The Crimson Witch - A Review
As far as I can tell from the Amazon listing, THE CRIMSON WITCH is a self-published book. This is really unfortunate, as the caliber of writing would make this easily imaginable coming from Tor Publishing, or one of the other mid to large fantasy publishers.
The author, John North, knows writing. He has studied narrative craft, whether academically or just through voracious reading. His characters are individuals. They have goals, they have agency, and they are flawed. Aurora, the heroine, wants to be the most known criminal in Westtwon. She lives in a world where magic and modernity co-exit, so there are cars and guns and planes, and there are wyverns and fireballs and dragons. When we first meet Aurora as a child, she and her guardian, Blair, are attacked. Blair is defeated, and Aurora is badly wounded and blacks out. When she awakens, there are dead bodies, including her guardian, Blair, who gives her a parting message to keep fighting.
Yet how did Aurora survive against overwhelming odds? Why did she attack Blair in her altered state? Figuring out the mystery of her power that allowed her to slay those who had been attacking her and her guardian is what THE CRIMSON WITCH gradually unravels through the narrative.
Chapter 2 introduces a new character, one of the two figures that is on the cover of the book: Polaris. Polaris has come in search of Aurora, and here readers discover that the two are actually sisters. Aurora, who had been living in squalor throughout her childhood, is actually royalty, a princess, and daughter of a demi-god who rules the far-off Pearl Kingdom.
However, we discover Aurora is a lot more than just a princess in the rough.
In Chapter 5, we’re introduced to one of the many antagonists, Serena. However, she’s also a main character with a tortured past, not inherently evil but bent by her desire to exact revenge upon Polaris, who helped wipe out her vampire clan. Serena also wants to be free of a deal with the devil she made with a figure who readers discover at the end of the novel.
THE CRIMSON WITCH is mostly female main characters, which is an interesting choice for John North. A few male characters come in, but they’re mostly dispatched of quickly or play subservient roles to the female powerhouses. As this is the only book I’ve read of the series so far, I’m not sure if that continues throughout all of the latter books.
Funny enough, though, I highly recommend this book to young male readers. I feel that too many published books today don’t produce novels that have young male readers as their target audience. THE CRIMSON WITCH has a lot of action and a lot of attitude that I think would appeal to teenagers. The characters speak in an urban way, with lots of swearing and slang. A reviewer on Amazon mentioned this as a point against recommending this to a YA audience, but I feel that type of attitude is why books published today don’t appeal to many teenagers or young boys. Give them something they want to read and that will excite them. THE CRIMSON WITCH has a lot of the narrative plot lines that are settled by fisticuffs. Aurora’s main goal is be stronger than everyone else, which is very reminiscent of Japanese anime. She’s a lot like Goku, or Naruto, which are hugely popular amongst young men.
At the same time, I do think the similarity to popular animes is the only aspect of the novel that I feel could have been improved. As a massive fan of Japanese anime myself, at times I felt like I was reading fan fiction. John Snow is such a talented writer, and I would be interested to see what he can do that’s completely different from what has come before in the realm of anime. Even as I say this, though, I don’t consider it to be a knock against the novel itself. Big publishers and agents operate in trends. They are generally looking for something that sounds like something that has already been done. How many HARRY POTTER-like books have come out since J.K. Rowling, or TWILIGHT-like books since Stephenie Meyer, or HUNGER GAMES-like books since Suzanne Collins? THE CRIMSON WITCH reads like something that is in the trend of DRAGON BALL Z, NARTUO, THE FULL METAL ALCHEMIST, and probably a few other animes I haven’t actually seen. If the top five publishers can get away with it, why not John Snow?
THE CRIMSON WITCH is a fun read, an exciting read, with characters that sometimes do things that make you want to slap some sense into them. But this is part of the appeal, as how often do you think that of real people? Mistakes help people grow and learn, and it keeps readers turning the page to see what will happen next to these flawed yet well-meaning characters. In spades THE CRIMSON WITCH accomplishes that level of narrative engagement.
John North graduated from Georgia State University, where he definitely didn’t spend thousands of dollars just to study Film & Media. John’s love for films and animated media inspired his love for writing. What started as an afterschool hobby became a deep passion, one he wanted to share with the world. John brought new worlds to life with his imagination, fully inspired by the anime he watched while growing much. John learned so much from the stories he grew up with. He learned to value perseverance, confidence, self-improvement, empathy, friendship, and most importantly, family. These messages show through his writing. Welcome to his Gorgon series, which is the product of seven years of hard work and discipline. It’s a bloody, violent story, but at its heart, its all about family bonds, personal improvement, responsibility, and achieving self-love. The biggest lesson that John’s learned through his life so far is the following. ‘While who you are is important, and what you do is what you’re remembered for, it’s where you want to be that will always keep you moving forward’. (A direct quote from John)!
