Slewfoot

A Tale of Bewitchery

by

Hardcover, 320 pages

Published Sept. 14, 2021 by Tor Nightfire.

ISBN:
978-1-250-62200-6
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4 stars (17 reviews)

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.

4 editions

live deliciously

4 stars

Rare is the girl who hasn't at some point or another, dreamed of channeling the powers of Mother Earth to shape her world. As one of such a throng, I found immense satisfsction in this book. Fans of The VVitch will find this story familiar territory in many ways, but perhaps more delightfully indulgent. A gripping story of death and rebirth is accompanied by Brom's grotesque and enchanting artwork. It is hard to look at the image of The Witch, or the cover of the book itself and think, god, I wish that were me.

This was a Good One

2 stars

Be sure to check trigger warnings before reading this book!

I really like Slewfoot. It’s my first Brom book, but definitely made me want to read more.

Slewfoot is about a woman brought to a Puritan colony in America after being sold as a wife to one of the men there. While Abitha and her husband live outside the colony, they still go to church and are beholden to the morals of the townsfolk there. Abitha pokes at the Puritan religion through the entire book, and I feel it would have been more believable if there were another woman that also had doubts about their religion.

The book started out very slice-of-life, with a dash of horrific imagery and magic here and there. I really liked the magical aspects of this book. The combination of pagan and Christian morals was interesting. I also really liked how the magic was universal, …

Review of 'Slewfoot' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

The cover intrigued me a lot, and the story about this young woman, Abitha (whom I loved), getting witchy, tasting power and freedom from a small village judging community was very cool, but a lot of page time went to mediocre and abusive men, and I get why they were here for, but the payout didn't feel long enough lol (also we have a very mysterious god/deity that gets entangled with Abitha's life)

Merged review:

The cover intrigued me a lot, and the story about this young woman, Abitha (whom I loved), getting witchy, tasting power and freedom from a small village judging community was very cool, but a lot of page time went to mediocre and abusive men, and I get why they were here for, but the payout didn't feel long enough lol (also we have a very mysterious god/deity that gets entangled with Abitha's life)

Review of 'Slewfoot' on 'Goodreads'

No rating

Nothing wrong with this - just not interested in reading stories that focus in mistreatment of women at the moment.

Merged review:

Nothing wrong with this - just not interested in reading stories that focus in mistreatment of women at the moment.

Goodreads Review of Slewfoot by Brom

4 stars

"Abitha could see that these people believed, truly believed, that they were doing God’s work here this day. And there was something about these people that horrified Abitha even worse than those whose faces were lined with cruelty. As at least cruelty was a thing that could be pointed out, confronted. But this belief, this absolute conviction that this evil they were doing was good, was God’s work—how, she wondered, how could such a dark conviction ever be overcome?"

Abitha is not having a good time. She was sent to the colony of Massachusetts to marry a man she never met by her father in London after her mother's death. Her mother was a "cunning" woman, or a woman known to make herbal remedies and charms, a gift that Abitha tries to keep alive amongst the pious Puritans. Thankfully, she comes to care for her husband, but the same cannot …

Review of 'Slewfoot' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Abitha is trying her best to fit in to this strange new world, America where she is wedded to a man she never knew until her father sold her off from England. Though not necessarily in love with her new husband there is an affection there, and she does what she can to be a good wife. Her husband's brother is a selfish and greedy man while her husband is often too meek to stand up to him. The villagers are Puritans, and are more realistically portrayed in this work of historical fiction than in the actual history book I was made to study as a child. They are not people who believe in religious freedom, they are my way or the highway kind of people who would sooner shackle you and stone you than let you get away with being 2 minutes late for a sermon, and heaven help …

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