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Witchy Eye #4
Serpent Daughter
DRAGON AWARD–NOMINATED SERIES . New entry in the Witchy War series, blending alternate history, Appalachian Folklore, and epic fantasy.
Sarah Calhoun has taken her father’s throne and ascended into her goddess’s presence in Unfallen Eden as her father never did.
And Sarah Calhoun is dying.
Her uncle Thomas Penn isn’t done with her. Armed with new powers conferred upon him by the Necromancer and with new allies won via his impending marriage, Penn aims to remove Sarah from her throne—and from the world of the living. In the meantime, Sarah has fallen out with one of her best allies. Against Sarah’s advice, her brother Nathaniel heads into Imperial Philadelphia with the reckless and likely impossible aim of healing the Emperor Thomas.
On the shores of the northern seas, agents of Franklin’s Conventicle with an unlikely connection to the Emperor struggle to win allies among the pole-dwelling giants, who are torn between seizing land covertly from the Firstborn of the Ohio and entering the war openly on the side of Simon Sword. In the west, the Heron King rides an explosive storm into war, crushing the mortal kingdoms in his path and bearing down on Sarah’s Cahokia.
To survive—and to gain the strength she needs to fight this impossible war—Sarah must unite the Moundbuilder kings to enact an ancient rite that will propel her beyond mortality. To do so, she must not only win over doubters among the Firstborn kings, but she must also beat back a rebellion among the Handmaids of her goddess—for there are some of the goddess’s priestesses who long for the dark days of human sacrifice, and who are willing to throw Sarah herself upon the altar.
Praise for Witchy Winter :
“Butler follows Witchy Eye with a satisfying second tale of a magic-filled early America. . . . Deep and old magic influences both places and characters, and the story is tightly focused on the determined Sarah . . . Fans of epic and alternate historical fantasy will savor this tale of witchery and intrigue.”— Publishers Weekly
"For readers who love history-based fantasy, steampunk, or urban fantasy . . . this series that gives the genre a new twist."— Booklist
Praise for Witchy Eye and D.J.
“ . . . you can’t stop yourself from taking another bite . . . and another . . . and another . . . I didn’t want to stop reading . . . Kudos!”—R.A. Salvatore
“Excellent book. I am impressed by the creativity and the depth of the world building. Dave Butler is a great storyteller.”—Larry Correia
“ Witchy Eye is an intricate and imaginative alternate history with a cast of characters and quirky situations that would make a Dickens novel proud.” —Kevin J. Anderson
"Butler’s fantasy is by turns sardonic and lighthearted; ghoulish shadows claw into the most remote areas and heroism bursts out of the most unlikely people. Sarah is the epitome of the downtrodden hero who refuses to give up until she gets what she needs, and her story will appeal to fantasy readers of all stripes."— Publishers Weekly
"David's a pro storyteller, and you're in for a great ride."—Larry Dixon
" . . . a fascinating, grittily-flavored world of living legends. Hurry up and write the next one, Dave."—Cat Rambo
"This is enchanting! I'd love to see more."—Mercedes Lackey
“Goblin Market meets Magical Musketpunk . . . A great ride that also manages to cover some serious cultural terrain.” —Charles E. Gannon
" Witchy Eye is a brilliant blend of historical acumen and imagination, a tour-de-force that is at once full of surprises and ultimately heart-warming. This is your chance to discover one of the finest new stars writing today!"—David Farland
“A gritty, engrossing mash-up of history, fantasy, and magic. Desperate characters careen from plot twist to plot twist until few are left standing.”—Mario Acevedo
"Captivating characters. Superb world-building. Awesome magic. Butler fuses fantasy and history effortlessly, creating a fascinating new American epic. Not to be missed!"—Christopher Husberg
"[A] unique alternative-history that is heavily influence by urban and traditional fantasy and steeped in the folklore of the Appalachians. . . . Fans of urban fantasy looking to take a chance on something with a twist on a historical setting may find this novel worth their time."— Booklist
Sarah Calhoun has taken her father’s throne and ascended into her goddess’s presence in Unfallen Eden as her father never did.
And Sarah Calhoun is dying.
Her uncle Thomas Penn isn’t done with her. Armed with new powers conferred upon him by the Necromancer and with new allies won via his impending marriage, Penn aims to remove Sarah from her throne—and from the world of the living. In the meantime, Sarah has fallen out with one of her best allies. Against Sarah’s advice, her brother Nathaniel heads into Imperial Philadelphia with the reckless and likely impossible aim of healing the Emperor Thomas.
