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My Brother's Keeper
THE TRUE STORY OF THE BRONT Ë SISTERS AS ONLY TIM POWERS COULD WRITE IT.
This is a ghost story. It is a story about werewolves, and things that go bump in the night. It is a story of an ill-fated land, the pathless moors of Northern England so well chronicled in Wuthering Heights . And it is the story of a real family whose destiny it is to deal with this darkly glamorous and dangerous world.
When young Emily Brontë helps a wounded man she finds at the foot of an ancient pagan shrine in the remote Yorkshire moors, her life becomes contentiously entwined with his. He is Alcuin Curzon, embittered member of a sect working to eradicate the resurgent plague of lycanthropy in Europe and northern England.
But Emily’s father, curate of the Haworth village church, is responsible for having unwittingly brought a demonic werewolf god to Yorkshire forty years ago—and it is taking possession of Emily’s beloved but foolish and dissolute brother. Curzon must regard Emily’s family as a dire threat.
In spite of being at deadly odds, Emily and Curzon find themselves thrown together in fighting werewolves, confronting pagan gods, even saving each other from the lures of moorland demons. And in a final battle that sweeps from the haunted village of Haworth to a monstrous shrine far out on the moors, the two of them must be reluctant allies against an ancient power that seems likely to take their souls as well as their lives.
This is a ghost story. It is a story about werewolves, and things that go bump in the night. It is a story of an ill-fated land, the pathless moors of Northern England so well chronicled in Wuthering Heights . And it is the story of a real family whose destiny it is to deal with this darkly glamorous and dangerous world.
When young Emily Brontë helps a wounded man she finds at the foot of an ancient pagan shrine in the remote Yorkshire moors, her life becomes contentiously entwined with his. He is Alcuin Curzon, embittered member of a sect working to eradicate the resurgent plague of lycanthropy in Europe and northern England.
But Emily’s father, curate of the Haworth village church, is responsible for having unwittingly brought a demonic werewolf god to Yorkshire forty years ago—and it is taking possession of Emily’s beloved but foolish and dissolute brother. Curzon must regard Emily’s family as a dire threat.
In spite of being at deadly odds, Emily and Curzon find themselves thrown together in fighting werewolves, confronting pagan gods, even saving each other from the lures of moorland demons. And in a final battle that sweeps from the haunted village of Haworth to a monstrous shrine far out on the moors, the two of them must be reluctant allies against an ancient power that seems likely to take their souls as well as their lives.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published September 5, 2023
About the author
Tim Powers
141 books1,789 followersTimothy Thomas Powers is an American science fiction and fantasy author. Powers has won the World Fantasy Award twice for his critically acclaimed novels Last Call and Declare.
Most of Powers's novels are "secret histories": he uses actual, documented historical events featuring famous people, but shows another view of them in which occult or supernatural factors heavily influence the motivations and actions of the characters.
Powers was born in Buffalo, New York, and grew up in California, where his Roman Catholic family moved in 1959.
He studied English Literature at Cal State Fullerton, where he first met James Blaylock and K.W. Jeter, both of whom remained close friends and occasional collaborators; the trio have half-seriously referred to themselves as "steampunks" in contrast to the prevailing cyberpunk genre of the 1980s. Powers and Blaylock invented the poet William Ashbless while they were at Cal State Fullerton.
Another friend Powers first met during this period was noted science fiction writer Philip K. Dick; the character named "David" in Dick's novel VALIS is based on Powers and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Blade Runner) is dedicated to him.
Powers's first major novel was The Drawing of the Dark (1979), but the novel that earned him wide praise was The Anubis Gates, which won the Philip K. Dick Award, and has since been published in many other languages.
Powers also teaches part-time in his role as Writer in Residence for the Orange County High School of the Arts where his friend, Blaylock, is Director of the Creative Writing Department. Powers and his wife, Serena, currently live in Muscoy, California. He has frequently served as a mentor author as part of the Clarion science fiction/fantasy writer's workshop.
He also taught part time at the University of Redlands.
Excerpted from Wikipedia.
Most of Powers's novels are "secret histories": he uses actual, documented historical events featuring famous people, but shows another view of them in which occult or supernatural factors heavily influence the motivations and actions of the characters.
Powers was born in Buffalo, New York, and grew up in California, where his Roman Catholic family moved in 1959.
He studied English Literature at Cal State Fullerton, where he first met James Blaylock and K.W. Jeter, both of whom remained close friends and occasional collaborators; the trio have half-seriously referred to themselves as "steampunks" in contrast to the prevailing cyberpunk genre of the 1980s. Powers and Blaylock invented the poet William Ashbless while they were at Cal State Fullerton.
Another friend Powers first met during this period was noted science fiction writer Philip K. Dick; the character named "David" in Dick's novel VALIS is based on Powers and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Blade Runner) is dedicated to him.
Powers's first major novel was The Drawing of the Dark (1979), but the novel that earned him wide praise was The Anubis Gates, which won the Philip K. Dick Award, and has since been published in many other languages.
Powers also teaches part-time in his role as Writer in Residence for the Orange County High School of the Arts where his friend, Blaylock, is Director of the Creative Writing Department. Powers and his wife, Serena, currently live in Muscoy, California. He has frequently served as a mentor author as part of the Clarion science fiction/fantasy writer's workshop.
He also taught part time at the University of Redlands.
Excerpted from Wikipedia.
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September 24, 2023It's a bit of a travesty that Tim Powers' latest novel, My Brother's Keeper, is not going supernova seeing as it combines the Brontes, a mysterious cult and werewolves. Powers is a wonderful writer of any type of SFF, but I adore his historical novels. The British edition of this has the superior cover (sorry American readers!), but anyway, run, don't walk, to your bookstore for this decadent Gothic bonbon.
October 15, 2023
With My Brother’s Keeper Tim Powers makes a roaring return to his signature occult hidden histories. The curious family life and tragic, premature deaths of the literary Brontë family are his starting point this time around, and through his weird lens they are explained through ancient curses, pagan goddesses, secret occult societies, British folklore, and werewolves on the moors.
Dedicated Powers fans already familiar with his work will get the most mileage from this book. Throughout his period pieces (The Anubis Gate, The Stress of Her Regard, Hide Me Among the Graves) and his modern occult hidden histories (Declare, Last Call, Expiration Date) Powers has established a chillingly uncanny occult world, a hidden world of remote gods and inhuman monsters more dreadful than anything out of Lovecraft. His interpretations of ghosts and vampires have already redefined their essential, uncanny horror. In My Brother’s Keeper he adds werewolves. Powers jumps with both feet directly into this world of hidden horrors from chapter one. Those already familiar with him will be better able to keep up.
If you come to this book as a fan of the gothic romances of the Brontë sisters rather than a Tim Powers fan, hold on — you’re in for a wild ride. Know that Powers has used the facts of the Brontë’s biographies much more than their literary efforts in creating this story. Their novels and poetry are mentioned, but are not a major factor. The closest connection between the two is Emily’s obsession with the moors, and a possible inspiration for the character of Heathcliff. And this is definitely Emily’s story. She receives more attention than either of her sisters, who come across more as appendages to Emily rather than fully developed characters, important to the story mainly because of their close relationship with their sister. Emily’s parson father and obscure brother are both more fully developed here than either Charlotte or Anne. Emily though, is given the full hero treatment — a Jehanne d’Arc of the Moors, with a befittingly romantic tragic end.
Dedicated Powers fans already familiar with his work will get the most mileage from this book. Throughout his period pieces (The Anubis Gate, The Stress of Her Regard, Hide Me Among the Graves) and his modern occult hidden histories (Declare, Last Call, Expiration Date) Powers has established a chillingly uncanny occult world, a hidden world of remote gods and inhuman monsters more dreadful than anything out of Lovecraft. His interpretations of ghosts and vampires have already redefined their essential, uncanny horror. In My Brother’s Keeper he adds werewolves. Powers jumps with both feet directly into this world of hidden horrors from chapter one. Those already familiar with him will be better able to keep up.
If you come to this book as a fan of the gothic romances of the Brontë sisters rather than a Tim Powers fan, hold on — you’re in for a wild ride. Know that Powers has used the facts of the Brontë’s biographies much more than their literary efforts in creating this story. Their novels and poetry are mentioned, but are not a major factor. The closest connection between the two is Emily’s obsession with the moors, and a possible inspiration for the character of Heathcliff. And this is definitely Emily’s story. She receives more attention than either of her sisters, who come across more as appendages to Emily rather than fully developed characters, important to the story mainly because of their close relationship with their sister. Emily’s parson father and obscure brother are both more fully developed here than either Charlotte or Anne. Emily though, is given the full hero treatment — a Jehanne d’Arc of the Moors, with a befittingly romantic tragic end.
April 17, 2024
3.5★s
My Brother’s Keeper is the eleventh stand-alone novel by award-winning American author, Tim Powers. In March of 1846, aspiring author, Emily Bronte is walking with her big mastiff, Keeper on the Yorkshire moors when she encounters a seriously injured man. He seems to know of her father, the curate at Haworth, and insists he doesn’t need her help, which turns out to be so.
