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Fey Matter #3
Barrow Witch
With a treaty to bring peace to the Scottish fey hanging in the balance, Effie of Glen Coe must claim her place as the heart of the Seily Court, if she is to defeat the dark madness of the Barrow Witch.
The treaty that will bring peace to the fey of Scotland is within Effie of Glen Coe’s grasp. Yet the lords of London will not consent to such an accord until the madness spreading across the empire is halted, and its source destroyed.
As Effie and her allies hunt for the ancient being known as the Barrow Witch, they uncover her sinister plot. The Barrow Witch has found an alchemic means to transform fey into devilish creatures bent on her will. Using these marauding bands, she seeks to enslave not only the empire, but all of fey kind.
Effie’s fight takes her from haunted cities to ruined castles, but it is not until Caledon, Steward of the Seily Court, is captured that she must finally confront her own self-doubts, and the legacy of her family’s treacherous past. For only by accepting she has become the very heart of the Scottish fey, can she learn to unravel the schemes of their enemy and rally the empires of man and fey toward an ultimate confrontation with the Barrow Witch.
The treaty that will bring peace to the fey of Scotland is within Effie of Glen Coe’s grasp. Yet the lords of London will not consent to such an accord until the madness spreading across the empire is halted, and its source destroyed.
As Effie and her allies hunt for the ancient being known as the Barrow Witch, they uncover her sinister plot. The Barrow Witch has found an alchemic means to transform fey into devilish creatures bent on her will. Using these marauding bands, she seeks to enslave not only the empire, but all of fey kind.
Effie’s fight takes her from haunted cities to ruined castles, but it is not until Caledon, Steward of the Seily Court, is captured that she must finally confront her own self-doubts, and the legacy of her family’s treacherous past. For only by accepting she has become the very heart of the Scottish fey, can she learn to unravel the schemes of their enemy and rally the empires of man and fey toward an ultimate confrontation with the Barrow Witch.
- GenresFantasy
268 pages, Paperback
Published July 16, 2020
2 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
About the author
Craig Comer
17 books17 followersCraig Comer is author of the Harvest Falls mystery series and the Fey Matter gaslamp fantasy series. He is co-author of the mosaic fantasy novel THE ROADS TO BALDAIRN MOTTE. Craig earned a Master’s Degree in Writing from the University of Southern California. He enjoys tramping across countries in his spare time, preferably those strewn with pubs and castles. Find out more at: www.craigcomer.com.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 9, 2020
Rating: 3.5/5.0
This fantasy infused with steam punk elements brings human and magical beings together brilliantly!
Read full review in the 2020 November issue of InD'tale Magazine.
This fantasy infused with steam punk elements brings human and magical beings together brilliantly!
Read full review in the 2020 November issue of InD'tale Magazine.
August 14, 2020
I came prepared to like this book – after all, it's fantasy with steampunk elements, the Scottish highlands, fey creatures, everything that is normally right up my alley. I actually tried very hard, but somehow I could not get into the story; maybe reading the previous volumes in this series (of which I was not aware at the time) would have helped. Without this background information, I had a bit of a hard time to find out what was going on or even who or, in fact, what species the protagonists were. Even so, I if the narrative manages to draw me in I am usually content to defer for later reference what I don’t get right now.
What exactly was it that did not klick with me? First and worst, I found the pacing somehow off: action-driven, gripping scenes alternating with info dump threw me off rhythm and made it difficult to follow the storyline. Then, there was the author’s trying so very hard with so many characters (which blurred for me), so many fey species drawn from both Celtic and Norse lore. The overall Scottish-ness seemed forced, with characters forgetting to talk dialect mid-sentence and the narrative winding up with an odd and, to me, a bit grating mixture of Ye Olde Englishe, Gaelic and Scots, even instances of Celtic-Norse language mashup and original creations phonologically improbable in either language. Also, the author seemed bent on vesting his protagonist, as well-rounded and plausible a character as you would wish to find, with every Mary Sue trait on the list: an orphaned (check), half-human hybrid (check) outcast with, yes, Hazel eyes, auburn hair – I’m sorry: tresses, and some kind of super-powers (check, check, check).
Overall, a solid work of fantasy with an interesting setting, which might profit from a spot of editing to get rid of some instances of weird grammar and cut some dispensable details. It seems a pity it did not work for me.
What exactly was it that did not klick with me? First and worst, I found the pacing somehow off: action-driven, gripping scenes alternating with info dump threw me off rhythm and made it difficult to follow the storyline. Then, there was the author’s trying so very hard with so many characters (which blurred for me), so many fey species drawn from both Celtic and Norse lore. The overall Scottish-ness seemed forced, with characters forgetting to talk dialect mid-sentence and the narrative winding up with an odd and, to me, a bit grating mixture of Ye Olde Englishe, Gaelic and Scots, even instances of Celtic-Norse language mashup and original creations phonologically improbable in either language. Also, the author seemed bent on vesting his protagonist, as well-rounded and plausible a character as you would wish to find, with every Mary Sue trait on the list: an orphaned (check), half-human hybrid (check) outcast with, yes, Hazel eyes, auburn hair – I’m sorry: tresses, and some kind of super-powers (check, check, check).
Overall, a solid work of fantasy with an interesting setting, which might profit from a spot of editing to get rid of some instances of weird grammar and cut some dispensable details. It seems a pity it did not work for me.
August 13, 2020
Barrow Witch is the third book in the Fey Matters series by Craig Comer. I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.
I have not read the other books in this series, I did not realize it was part of a series until I was about 15% in (and a little confused). As a result, I can't talk about the series as a whole, but I can give my impressions of this book. I would not recommend skipping the first two books, I feel that they introduced a lot of the characters and did a lot of world building.
The plot of Barrow Witch seems pretty straight forward. I will admit, the politics lost me. Some of that is, again, because this is the third book, but some of it is my fault since I didn't find that part interesting. However, I did like that Effie was able to hold on to herself, even if she did have to leave her comfort zone, in the face of everything that happened.
Effie is a strong, interesting character. She has a good heart, a curious mind, and a lot of compassion, even after years of not fitting in anywhere. I also enjoyed the supporting characters, I feel that they are well rounded, which isn't always the case.
The writing style took a little while for me to get into. It felt oddly formal in places and it was very descriptive, sometimes overly. For me, the plot didn't move very quickly, but the scenes were beautifully built. Instead of the book being a quick run, it's more of a jog....you notice more about your surroundings, but you still get there.
Overall, I would recommend this book, just not as a stand alone or as a first book. I look forward to reading the other books in the series.
I have not read the other books in this series, I did not realize it was part of a series until I was about 15% in (and a little confused). As a result, I can't talk about the series as a whole, but I can give my impressions of this book. I would not recommend skipping the first two books, I feel that they introduced a lot of the characters and did a lot of world building.
The plot of Barrow Witch seems pretty straight forward. I will admit, the politics lost me. Some of that is, again, because this is the third book, but some of it is my fault since I didn't find that part interesting. However, I did like that Effie was able to hold on to herself, even if she did have to leave her comfort zone, in the face of everything that happened.
Effie is a strong, interesting character. She has a good heart, a curious mind, and a lot of compassion, even after years of not fitting in anywhere. I also enjoyed the supporting characters, I feel that they are well rounded, which isn't always the case.
The writing style took a little while for me to get into. It felt oddly formal in places and it was very descriptive, sometimes overly. For me, the plot didn't move very quickly, but the scenes were beautifully built. Instead of the book being a quick run, it's more of a jog....you notice more about your surroundings, but you still get there.
Overall, I would recommend this book, just not as a stand alone or as a first book. I look forward to reading the other books in the series.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews