Reviews with content warning for Xenophobia - Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery

I picked up this book from the library, knowing nothing about it other than that I ADORED the cover. Brom describes it as ‘blood, tears, and witchcraft’, which it IS, but what I didn’t expect is that it was also a beautiful wandering story about isolation, identity and belonging.

This was technically a historical fiction/fantasy, (and some folk horror, obviously) but I felt like I was reading a fairytale. A pretty dark one, granted, but the prose was beautiful and the characters both charming and strange. Similarly to some of the other historical fiction/horror books I’ve read lately, there’s a message in Slewfoot about the horrors of humanity, particularly with reference to oppression and control - through both religion, and the strongly patriarchal society that was so dominant in the 17th century - as well as subtle hints at environmentalism.

The illustrations in Slewfoot were done by Brom as well, and aside from the collection of full page paintings (which were STUNNING), each chapter header had some form of illustrated beast that gave me the creeps.

The pacing was a little slow in the middle, but I do think the first and last 20% made up for it! I was never bored and I felt very drawn along by the story.

I loved the ending of this book. There’s this tradition that tends to be followed in novel writing - the MC is done wrong, they swear vengeance, they forgive, they move on as a ✨ better human being ✨. Brom didn’t follow this pattern, and I think the book was all the more raw and better for it.

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ashleycmms's review

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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midnightgremlin's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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auddreyy's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I really wanted to love this book, and I did enjoy it. I found the pacing in the beginning to be a little slow, and the ending plot for some of the characters felt a little unsatisfied given the build up a feud between the main character and some of the towns people. Additionally, I think the Pequot people could have been written with a bit more complexity, they were a bit simplified down to being a spiritual magical people and I wish they had a more significant presence in the plot. However, I think the setting and universe that Brom creates in this book was everything I want in a fantastical horror novel, and really enjoyed some of the magical creatures he made come to life. His illustrations are also amazing, and I think really help set the vibe of the novel. 3.75 stars because I just wanted a little more, however, I would probably recommend this to others and give another one of Brom's books a go.

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