She later learns that he is one of the Huberti, a French Catholic cult intent on stopping the predation of lycanthropes in the North country, and has just killed a regent werewolf. After this, her widowed father, Patrick reveals some shocking facts about the family’s history with these creatures.
It's perhaps an interesting idea, to take all the known facts about a famous nineteenth Century literary family and entwine into their lives werewolves, ghosts (of people and dogs), a pagan goddess, rituals, men who wear eye parches and carry parallel-bladed dioscuri knife, an entity that takes form using crows, a devil’s head, and something nasty in under an inscribed slab in the church.
The story is told from multiple perspectives: mostly Emily’s, and her brother Branwell’s, with some contributions from members of the Obliques, and Keeper the dog. Powers depicts Branwell as a thoroughly weak and dissolute character, devoid of literary talent, selfish and easily tempted by the promise of importance, while Emily is smart, feisty and resourceful.
Powers probably really enjoyed the irony of having Branwell telling Emily: “I’m not like you -- I ache at anonymity, insignificance! Oh, I’m sorry, but -- you’re content with the fact that a hundred years after you die, nobody will remember Emily Brontë. Or Anne, or Charlotte ... But I wanted to live on, I hoped even physically! -- for a hundred years, more, and have influence, power, respect.” Powers does manage to give readers a reason for the scarcity of further completed works by the sisters, and a mechanism explaining the early death of three of the siblings.
Would the story have the same draw without the Bronte name so liberally scattered throughout? Is it better that all those tropes on the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies bandwagon? Hard to say if you haven’t actually read any of those. It has a decent plot, with plenty of drama and action at the climax, so lovers of fantasy and the supernatural might enjoy it, but I think Bronte lovers are less likely to.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Head of Zeus.
My Brother’s Keeper is the eleventh stand-alone novel by award-winning American author, Tim Powers. In March of 1846, aspiring author, Emily Bronte is walking with her big mastiff, Keeper on the Yorkshire moors when she encounters a seriously injured man. He seems to know of her father, the curate at Haworth, and insists he doesn’t need her help, which turns out to be so.
She later learns that he is one of the Huberti, a French Catholic cult intent on stopping the predation of lycanthropes in the North country, and has just killed a regent werewolf. After this, her widowed father, Patrick reveals some shocking facts about the family’s history with these creatures.
It's perhaps an interesting idea, to take all the known facts about a famous nineteenth Century literary family and entwine into their lives werewolves, ghosts (of people and dogs), a pagan goddess, rituals, men who wear eye parches and carry parallel-bladed dioscuri knife, an entity that takes form using crows, a devil’s head, and something nasty in under an inscribed slab in the church.
The story is told from multiple perspectives: mostly Emily’s, and her brother Branwell’s, with some contributions from members of the Obliques, and Keeper the dog. Powers depicts Branwell as a thoroughly weak and dissolute character, devoid of literary talent, selfish and easily tempted by the promise of importance, while Emily is smart, feisty and resourceful.
Powers probably really enjoyed the irony of having Branwell telling Emily: “I’m not like you -- I ache at anonymity, insignificance! Oh, I’m sorry, but -- you’re content with the fact that a hundred years after you die, nobody will remember Emily Brontë. Or Anne, or Charlotte ... But I wanted to live on, I hoped even physically! -- for a hundred years, more, and have influence, power, respect.” Powers does manage to give readers a reason for the scarcity of further completed works by the sisters, and a mechanism explaining the early death of three of the siblings.
Would the story have the same draw without the Bronte name so liberally scattered throughout? Is it better that all those tropes on the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies bandwagon? Hard to say if you haven’t actually read any of those. It has a decent plot, with plenty of drama and action at the climax, so lovers of fantasy and the supernatural might enjoy it, but I think Bronte lovers are less likely to.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Head of Zeus.
September 6, 2023
Am I reading a completely different book to everyone else?
I read an arc of this, I have never read any of the authors previous works and I am a prolific reader of both fantasy and the classics. This is the worst book I have ever requested on NetGalley. I DNF’d about 15 percent of the way through.
Firstly, the prose is so sparse that if you didn’t know who the Bronte’s were, you would not be able to distinguish between the sisters because there was absolutely no description at all. The world building at the start is minimal, it doesn’t draw you into the story. The authors writing style did not work for me at all, it was very “he said and then she said” - I felt like I was reading someone’s school creative writing project, not something that had been written by someone who has written loads of other books. Apart from the odd word thrown in here and there, it felt like the reading age for this was quite low.
Granted, we have been spoiled for great historical gothic fiction this year but I feel I may not be the target demographic for this. The cover used on Goodreads is not the cover being used for the UK publisher release, my impressions is that the cover used on Goodreads gives you more of an impression of what this book will be like and it’s target audience than the new cover. But going by the blurb and the new cover, I am the type of demographic that will pick up the new book - someone who has read all the Bronte’s novels, who has an interest in historical fantasy about women, who likes a good gothic mystery. I imagine if you like pulp novels this might be up your street - but it being marketed as literary gothic fantasy is putting it in a sphere where expectations are higher and it will not hold up against the quality of books already in the genre.
Also, as an aside, I read the arc and I really hope they change the font and spacing for the released ebook, it looked like someone’s word document on their computer that hadn’t been edited properly. There were also a couple of spelling mistakes.
I read an arc of this, I have never read any of the authors previous works and I am a prolific reader of both fantasy and the classics. This is the worst book I have ever requested on NetGalley. I DNF’d about 15 percent of the way through.
Firstly, the prose is so sparse that if you didn’t know who the Bronte’s were, you would not be able to distinguish between the sisters because there was absolutely no description at all. The world building at the start is minimal, it doesn’t draw you into the story. The authors writing style did not work for me at all, it was very “he said and then she said” - I felt like I was reading someone’s school creative writing project, not something that had been written by someone who has written loads of other books. Apart from the odd word thrown in here and there, it felt like the reading age for this was quite low.
Granted, we have been spoiled for great historical gothic fiction this year but I feel I may not be the target demographic for this. The cover used on Goodreads is not the cover being used for the UK publisher release, my impressions is that the cover used on Goodreads gives you more of an impression of what this book will be like and it’s target audience than the new cover. But going by the blurb and the new cover, I am the type of demographic that will pick up the new book - someone who has read all the Bronte’s novels, who has an interest in historical fantasy about women, who likes a good gothic mystery. I imagine if you like pulp novels this might be up your street - but it being marketed as literary gothic fantasy is putting it in a sphere where expectations are higher and it will not hold up against the quality of books already in the genre.
Also, as an aside, I read the arc and I really hope they change the font and spacing for the released ebook, it looked like someone’s word document on their computer that hadn’t been edited properly. There were also a couple of spelling mistakes.
October 14, 2023
Howarth Parsonage, 1846 & the Brontë family - father Patrick & his four remaining children, Charlotte, Branwell, Emily, & Anne - are once more all living under one roof. Emily loves to take long walks on the Yorkshire moors with her dog Keeper, & on one such walk she meets a wounded man at a place called Ponden Kirk. Emily goes to fetch help from the nearest farm, but the man has disappeared when they return. This is not the only time that the man's path will cross with the Brontës though & it all leads back to a silly game of their youth when following a dream that Branwell had, he, Emily, & Anne made a blood offering in the fairy cave at Ponden Kirk in a vain attempt to see their dead sister, Maria, again. There were dark forces behind the dream & they haven't finished with Branwell yet, & the rest of the family will be drawn into a supernatural nightmare where the highest price may have to be paid.
The Brontes & werewolves - even before starting it, I knew this would be either a triumph or a disaster. It's definitely going to polarise opinion as it's a required taste, but I loved it. I particularly like the way that the author wove actual events into the supernatural narrative, such as when Branwell paints over himself in the portrait of himself & his three sisters. As for the title for me there are two ways of viewing it - there's the Biblical quote in Genesis when Cain kills Abel & God asks Cain where his brother is, Cain replies "Am I my brother's keeper?". The original sibling rivalry which the Brontës also have as they are led into disaster by their brother. There's also the name of Emily's dog, Keeper, & I'm pleased to say that he features quite a lot in the book.
Branwell comes off the worst here as he comes across as petulant, cowardly, & self-centered & I really didn't like him. The others were as you would expect & I felt the author got Emily's character just right. Read it with no preconceptions & no expectations of what a book featuring the Brontës should be like & you may be pleasantly surprised. I thought it was extremely entertaining. 4.5 stars (rounded up).
My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Head of Zeus/AdAstra Books, for the opportunity to read an ARC.
The Brontes & werewolves - even before starting it, I knew this would be either a triumph or a disaster. It's definitely going to polarise opinion as it's a required taste, but I loved it. I particularly like the way that the author wove actual events into the supernatural narrative, such as when Branwell paints over himself in the portrait of himself & his three sisters. As for the title for me there are two ways of viewing it - there's the Biblical quote in Genesis when Cain kills Abel & God asks Cain where his brother is, Cain replies "Am I my brother's keeper?". The original sibling rivalry which the Brontës also have as they are led into disaster by their brother. There's also the name of Emily's dog, Keeper, & I'm pleased to say that he features quite a lot in the book.
Branwell comes off the worst here as he comes across as petulant, cowardly, & self-centered & I really didn't like him. The others were as you would expect & I felt the author got Emily's character just right. Read it with no preconceptions & no expectations of what a book featuring the Brontës should be like & you may be pleasantly surprised. I thought it was extremely entertaining. 4.5 stars (rounded up).
My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Head of Zeus/AdAstra Books, for the opportunity to read an ARC.
September 28, 2023
3.5
I'm giving a half point simply for the final chapter, which was beautifully written and made me weep.
Unlike the rest of the book which, although well written, was utterly insane. I've never watched Pride and Prejudice and Zombies nor Abraham Lincoln:Vampire Hunter but I suspect that this book is like those films -- take a perfectly decent book or life and twist it into something truly crazy.
Honestly? I didn't read the blurb for this book, I was attracted by the cover (which is not the cover its ended up with) so imagine my surprise when Haworth turned out to be infested with werewolves, ghosts, gods and strange religious cults. Who knew? I've been there and it seemed perfectly alright. I suppose that's where the book comes in to explain why Yorkshire isn't knee deep in lycanthropes every full moon.
The story is that Patrick Bronte (father) once rescued a werewolf child and since then (with a lot of to-ing and fro-ing in between) the Brontes have been cursed to try to keep the scourge at bay. However Patrick is getting older, Branwell (as in real life) was somewhat of a sketchy character, Anne and Charlotte are skeptical and just a bit too fond of indoors. Step up Emily Bronte (always my favourite because Wuthering Heights is the best reflection of the moors). Emily rescues a dying man (Curzon) and from that second all the family's lives are changed forever. Emily and Curzon need to save Branwell from possession, the family from their fate and Haworth from the werewolves.
Nuts? Yes.
So if you liked the films previously mentioned you are sure to like this. I just thought it was perhaps several steps too far to la la land and spent a lot of my time rolling my eyes. But it was my own fault for not reading a synopsis. However I did finish the book, the writing was good, it didn't give me a headache and the final chapter is perfect.
Thanks to Netgalley and Head of Zeus for the advance review copy.
I'm giving a half point simply for the final chapter, which was beautifully written and made me weep.
Unlike the rest of the book which, although well written, was utterly insane. I've never watched Pride and Prejudice and Zombies nor Abraham Lincoln:Vampire Hunter but I suspect that this book is like those films -- take a perfectly decent book or life and twist it into something truly crazy.
Honestly? I didn't read the blurb for this book, I was attracted by the cover (which is not the cover its ended up with) so imagine my surprise when Haworth turned out to be infested with werewolves, ghosts, gods and strange religious cults. Who knew? I've been there and it seemed perfectly alright. I suppose that's where the book comes in to explain why Yorkshire isn't knee deep in lycanthropes every full moon.
The story is that Patrick Bronte (father) once rescued a werewolf child and since then (with a lot of to-ing and fro-ing in between) the Brontes have been cursed to try to keep the scourge at bay. However Patrick is getting older, Branwell (as in real life) was somewhat of a sketchy character, Anne and Charlotte are skeptical and just a bit too fond of indoors. Step up Emily Bronte (always my favourite because Wuthering Heights is the best reflection of the moors). Emily rescues a dying man (Curzon) and from that second all the family's lives are changed forever. Emily and Curzon need to save Branwell from possession, the family from their fate and Haworth from the werewolves.
Nuts? Yes.
So if you liked the films previously mentioned you are sure to like this. I just thought it was perhaps several steps too far to la la land and spent a lot of my time rolling my eyes. But it was my own fault for not reading a synopsis. However I did finish the book, the writing was good, it didn't give me a headache and the final chapter is perfect.
Thanks to Netgalley and Head of Zeus for the advance review copy.
June 6, 2024
A couple of years ago I read and thoroughly enjoyed Lena Coakley's WORLDS OF INK AND SHADOW, a YA historical fantasy of the Bronte siblings that at the time made me shocked that Tim Powers hadn't already done his own take on this doomed family of Victorian artists and their werewolf nemesis. I was not at all surprised a few months later to learn that Coakley merely beat Powers by a few years.
So it's The Doomed Bronte Siblings Versus Their Werewolf Nemesis, Tim Powers style! First off, I think this is the most plain fun I've had with a Powers book since THE ANUBIS GATES. MY BROTHER'S KEEPER feels extremely taut, streamlined, and pacy. The focus is pretty tightly on Emily and Branwell Bronte; Charlotte and Anne remain on the sidelines. Beyond that...well, "cosy" is probably the wrong word to use of a Tim Powers novel, but I've often found Powers' older books particularly hard to get on with: their protagonists are often very unsympathetic people who pay a ghastly and grotesque price for their victory over evil. While the steep price is here in this book, as well, it is more tragic than grotesque. There's a surprisingly small number of severed and destroyed body parts; there is a large, friendly, and powerful Heroic Dog; and while Branwell Bronte is the traditional Tim Powers Hot Mess, Emily - stubborn, indomitable, and selfless - retains the spotlight. (Powers' previous novel of literary Victorian spinsters fighting the undead, HIDE ME AMONG THE GRAVES, chose to focus less on our favourite literary spinster, Christina Rossetti, than on Powers' less interesting male OC; I'm happy to see that he's corrected this in MY BROTHER'S KEEPER, which is the We Love Emily Bronte Show).
There is a Tim Powers OC in the book, of course, and I really enjoyed the character of Alcuin Curzon, a gruff Heathcliffian wanderer who very, very grumpily becomes Emily's knight-errant and shares with her one of those ambiguously platonic relationships that hovers on the edge of romance without ever quite toppling over into it, of which I am so fond.
I would have liked to have come away from the book feeling that I understood the Bronte siblings better, the way I did reading WORLDS OF INK AND SHADOW. The conceit of that book was the Brontes learning to process their childhood trauma so that it no longer becomes a monster stalking them, and in reading it I felt that I had come to understand quite a lot about their art and experiences, and felt that I had been given a way of finding peace with their tragic early deaths. Given that this is precisely the thing Powers did so well with the Romantic poets in THE STRESS OF HER REGARD and the Rossettis in HIDE ME AMONG THE GRAVES, I was surprised that MY BROTHER'S KEEPER didn't have more depth. "The Brontes died ridding the world of GHOSTS and WEREWOLVES" makes for a fun potboiler but lacks a certain amount of depth in terms of literary criticism. But perhaps there are nuances I've missed. The book certainly captures the distinctive experience of trying to keep someone you love from going straight to the devil.
Finally, I was somewhat perplexed by the book's religious content. I do expect Catholic authors to write using Catholic ideas and themes, and most of the time that works wonderfully for me. This book had me scratching my head, because Powers seems to have very little idea how to write Protestants. Patrick Bronte, the father of the family, is said to have supported the Catholic Emancipation Act, signalling that he's probably not a complete bigot, yet none of the family seems able to go two pages without saying, "oh, Catholics, ew". For people who seem obsessed with saying how dreadful Catholicism is, however, they also show an intimate familiarity with Catholic practice; the sort of familiarity that even I don't have, even though my mother did grow up in the Catholic church and I have some very dear Catholic friends and have spent most of my life obsessed with medieval history. As a Protestant myself, it really didn't track.
Although Powers has been a huge influence on my own writing, I was struck while reading this book by the stark difference between how I write magic and how Powers writes it, at least in this book. The Lord's Prayer becomes part of an incantation to keep an ancient beast suppressed, and it is more effective when read in Latin; as though it is formulaic continuity with ancient tradition, as directly opposed to the living and present bond of faith between the speaker (whatever their language) and God, that gives the words their power. Perhaps this is a uniquely Protestant criticism to make (or perhaps it isn't - there are plenty of Catholic authors who write magic systems I can get behind) - but there, I evidently wasn't asked to consult as a Protestant sensitivity reader on this book.
These few minor notes aside, however, what remains is still a very pacy, delightful little thriller of ghosts, werewolves, and gutsy Victorian spinsters on the Yorkshire moors. I inhaled it with unseemly haste and hope that Powers shortly finds some more tragically artistic Victorian ladies to write about next. Effie Millais, perhaps?
