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Witchy Winter Does Everything a Great Sequel Should Do
D.J. Butler’s Witchy Eye was one of last year’s best debuts, an imaginative, epic alternate history-cum-fantasy that spanned from Appalachian country to the heart of the United States to tell a story of flintlocks and wild American magic. Rock-solid worldbuilding aside, that book was an origin story, laying out the history of the family at its center, and Butler continues their saga in Witchy Winter. With the setup out of the way, his imagination is allowed to roam free across an unexplored frontier, fulfilling the promise of previous volume, and building up his alternate America into something truly expansive.
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In a version of America warped by wild magics, in which the gods of most belief systems are tangibly real, Sarah Calhoun, the adopted daughter of famed war hero and Imperial Elector Andrew Calhoun, has attained her birthright and won the battle for control of the Serpent Mound. But while she holds the Heron King’s regalia, her journey to the Serpent Throne and control of Cahokia isn’t over: seven other candidates, all with their own claims to press, must be defeated or won over to her cause. She must also learn to master the Appalachian magic of her kin, navigate the dangerous political currents around the Bishop of New Orleans and Emperor Penn, and learn to manage the tremendous amount of power she now has at her fingertips.
Witchy Eye did its job outlining a world epic in epic, and Witchy Winter doubles down, further expanding the borders of the world and deepening the intricate politics of the struggle for the Serpent Throne. Early chapters detail the various other claimants, including a priestess and her sorcerous retinue, the tribespeople of the Anishnaabe, and numerous other movers and shakers. The varied factions and multiple viewpoints and numerous factions help color in the vast setting in a way Witchy Eye, with its strong focus on Sarah’s ascent to power, made difficult.
The characters are also stronger this time around. The cast is more inclusive, with the first chapter detailing a kinetic action sequence set around the birth of a young Anishnaabe child, and several chapters devoted to the power struggles among the clergy of New Orleans, who are given a much expanded role. Not that Sarah has come into her powers, Butler explores their true nature as well as their costs—at one point, Sarah threatens to devour someone’s soul, and seems to actually mean it. Sarah’s allies’ new duties as retainers of the Queen of Cahokia, and their various power struggles, add texture to the novel while keeping the narrative moving smoothly through an expansive page count. It’s interesting to get to know who all these people are.
Witchy Eye presented a fascinating world at a surface level. Witchy Winter is better, and richer, in every way. It’s a sequel that feels essential, expanding the world while diving further into the characters who made the first such an exhilarating read. It does everything a sequel is supposed to—including leaving us eager for more.