Book Reviews

Reviewed by Chun Yin Wah

True to a promise on its cover, A Nameless Witch by A. Lee Martinez (2008, Tor Books, 336 pages) tells a tale of vengeance, true love and cannibalism. It took me less than a day to read the story, which I regarded as a kind of children's yarn. Well, with kisses and nudity involved, maybe it was for young adults. Only when checking the author's Website did I learn that he wrote it for full-fledged adults.

This is an easy, pleasant and mostly mindless read. I like it.

The main character is a witch without a name. Her great-great-great-great-grandfather, whose own name has been lost in history and she calls “Nasty Larry”, pronounced a terrible curse in his dying moments: “From now until the end of time, the sixth child of every generation shall be made a gruesome abomination. A twisted, horrible thing that shall shun the light and dwell in miserable darkness.”

So this young, nameless, undead individual has lived in her parents' basement for 18 years until an old witch, Ghastly Edna, bought her for “a puny of money". After six hours of cleaning away the years’ worth of dirt, Ghastly Edna discovers that the undead has turned out to be a beauty. Then “the undead” begins to learn everything from Ghastly Edna -- from witch-wardrobe to the black arts – mastering witchcraft before Ghastly Edna dies.

That's when the nameless witch inherits a creature called Newt. “Newt was my mistress's familiar. Familiars come in countless varieties: demons molded into animal shape, enchanted creatures, dreams made flesh, flesh made dream. Ghastly Edna had created Newt by enchanting a waterfowl with intelligence and speech and then grafting a pinch of pure demonic essence. The end result was an ill-tempered duck, unhappy with the entire world and quite willing to share his unhappiness.”

Before passing away, Ghastly Edna gives the nameless witch unusual advice: “When you leave this place, follow the trail around the lake and through the hills. When you reach a fork in the path, you'll have a choice to make. Head east and you will take the first step toward truly avenging my death. Or dying horribly yourself. Or possibly both. The magic is not entirely clear on this. Head north, on the other hand, and you'll find a life of quiet contentment and simple pleasures. More happiness than most people happen on, but less than you might find to the east. Even with that horrible death possibility. On this, the magic is quite clear.”

Of course, the nameless witch and the duck head to the east. No one knows that her cloak and hat conceal a beauty of a witch who likes to eat raw meat and contemplates “a good eat” every time she meets a human. On the road to the east, she encounters a troll, helps wounded soldiers and meets the love of her life, the White Knight, all on the way to a big battle.

Born in Texas, Martinez started to write novels at age 18. Years later, he published one, Gil's All Fright Diner. Since then, he has issued a handful more.

A Nameless Witch is fun to read. I especially liked Newt the duck. The conversation is fun, apparently effortlessly written. What a great book for a lazy and cold afternoon!