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Book Rec- "Patriot Witch", by C.C. Finlay
May. 29th, 2009 12:28 pmFinally! A Revolutionary War novel. It seems the Civil War gets all the press these days...
Patriot Witch was a fun and involved read.
Take a book that opens with some old fashioned courting, and moves directly into Lexington and Concord, and you have my attention caught on two entirely different fronts. And it was pleasantly diverting. My only quip with the beginning of the book is it did get very caught up in the military confusion and complications. I can see the necessity, and the importance, of why the book was written that way, but there were a few pages where it started to drag. But, dear readers, keep reading. I am happy I did.
The protagonist, Proctor Brown, is intriguing and wonderfully alive. He first concern is wooing his Miss Emily (while trying to sort out the right time to tell her about the magic that runs in his family, as the kids will most likely inherit). Secondly, he is interested in having a large farm to support the family he is planning on having. He is setting everything in motion to become the successful family man he envisions.
Enter some troublesome Tories.
Watch things turn out not quite as planned.
The book does a wonderful job of having magic be quietly present. True to the time, magic isnt out in the open. its a burning offense. Magic is quiet. You wont see any fireballs thrown around. It starts out being in the little things- Proctor and his mother engaging in clairvoyance at the kitchen table before Proctor heads out to muster with the militiamen. The most flamboyant magic is used by the antagonists.
And I will admit the antagonists are creepy.
The resolution seemed a bit rushed, but as it is the first book in three, I am looking forward to seeing if the series continues with the promise the first book contains. The overriding threat was not revealed until near the end of Patriot Witch, so it definitely has room to grow.
For its few flaws, Patriot Witch is definitely worth the read. The characters are engaging, the story is interesting, and Finlay has taken a time of intense turmoil and woven his own threads of conflict in wonderfully. It is a good historical fantasy and well worth snatching the paperback as soon as you get a chance.
Patriot Witch was a fun and involved read.
Take a book that opens with some old fashioned courting, and moves directly into Lexington and Concord, and you have my attention caught on two entirely different fronts. And it was pleasantly diverting. My only quip with the beginning of the book is it did get very caught up in the military confusion and complications. I can see the necessity, and the importance, of why the book was written that way, but there were a few pages where it started to drag. But, dear readers, keep reading. I am happy I did.
The protagonist, Proctor Brown, is intriguing and wonderfully alive. He first concern is wooing his Miss Emily (while trying to sort out the right time to tell her about the magic that runs in his family, as the kids will most likely inherit). Secondly, he is interested in having a large farm to support the family he is planning on having. He is setting everything in motion to become the successful family man he envisions.
Enter some troublesome Tories.
Watch things turn out not quite as planned.
The book does a wonderful job of having magic be quietly present. True to the time, magic isnt out in the open. its a burning offense. Magic is quiet. You wont see any fireballs thrown around. It starts out being in the little things- Proctor and his mother engaging in clairvoyance at the kitchen table before Proctor heads out to muster with the militiamen. The most flamboyant magic is used by the antagonists.
And I will admit the antagonists are creepy.
The resolution seemed a bit rushed, but as it is the first book in three, I am looking forward to seeing if the series continues with the promise the first book contains. The overriding threat was not revealed until near the end of Patriot Witch, so it definitely has room to grow.
For its few flaws, Patriot Witch is definitely worth the read. The characters are engaging, the story is interesting, and Finlay has taken a time of intense turmoil and woven his own threads of conflict in wonderfully. It is a good historical fantasy and well worth snatching the paperback as soon as you get a chance.
