Artist and author Brom (Lost Gods) turns his darkly fantastic but unfocused vision toward 17th-century Connecticut, bringing ecospirituality and grim vengeance into a familiar colonial gothic milieu without offering much innovation. A mysterious presence awakens in the wilderness beyond Abitha and Edward Williams's land outside fictional Sutton, Conn., and begins to feed, eventually killing Edward. When the presence emerges from the forest as a man with horns and goat legs and connects Abitha to the magic her late mother used, Abitha ignores Puritan warnings about demons and joins the creature, naming him Samson. Samson and Abitha work together to save her farm and uncover Samson's true identity, but powerful men and vindictive spirits stand in their way. The first half of Brom's story plods mirthlessly through establishing obvious conflicts, and the culmination of those conflicts is painfully bleak. The brutal treatment of women accused of witchcraft and the scapegoating of the Pequot people are especially unpleasant and, though perhaps historically accurate, feel gratuitous here. Excitement arrives in the final quarter, but by then many readers will have given up. Brom's eerie paintings add aesthetic appeal, but all but his most devoted fans can skip this one. (Sept.)

Opening with a note that in October of 1666, 112 townsfolk were killed by the Devil, the story then flashes back to March of that fateful year as Abitha is bristling under the harshness of puritanical rule. When her brother-in-law tries to take their farm, Abitha convinces her husband and the town elders to defy him, despite the dangerous consequences. In the woods at the edge of the farm, the Devil is being reborn. It finds companionship in Abitha and uses its powers to help her discover her own. This enticing but methodically paced story is enhanced by Brom's creepy artwork, and every detail of the uneasy atmosphere, world building, and character development matters; this is a tale that will unsettle readers as they vacillate between fear and celebration. With Abitha, her brother-in-law, the Devil, and his minions all having a say, readers will be both entertained and asked to reckon with the true nature of evil. For all who enjoy historical horror with healthy doses of dark fantasy, witchcraft, and vengeance, and who enjoy titles like Alexis Henderson's The Year of the Witching (2020).