Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom

13 reviews

minamouse's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I have been itching to get my hands on a good folk horror story, and this novel did not disappoint! Mother nature's wrath, female rage fueled by religious trauma, adorable woodland creatures with murderous intent, this book has it all. The inclusion of Brom's art was a fantastic touch. My only complaint is that not every loose end is given the same amount of care/detail.

For example, Mamunapphet death seems "too easy". Like, what do you mean all they had to do was smash the skulls in his cave to weaken him? This doesn't ruin the story, but it definitely left me with more questions than answers.

Highly recommended to anyone who saw The Witch and couldn't get enough. 4.75 ⭐ out of 5.

I would have given it a 5 if Brom hadn't used the words "moaned/groaned" so many times 🤣.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Blood, Death, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Minor: Xenophobia and Colonisation

solarel's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

People suck. 

I’m conflicted a bit. While I enjoyed the main two characters, Abitha and Samson, I found the plot as a whole to be very… typical? 

Samson’s story was by far the most interesting plot line. I enjoyed watching him struggle to find who he really is. Is he the monster or the savior? Abitha however, her story felt not just predictable but inevitable. The last third of the book is pure torture porn, and she did not grow as a character. She is merely an instrument of a vengeance arc. 

I saw a lot of reviewers say this story was very white. And I think I see what they mean. I don’t know what the author’s religious background is, but this read as a very Christian framed story. People said this was a horror novel. I didn’t find it scary, only sad. People were the villain. Puritan culture was the villain. And yet it still felt like it was still validating their beliefs in the end with what was supposed to be the “horror”. 

I don’t know if that makes sense, but “pagan” aspects were not rooted in lore beyond that of Christianity. I guess that’s what made it feel like more of a fantasy masquerade of a pagan story of blurred good and evil. 

Stars for ambiance and entertainment only. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Abandonment, Suicide attempt, Torture, Xenophobia, Racism, Sexual content, Body horror, Colonisation, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Grief, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Violence, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cultural appropriation, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

mariecaat02's review against another edition

dark mysterious

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Violence, Murder, Animal death, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Cannibalism, Torture, and Self harm

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Cannibalism, Blood, Misogyny, Torture, Violence, Self harm, Death, Classism, Body horror, Physical abuse, Murder, Colonisation, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Animal death

Minor: Sexism, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Torture

elythrim's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful 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

5.0

"Suffering does not bring one closer to God."

We've all heard someone say "Don't judge a book by its cover", but it's impossible not to. I like art,  and I discovered Gerald Brom's not that long ago. I fell in love with it instantly and that was about it. Then I saw someone recommending this book, fell in love with the cover and as I always do, started reading it without even looking at a synopsis. What I actually realized not until I was already some chapters in the book was that the same artist that I knew of was the author of this book!

What I expect from a book when I love the cover is that it represents the feeling I have when I look at it. And it did just that. Witchery, vengeance, creepiness. Though also, lots of gore, misogyny, torture and violence (animals included). It's to be expected in novels like these, but I did get very uncomfortable at times.

Finishing this book, I was expecting some wrong portrayal of women's suffering, but that didn't happen (although the torture parts were a little too detailed for me and seemed like they'd never end). Seeing that he also sought the expertise of an historian to correctly portray the Pequot people made me happy, and although I don't know much about US history, the dedication to make an accurate representation (with all the fantasy elements included) added depth to the story.

Overall, my favorite things about this book are its continuous discussions about religion. What gods are, how evil is ever present and sometimes necessary to maintain balance. And how nature needs to be respected, as it is Mother of all. My favorite quote represents this very well:

"God, I am you, and you are me"

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Religious bigotry, Torture, and Misogyny

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Racism, Child death, and Xenophobia

scifi_rat's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Torture, Body horror, Gore, Racism, Death of parent, Blood, Death, Police brutality, Gun violence, Sexism, Sexual violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Violence, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Physical abuse, Animal death, Bullying, and Colonisation

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

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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

toastrats's review

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Animal death, Misogyny, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Xenophobia and Sexual assault

Minor: Colonisation, Gore, and Suicidal thoughts

hasinashah's review

adventurous 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Grief, Racism, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Xenophobia, Violence, Gore, Sexism, War, and Body horror

nchipp's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Grief, Racism, Animal death, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Torture, and Violence

Minor: Colonisation, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, and Rape

the cat dies

whenjessreads's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Animal cruelty, Violence, Animal death, and Torture

Moderate: Xenophobia and Misogyny