Customer Reviews

Traitor to the Crown: The Patriot Witch

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

On the brinks of Revolution, American militia men---troupes of armed farmers and other non-military men---stand to guard the "Patriot Cause" against the British redcoats. Unknown to the vast majority of fighting men on both sides is the presence of magical intervention--or that those among them are charmed or gifted with supernatural abilities.

Twenty-year old Proctor Brown, a farmer and militiaman, spots a charm worn by Major Pitcairn, a British "lobster". Though Proctor is supposed to be wooing his sweetheart Emily's father, the British soldiers pull him into a brawl, where after he is forced to ram a knife into Pitcairn, he discovers that the officer with the charm is invincible. Proctor's worrying about making a good impression on Emily's father fades as both war and magic come crashing into his life.

In Finlay's mythos, magic in colonial America was made famous by the Salem witch trials; Proctor, as betrayed by his name, is a descendent of Salem witches. Fearing for persecution, his mother has taught him very little of his inherited abilities, and discourages him from discovering more, both for fear of the principle and of losing her only son. In the beginning, Proctor is only capable of scrying, but through the course of the story, becomes capable of invoking protection and reversal spells that become crucial in determining the outcome (which we know in hindsight) of the battle of Bunker Hill.

Magic, in this saga, seems more plausible due to its limitations; flights are illusions, but magic can spontaneously combust things (and people), summon zombies and spirits, heal, and be channeled. The exact words of your spell don't matter, if you don't find a focus; thus, it's interesting to see blood used as a focus, and verses from the bible as incantations for spells. We do get to see a bit of that nostalgic "learn magic in a school-like setting," when Proctor is exiled a la the Quaker Highway to stay at the Farm, a sanctuary of witches protected by enchantment from outside view. However, Proctor's male gender, in part, creates some discrimination against him in the Farm, composed of a small group of female witches. There is virtually no sexual tension, however, other than the differences in culture between males and females.

While the author cites inspiration from his experience researching original documents from this era, historical details do not weigh the book down, and the setting of the book seems more like a stereotypical "pop culture" conveyance. The lack of subplots slows the story, but keeps it clear that our story is about the Patriot Witch----not quite a wizard, but just a determined and able colonial man named Proctor Brown.

(No spoilers here!)

Finlay does a whole lot of things right in this book (setting it far, far above Katherine Kurtz's disappointing 1996 Two Crowns for America, the only other work I've run into that handles witches and the American Revolution). His characters are human, believable, and sympathetic. They know weakness and uncertainty; they make mistakes; they change their minds. For the most part the emotional interactions between these characters are handled with a subtle, even lovely, touch. Finlay conveys big, important, tragic things without melodrama, both at the personal level and at the "Shot Heard Round the World" level. Which is not to say this book is the literary equivalent of a chick flick; on the contrary, the battles--again, both large-scale and small--are visceral and gripping, and they read fast. Even the reader familiar with the historical encounters can suspend that knowledge of the outcome and worry over how things will turn out.

In fact, the integration of history with fiction is something Finlay always does well. (His 2002 novelet "We Come Not to Praise Washington" was a finalist for the Sidewise Award for alternate history). Finlay is a trained historian who's done plenty of academic work on this era, but don't let that scare you off, because he's a storyteller first. None of this reads as dry history; in fact this novel manages to breathe real life into an era that everyone knows at least something about, reminding us that the patriots and tories of the American Revolution had real-life, tough decisions to make, balancing love and family and fear against any political considerations. People died, many of them senselessly. Others were displaced or went hungry. Where pop history forgets them and academic history might render them dry figures, Finlay's characters fear and feel these losses. Maintaining historical gender roles while writing strong female characters is another place Finlay excels. The prose and dialogue convey the period and lifestyle well while remaining seamlessly readable, resorting neither to modern slang nor stilted historical usage. (Yes, as another reviewer noted--there's a stretch of thees and thous. But this comes from someone who would indeed have spoken like that, doesn't actually happen often or last long, and even gets noticed and discussed by the main characters later.) History geeks will enjoy having a few fun tidbits thrown their way, such as the answer to the historical mystery of the shot that started it all; similarly, the dialogue near the end over the name of a hill where a battle was fought manages to be both funny and sadly profound.

All of the above said, while this is an excellent book, it is not a perfect book. For instance, a long stretch of the story relies upon the POV character not communicating information he has to the characters around him; I didn't buy his reason for this, in large part because he never quite explains it. Perhaps his reason was valid, but I wanted him to at least acknowledge (to the reader inside his head) that he's withholding info and why, especially as the people around him discuss wishing they knew that piece of information. But about the time I was starting to worry that it would annoy me if the whole book relied upon what felt like a contrived lack of communication, all was revealed. From then out, the characters' logic and knowledge, or lack thereof, made sense, making this one, fairly early incident one of the few things that bothered me.

All in all, this book is a great read. I look forward to the next book in the trilogy, A Spell for the Revolution (and yay, it's due out next month, so we don't even have to wait very long!)

It's April, 1775, the time of year when a young man's mind turns to romance, cattle, and his poor fashion options. Young Proctor Brown has many things on his mind, not the least of which is his attempted courtship of loyalist Emily Rucke. Her father is none too pleased by the pairing and Proctor means to change his mind. Matters are complicated by the fact that Proctor is a farmer, a militiaman, and a witch.

It's no easy thing being a witch in 1775 New England. It's a thing Proctor's mother has tried to keep well hidden, to the point she hasn't taught her son much about their abilities. Proctor can scry some, but often doesn't understand what he sees. He longs to get a grasp on his talents, and after a muster goes horribly wrong, he is given the opportunity to do just that. As Proctor discovers this side of himself, an entirely new world opens--just as one begins to for the country.

Proctor's adventures in Revolutionary New England are filled with all you could hope for. It is a coming of age story, it is a romance, it is a magical journey through our country's bloody history. And? Look out for the zombies. Win!

Finlay does for the Revolutionary War what Novik did for the Napoleonic with her Temeraire books; this is a rich blend of history and fantasy, that will only leave you wanting more when all is said and done. Fortunately, books two and three are coming in May and June. The wait will not be long.

I couldn't even tell you how long it's been since I was totally sucked into a book by page five--before THE PATRIOT WITCH, that is. I almost missed my bus stop due to this book, and that hasn't happened on the front end of a book in far too long.

Young Proctor Brown, descendant of the John Proctor tried for witchcraft in Salem, has powers that he does not understand, and that his mother has been pressing him to keep secret since he discovered them. But circumstances force him to confront his power: the Revolutionary War has begun, starting with a confrontation with a British officer bearing a charm that allows him to emerge from any battle unharmed. Proctor finds himself compelled to attempt to break the officer's charm, and from there, he embarks on a quest to understand his abilities. The secret history of the patriot witches of the beginning of the American Revolution unfolds quickly and grippingly from there, all the way to Bunker Hill.

There are impressive historical details throughout, but the utter creepiness of the witchcraft was an unexpected delight for me, from zombies to human sacrifice. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

What a mixed bag this book was for me. I love the concept of "The Patriot Witch" - the mixing of witchcraft with real Revolutionary War history. I loved the start with the descriptive battle scenes, but there wasn't enough of this in the book. While it was a quick and fun read in general, it did drag in some places. I've never seen a book spend so much time and detail on the digging of graves.

Overall, I have four chief complaints about this book.

SPOILERS BELOW!!!

1) The author cleverly dropped clues that a character was going to turn out to be a traitor. It seemed to be building up to something. Instead, it's anti-climactic as the big reveal is in the past tense. Oh yeah, she left last night and by the way, she betrayed us. No confrontation, no drama. What a let down.

2) Another character - supposedly one of the most powerful witches - is dispatched as almost an afterthought. Her death takes place in just a couple of sentences. However, the author takes far more space to describe the digging of said character's grave. Again - where is the confrontation, the excitement, the drama as this powerful character meets her end?

3) Finally, while the book is a bit grisly at times, it doesn't go overboard and most of the deaths are either soldiers or villains. That's why the unnecessary and brutal slaying of a little boy caught me completely off guard. I know this is a work of fiction, but I was so turned off by it that I considered not finishing the book. We know the widow was evil. We didn't need more proof. I personally think the author could have achieved the same effect with the child being gravely injured but then healed by the healing spells of the witches. It would have felt much more in tune with the tone set up to that point.

4) Finally, I would love to know more about the type of protagonist the author was intending to create. Proctor Brown is not a very likable guy much of the time. The author goes out of the way to show him saying the wrong thing, hurting people's feelings, making brash moves (repeatedly) that endanger others and being somewhat wishy-washy and unheroic. While I applaud the author for not making a cookie-cutter hero, I would have liked to have seen some growth during the course of the book. Instead, Brown seems just as clueless at the end as he does at the beginning.

