Fantasy You Didn’t Know You Needed: Witchy Eye by D.J. Butler

Witchy Eye (2017)
Written by: D.J. Butler
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Pages: 790 (Mass Market Paperback)
Series: Yes (it is currently unnamed)
Publisher: Baen Books

Why I Chose It: I didn’t choose it so much as it was given to me by the author himself. I work at a bookstore, and D.J. Butler was passing through the area and signing any copies stores had in stock – and, I guess, giving out copies to booksellers that enjoy fantasy. I’m the SF/F devourer in my particular store, so I was the lucky winner. (And I’m glad I won.)

The Premise:

Sarah Calhoun is the fifteen-year-old daughter of the Elector Andrew Calhoun, one of Appalachee’s military heroes and one of the electors who gets to decide who will next ascend as the Emperor of the New World. None of that matters to Sarah. She has a natural talent for hexing and one bad eye, and all she wants is to be left alone—especially by outsiders.

But Sarah’s world gets turned on its head at the Nashville Tobacco Fair when a Yankee wizard-priest tries to kidnap her. Sarah fights back with the aid of a mysterious monk named Thalanes, who is one of the not-quite-human Firstborn, the Moundbuilders of the Ohio. It is Thalanes who reveals to Sarah a secret heritage she never dreamed could be hers.

Now on a desperate quest with Thalanes to claim this heritage, she is hunted by the Emperor’s bodyguard of elite dragoons, as well as by darker things—shapeshifting Mockers and undead Lazars, and behind them a power more sinister still. If Sarah cannot claim her heritage, it may mean the end to her, her family—and to the world where she is just beginning to find her place.

No Spoilers

Discussion: There exist certain books out in the world that, once you start reading, you are thrown straight into the deep end where it is then a matter of sink or swim. Figure out where you are and what’s happening or be wholly lost in the story and give up. This is one of those books. You either power through and put the pieces together and hang onto others hoping they’ll eventually fall into place, or you admit you have no idea what the hell is going on and pick a different book to read.

One of the reasons this book is so much a sink or swim one is because while you may have some small idea of what sort of world you might be in, given the book blurb, ultimately you really don’t. This isn’t an alternate history story with some fantasy thrown in. This is like our universe got drunk and stumbled its way through several parallel universes far, far removed from our own to knock on the door of a fantasy one completely unrelated to ours and hooked up with it. Honestly, the world, peoples, religions, traditions, and more in this book are more of a melting pot than the time people actually claimed the New World was a melting pot. It’s like Butler took handfuls of famous names, history, cultures, and more, shoved them into his own melting pot, threw some dead flesh and glitter into it, cooked it up, and then handed it out. It looks really sparkly, there’s some wild shit in it, and hot dang if it doesn’t taste pretty good.

Okay, enough of the analogies. Hopefully by now you get what I’m saying about the world building. It’s impressive. It’s on a grand scale. You’ll see a lot of names straight from your 5th grade history books like William Penn, Benjamin Franklin, Andrew Jackson, and even Oliver Cromwell. But none of them are used in any way you’ve learned. This is a world populated by wizards, beastkind, ley lines, voodoo, those that believe in God, those that believe in everything else, Christian priests, men who duel with pistols, and oh so much more. I can only imagine the sheer amount of history D.J. Butler researched – or perhaps already knew – in order to fill this book with what it’s got. Languages alone span Latin, French, Spanish, and of course, English – possibly with a few made up words in between. There are songs and arguments of theology, Bible verses (which may or may not be accurate given the varying beliefs people have), and what I believe is a take on the story of Lilith, Adam’s first wife before Eve (though she  is never referenced as Lilith).

There’s a lot going on in this book.

But don’t let that deter you, because at its core is the story of one girl trying to reclaim her father’s throne. Not too unlike Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones fame, though I hate to make the reference, but it’s one many will recognize. Not that Daenerys is the only woman ever to come out of the ashes (ok, pun intended) to reclaim her throne. But you get the gist. It’s a journeying story, with a lot of roadblocks along the way for Sarah and her companions. Even better, anyone who loves a strong female lead will adore this book because Sarah doesn’t take shit from anyone. Never mind that she’s 15; growing up in the Appalachee area where it’s a rough and tumble life, her foster father was a badass, she’s very knowledgeable, can think on her feet, knows when to ask for help, and in general is a solid character. She’s not fearless; there are plenty of times where she is afraid and has good reason to be, and she makes mistakes, but she does a damn good job with what she has.

The book doesn’t always stick with Sarah, either. It will jump from character to character, which will leave you hanging in some cases before finally getting back to them. Sometimes it’s infuriating – mostly because you want to know just what the heck is going to happen to whomever you might be reading about at the moment. But sometimes events are unfolding simultaneously so it’s necessary. And while the book itself does take a fair amount of time to really get rolling and for all the players to finally be in one place, the moment that happens the party doesn’t stop. I had a hard time putting this book down for the last 300ish pages or so. Not to say that the first 400ish are boring, it’s just that the really interesting things happen at the back half.

You’ll really like all the characters (not the bad ones, obviously), from Sarah to Calvin to Bill to Cathy, and it’s interesting to see how each person fits into this massive picture that Butler is building. Every character’s actions have consequences, which mean additional side stories for later. I guess it’s a good thing the second book is out.

In Conclusion: This book is excellent for anyone looking for some seriously epic fantasy of the unexpected sort. Once I was finished I made a point to go and get the second book, which is just as massive and I’m already almost 2/3 through it. Luckily once I’m finished with it I won’t have to wait long for the next one, which will be released August 2019 (according to Butler’s website). Will that be the last one? I have no idea, but even if it’s not, that’s okay because I’m already on board. Likewise, if you’re going through Game of Thrones withdrawal, give this a try. I honestly think that, once the show wraps up on HBO, turning these books into a series (done right) would be just as engrossing, just as exciting, and just as successful.

Thanks for the free book, D.J.!