So it's The Doomed Bronte Siblings Versus Their Werewolf Nemesis, Tim Powers style! First off, I think this is the most plain fun I've had with a Powers book since THE ANUBIS GATES. MY BROTHER'S KEEPER feels extremely taut, streamlined, and pacy. The focus is pretty tightly on Emily and Branwell Bronte; Charlotte and Anne remain on the sidelines. Beyond that...well, "cosy" is probably the wrong word to use of a Tim Powers novel, but I've often found Powers' older books particularly hard to get on with: their protagonists are often very unsympathetic people who pay a ghastly and grotesque price for their victory over evil. While the steep price is here in this book, as well, it is more tragic than grotesque. There's a surprisingly small number of severed and destroyed body parts; there is a large, friendly, and powerful Heroic Dog; and while Branwell Bronte is the traditional Tim Powers Hot Mess, Emily - stubborn, indomitable, and selfless - retains the spotlight. (Powers' previous novel of literary Victorian spinsters fighting the undead, HIDE ME AMONG THE GRAVES, chose to focus less on our favourite literary spinster, Christina Rossetti, than on Powers' less interesting male OC; I'm happy to see that he's corrected this in MY BROTHER'S KEEPER, which is the We Love Emily Bronte Show).
There is a Tim Powers OC in the book, of course, and I really enjoyed the character of Alcuin Curzon, a gruff Heathcliffian wanderer who very, very grumpily becomes Emily's knight-errant and shares with her one of those ambiguously platonic relationships that hovers on the edge of romance without ever quite toppling over into it, of which I am so fond.
I would have liked to have come away from the book feeling that I understood the Bronte siblings better, the way I did reading WORLDS OF INK AND SHADOW. The conceit of that book was the Brontes learning to process their childhood trauma so that it no longer becomes a monster stalking them, and in reading it I felt that I had come to understand quite a lot about their art and experiences, and felt that I had been given a way of finding peace with their tragic early deaths. Given that this is precisely the thing Powers did so well with the Romantic poets in THE STRESS OF HER REGARD and the Rossettis in HIDE ME AMONG THE GRAVES, I was surprised that MY BROTHER'S KEEPER didn't have more depth. "The Brontes died ridding the world of GHOSTS and WEREWOLVES" makes for a fun potboiler but lacks a certain amount of depth in terms of literary criticism. But perhaps there are nuances I've missed. The book certainly captures the distinctive experience of trying to keep someone you love from going straight to the devil.
Finally, I was somewhat perplexed by the book's religious content. I do expect Catholic authors to write using Catholic ideas and themes, and most of the time that works wonderfully for me. This book had me scratching my head, because Powers seems to have very little idea how to write Protestants. Patrick Bronte, the father of the family, is said to have supported the Catholic Emancipation Act, signalling that he's probably not a complete bigot, yet none of the family seems able to go two pages without saying, "oh, Catholics, ew". For people who seem obsessed with saying how dreadful Catholicism is, however, they also show an intimate familiarity with Catholic practice; the sort of familiarity that even I don't have, even though my mother did grow up in the Catholic church and I have some very dear Catholic friends and have spent most of my life obsessed with medieval history. As a Protestant myself, it really didn't track.
Although Powers has been a huge influence on my own writing, I was struck while reading this book by the stark difference between how I write magic and how Powers writes it, at least in this book. The Lord's Prayer becomes part of an incantation to keep an ancient beast suppressed, and it is more effective when read in Latin; as though it is formulaic continuity with ancient tradition, as directly opposed to the living and present bond of faith between the speaker (whatever their language) and God, that gives the words their power. Perhaps this is a uniquely Protestant criticism to make (or perhaps it isn't - there are plenty of Catholic authors who write magic systems I can get behind) - but there, I evidently wasn't asked to consult as a Protestant sensitivity reader on this book.
These few minor notes aside, however, what remains is still a very pacy, delightful little thriller of ghosts, werewolves, and gutsy Victorian spinsters on the Yorkshire moors. I inhaled it with unseemly haste and hope that Powers shortly finds some more tragically artistic Victorian ladies to write about next. Effie Millais, perhaps?
October 11, 2023
A big fun adventure filled secret history fantasy tale but focused on the Brontë sisters dealing with cults, ghosts and werewolves
Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
September 2, 2026
Discovering this book was purely by chance as I was actually researching another author to see what they have recently published and only just happened across this title.
Felt rather a fool as Tim Powers is one of my influential and important authors having helped me in to the world of fantasy with the Anubis Gates and Drawing of the Dark. So was rather than aback when I discovered I had not got this title especially since it was not from one of the limited run specialist presses that seem to do a great job of collecting all the more unique titles.
So here I am with a new title in hand and really having no clue what to expect - and it was certainly and interesting ride - nothing like I expected although loud and proud of its roots and influences it was something entirely different and one I would highly recommend. Not his fastest paced book but thoroughly entertaining by its creativeness alone.
Felt rather a fool as Tim Powers is one of my influential and important authors having helped me in to the world of fantasy with the Anubis Gates and Drawing of the Dark. So was rather than aback when I discovered I had not got this title especially since it was not from one of the limited run specialist presses that seem to do a great job of collecting all the more unique titles.
So here I am with a new title in hand and really having no clue what to expect - and it was certainly and interesting ride - nothing like I expected although loud and proud of its roots and influences it was something entirely different and one I would highly recommend. Not his fastest paced book but thoroughly entertaining by its creativeness alone.
October 8, 2023
DNF at 70%
The key word here is Bronte. This is what drew me to this book. I somehow expected something similar in writing and a climate, just with a supernatural twist.
Unfortunately, my expectations weren't matched mostly because there is not enough Bronte in the Bronte family if you get me. I was hoping to see every person in more detail, more seen. Surprisingly the most interesting character in this book is the father - Patrick Bronte.
As for the supernatural part of the book I found it interesting in the very beginning and it started to feel like it was simply too much and then I got lost. I genuinely lost my interest.
The writing style didn´t work for me. Again, I was hoping for something lyrical and immersive. Instead, I feel completely opposite.
The key word here is Bronte. This is what drew me to this book. I somehow expected something similar in writing and a climate, just with a supernatural twist.
Unfortunately, my expectations weren't matched mostly because there is not enough Bronte in the Bronte family if you get me. I was hoping to see every person in more detail, more seen. Surprisingly the most interesting character in this book is the father - Patrick Bronte.
As for the supernatural part of the book I found it interesting in the very beginning and it started to feel like it was simply too much and then I got lost. I genuinely lost my interest.
The writing style didn´t work for me. Again, I was hoping for something lyrical and immersive. Instead, I feel completely opposite.
September 10, 2023
DNF @ 3%
Thank you to the publishers via Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.
I wanted to like this book. I really, really wanted to like this book. Unfortunately, the prose was clunky and really felt like reading a first draft - flat and factual, without any clear narrative voice.
This book is a good concept but needed beta readers and a lot more editing to become an engaging read.
The opening chapter gave me no clear reason to care about these characters. The first couple of pages refer to our main characters as only "the boy" or "the girl" – the premise of this book is about the Bronte family and withholding their identities from a storytelling standpoint makes no sense. The characters talk back and forth a lot, but we don't get a sense of worldbuilding – where we are, what our characters look like, or what their conflict is.
I am sure there are readers out there who will like this style of writing, but for me, it was a barrier I wasn't able to push through. This book was not for me.
Thank you to the publishers via Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.
I wanted to like this book. I really, really wanted to like this book. Unfortunately, the prose was clunky and really felt like reading a first draft - flat and factual, without any clear narrative voice.
This book is a good concept but needed beta readers and a lot more editing to become an engaging read.
The opening chapter gave me no clear reason to care about these characters. The first couple of pages refer to our main characters as only "the boy" or "the girl" – the premise of this book is about the Bronte family and withholding their identities from a storytelling standpoint makes no sense. The characters talk back and forth a lot, but we don't get a sense of worldbuilding – where we are, what our characters look like, or what their conflict is.
I am sure there are readers out there who will like this style of writing, but for me, it was a barrier I wasn't able to push through. This book was not for me.
July 24, 2023
Book Review 📚
My brother's Keeper by Tim Powers - 4/5 ⭐
Well this was definitely a different take on the Bronte family. And I say that in a good way. It's either your thing or it's not, but for me it's a win.
The plot was very fast paced with situations happening that make you feel the NEED of continuing to read rather then going to bed. The fact it's a fantasy mixed in with some characters from my childhood is just awesome. It's definitely the better take on the Bronte family!
Powers has Fantastic attention to detail and goes above and beyond with description within the book, it's mind blowing how easy it was to imagine the characters and the scene he was setting. It was a wonderful read and I'd definitely recommend.
Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for allowing me to read this ARC - this is an HONEST review from my own personal opinion.
My brother's Keeper by Tim Powers - 4/5 ⭐
Well this was definitely a different take on the Bronte family. And I say that in a good way. It's either your thing or it's not, but for me it's a win.
The plot was very fast paced with situations happening that make you feel the NEED of continuing to read rather then going to bed. The fact it's a fantasy mixed in with some characters from my childhood is just awesome. It's definitely the better take on the Bronte family!
Powers has Fantastic attention to detail and goes above and beyond with description within the book, it's mind blowing how easy it was to imagine the characters and the scene he was setting. It was a wonderful read and I'd definitely recommend.
Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for allowing me to read this ARC - this is an HONEST review from my own personal opinion.