On the shores of the northern seas, agents of Franklin’s Conventicle with an unlikely connection to the Emperor struggle to win allies among the pole-dwelling giants, who are torn between seizing land covertly from the Firstborn of the Ohio and entering the war openly on the side of Simon Sword. In the west, the Heron King rides an explosive storm into war, crushing the mortal kingdoms in his path and bearing down on Sarah’s Cahokia.
To survive—and to gain the strength she needs to fight this impossible war—Sarah must unite the Moundbuilder kings to enact an ancient rite that will propel her beyond mortality. To do so, she must not only win over doubters among the Firstborn kings, but she must also beat back a rebellion among the Handmaids of her goddess—for there are some of the goddess’s priestesses who long for the dark days of human sacrifice, and who are willing to throw Sarah herself upon the altar.
Praise for Witchy Winter :
“Butler follows Witchy Eye with a satisfying second tale of a magic-filled early America. . . . Deep and old magic influences both places and characters, and the story is tightly focused on the determined Sarah . . . Fans of epic and alternate historical fantasy will savor this tale of witchery and intrigue.”— Publishers Weekly
"For readers who love history-based fantasy, steampunk, or urban fantasy . . . this series that gives the genre a new twist."— Booklist
Praise for Witchy Eye and D.J.
“ . . . you can’t stop yourself from taking another bite . . . and another . . . and another . . . I didn’t want to stop reading . . . Kudos!”—R.A. Salvatore
“Excellent book. I am impressed by the creativity and the depth of the world building. Dave Butler is a great storyteller.”—Larry Correia
“ Witchy Eye is an intricate and imaginative alternate history with a cast of characters and quirky situations that would make a Dickens novel proud.” —Kevin J. Anderson
"Butler’s fantasy is by turns sardonic and lighthearted; ghoulish shadows claw into the most remote areas and heroism bursts out of the most unlikely people. Sarah is the epitome of the downtrodden hero who refuses to give up until she gets what she needs, and her story will appeal to fantasy readers of all stripes."— Publishers Weekly
"David's a pro storyteller, and you're in for a great ride."—Larry Dixon
" . . . a fascinating, grittily-flavored world of living legends. Hurry up and write the next one, Dave."—Cat Rambo
"This is enchanting! I'd love to see more."—Mercedes Lackey
“Goblin Market meets Magical Musketpunk . . . A great ride that also manages to cover some serious cultural terrain.” —Charles E. Gannon
" Witchy Eye is a brilliant blend of historical acumen and imagination, a tour-de-force that is at once full of surprises and ultimately heart-warming. This is your chance to discover one of the finest new stars writing today!"—David Farland
“A gritty, engrossing mash-up of history, fantasy, and magic. Desperate characters careen from plot twist to plot twist until few are left standing.”—Mario Acevedo
"Captivating characters. Superb world-building. Awesome magic. Butler fuses fantasy and history effortlessly, creating a fascinating new American epic. Not to be missed!"—Christopher Husberg
"[A] unique alternative-history that is heavily influence by urban and traditional fantasy and steeped in the folklore of the Appalachians. . . . Fans of urban fantasy looking to take a chance on something with a twist on a historical setting may find this novel worth their time."— Booklist
- GenresFantasy
608 pages, Paperback
Published November 3, 2020
6 people are currently reading
140 people want to read
About the author
D.J. Butler
85 books266 followersD.J. Butler (Dave) is a novelist living in the Rocky Mountain west. His training is in law, and he worked as a securities lawyer at a major international firm and inhouse at two multinational semiconductor manufacturers before taking up writing fiction. He is a lover of language and languages, a guitarist and self-recorder, and a serious reader. He is married to a powerful and clever novelist and together they have three devious children.
Dave is published by Baen, Knopf, and WordFire Press. He writes adventure fiction for all ages. He writes for young readers under the name Dave Butler: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Read about D.J. Butler’s writing projects at http://davidjohnbutler.com.
Dave is published by Baen, Knopf, and WordFire Press. He writes adventure fiction for all ages. He writes for young readers under the name Dave Butler: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Read about D.J. Butler’s writing projects at http://davidjohnbutler.com.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 4, 2020
Pretty fast-paced, with some great action scenes. Still a little overstuffed with characters, and I couldn't keep a few of them straight, but other than that, pretty good continuance of the saga.
April 23, 2022
I should have read this sooner, there are so many things going on. This is dark and triumphant just like the last books, with some of the most down to earth worldbuilding in any epic fantasy, and it is truly epic still. Of course this is because it’s an American fantasy, alternate history but very true to its inspirations. Great characters, with triumphant and very low moments. And of course, we can fear for our characters life’s, as those familiar already know they do die, but they don’t always disappear since the afterlife of sorts is a thing.