All that being said, I am considering buying and reading the sequel "A Spell for the Revolution." I still find the overall premise compelling and am interested in knowing more about what happens to these characters - even if I didn't care for some aspects of the first book.

If you're like me, you don't get to read as much as you'd like, or rather, what you read isn't exactly "for pleasure." Therefore, when you do have the opportunity to read what you want, you get picky. In my case, that means turning to the works of a rare dozen or so authors who have never failed to engage me in their fictional worlds.

C.C. Finlay is most definitely on that list. There's an ease to his use of language, a rich tapestry of setting and character that immediately pulls me in, and his stories are always fresh in their plotting. I've yet to be disappointed in reading any of his work.

Finlay's latest historical fantasy novel, The Patriot Witch, provides an extra bonus as it's set against the rich AND realistic backdrop of America's struggle for independence (a personal favorite historical period). War is not pretty and Finlay never shies from showing us the clear and dirty details without ever slowing down the story. If you wanted to fight for freedom, more power to you. Don't have a rifle? Just wait a few moments. Someone else will fall and you can use theirs. If nothing else, Finlay makes it clear that a pragmatic mind is the only thing that keeps you alive in the midst of battle... if you're lucky.

As it turns out, luck - or to be more specific, MAGIC, may have something to do with staying alive as well.

While there's ample historic underpinnings to The Patriot's Witch, the story's heart lies with Finlay's protagonist Proctor Brown, a 20 year-old young farmer and minuteman. Proctor learns many a painful lesson in this first part of the Traitor to the Crown trilogy. Coming of age during the American Revolution is one thing. Discovering the dark ugly side of magic is another. Up until the story's kicked into gear, Proctor's only exposure to magic is the benign art of scrying - the ability to see into the future (though interpretation is key as he painfully discovers). He soon learns that his dreams of peaceful farming have no place in the harsh realities of a war reaching far beyond the battlegrounds of Lexington and Bunker Hill into the realms of the rights and wrong of magical power.

It is that exploration of what defines right vs. wrong, good vs. evil, which makes up a sizeable portion of this novel. Finlay allows the reader to share in Proctor's confusion, discovery and realizations by exposing the character to witches loyal to opposing sides in the colonies' fight for independence. Desperate to hold on to their lands, the Brits will do whatever is necessary... including enlisting witches of dark magic to defeat their enemies. The American witches, however, (ever the underdogs) resist the use of life taking magics, even when it comes at a price.

Yes, there's a metaphorical element to the story with bad witches as the British (the bad guys) and good witches as the Americans (that would be us good guys). That said, several threads are set up in this first novel that make promise of a more complex, less easily defined sense of good vs. evil. In fact, as fun as this first book was, I'm a bit impatient to start the second one (A Spell for the Revolution) as I'm eager to see how Proctor and the colonies maintain their youthful optimism as the Revolution's first blush subsides and the harsh realities of fighting a war with limited resources can make the line between good and evil all the thinner.

The Patriot Witch is the first in a trilogy of historical fantasies in the Traitor to the Crown series by C.C. Finlay also known as Charles Coleman Finlay author of The Prodigal Troll. Del Rey is releasing the series one a month with the first this past April and the 2nd and 3rd books following a month apart similar to how Brent Weeks' Night Angel Trilogy and Naomi Novik's Temeraire / His Majesty's Dragon were done. I love it when a publisher does something like this, especially given the lag time most of us wait for our favorite series to have a new release. Although publisher a has to have a lot of confidence in the books as their expectations would have to be high. I can say without any reservations that The Patriot Witch hits all the right marks with gritty action, believable characters, and good magic while nailing the setting.

The story is centered during revolutionary times in Massachusetts, mostly in the Lexington to Boston area. From a historical aspect The Patriot Witch is completely accurate to the point you could consider it a secret history instead of an alternative one. The story just mixes in magic here and there to help explain how events unfold as they did in ingenious and completely logical ways. I'll refrain from mentioning specific events as it would ruin the fun of finding out what the characters were involved with. The lead and some secondary characters have a lot of depth given the length of the book at 330 pages, which nowadays I'd consider a light read in the fantasy genre.

The Patriot Witch gives you the common people's view of the revolution through the eyes of Proctor Brown, a christian farmer and minuteman who also happens to be descended from a line of witches with magic in his blood. I watched the John Adams HBO mini-series last year, which was enthralling but it differed in that it was from the perspective of the leaders of the time so I found Brown's everyman POV refreshing. Proctor is very conflicted between his faith, his newly found powers, and also turning against the British. Even nowadays it is strange to think that people considered themselves British just as much as American during revolutionary times. There is a second war being fought at the same time. One with arms and the other magical as the British side has witches of its own helping. Although it is unclear how much the Brits know about their involvement, but more of the intrigue will probably unfold in succeeding volumes. At it heart The Patriot Witch is a story or responsibility, courage, and selflessness with the main characters sense of doing the right thing driving them even when alternatives from danger are given to them time and again.

The one slow point was Proctor's time spent on a farm while trying to learn about his abilities, but even that sequence ends on a high note of surprises and action. The battle scenes are well drawn from historical sources with very realistic combat. The ending plays out well and leaves you wanting for so much more from the characters. The Patriot Witch turned into one of those reads you stay up late for just to get a few more pages in. Before you know it you look up and see you should have been to sleep an hour ago and than turn back for another page. I give The Patriot Witch 8.5 out of 10 Hats. If it wasn't for The Prodigal Troll I'd put this up as a possible Fantasy Debut of the year. Judging by the synopsis of A Spell for the Revolution the action will only be getting bigger so I'll definitely keep following the series.

The Patriot Witch was a yummy, quick read. Proctor Brown isn't an orphan, but he was raised on a farm, his parents having moved to the farm from Salem, Mass. Yep, he's a witch and he needs to learn to use his magical talent, but his mother is too afraid of being found out.

Proctor is a minute man, training with the local militia and he's involved in Lexington and Concord, as well as the Battle of Bunker Hill.

Finlay, an historian by education, sprinkles tidbits and descriptions that add color and authenticity to the story - I really looked forward to finding them.

There's lots of action, making the story move quickly, and as I said before, I read it quickly because of it.

The characters and larger story reminded me a little of Orson Scott Card's Alvin Maker series (before it spun out of control). But where Alvin Maker was an alternate history, with Tecumseh settling in the Ohio Valley, this is a secret history. All the major points of history are authentic, except that the history books left out the part the witches played. As a teacher, I could see using this book to teach about the start of the American Revolution - talking about some of the points that *are* documented history.

Proctor Brown is the Main Character and we feel his confusion about magic and witchcraft.

I enjoyed it immensely and recommend it as a summer read. It's not great literature, but a fun romp through a "what if" of the American Revolution.

The second book, A Spell for the Revolution, is out now and sitting in my TBR pile. The Demon Redcoat, the final book of the trilogy, will be out later this month. Can't wait.

I snapped up a review copy of this because I've been hearing great things about his short fiction. Very glad I did. The Patriot Witch is historical fantasy, set during the Revolutionary War. Proctor Brown is a minuteman - and a witch, with power inherited from his mother. One of the things I really loved about this book was the internally consistent portrayal of different types of sorcery and witchcraft, and how the characters use and think of their powers. Brown's descended from Salem witches, and discusses his powers with his pastor - he struggles with being a witch and being a member of a religion that will not suffer a witch to live. There are also representations of Appalachian, Southern, and Quaker traditions; there's a lot of clear research and detail applied to something many authors just handwave away.

Oh, and there's a plot, too! Basically, this is a Revolutionary War fantasy in much the same way that Naomi Novik's Temeraire books are Napoleonic War fantasy, but with witchcraft instead of dragons. If you're reading Novik for the engaging and historically accurate-as-they-can-be characters and the military history and maneuvers instead of just the shiny dragons, you'll enjoy this book; Brown's every bit as defined as Laurence, and his philosophical internal conflict alone could drive a series, but there are interesting threads for him to follow here as well.

Books two and three are dropping in May and June - get this one now so you can keep up!

I first noticed this book advertised on another author's website and picked it up. Putting it down was the hard part. The first book of a series always has the hardest time because the characters and tone of the series need to be established. In my opinion, the author succeeded on both counts. The main protagonist, Proctor Brown, seemed a very real person. What I liked most was that the character was very imperfect. He made mistakes (some major) and he could be thoughtless. Those pieces of his character in no way detracted from his likability. At heart, Proctor had deep convictions. The tone of the story was a little above the basic action plot. Like the characters, the historical aspect of the story seemed very real - the magic added to the story rather than overwhelming it. I look forward to the 2nd and 3rd books of the series.