August 13, 2023
I like historical fiction, and I was drawn to the striking cover design,
This was elegant and tasteful historical fiction. One of the most interesting things about it was the fact that the characters are based on the Brontë family. When the characters in a book are based on real people, it's interesting to see the author's interpretation, and I felt the author brought the story and the characters to life very well. This actually reminded me of a Bella Ellis book that I read recently and also enjoyed, which also featured the Brontë family as the main characters.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy to review.
This was elegant and tasteful historical fiction. One of the most interesting things about it was the fact that the characters are based on the Brontë family. When the characters in a book are based on real people, it's interesting to see the author's interpretation, and I felt the author brought the story and the characters to life very well. This actually reminded me of a Bella Ellis book that I read recently and also enjoyed, which also featured the Brontë family as the main characters.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy to review.
October 21, 2025
I don't know if it's me or Tim Powers, but none of his recent secret histories have really grabbed me the way Declare or The Stress of Her Regard still do. This one was good but not amazing, though kudos to him for not trying to make me love Branwell Brontë. The secret society of bad guys lacked the sense of real menace that, say, shows up in The Anubis Gates, which is funny because the bad guys in this book are vicious and terrible.
Anyway, I liked it, because Powers is talented and the Brontë sisters capture the imagination. The secret history explanation for why their lives and careers were mostly cut short is a good one. But it's not a book I feel like coming back to.
Anyway, I liked it, because Powers is talented and the Brontë sisters capture the imagination. The secret history explanation for why their lives and careers were mostly cut short is a good one. But it's not a book I feel like coming back to.
May 15, 2026
My Brother’s Keeper by Tim Powers is an intriguing blend of historical fiction and gothic fantasy, centring on the Brontë family and their entanglement with supernatural forces. The premise is fascinating, and Powers’s imagination brings a dark, eerie dimension to the literary household. While the story held my interest, I struggled to fully settle into the narrative, especially in the beginning, which felt a bit disjointed and hard to follow. I suspect this was more my own reading experience than a flaw in the book itself. For readers who enjoy atmospheric, slow-unfolding fantasy with a historical twist, this novel will be rewarding.
October 24, 2024
This review is just to help me remember key points about the book. If you find it helpful or relatable that's cool too.
︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵
"'The dead sister remains dead under stone, but the dead brother is up and taking the pledged host."
This book was so dense yet so dull. I couldn't bring myself to care about any of the characters and it was very light on the folk-law.
︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵
"'The dead sister remains dead under stone, but the dead brother is up and taking the pledged host."
1.5 Stars ⭐️
This book was so dense yet so dull. I couldn't bring myself to care about any of the characters and it was very light on the folk-law.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 27, 2023
An atmospheric and haunting read based on the history of the Bronte family. This gothic tale broods with an ancient pagan secret and a darkness that has invaded the family bloodline. Their lives and souls are under threat. Kept me reading.
January 18, 2024
1.5 stars
Oh boy... In short terms: I thought this book was dull as heck.
No real characterisations - you could barely tell the sisters apart - and somehow I found the whole idea of turning a very real - and very human - story about family tragedy into a fantasy adventure, of sorts (no matter how tragic), was distasteful.
Branwell's mental problems was basically blamed on the supernatural and that rug is widely used to sweep all sorts of horrible things under. This somehow rubs me completely the wrong way, because it frees the human being from responsibility.
It's not his fault, you know! It's some evil werewolf deity, or whatnot!
I thought it made no sense what so ever - especially the ghosts causing consumption because if we apply that logic we should all be dying like flies from consumption - and the cases should constantly become more numerous due to more and more people dying and becoming soul-sucking, bag-headed spirits of malevolence. 🙄
I ... *deep breath* ... thought it was stupid.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The writing is pretty good at emulating a style that fits the historical time, but I still found it un-engaging and rather wooden. Soulless and flat.
(Someone should have regulated how many times heads were allowed to "twist from side to side" as an alternative way of describing people looking around, because it was used so frequently I kept imagining heads swivelling around all over the place. Like, yikes, you guys really do need an exorcist.)
The narrator tried her best to make it engaging and I rather like her a lot from other books I've listened to, but she couldn't save this one.
Her way of reading makes her impossible to speed up, by the way. She just sounds instantly off and cartoonish so I had to get through this book at regular 1.0 x speed - which felt like it moved in dog years, to be honest. *sobs with frustration*
I should have DNF:ed this book, but I wanted to know how it ended - so I could rate it and claim all the complaining rights.
Turns out: It has a bad ending that changes absolutely nothing.
Go read the Brontë family's Wikipedia page, then add some flimsy fantasy elements. The end.
Ugh. Sorry, but no. I was so bored and thought so much real - human - suffering was glossed over by possession and evil spirits. Double ugh.
Best thing about the book: The red paper art cover.
Far too pretty for the content!
Oh boy... In short terms: I thought this book was dull as heck.
No real characterisations - you could barely tell the sisters apart - and somehow I found the whole idea of turning a very real - and very human - story about family tragedy into a fantasy adventure, of sorts (no matter how tragic), was distasteful.
Branwell's mental problems was basically blamed on the supernatural and that rug is widely used to sweep all sorts of horrible things under. This somehow rubs me completely the wrong way, because it frees the human being from responsibility.
It's not his fault, you know! It's some evil werewolf deity, or whatnot!
I thought it made no sense what so ever - especially the ghosts causing consumption because if we apply that logic we should all be dying like flies from consumption - and the cases should constantly become more numerous due to more and more people dying and becoming soul-sucking, bag-headed spirits of malevolence. 🙄
I ... *deep breath* ... thought it was stupid.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The writing is pretty good at emulating a style that fits the historical time, but I still found it un-engaging and rather wooden. Soulless and flat.
(Someone should have regulated how many times heads were allowed to "twist from side to side" as an alternative way of describing people looking around, because it was used so frequently I kept imagining heads swivelling around all over the place. Like, yikes, you guys really do need an exorcist.)
The narrator tried her best to make it engaging and I rather like her a lot from other books I've listened to, but she couldn't save this one.
Her way of reading makes her impossible to speed up, by the way. She just sounds instantly off and cartoonish so I had to get through this book at regular 1.0 x speed - which felt like it moved in dog years, to be honest. *sobs with frustration*
I should have DNF:ed this book, but I wanted to know how it ended - so I could rate it and claim all the complaining rights.
Turns out: It has a bad ending that changes absolutely nothing.
Go read the Brontë family's Wikipedia page, then add some flimsy fantasy elements. The end.
Ugh. Sorry, but no. I was so bored and thought so much real - human - suffering was glossed over by possession and evil spirits. Double ugh.
Best thing about the book: The red paper art cover.
Far too pretty for the content!
August 2, 2023
My Brother's Keeper is a beautiful story of the Brontë family. I thought this was an incredibl engaging story with well written characters and an intriguing mystery. I've always loved the Brontë sisters and I loved learning more about them and following their lives seeing how they eventually became published. I highly recommend this and especially if you like the Brontë sisters books.
August 11, 2023
If you like werewolves and ghosts this might just be for you ! It’s an interesting read the story is about the Brontë family and the events that made the sisters famous mostly written about Emily and her adventures along side her dog keeper. It’s full of magic and fantasy full of lots of detail that really does make you want to keep reading on even if your aware of the Brontë family story. It’s pace is pretty quick and as a fantasy lover I really enjoyed it
June 17, 2024
It is 1846 and, just outside the village of Haworth, Emily Brontë saves the life of Alcuin Curzon who warns her of a coming danger that will threaten her entire family.
Living locally, it could be said that there is an extra frisson of the uncanny, seeing common place names entwined in this enthralling gothic horror story combining ancient religions with spectral beings. Powers has captured the spirit of the moors around Top Withens to craft a tale which draws some inspiration from 'Wuthering Heights'.
Living locally, it could be said that there is an extra frisson of the uncanny, seeing common place names entwined in this enthralling gothic horror story combining ancient religions with spectral beings. Powers has captured the spirit of the moors around Top Withens to craft a tale which draws some inspiration from 'Wuthering Heights'.
August 2, 2023
Very brave of the author to dabble in the world of classic authors. Excellent description of the Yorkshire moors around Haworth, the parsonage, and the Bronte's lives.
Werewolves and ghosts do not normally entice me to read this sort of book, but there was something bout it that made me stick with it to the end. Yes, tissues need to be close at hand.
Thank you Netgalley for letting me preread this novel.
Werewolves and ghosts do not normally entice me to read this sort of book, but there was something bout it that made me stick with it to the end. Yes, tissues need to be close at hand.
Thank you Netgalley for letting me preread this novel.
January 2, 2024
2.25* - fell flat for me. Disappointed in what I felt was a lack of character depth, the setting wasn't as evocative as I hoped and despite the subject matter and the scenes we encounter lacked a fully gothic atmosphere. A really interesting concept that for me, didn't work.
Read
March 26, 2024DNF after 70 pages.
I'm just not in the mood for this one. I don't really understand why Powers used the Brontë family for this story either; from what I've read so far, it doesn't add much. In fact, I would argue it would probably have been better if he hadn't used real people for this story.
