Review: A Nameless Witch

Pin It A Nameless Witch by A. Lee Martinez
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A Nameless Witch is not my typical kind of book. It's not that I don't read paranormal books (because I do) but I don't tend to read "funny" books. I enjoy a good laugh like anyone else but I have to admit that I am not the type who chuckles or chortles while reading. Most humorous books are lucky to get a smirk out of me despite my appreciation of their humor. Christopher Moore is a rare exception who manages to tickle my funny bone at times. And I think it is natural that this book get compared to Christopher Moore's style although the latter is by far superior, in my humble opinion.

I actually listened to this as an audiobook and have to admit that I didn't particularly like the narrator (Ann Marie Lee). That may have affected my overall opinion of the book more than it should have but it's not the only thing that didn't strike my fancy.

A Nameless Witch is the story of a "cursed" girl who is adopted by a witch and taught the witchly arts. When her master is killed, she goes on a quest of vengeance, aided by her duck and a troll. There are no real twists or riddles you want to solve in the book and it spells itself out rather plainly as you go.

A. Lee Martinez did have his funny moments in the tale but I think I'd consider them more amusing than uproarious. He used some clever ideas that went against what one would typically picture in a witch and I couldn't help but enjoy the contrast. The writing was passable as well. Not a feat of genius by any means but it fit well with the style of the book.

What threw it all off for me was the story which kind of fell flat and took a while to get where it was going. It was a short audiobook but felt much longer than it was. I admittedly considered putting it on my DNF shelf a few times. In the end, I was glad I completed the audiobook but wouldn't necessarily recommend it to anyone.

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