Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom

6 reviews

outer_books's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This book was a great and BEAUTIFUL example of a revenge story. I love it the whole anger but satisfaction at the end. chief's kiss!

This is a 'cosy' historical horror that follows a widowed woman during the times were women do not have voices and she makes her way to give those who wronged her bloody hell.

I listened to the audiobook voiced by Barrie Kreinik, she did a great job at voicing the characters. She did an amazing job on varying her voice with different characters so it was easy to follow. I will buy the physical copy because it has beautiful illustrations by the author himself.

what I like:

• the writing beautifully described the the world, the characters and the creatures beautifully.
• the satisfaction at the end of the were those horrid people got what they want...beautiful. I love the violent descriptions.
• the trials, the history of 1666 and the fear of everyone, including women, was greatly written and provided a good understanding into thar time era, including me being more and more curious of that time era and witches.

what I dislike:

• the beginning was a bit slow for me, though it is understandable as it gives you context to everything in the town, the people and the forest folk. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Bullying, Blood, Religious bigotry, Violence, Sexism, Hate crime, and Gore

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, and Alcoholism

judassilver's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Murder, Racism, Sexism, Animal death, Body horror, Cultural appropriation, Sexual violence, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Excrement, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Violence, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Torture, and Blood

Moderate: Alcoholism and Child death

sproutedpages's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

2.5

Atmospheric, rich in folk magic, and written with the cadence of oral folklore, but so saturated with (unendorsed) Puritanical beliefs that Slewfoot was almost unbearably anxiety-inducing to read as the story progressed. This is not at all a fault of the novel as it is incredibly well-written, I simply have a low tolerance for the inclusion of religious extremism in my fiction (and also a heart condition).

I did, however, find myself uneasy with the inclusion of a narrative thread that seemingly implied that the Pequot were the catalyst for this novel’s horror. This felt like an incredibly strange choice of characterization when there was already a glaring antagonist already presented by the novel— the Puritans of Sutton. The Puritans’ lack of reverence for the Earth is made apparent through the violence of their colonization, and their actions (both in the novel and in actuality) were more than atrocious enough to have been the catalyst for the events of Slewfoot. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Racism, Blood, Murder, Gun violence, and Animal death

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Alcoholism

Abundant references to Puritanical Christianity, forced marriage, anti-indigenous racism (including the use of racial slurs), graphic death of a pet.

rionstorm's review

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

This book is a bit sluggish and a bit repetitive - it could have been shorter and accomplished the same more effectively. 

It reminded me of The VVitch, so if you're in the mood for pilgrim themed horror that is not really scary you may enjoy.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Gore, Torture, and Blood

Moderate: Gaslighting, Police brutality, Gun violence, Animal death, Bullying, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Alcoholism

directorpurry's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

1.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Violence, Animal death, Death, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Torture

Moderate: Colonisation and Racism

Minor: Death of parent, Alcoholism, and Child abuse

dominika_lorazo's review

dark mysterious 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

The story is really good, it’s giving dark fairy tale and a vibe similar to Midnight Mass (Tv show) (although not as philosophical). 

Characters are good. Main characters are lovable. Even Forest who is a small antagonist is well written (good motivation even if his actions are questionable sometimes). Some of the villains can seem cliche but their actions seem appropriate for their time period (And some people are just assholes). This point was more than redeemed by the antagonists (the wildfolk). The shaman was probably my least favourite.

The story has a medium-pace.  Some say it’s slow-paced in the middle and it’s true but it’s still entertaining (might be hard if you have a short attention span though). The beginning and ending have more of a dark fairy tale, horror genre. The middle of the story is more whimsical. The ending is very “happily ever after” and I never minded those.

Things I liked:

- Samson/slewfoot is probably the best character. I like how he is not really the cliche “devil” or “Satan” but more of a Grey character spirit of the forest. He also has a great character arc.
- the historical - witchy feel.
- dark but magical like a fairy tale
- Forest annoyed me sometimes but his motives were so good I ended up feeling bad for him and liking his character
-the overall addition of folklore and native folklore

Things I disliked

- the shaman was great for Samson’s character arc and that was obviously his only purpose but he is a bit of a cliche villain
-Abitha died at the end but came back to life. It cheapened her death and the effect it had on Samson. But except for that, the rest of the happily ever after was exactly how I hoped it would go.
-The world building could have been better. I wish there was more emphasis on the folklore (the Wildfolk and spirits). It was more of a backstory in the book, the main focus was on Abitha and her female empowerment/ girl boss story which is not necessarily bad. However, I wish we had more of that folklore/ fairy tale magic

TW:
racism and colonialism- It is appropriate for the time period. The racist characters were the villains. I would say the main characters were more respectful.
Blood, gore and violence- it was graphic but not extremely terrible (I’ve definitely seen worse)

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Bullying, Death, Physical abuse, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Animal cruelty, Murder, and Misogyny

Moderate: Classism and Colonisation

Minor: Alcohol and Alcoholism

TW: racism and colonialism- It is appropriate for the time period. The racist characters were the mostly the villains. I would say the main characters were more respectful. Blood, gore and violence- it was graphic but not extremely terrible (I’ve definitely seen worse)