I'm just not in the mood for this one. I don't really understand why Powers used the Brontë family for this story either; from what I've read so far, it doesn't add much. In fact, I would argue it would probably have been better if he hadn't used real people for this story.
January 7, 2025
Delightful premise, striking ambiance. Disappointing execution. I wanted either a redemption or a damnation of the brother; got neither.
April 19, 2025
I do agree the writing style is good, starting with a positive. I like the intrigue of a horror story based on historical figures with references to actual bits of mystery with those figures. I really love the idea of having a dark horror story based around gothic writers, with the main character being the most gothic of those gothic writers. I like using werewolves as a way to piece things together and I like werewolf stories a lot so I was really excited once I realised that much. I like the idea of the dioscuri knives, I like having an introvert as a main character where it's not shown as a weakness at all, I like the landscape effectively being a character, I like Emily a lot as a character. I can really see the appeal to this book, but it just has a lot of flaws that I found hard to ignore. I will mention spoilers in this, but I will keep them at the bottom, and make it clear when you've reached the spoilers. The biggest issue is a British-context specific issue that only really applies to British readers. If you're not British, you can probably mentally add another star here.
Two things really stuck out to me thematically as just odd. The book explicitly puts a lot of stress on Christianity as a theme and on Protestantism vs Catholicism as a theme and it never really goes anywhere at all. God quite literally has nothing to do with the ending - which is actually deeply ironic considering how it ends. This is especially odd considering the fifth most major character is literally a curate.
I think it's very disappointing in a book that's clearly marketed to be about the Bronte sisters that only one of them is a major character. We get a lot of information on Emily, and shreds on Anne and almost nothing on Charlotte. I think this is a huge loss to the book as a whole, and that it'd be really improved by giving more focus on the sisters. There's really very very little on Anne or Charlotte. Given the description, I'm very disappointed that I can't remember a single scene that passes the Bechdel test - especially disappointing as they're authors, and a scene with them describing their writing processes, referencing things in the events of the books they're referring to in their works, and so on, would be a really good way of expanding on the idea of writing about authors, a great way to show the different character's personalities, AND a really effective way to pass the Bechdel test.
To me, the book felt written for TikTok viewers. There's this sense that Powers doesn't expect the audience to be able to read more than a few pages at once, and definitely not to remember things that happened previously. The book is chockablock with randomly referencing things that happened in the previous chapter, often several times in a paragraph, dozens and dozens of times. I reckon you could cut out several pages by just stopping patronising the audience, which would give space for the Bechdel test writing scene. Often single things will be referenced multiple times when we already knew about it and it was already clear. I think it'd fit better in a much longer book if it was kept, or if this book was a sequel.
It's hard to explain how, but as a British person, with a book set in Britain, I could viscerally feel that Powers was American. I can't put a finger on what it was that I was picking up, but something's just wrong in the set up or something. If you're British, I expect this is a worse read than if you're from any other nationality. I don't think I've ever had a book not set in the USA where I could *feel* the author is American (without having to look it up) and not been disappointed by it.
I already think the name of the book is an issue. "My" is the only indication on the cover that only one sister really gets focus (and not which one), and in any case "Our" would be better as they all do some protecting, and there's a character - a POV character! - called "Keeper", and the title is in caps lock so there's no way to tell it's not the name; so the title implies that instead of being about Emily protecting Branwell, it's about Branwell stealing the family dog. It's just a bad title. And it's extra trite when the title is name dropped in the last chapter. I think book name drops should be from something thematic to the story, and a little abstract, rather than just hammering in what's been happening for 290 pages previously.
Around page 250, you can tell the editor just stopped being diligent at the start of a chapter. I've seen the phenomenon before, but never with such an obvious division - it's literally from one chapter to the next. The previous chapter has no spelling or grammar issues at all, and then the first paragraph of the next introduces a new character called "Cruzon", there's a random paragraph that's in first person from nowhere, and suddenly Branwell wears "specactles." Incidentally, the pacing also changes subtly from that chapter onwards, so it's just not as good after that point, and never recovers. I don't know if it was just time crunch, or something with having another project at the same time, but it was very obvious and really hurt the last 1/6 of the book.
I know Branwell being entirely incompetent is a large point of the story, but, seriously, the guy joins a cult because he wants attention? And because he would rather play make believe as an OC he came up with when he was a little kid than have any comprehension that he's in danger? That's a weak explanation. Something like him being romantically attracted to Mrs Flensing and not knowing how else to get her affection, or them tricking him, or him thinking he'd earn money more easily are all more interesting and realistic, I think.
I personally really dislike giving a supernatural explanation for what TB is. I think it being a supernatural explanation for how the sisters and Branwell got TB is completely fine, and supernatural creatures making it worse is fine, but there's an explanation given within the first few chapters about the contraction and mechanics that's perfectly mundane and logical - that the water supply is downstream from the cemetery. We live in a world where giving non-scientific attributes to vaccines is causing an upsurge in entirely preventable diseases like measles, and backing into the supernatural explanation for something mundane is really just going to make anti-vaxxers who read this take it as vindication for their beliefs. TB is still a real problem and still kills people, and making it purely supernatural is belittling real and current deaths.
- - - SPOILER TIME - - -
There's literally no explanation given at all for how the ghost Keeper is linked to the living Keeper. There's an explanation for how the villain followed Keeper's ghost, but given how often ghost Keeper appears, he really needs an explanation.
This book has one of the biggest and weirdest Deus ex Machina I've ever seen. I'm really convinced part of my point about the editor is that the editor was pointing out there should be more foreshadowing about the random goddess power use solving things, because there's some really really really clunky foreshadowing - but we miss the one actual piece of foreshadowing we need, because before that point deities all have very metaphysical and psychic themed powers. We needed to see a god actually be physically able to do anything themselves and have any ability to interact with the human world directly - and I think the obvious choice is to show God do something, because we have this stress on Christianity that literally goes nowhere. And because it's a poorly foreshadowed Deus ex Machina the ending feels very cheap and unearned.
I really dislike what happened with Mrs Flensing. This book is really short on major female characters considering how it describes itself and how it's marketed, and she was a really interesting female character. Her death scene is interesting, but ultimately she's just dead and replaced by a much less interesting male character.
If you've read it, you'll know the scene I mean, but there's a scene with a boat finger man who shows up once, hence not remembering his name. For this subplot, someone already needs to die, and to complete it they need a finger to become a skull from the finger boat man's work, which, without any explanation for how, is, frankly, dumb. Why not up the stakes a bit and have it so that the skull has to come from the murder victim, cut the boat finger man entirely, and give the pages spent on that scene to one of Anne or Charlotte?
Curzon's character, I think, is weakened a lot by never establishing if lycanthropy can be passed on hereditarily. We're never shown it being inherited, but it'd make sense intuitively. The only way we see for sure to inherit it is to have the dioscuri baptism - so did Curzon do that? Was he an Oblique? Does Curzon resent Branwell because Curzon made those same errors say 10 years prior? How are we meant to understand the deuteragonist if we don't know if we're wondering the whole time if he's a cultist too or if he's just unlucky with his parentage? I think not showing us the eye removal is also a loss to the book. There's darker stuff in here, there's no reason to tell not show that. Additionally, how does Curzon even meet the requirements to be a Huberti? If he became a real Huberti around the 2/3 mark, how was he trained or associated before then? Are they also hereditary?
On a related note, and another reason it'd be good to have more explanation on where Curzon's lycanthropy came from, is that I'm fairly sure that Emily should be a werewolf too. She's bitten by a dog, she has the clear sight going on, and she's done a blood sacrifice to Welsh. That's why Mrs Flensing was so curious about her, surely? But the story only once acknowledges this at all, by saying that you can prevent the curse by cauterising quickly enough, but it's never confirmed if she actually did achieve that or not. I couldn't tell if she never transformed because she actually did cauterise it in time, or because she never really gets angry. Rage is mentioned as a trigger for werewolves' transformations, and the entire time, I was expecting for Emily to transform in the climax and for her to fight off a cultist and for us to get this badass female moment. (Instead we got a poorly foreshadowed thing from her father). If we weren't expected to be thinking about this and predicting this, it'd help a lot to actually establish if Emily is infected, and the easiest way to do that would be to have her get angry and have Curzon be surprised she doesn't transform. I thought there was clever foreshadowing going on with how stoic Emily was throughout! I thought it was a clue to the ending! And, honestly, if we were going to have a supernatural explanation for TB, it being caused by werewolves having weaker lungs because they have to be small enough to fit in the wolf bodies would be better, because it still keeps the idea it's ultimately about germs. I think that'd be more interesting and it's right there, and it makes other things more interesting too.
All that said, the biggest flaws in this book are deeply interconnected and directly caused by this being an American writing a book set in Britain. He just doesn't understand the nuances of British politics, and both of these are obvious from Welsh. One of these is a research error and one is him getting supremely unlucky, but they add up to make him come across really poorly to a British reader.
