The Patriot Witch (Traitor to the Crown) [Mass Market Paperback]

On the brinks of Revolution, American militia men---troupes of armed farmers and other non-military men---stand to guard the "Patriot Cause" against the British redcoats. Unknown to the vast majority of fighting men on both sides is the presence of magical intervention--or that those among them are charmed or gifted with supernatural abilities.

Twenty-year old Proctor Brown, a farmer and militiaman, spots a charm worn by Major Pitcairn, a British "lobster". Though Proctor is supposed to be wooing his sweetheart Emily's father, the British soldiers pull him into a brawl, where after he is forced to ram a knife into Pitcairn, he discovers that the officer with the charm is invincible. Proctor's worrying about making a good impression on Emily's father fades as both war and magic come crashing into his life.

In Finlay's mythos, magic in colonial America was made famous by the Salem witch trials; Proctor, as betrayed by his name, is a descendent of Salem witches. Fearing for persecution, his mother has taught him very little of his inherited abilities, and discourages him from discovering more, both for fear of the principle and of losing her only son. In the beginning, Proctor is only capable of scrying, but through the course of the story, becomes capable of invoking protection and reversal spells that become crucial in determining the outcome (which we know in hindsight) of the battle of Bunker Hill.

Magic, in this saga, seems more plausible due to its limitations; flights are illusions, but magic can spontaneously combust things (and people), summon zombies and spirits, heal, and be channeled. The exact words of your spell don't matter, if you don't find a focus; thus, it's interesting to see blood used as a focus, and verses from the bible as incantations for spells. We do get to see a bit of that nostalgic "learn magic in a school-like setting," when Proctor is exiled a la the Quaker Highway to stay at the Farm, a sanctuary of witches protected by enchantment from outside view. However, Proctor's male gender, in part, creates some discrimination against him in the Farm, composed of a small group of female witches. There is virtually no sexual tension, however, other than the differences in culture between males and females.

While the author cites inspiration from his experience researching original documents from this era, historical details do not weigh the book down, and the setting of the book seems more like a stereotypical "pop culture" conveyance. The lack of subplots slows the story, but keeps it clear that our story is about the Patriot Witch----not quite a wizard, but just a determined and able colonial man named Proctor Brown.

(No spoilers here!)

Finlay does a whole lot of things right in this book (setting it far, far above Katherine Kurtz's disappointing 1996 Two Crowns for America, the only other work I've run into that handles witches and the American Revolution). His characters are human, believable, and sympathetic. They know weakness and uncertainty; they make mistakes; they change their minds. For the most part the emotional interactions between these characters are handled with a subtle, even lovely, touch. Finlay conveys big, important, tragic things without melodrama, both at the personal level and at the "Shot Heard Round the World" level. Which is not to say this book is the literary equivalent of a chick flick; on the contrary, the battles--again, both large-scale and small--are visceral and gripping, and they read fast. Even the reader familiar with the historical encounters can suspend that knowledge of the outcome and worry over how things will turn out.

In fact, the integration of history with fiction is something Finlay always does well. (His 2002 novelet "We Come Not to Praise Washington" was a finalist for the Sidewise Award for alternate history). Finlay is a trained historian who's done plenty of academic work on this era, but don't let that scare you off, because he's a storyteller first. None of this reads as dry history; in fact this novel manages to breathe real life into an era that everyone knows at least something about, reminding us that the patriots and tories of the American Revolution had real-life, tough decisions to make, balancing love and family and fear against any political considerations. People died, many of them senselessly. Others were displaced or went hungry. Where pop history forgets them and academic history might render them dry figures, Finlay's characters fear and feel these losses. Maintaining historical gender roles while writing strong female characters is another place Finlay excels. The prose and dialogue convey the period and lifestyle well while remaining seamlessly readable, resorting neither to modern slang nor stilted historical usage. (Yes, as another reviewer noted--there's a stretch of thees and thous. But this comes from someone who would indeed have spoken like that, doesn't actually happen often or last long, and even gets noticed and discussed by the main characters later.) History geeks will enjoy having a few fun tidbits thrown their way, such as the answer to the historical mystery of the shot that started it all; similarly, the dialogue near the end over the name of a hill where a battle was fought manages to be both funny and sadly profound.

All of the above said, while this is an excellent book, it is not a perfect book. For instance, a long stretch of the story relies upon the POV character not communicating information he has to the characters around him; I didn't buy his reason for this, in large part because he never quite explains it. Perhaps his reason was valid, but I wanted him to at least acknowledge (to the reader inside his head) that he's withholding info and why, especially as the people around him discuss wishing they knew that piece of information. But about the time I was starting to worry that it would annoy me if the whole book relied upon what felt like a contrived lack of communication, all was revealed. From then out, the characters' logic and knowledge, or lack thereof, made sense, making this one, fairly early incident one of the few things that bothered me.

All in all, this book is a great read. I look forward to the next book in the trilogy, A Spell for the Revolution (and yay, it's due out next month, so we don't even have to wait very long!)

It's April, 1775, the time of year when a young man's mind turns to romance, cattle, and his poor fashion options. Young Proctor Brown has many things on his mind, not the least of which is his attempted courtship of loyalist Emily Rucke. Her father is none too pleased by the pairing and Proctor means to change his mind. Matters are complicated by the fact that Proctor is a farmer, a militiaman, and a witch.

It's no easy thing being a witch in 1775 New England. It's a thing Proctor's mother has tried to keep well hidden, to the point she hasn't taught her son much about their abilities. Proctor can scry some, but often doesn't understand what he sees. He longs to get a grasp on his talents, and after a muster goes horribly wrong, he is given the opportunity to do just that. As Proctor discovers this side of himself, an entirely new world opens--just as one begins to for the country.

Proctor's adventures in Revolutionary New England are filled with all you could hope for. It is a coming of age story, it is a romance, it is a magical journey through our country's bloody history. And? Look out for the zombies. Win!

Finlay does for the Revolutionary War what Novik did for the Napoleonic with her Temeraire books; this is a rich blend of history and fantasy, that will only leave you wanting more when all is said and done. Fortunately, books two and three are coming in May and June. The wait will not be long.