In this entry of Xlibris Reviews, we take a look at a story with an entirely original yet organically depicted fantasy world in D.J. Butler’s Witchy Eye.
The Plot
Sarah Calhoun, raised as one of the children of the Elector Andrew Calhoun, learns she is an inheritor to two great legacies, that of her mother, the Empire, and that of her father, the Kingdom of Cahokia and Ohio. Found by the magician-monk Thalanes, Sarah must go on a journey to reclaim her father’s magical raiment if she is to survive her pursuers, agents of her evil uncle, who is the current emperor, and the dark servants of the Necromancer Oliver Cromwell. Along the way Sarah meets an assortment of colorful characters and beings who help her on her journey. All the while the Heron King, lord of the beastkind and the wild places of the land, seeks a new bride…
The Review
D.J. Butler tells an old, classic fantasy adventure story, but thanks to his incredibly original and living setting, Witchy Eye feels like a breath of fresh air. While the characters are interesting and likeable, the plot iwell-structured, and the writing itself very well-executed, it is the setting and the delivery of said setting that elevates Witchy Eye in this reviewer’s opinion.
Witchy Eye is set in a post-Revolution America, where, instead of a democratic United States, there is instead an American Empire. In addition, this is a world where magic is known, practiced, and feared, having had large, even disastrous, effects on history and civilization.
In this world, Oliver Cromwell tried to take over Europe using necromancy and an army of dead and wooden men. In this world, the wild places of America are ruled by the powerful Heron King, and inhabited by beastkind, people bearing any of an assortment of animal features. In this world, the Lazars, the nigh unstoppable undead servants of the Necromancer Oliver Cromwell, still stalk the shadows doing their master’s dark bidding. All set to a backdrop of varying post-colonial American cultures and traditions that feel both familiar and different to American folk roots.
Butler introduces his setting organically and naturally, through the eyes of the characters as they experience it. While this means the reader will have to piece together this strange world themselves, it also avoids clunky and time-wasting exposition.
As for the characters, they are all well-written and human in their execution. Sarah is a young woman struggling with who she is, who she wants to be, and who she needs to be. Thanks to her upbringing in the Appalachian hill country, she is used to taking care of herself and is quick and cunning at learning and using her mystical heritage. The monk Thalanes feels both and old and new, at times combining elements of the wizard mentor with that of a down-to-earth chaplain or counselor.
Other characters include the Appalachian Calvin Calhoun, loyal as a hound and just as good a hunter and tracker, William Lee, disgraced officer but no less deadly a duelist for it, and Ezekiel Angleton, a priest in service to the Emperor whose pursuit of Sarah forces him to face truths and horrors that will change his view of the world and his place in it. And of course there is the Necromancer Oliver Cromwell, who will do whatever it takes, employ whatever forbidden magic he wishes, to correct what he feels is a mistake in God’s plan… death itself.
All in all, Witchy Eye is a fantasy story with a refreshingly original setting and believably human characters, all excellently executed with D.J. Butler’s writing.
Xlibris Publishing trusts this helps
Please make sure to check out the Xlibris Publishing site for more advice and blogs, and be sure to follow us on Xlibris Publishing Facebook and Xlibris Publishing Twitter. Get your free publishing guide here.
By Ian Smith