representation of a lot of people in reality? We all waffle back and forth between being good and bad with our decision making. So did Samson.

Writing:

If I hadn't read this book in tandem with the audiobook I may have felt it was a little flowery for my liking. That is part of the Puritan manner of speaking though so it remained true to the story. I think that without it, the story would have felt false and like it wasn't capturing the manner at which the people in that time period would be speaking. I would enjoy reading more from Brom because of his delivery of a story and twists and turns he manages to place within the timeline he concocts. 

Overall:

I didn't believe I would like this story. I definitely wouldn't think that it was one of the highlight books of the year so far. The characters, the setting, the way the author delivered the story, and the history weaved throughout made this book one of my all-time favorites. I struggled to not reach for the book and start all over from the beginning to see if I missed even an ounce of the story as I was starved for much, much more.