The first is that the UK has had a migrant "crisis" for years. To be clear, the "crisis" is not caused by the migrants themselves. The Tories were in control of our government for 14 years, and in that time, they made it really hostile for immigration workers in their jobs, and lowered the pay, and cut the budget, so a majority of immigration officers quit their jobs, slowing down migrant processing massively, and creating a backlog of unprocessed undocumented migrants here. The media, for years, has complained about "waves" and "floods" of migrants suddenly coming from Europe hiding in little boats to the UK - when most of these people have already been here for years without causing issues - and the right then use this as vindication for hate speech against foreigners. It's entirely normal for our politicians to talk about doing "whatever it takes" to stop migrants crossing the sea into the UK, including letting boats with dozens of "swarthy" children drown in the sea. And.... well, this book reiterates multiple times that the Brunty ancestors should have let a "swarthy" child drown in the sea rather than arrive in another country. I'm completely sure it's a research error but it comes across as extreme anti-migrant rhetoric.
And then the genuine bad luck - in summer 2024 - after the book's publication - a black Welsh Christian man mass murdered a group of school girls who were dancing to Taylor Swift. Right wing actors here immediately, with no evidence at all, accused Muslims. There was a wave of riots all across the UK, destroying mosques, attacking refugees, destroying ambulances and law enforcement vehicles. It was really bad and really scary for a lot of people; lots of us, myself included, had warnings to just not go outside because of the risk of being attacked by white supremacists for being outside near a mosque. Then the police announced it was a black Welsh Christian who did it, and the right wing couldn't believe it, couldn't accept a Welsh guy was more dangerous than a migrant, or a Christian would be more dangerous than a Muslim (the only bit they seemed to accept was that a black guy could be dangerous...). Now, when the right wing want to say they think there's a cover up of who did something, and they want to say that they think a Muslim did it with no evidence, they'll say a "Welsh" did it, or that the Welsh did it, and so on. When there was a shooting in Sweden in the winter, British commenters on the news were asking if it was a Welsh guy or someone from Cardiff and so on, where it'd make 0 sense to assume it's an actual Welsh person - it's very much "Welsh" means "Muslim" from our right wing people here. Welsh is basically a slur for Muslim here at this point. Having a darker skinned Welsh guy being evil and only being called Welsh, and needing to be murdered, and being half of a dark god whose worshippers are all evil and do blood sacrifice and murder, therefore, feels really Islamophobic from a British point of view. It's absolutely not the author's fault at all, it's incredibly obvious from the publishing date that it's just horrendously bad luck, but it's really hard to ignore and it's omnipresent within the story.
And combining it with the anti-migrant idea that sometimes "swarthy" migrant children should just be drowned, and if you can't drown them, you should shoot them in a church and stab them... it's really unfortunate. Really unlucky. But it does affect the reading of this book and it's deeply distracting. Imagine reading a book written in 1979, set in San Fran, with a hero called "Gaye C. Ancer" and you have about the right experience here. It's really unfortunate but I just don't think this book will have a market in the UK, and certainly not for long, because it's so distracting and it has a huge impact on how the themes seem. I really can't recommend reading it to any British person because it's so distracting.
Two things really stuck out to me thematically as just odd. The book explicitly puts a lot of stress on Christianity as a theme and on Protestantism vs Catholicism as a theme and it never really goes anywhere at all. God quite literally has nothing to do with the ending - which is actually deeply ironic considering how it ends. This is especially odd considering the fifth most major character is literally a curate.
I think it's very disappointing in a book that's clearly marketed to be about the Bronte sisters that only one of them is a major character. We get a lot of information on Emily, and shreds on Anne and almost nothing on Charlotte. I think this is a huge loss to the book as a whole, and that it'd be really improved by giving more focus on the sisters. There's really very very little on Anne or Charlotte. Given the description, I'm very disappointed that I can't remember a single scene that passes the Bechdel test - especially disappointing as they're authors, and a scene with them describing their writing processes, referencing things in the events of the books they're referring to in their works, and so on, would be a really good way of expanding on the idea of writing about authors, a great way to show the different character's personalities, AND a really effective way to pass the Bechdel test.
To me, the book felt written for TikTok viewers. There's this sense that Powers doesn't expect the audience to be able to read more than a few pages at once, and definitely not to remember things that happened previously. The book is chockablock with randomly referencing things that happened in the previous chapter, often several times in a paragraph, dozens and dozens of times. I reckon you could cut out several pages by just stopping patronising the audience, which would give space for the Bechdel test writing scene. Often single things will be referenced multiple times when we already knew about it and it was already clear. I think it'd fit better in a much longer book if it was kept, or if this book was a sequel.
It's hard to explain how, but as a British person, with a book set in Britain, I could viscerally feel that Powers was American. I can't put a finger on what it was that I was picking up, but something's just wrong in the set up or something. If you're British, I expect this is a worse read than if you're from any other nationality. I don't think I've ever had a book not set in the USA where I could *feel* the author is American (without having to look it up) and not been disappointed by it.
I already think the name of the book is an issue. "My" is the only indication on the cover that only one sister really gets focus (and not which one), and in any case "Our" would be better as they all do some protecting, and there's a character - a POV character! - called "Keeper", and the title is in caps lock so there's no way to tell it's not the name; so the title implies that instead of being about Emily protecting Branwell, it's about Branwell stealing the family dog. It's just a bad title. And it's extra trite when the title is name dropped in the last chapter. I think book name drops should be from something thematic to the story, and a little abstract, rather than just hammering in what's been happening for 290 pages previously.
Around page 250, you can tell the editor just stopped being diligent at the start of a chapter. I've seen the phenomenon before, but never with such an obvious division - it's literally from one chapter to the next. The previous chapter has no spelling or grammar issues at all, and then the first paragraph of the next introduces a new character called "Cruzon", there's a random paragraph that's in first person from nowhere, and suddenly Branwell wears "specactles." Incidentally, the pacing also changes subtly from that chapter onwards, so it's just not as good after that point, and never recovers. I don't know if it was just time crunch, or something with having another project at the same time, but it was very obvious and really hurt the last 1/6 of the book.
I know Branwell being entirely incompetent is a large point of the story, but, seriously, the guy joins a cult because he wants attention? And because he would rather play make believe as an OC he came up with when he was a little kid than have any comprehension that he's in danger? That's a weak explanation. Something like him being romantically attracted to Mrs Flensing and not knowing how else to get her affection, or them tricking him, or him thinking he'd earn money more easily are all more interesting and realistic, I think.
I personally really dislike giving a supernatural explanation for what TB is. I think it being a supernatural explanation for how the sisters and Branwell got TB is completely fine, and supernatural creatures making it worse is fine, but there's an explanation given within the first few chapters about the contraction and mechanics that's perfectly mundane and logical - that the water supply is downstream from the cemetery. We live in a world where giving non-scientific attributes to vaccines is causing an upsurge in entirely preventable diseases like measles, and backing into the supernatural explanation for something mundane is really just going to make anti-vaxxers who read this take it as vindication for their beliefs. TB is still a real problem and still kills people, and making it purely supernatural is belittling real and current deaths.
- - - SPOILER TIME - - -
There's literally no explanation given at all for how the ghost Keeper is linked to the living Keeper. There's an explanation for how the villain followed Keeper's ghost, but given how often ghost Keeper appears, he really needs an explanation.
This book has one of the biggest and weirdest Deus ex Machina I've ever seen. I'm really convinced part of my point about the editor is that the editor was pointing out there should be more foreshadowing about the random goddess power use solving things, because there's some really really really clunky foreshadowing - but we miss the one actual piece of foreshadowing we need, because before that point deities all have very metaphysical and psychic themed powers. We needed to see a god actually be physically able to do anything themselves and have any ability to interact with the human world directly - and I think the obvious choice is to show God do something, because we have this stress on Christianity that literally goes nowhere. And because it's a poorly foreshadowed Deus ex Machina the ending feels very cheap and unearned.
I really dislike what happened with Mrs Flensing. This book is really short on major female characters considering how it describes itself and how it's marketed, and she was a really interesting female character. Her death scene is interesting, but ultimately she's just dead and replaced by a much less interesting male character.
If you've read it, you'll know the scene I mean, but there's a scene with a boat finger man who shows up once, hence not remembering his name. For this subplot, someone already needs to die, and to complete it they need a finger to become a skull from the finger boat man's work, which, without any explanation for how, is, frankly, dumb. Why not up the stakes a bit and have it so that the skull has to come from the murder victim, cut the boat finger man entirely, and give the pages spent on that scene to one of Anne or Charlotte?
Curzon's character, I think, is weakened a lot by never establishing if lycanthropy can be passed on hereditarily. We're never shown it being inherited, but it'd make sense intuitively. The only way we see for sure to inherit it is to have the dioscuri baptism - so did Curzon do that? Was he an Oblique? Does Curzon resent Branwell because Curzon made those same errors say 10 years prior? How are we meant to understand the deuteragonist if we don't know if we're wondering the whole time if he's a cultist too or if he's just unlucky with his parentage? I think not showing us the eye removal is also a loss to the book. There's darker stuff in here, there's no reason to tell not show that. Additionally, how does Curzon even meet the requirements to be a Huberti? If he became a real Huberti around the 2/3 mark, how was he trained or associated before then? Are they also hereditary?
On a related note, and another reason it'd be good to have more explanation on where Curzon's lycanthropy came from, is that I'm fairly sure that Emily should be a werewolf too. She's bitten by a dog, she has the clear sight going on, and she's done a blood sacrifice to Welsh. That's why Mrs Flensing was so curious about her, surely? But the story only once acknowledges this at all, by saying that you can prevent the curse by cauterising quickly enough, but it's never confirmed if she actually did achieve that or not. I couldn't tell if she never transformed because she actually did cauterise it in time, or because she never really gets angry. Rage is mentioned as a trigger for werewolves' transformations, and the entire time, I was expecting for Emily to transform in the climax and for her to fight off a cultist and for us to get this badass female moment. (Instead we got a poorly foreshadowed thing from her father). If we weren't expected to be thinking about this and predicting this, it'd help a lot to actually establish if Emily is infected, and the easiest way to do that would be to have her get angry and have Curzon be surprised she doesn't transform. I thought there was clever foreshadowing going on with how stoic Emily was throughout! I thought it was a clue to the ending! And, honestly, if we were going to have a supernatural explanation for TB, it being caused by werewolves having weaker lungs because they have to be small enough to fit in the wolf bodies would be better, because it still keeps the idea it's ultimately about germs. I think that'd be more interesting and it's right there, and it makes other things more interesting too.
All that said, the biggest flaws in this book are deeply interconnected and directly caused by this being an American writing a book set in Britain. He just doesn't understand the nuances of British politics, and both of these are obvious from Welsh. One of these is a research error and one is him getting supremely unlucky, but they add up to make him come across really poorly to a British reader.
The first is that the UK has had a migrant "crisis" for years. To be clear, the "crisis" is not caused by the migrants themselves. The Tories were in control of our government for 14 years, and in that time, they made it really hostile for immigration workers in their jobs, and lowered the pay, and cut the budget, so a majority of immigration officers quit their jobs, slowing down migrant processing massively, and creating a backlog of unprocessed undocumented migrants here. The media, for years, has complained about "waves" and "floods" of migrants suddenly coming from Europe hiding in little boats to the UK - when most of these people have already been here for years without causing issues - and the right then use this as vindication for hate speech against foreigners. It's entirely normal for our politicians to talk about doing "whatever it takes" to stop migrants crossing the sea into the UK, including letting boats with dozens of "swarthy" children drown in the sea. And.... well, this book reiterates multiple times that the Brunty ancestors should have let a "swarthy" child drown in the sea rather than arrive in another country. I'm completely sure it's a research error but it comes across as extreme anti-migrant rhetoric.
And then the genuine bad luck - in summer 2024 - after the book's publication - a black Welsh Christian man mass murdered a group of school girls who were dancing to Taylor Swift. Right wing actors here immediately, with no evidence at all, accused Muslims. There was a wave of riots all across the UK, destroying mosques, attacking refugees, destroying ambulances and law enforcement vehicles. It was really bad and really scary for a lot of people; lots of us, myself included, had warnings to just not go outside because of the risk of being attacked by white supremacists for being outside near a mosque. Then the police announced it was a black Welsh Christian who did it, and the right wing couldn't believe it, couldn't accept a Welsh guy was more dangerous than a migrant, or a Christian would be more dangerous than a Muslim (the only bit they seemed to accept was that a black guy could be dangerous...). Now, when the right wing want to say they think there's a cover up of who did something, and they want to say that they think a Muslim did it with no evidence, they'll say a "Welsh" did it, or that the Welsh did it, and so on. When there was a shooting in Sweden in the winter, British commenters on the news were asking if it was a Welsh guy or someone from Cardiff and so on, where it'd make 0 sense to assume it's an actual Welsh person - it's very much "Welsh" means "Muslim" from our right wing people here. Welsh is basically a slur for Muslim here at this point. Having a darker skinned Welsh guy being evil and only being called Welsh, and needing to be murdered, and being half of a dark god whose worshippers are all evil and do blood sacrifice and murder, therefore, feels really Islamophobic from a British point of view. It's absolutely not the author's fault at all, it's incredibly obvious from the publishing date that it's just horrendously bad luck, but it's really hard to ignore and it's omnipresent within the story.
And combining it with the anti-migrant idea that sometimes "swarthy" migrant children should just be drowned, and if you can't drown them, you should shoot them in a church and stab them... it's really unfortunate. Really unlucky. But it does affect the reading of this book and it's deeply distracting. Imagine reading a book written in 1979, set in San Fran, with a hero called "Gaye C. Ancer" and you have about the right experience here. It's really unfortunate but I just don't think this book will have a market in the UK, and certainly not for long, because it's so distracting and it has a huge impact on how the themes seem. I really can't recommend reading it to any British person because it's so distracting.
October 13, 2023
A gothic horror thriller set in Haworth in the 19thC starring the Brontës! They are fighting against the curse of the werewolf and encounter all types of supernatural and fantastical figures. It’s a race against time to stop a religious cult resurrecting something not very nice buried under an ogham inscribed slab in the church. Strange goings on in Yorkshire!
I wasn’t sure about this book when I first started it. The combination of the Brontës and werewolves didn’t really gel for me. So I parked the idea of the Brontës to a certain extent and just went with the flow. I then ended up enjoying it. It’s an unusual tale and very imaginatively written. I loved Keeper the dog, such a hero! It gave an interesting insight into the three sisters and their brother. I thought their individual personalities shone through very well. I wasn’t so keen on the idea of werewolves roaming the wild and wonderful Yorkshire Moors, it could put you off a relaxing walk through the gloriously colourful heather! I don’t think the sheep would be too keen, either. Nevertheless it had an exciting plotline and it kept me turning the pages. I would recommend it to historical fantasy fans, particularly those who like some extra magic mixed in with their reading.
I wasn’t sure about this book when I first started it. The combination of the Brontës and werewolves didn’t really gel for me. So I parked the idea of the Brontës to a certain extent and just went with the flow. I then ended up enjoying it. It’s an unusual tale and very imaginatively written. I loved Keeper the dog, such a hero! It gave an interesting insight into the three sisters and their brother. I thought their individual personalities shone through very well. I wasn’t so keen on the idea of werewolves roaming the wild and wonderful Yorkshire Moors, it could put you off a relaxing walk through the gloriously colourful heather! I don’t think the sheep would be too keen, either. Nevertheless it had an exciting plotline and it kept me turning the pages. I would recommend it to historical fantasy fans, particularly those who like some extra magic mixed in with their reading.
August 16, 2023
If you are a fan of the Bronte sisters then this is a must-read. The historical accuracy mixed with gothic fantasy and the literary quality of the writing will simply transport you. The strangeness of the lives of the sisters, highlighted by the heavy dose of folklore that surrounded their upbringing, makes you want to believe this could be the real story :) That is if you like creepy speculative stuff.
Just a small warning, if you are not used to reading classics, the long run-in sentences might be a little hard to get into. The author obviously wanted to do honour to those amazing women and borrowed his style from their time. Also, this isn't the type of book where you immediately adore the protagonists... the Brontes were a very interesting bunch, but not one you'd quickly warm to. A very impressive book.
Just a small warning, if you are not used to reading classics, the long run-in sentences might be a little hard to get into. The author obviously wanted to do honour to those amazing women and borrowed his style from their time. Also, this isn't the type of book where you immediately adore the protagonists... the Brontes were a very interesting bunch, but not one you'd quickly warm to. A very impressive book.
May 6, 2025
When it comes to Tim Powers, no 19th Century poet or author is safe! This is another of Tim’s excellent occult history novels (His best stuff is split between occult history and “Haunted Los Angeles”.). In the former, he does an amazing job of taking random details from history, lines of poetry, and often minor puzzling events and putting them together to form a strangely coherent whole. This time, Powers combines (often weird, but accurate) biographical details of the Brontë family with werewolves, Yorkshire folklore, ghosts, Greek mythology, St. Hubert, consumption, and secret societies. Solid 4 stars.
October 15, 2023
3.5 stars
That last chapter and the epilogue really sold this book to me, truly stunning.
If you want a book that combines the Brontë sisters, beautiful Yorkshire scenery and cultish behaviour, then this is for you.
If you are a fan of the Brontë sisters work then this book will feel like revisiting an old friend, it mentions their novels and early works as well as family dynamics. The sisters (and indeed Branwell) all died at a fairly young age and the book explores this, with a twist.
Oh, and theres werewolves.
That last chapter and the epilogue really sold this book to me, truly stunning.
If you want a book that combines the Brontë sisters, beautiful Yorkshire scenery and cultish behaviour, then this is for you.
If you are a fan of the Brontë sisters work then this book will feel like revisiting an old friend, it mentions their novels and early works as well as family dynamics. The sisters (and indeed Branwell) all died at a fairly young age and the book explores this, with a twist.
Oh, and theres werewolves.
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