Witchy review: Slewfoot, a tale of bewitchery by Brom

Title: Slewfoot, A Tale of Bewitchery

Author: Brom

Also by this author: Krampus

Series: standalone

Age Category: Adult

Published on: 14 September 2021 by Tor Nightfire

Pages: 305 p.

Genre: Horror

About Slewfoot

An ancient spirit awakens in a dark wood. The Wildfolk call him father, slayer, protector.

The colonists call him Slewfoot, demon, devil. To Abitha, a recently widowed outcast, alone and vulnerable in her pious village, he is the only one she can turn to for help. Together, they ignite a battle between pagan and Puritan, one that threatens to destroy the entire village, leaving nothing but ashes and bloodshed in its wake.

My thoughts on Slewfoot

Let me start with the usual disclaimer: my reviews contain spoilers for the book. If you have not read the book and do not want any spoilers, please do not read further, or scroll to my conclusions, which I will keep spoiler-free.

You would think that Slewfoot would be a Halloween read; however, I have been enjoying horror books all year round. This book has been on my wishlist forever; the cover was calling out to my creepy side, and the book is about witches, so that makes it even more intriguing.

When I learned that the author also did the design of the cover and included beautiful (creepy) artwork in the book, I just had to have it. The problem at the time was that it was either not available at the places I usually shop for books or just too damn expensive. I finally bought the book last year in March while I was in Amsterdam, at the ABC (the American Book Center) store, which I had not visited before. I did know of them through events like Dutch Comic Con, where they always have a huge stand. It is a lovely store that is well stocked with fantasy and science fiction. If you are ever in Amsterdam, do go visit them. I do want to warn you, though, they are a bit on the pricey side.

The book is written from multiple points of view, beginning with a mysterious character who awakens without knowing why and cannot remember who he is. Then the point of view shifts to Abitha, the main character we follow throughout the book. Abitha is an English immigrant living in a Puritan New England town in 1666. She struggles not with being away from England but with the new way of living within this community that has strict rules on how one should live their lives and how they look.

Abitha lives outside of town on a farm with her husband, Edward, who unfortunately dies while out searching for their missing goat. This is where the real hardship of Abitha's life starts. Life for a woman at this time was generally hard, but being a widow trying to stay independent around that time was nearly impossible. This is where the real horror begins.

For Abitha to keep the farm where she and Edward live, she has to pay off the debt to Edward's brother, Wallace. Wallace is a very cruel man who only thinks of his own well-being; his arrogance put him in huge amounts of debt, which he tries to settle by selling the farm from under Abitha to the one who holds his debt. The problem for Wallace is Abitha, who is too smart for her own good and intends to keep the farm she and her husband worked so hard to pay off.

Meanwhile, the mysterious creature from the beginning of the book is trying to find out who he is. The ones that woke him, spirits that hold the faces of children, try to convince him to do more bloodshedding; however, when he meets this woman who contains magical powers, he decides that that might not be who he is. He who is being called Father by the spirits that woke him decides to make a deal with the woman called Abitha. He helps her with the farm, and she helps him discover who he is.

The interesting thing about this book is that the real horror does not come from the supernatural, as the reader might initially expect. The real horror in this book is manmade. The book shows us what life might have been like during the 1600s, and people back then did believe in the existence of the supernatural. The conjuring of a creature like Slewfoot in the minds of these men and women is not so far-fetched. It also shows us the cruelty of men and how easily the minds of the townspeople could be manipulated to believe in witchcraft.

The book is not so fast-paced as some of the books I read, which, in this case, is a good thing; you really learn to see the world through the eyes of the people of Sutton, New England. The book seems historically well represented and weaves in the folklore of the time.

As expected, the events led to the accusation of Abitha for witchcraft. The book describes the witch trials in detail, not excluding any of the details. This, to me, was the most horrific part of the book; it was very difficult to read. The events that take place after the witch trials, which I am not going to go into detail about so as not to spoil you much further, are where the supernatural comes in.

What I do want to say about the last part of the book is that I liked that the belief in God and pagan practices existed together, that even though the reverend, for example, believed in God, he was aware of the pagan practices of some of his people, and there was some sort of acceptance that those beliefs existed and could be beneficial to the community.

My conclusions about Slewfoot

This book should get more credit than it is getting. I think this could appeal to a much broader audience than just the horror lovers. It has a historical setting and is very well written. This will definitely appeal to all readers who are interested in witch trials, the Salem witch trials, or witch trials in general. It will also appeal to art lovers; in the middle of the book, there are 8 full-color pieces of art of characters described in the book, and each chapter has a black and white illustration as well. The art is as beautiful as the piece on the cover is; it was not needed for the story, but it does make the book prettier.

I think Brom is a great storyteller, and I will most definitely be picking up more of his work as I enjoy how he builds the atmosphere for his books. The book is not a fast read, or at least I took my time to enjoy every detail, absorbing the book in all its horrible splendor. The story is told through multiple points of view, which is greatly appreciated and helps give us an all-around perspective of the time and place.

This book is a masterpiece, a very well-executed historical fantasy horror. I am rating this 5 cats.

My witchy rating of Slewfoot

My witchy rating is meant especially for books with witches and witchcraft in them. This book is a historical representation of witchcraft. Abitha, our main character, is a pagan witch, which means that she is well-versed in natural remedies. The practices come close to what we now see as Wicca. This book is for anyone who loves to read about pagan/historical witchcraft that is more subtle than that of epic fantasy worlds.

She also contains magic within herself, but pulls from being close to nature and close to the creature Samson. Her magic is tied to his magic in some way. I can only rate this book 5 cat cauldrons, as it is right up there, in all its witchiness.

If you can't get enough of my content, consider finding me on my other websites. If you are interested in music, I write about it on Finding Flight Cases. If you love collecting books, I have started a secondhand online bookstore, Arcane Archives, I would love to help you find your next fantasy or science fiction read.