April 15, 2021
The Serpent Wars Rage
The masterfully crafted vision of a magically-infused early America is cast fully into war and intrigue in the latest Witchy novel by DJ Butler. Ancient powers arise across the continent, the wheels of government are greased with corruption and blood, and sacred oaths are bent, broken, and reaffirmed. Sarah Elytharias Penn clings to life as her friends and allies seek out the Six Kings of the Ohio to save and empower her, while the vicious Simon Sword send storm and quake and beastkind in a never-ending assaulting against the land.
As ever, Butler weaves together a grand narrative of action, adventure, and myth, telling an exciting story filled with all too human characters, dialogue that ranges from humorous to heartbreaking, and that leaves you wanting to come back for more.
The masterfully crafted vision of a magically-infused early America is cast fully into war and intrigue in the latest Witchy novel by DJ Butler. Ancient powers arise across the continent, the wheels of government are greased with corruption and blood, and sacred oaths are bent, broken, and reaffirmed. Sarah Elytharias Penn clings to life as her friends and allies seek out the Six Kings of the Ohio to save and empower her, while the vicious Simon Sword send storm and quake and beastkind in a never-ending assaulting against the land.
As ever, Butler weaves together a grand narrative of action, adventure, and myth, telling an exciting story filled with all too human characters, dialogue that ranges from humorous to heartbreaking, and that leaves you wanting to come back for more.
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May 22, 2021It's review time 🎧
Warning ⚠️: 4th boos in a series, not a standalone, fantasy, magic,
Narrator score🎧 ; Courtney did an amazing job with this book. I truly loved her performance, she did wonderful with the story.
Level of anxiety and sadness0😱😢: well, the rhythm of this book was fast, a lot things happened a lot!!! And some of them were too fast, the story was good, but something that I would have expected from a long book is the stop and feel what is happening, and you had drama don't get me wrong. But some things happened to fast.
The book itself📖: we keep going with the story of Sarah, it is the first book i listen to, I read the 3 first books in the series, and I loved this book in audio,
I loved the twists in the book, I want to listen to the next book the series is good, it's a great book. I adored it.
Warning ⚠️: 4th boos in a series, not a standalone, fantasy, magic,
Narrator score🎧 ; Courtney did an amazing job with this book. I truly loved her performance, she did wonderful with the story.
Level of anxiety and sadness0😱😢: well, the rhythm of this book was fast, a lot things happened a lot!!! And some of them were too fast, the story was good, but something that I would have expected from a long book is the stop and feel what is happening, and you had drama don't get me wrong. But some things happened to fast.
The book itself📖: we keep going with the story of Sarah, it is the first book i listen to, I read the 3 first books in the series, and I loved this book in audio,
I loved the twists in the book, I want to listen to the next book the series is good, it's a great book. I adored it.
November 10, 2020
The story continues in good form. This book certainly gets muddy in both view and terrain, you will see quick bursts of important events from the many different characters. From across a varied political and cultural cast and a wide view of events transpiring across the alternative North America setting.
Includes the excellent addition of an introductory chapter; reacquainting you with the events of the series books and who the character are, what they are doing and mentioning of terms that may have lapsed since the last books of this series (Child of Adam, Eve, Firstborn etc.).
If you enjoyed the past books, you will enjoy this as much. Probably best to start the series from book 1, though this books introduction leads in better than book 2 or 3.
Includes the excellent addition of an introductory chapter; reacquainting you with the events of the series books and who the character are, what they are doing and mentioning of terms that may have lapsed since the last books of this series (Child of Adam, Eve, Firstborn etc.).
If you enjoyed the past books, you will enjoy this as much. Probably best to start the series from book 1, though this books introduction leads in better than book 2 or 3.
did-not-finish
February 9, 2021I am DNF-ing this one. Jumping in on book 4 of a series with this many named characters is just not going to happen. I've spent a week letting this book guilt trip me from the bedside table. From the 60 pages I finished, this has a strong Alvin Maker vibe. But for the love, don't start here.
June 28, 2021
I just could not get in to this novel. I usually keep reading to give the author the benefit of the doubt. I am usually very comfortable with “strange” or different character names but after reading several chapters it was not making sense at all….so I gave up and set it aside.
November 30, 2024
What a waste of time. After the third book in the series successfully killed the momentum for me (and with it my enjoyment), I hoped that the fourth book would repair the damage. Unfortunately, it was very similar to book 3.
January 29, 2023
A fun alternate history read. Kudos!
January 10, 2025
I could not love this series more! Stellar characterization, plot, and world building. I can't wait for the next in the trilogy!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews