The Briar Book of the Dead

I have read a lot of magical books in recent years and the genre is not rigid. There are books that are steeped in magic, the reader unsure what is real and what is fake. Other books like A. G. Slatter’s The Briar Book of the Dead have a sense of magical realism to them. Yes, the witches can curse people and hold great power, but they also must get on with everyday life and take measures to stop themselves being burnt at the stake. There is also the small matter of an upcoming wedding, a school that needs exercise books and people going missing. 

Families are tricky to deal with in the first place without varying degrees of magical powers. The Briar family have been the benevolent dictators of Silverton for generations through a lineage of witches. They must protect themselves by remaining useful, but also a little feared. The threat remains from the outside world, the Church only allow their existence to continue as they protect the border with the Darklands. When both elder matriarchs die, it is up to the new generation to step forward, but such change may bring the eye of the Church. 

As much as Briar is a book about magic, it is a book about family and how it can be a messy business. The main character is Ellie Briar, the one granddaughter who was born without powers. She is being groomed to become the administrative assistant to Cousin Audra’s considerable powers. Audra will lead, Ellie will live in the shadows. We learn about this at the beginning by Ellie not being allowed the lover she wants. Her grandmother forbids it, but who is right? 

The shades of grey that make up the characters is what pricks the reader’s interest. Ellie gains her own abilities in the book, but rather than admit them, she keeps them secret. All the Briar’s have their secrets, and this results in the events of the book. Deaths, murder, a quick unravelling of the way of life in Silverton. 

The book is magical fantasy and it benefits from being contained within one location. We learn some about the wider world, but the focus is on Ellie and her cousins. This allows Slatter to develop the relationships further than in a fantasy novel that separates characters over many leagues. You get to know Ellie, her passions, her sense of loss over her family and lack of powers. She is a strong character who has been pushed to the background by her family, but who is willing to step up when required. 

Like with any family saga there are plenty of skeletons in the closet and Slatter does a wonderful job of revealing them piecemeal throughout the book. The shocks and revelations push the story onwards and are continually making you see the characters in a new light. There is action in the book, but it is the secrets that really brings the thrills. 

Briar brings the right levels of emotional relationships to what I would consider a modern fairytale. Witches are real, but magical realism brings with it not only the power of magic, but the problems of family and keeping a town safe and running. Ellie is the ideal protagonist for this journey as she is part of a Witch family, but also apart. A very enjoyable book about family, magic, and small-town administration.