The Witchstone (Henry H. Neff)

The Witchstone
Henry H. Neff
Blackstone
Fiction, Fantasy/Humor
**** (Good)

DESCRIPTION: The demon Laszlo may have an arch-duke of Hell for a father, but never managed to rise above a lowly Grade 3 himself... and that's fine by him. Sure, he may not have some of the fancier powers that come with advancement, but he has better things to do than play politics, things like drinking and spending family money and disporting himself with various consenting adults in various carnal manners. Even when his father arranged a job for him in the Ancient and Infernal Society of Curse Keepers (established 5036 B.C.), he hardly bothers checking in with the mortal family that he's supposed to be keeping an eye on, making sure they endure the full breadth of pain and despair and dashed hopes that come with a curse. But when new management takes over the Society with bold new visions of curse-keeping, suddenly his slacker ways aren't cutting it - and, for once, the mention of his powerful father isn't enough to get him out of a jam. Now, Laszlo has one Hell week - six days (Lord Lucifer never liked Sundays) - to make the Drakefords truly suffer the complete and utter misery of their already miserable curse and the snatching away of any whiff of a hint of hope for freedom, or he'll be boiled down into demonic essence and returned to the primordial ooze... and that's if he's lucky. Hell is, after all, infamous for its inventive means of eternal torture, for mortals and demons alike.
 Maggie Drakeford is all too familiar with the Drakeford Curse. Ever since their Puritan ancestor struck down a witch performing unholy rites before the Witchstone - a strange, obsidian spire of ill omen deep in the mountains of upstate New York - every Drakeford has turned into a monster before their fortieth birthday... and not just a metaphoric monster. A tormented, twisted, barely-human thing that often begs for death long before the end, prone to fits of violence and rage. Maggie isn't even 20 years old yet, and already has the first marks of the curse, ending any idle dreams of a future beyond the family's miserable, rustic homestead in their miserable, rustic backwater town. Worse, it's only a matter of time before her precocious kid brother George, better known as "Lump", develops his own marks, too. It's been generations since any tried to break the curse by finishing the spell the slain witch was performing when killed, and none even know how anymore, the information lost over the years. Then a stranger in Gucci shoes turns up one night with a glint in his eye, an infernal case file, and an offer that sounds far too good to be true. He says his name is Laszlo, the demonic Curse Keeper of the line, and he claims that Hell needs to close out their long-running curse inside of a week or there will be dire consequences for all concerned. Thus, he's prepared to bend infernal rules to help them figure out how to break the thing. Maggie is skeptical - the man is, after all, admittedly a demon, and trusting demons almost never ends well in stories - but she doesn't have a choice... and, even if he can't deliver, at least she will have tried to fight back against the curse that has ruined so many lives.
Thus begins a whirlwind dash halfway around the world, gathering the ingredients for a spell that may or may not even work. Not only is the clock ticking against Laszlo and Maggie, but they face a slew of obstacles and challenges, plus betrayals and potential sabotage from the demon's new boss... and the possibility that the Drakeford Curse and the Witchstone are not at all what anyone, human or demon, thought they were in the first place...

REVIEW: With a sarcastic con-man demon and a determined young woman who isn't above blurring some moral lines to get what she needs, author Neff establishes a strong starring duo in The Witchstone, a fast-paced melding of hellish humor and eldritch horror and urban fantasy that may sometimes wobble on its tightrope but manages to keep its footing from start to finish.
From the first pages, Laszlo establishes himself as a scoundrel, more than a touch selfish and spoiled but with enough humanizing flaws (and an amusing enough voice) to keep the reader generally on his side, if mostly in contrast to the demons surrounding him in the Society of Curse-Keepers - and who doesn't tend to root for the slacker underdog against the new boss set on "shaking up" a department that was functioning just fine before they came along? Maggie's chapters, on the other hand, tend to be more serious and grounded, rooted in the generational misery of being a Drakeford and stuck in a tiny spot of a town full of cruel people who, rather than having any pity for the afflicted family, treat them like monsters, only deigning to tolerate their presence when someone dies and they need a traditional "sin eater" (since the Drakefords are clearly already cursed, what's a few more sins to pile upon their souls?). At one time, she'd hoped to at least experience a little freedom before the curse kicked in, but then she saw the patch of red skin and little tentacles on her elbow and knew it was too late already. The arrival of Laszlo on the family's doorstep invites immediate skepticism, but Maggie realizes she has little choice but to trust the demon, even if so she can at least know that she tried to fight back. (It goes without saying that her kid brother Lump also is involved in the journey, managing not to be deadweight most of the time). Laszlo may enjoy "playing" with mortals, but being Maggie's guide and escort through the hidden world of demonic and supernatural beings of the world is the first time in ages he's had to interact with them in any truly meaningful, prolonged manner; despite himself, he grows a little fond of the Drakefords as they face mutual enemies and challenges, even as he plots his own agenda that runs counter to their goals on a fundamental level. Likewise, despite vowing not to lower her guard, Maggie finds herself growing fond of the demon despite his often-obnoxious ways and tendency to flee (or attempt to flee) in the face of danger.
Things clip along nicely for the most part, with action and humor and some body horror, though there are a few wobbles, as mentioned earlier. Neff pushes a little hard on the aspect of the Drakeford Curse that compels victims to reproduce before their monstrous mutations make mating with a human unlikely, to a point that came close to compelling a "DNF" (did not finish). (Risking a spoiler, that is a line that is nudged, but not actually crossed; if it had, this review would not be written, because I do not review DNF titles.) The climactic finale also feels drawn out. The wrap-up and epilogue managed to pull it back from where it nearly lost a half-star on those accounts, though, feeling like Neff intends to set up a series (or at least leave the door open for one). There's certainly enough character chemistry and enough hooks in the world he established to carry at least one more book. The whole put me in mind of some older demon-themed urban fantasies, such as Esther Friesner's Here Be Demons and its sequels, but in a good and updated way, not a dated way. In any event, I found The Witchstone unexpectedly enjoyable and interesting, and I'd certainly look at a second installment if it ever comes along.

You Might Also Enjoy:
Whatever For Hire (R. J. Blain) - My Review
You Slay Me (Katie MacAllister) - My Review
Discount Armageddon (Seanan McGuire) - My Review