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A review by vagrantheather
Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom
dark
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
It's listenable and I'm not mad about it, but I also don't love it. The dialogue splits the difference between readability and historical accuracy in a way that falls in the uncanny valley for me. It doesn't commit enough to feel real and instead comes off a bit cheesy. The narrator does a good job but something about the accent leans into the uncanny valley feeling. The historical accuracy also feels limited - at one point two guards make a joke about chastity belts, which ... they were kind of a myth/joke among gentry, but commoners? Pilgrims? Idk.
I don't really like the writing. It's fine. It isn't pretty, it isn't evocative, it isn't literary. Rather straightforward. The plot development is similarly straightforward; there is no mystery about the machinations of the other characters, no suspense. The perspective changes from character to character to allow us to know everything going on. The only questions are Sampson's true nature and what's Wallace's greater conspiracy with the magistrate.
I don't love any of the characters, and I actively find the Wild Ones poorly done. Wallace is also too unlikeable to be a good villain.
The last 20% of the book switches genres to torture and revenge. I saw another reviewer say the first 80% was boring and she wanted the final 20% to have been the whole of it; I feel the opposite. The first 80% felt as though it could be building toward deeper themes, and the final 20% ripped it down and made "don't worry, she gets hers" the only theme.
There are so many changes I would have liked to see. I want a deliciously wicked, literary version of this book. Not a young adult book about a pilgrim witch.
I don't really like the writing. It's fine. It isn't pretty, it isn't evocative, it isn't literary. Rather straightforward. The plot development is similarly straightforward; there is no mystery about the machinations of the other characters, no suspense. The perspective changes from character to character to allow us to know everything going on. The only questions are Sampson's true nature and what's Wallace's greater conspiracy with the magistrate.
I don't love any of the characters, and I actively find the Wild Ones poorly done. Wallace is also too unlikeable to be a good villain.
The last 20% of the book switches genres to torture and revenge. I saw another reviewer say the first 80% was boring and she wanted the final 20% to have been the whole of it; I feel the opposite. The first 80% felt as though it could be building toward deeper themes, and the final 20% ripped it down and made "don't worry, she gets hers" the only theme.
There are so many changes I would have liked to see. I want a deliciously wicked, literary version of this book. Not a young adult book about a pilgrim witch.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Torture, Violence, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Murder
Minor: Suicidal thoughts