Are the sins of the fathers really visited upon the sons? And is there no way of breaking that cycle? Is evil doomed always to repeat itself, ruining everything good through its tainted seed?

These are not the questions young Oswy is asking himself when he is sold to the witch-Lord Sulien FitzGuimar. He's too busy wondering 'why me?!' They are, however, the questions which plague Sulien himself. Locked in a struggle for freedom, sanity, the very survival of his soul, Sulien must daily battle not only angels and demons, but the core of evil in his own heart.

When the King's sorcerer stages a coup, dragging ancient magic, the elves, and the royal court into his Empire-building plans, the woman he has set his sights on as a bride - timid, aspiring nun, Adela - sets out to find someone to oppose him. It's just unfortunate that the only candidates are cowardly Oswy, Adela herself and Sulien - who, deep in his heart, just wants to surrender and join him.

When the hope of redemption is balanced against the lure of revenge, which will prove stronger, flawed good or perfect evil?

Rating:

Reviewer: Stacey

Oswy is terrified. He’s just been bought by a witch, the very witch that the children of Oswy’s village have told stories about to scare each other as long as Oswy can remember. Now he’s bound to the witch. His attempts to escape are thwarted, he is trapped in the dungeon, and he’s told he is a witch too and will be trained by his new witch-master. Meanwhile, at the king’s palace, Adela is unhappy with her new marriage arrangement; she has been promised by the king to a man who scares her, even appearing in her private chambers. She appeals her case to the king, but all is not as it seems. Who is this strange man that wants to marry her? And who is trying to possess Oswy?

A little slow to start, dedicated readers will soon find themselves pulled in by the gravity of this story. It draws you in with beautiful imagery of a world little known to most modern readers- most authors prefer to avoid the religiously charged period of time when Christianity first came to Northern Europe, but Beecroft captures his imagining of it in exquisite detail, making it almost real to the reader. It does start off a little slow- I had a hard time getting into it until about chapter four, but the diligence is well worth the effort. My only complaint is that Oswy is underused in the story. Considering that most of the story is told with him as the primary character, I expected him to play a much larger role in the end of the story. The Witch’s Boy is great, though, and I would love to see a sequel to it! Or two, or a whole series of them! The world is beautifully crafted and the characters compelling- it seems a waste not to use them again!

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