Book Review: The Black Act

Which is more powerful? The unyielding curse of hatred, or the enduring blessings of forgiveness? The bonds between sisters, or the pull of an ages-long curse? Due out in April, Louise Bohmer's The Black Act explores this question, not through one, but dozens of black acts spanning the lives of many generations of one family.

The present day story begins with initiate Wise Women Anna and Claire, twin sisters who have been raised in the sacred fae valley to act as witches, guardians of the land, and as the diplomats between the humans and the fae. But the Wise Women have been harboring a secret about a constant cycle of violence within the guild from their fae masters, and Claire and Anna represent the culmination of these terrible misdeeds.

The names of the fae races may seem familiar, but nothing in this book is described in a traditional manner. The fae are creatures of wood, vines, moss, and fungus. Their physical descriptions are exquisitely graphic, making them both terrifying and intriguing as a people at the same time. No fae is a common type, due to the chaotic nature of their creations, and so every fae introduced to the story is described uniquely and vividly.

The first two thirds of the book are strong on visual description, scenery, and internal character development. All of these elements are juggled effectively, and with a pacing that is almost breakneck. The first two acts are a true page-turner in every sense of the meaning.

But once the chain of events surrounding the curse become clear in the third act of the book, the chain of deaths all became motivated for the same selfish reasons. Because of this, they felt repetitive and slowed down what had been a blazing fast pace.

The book wraps up these black acts with a tribunal and with a demonstration of poetic justice, bringing the story full circle. The curse truly begins with a witch on trial, and it ends with her distantly related offspring also on trial, but for a far worse crime. And through it all, when it seems that no one is capable of forgiving, the book still manages to close on a message of hope.

Louise writes in her introduction that she wanted to create her own plausible mythology on a new world, and with her own unique people. On every level, she succeeds, and this story will appeal to fans of fantasy, dark fantasy, and supernatural horror. In fact, there is one particular death so vividly described that it transcends horrifying to become truly haunting.

I give The Black Act four stars out of five, and I would heartily recommend it to fans of thought-provoking, vivid fantasy fiction.