The Prophet and the Witch: A Novel of Puritan New England

By: James W. George

Narrated by: Angus Freathy

Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's Summary

Puritans. Quakers. Pirates. Mohawks. Witches. And a brutal war....

If you thought New England was dull in the 1670s, get ready for a history lesson.

In the critically acclaimed My Father's Kingdom, debut author James W. George transported his listeners to 1671 New England and the world of Reverend Israel Brewster. It was a world of faith, virtue, and love, but it was also a world of treachery, hatred, and murder.

Four years later, Brewster is a disgraced outcast, residing in Providence and working as a humble cooper. Despite his best efforts, war could not be averted, and now, King Philip's War has begun.

The rebellion is led by Metacomet, known as King Philip to the English colonists. He is the tormented son of the great Massasoit and leader of the Wampanoag nation. Once the most reliable of Plymouth Colony's allies, they are now the bitterest of enemies. Meanwhile, Metacomet's mysterious counselor, Linto, despises this war and will do anything to end the bloodshed.

Meticulously researched, The Prophet and the Witch is a tale of hope and brotherhood in the face of evil and violence. It features the remarkable cast of fictional and historical characters from book one, including Josiah Winslow, Linto, Increase Mather, Constance Wilder, and Jeremiah Barron. Additionally, new characters such as America's first ranger, Captain Benjamin Church, bring this chapter of history to life like never before.

Praise for James W. George and book one, My Father's Kingdom:

"Five stars to My Father’s Kingdom. It’s a rare read full of stunning turns of fate and unforeseen consequences that carry this satisfying saga through to its historically accurate conclusion - the long, bloody conflict between settlers and Indians that was King Philip's War." - The Indie View

"It's a beautiful picture of American History and the fragile nature of peace and friendship...Five Stars." - The Literary Titan

"The author very skillfully captures the time period, the belief systems, the challenges of daily life, and other aspects of these clashing cultures… There is a smooth flow in his writing style. The characters are well-developed and interesting… Five Stars…Readers will look forward to the continuing story!" - Deborah Lloyd, ReadersFavorite.com 

©2017 James W. George (P)2018 James W. George

Simply Spectacular

Any additional comments?

George's writing and Freathy's narration are a spot-on match in this riveting sequel. I was eager to jump back to the 1600s again and revisit the characters in this story. They are fully developed, relatable individuals capable of evolving. My favorite character is Brewster, whose moral trials cause him to undergo real change. As with its predecessor, the history is rich and well-researched. Another outstanding contribution by both George and Freathy. You won't be disappointed with this one!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Educational and entertaining!

Note: This is Book 2 and it can be read on its own if you check out the author’s notes about Book 1 but it works best if you have read Book 1.

There is quite a bit going on in this book. I finished it and I felt heavy with my new understanding of this little slice of time in colonial America. This is a serious subject and horrible things happen during King Phillip’s War. I really appreciate that the author didn’t shy away from showing that, and showing that all sides committed war atrocities.

Linto and Wawaseca are spiritual leaders of their people and Linto is a special character. He’s knowledgeable about both the colonial English ways and their various flavors of Christianity but is also Native American. Throughout the entire book, he could be the one to bring everyone together. On the English side, there’s Brewster. He’s a bridge between the Puritans and the Quakers because he’s left one in disgrace and grudgingly embraces the other through marriage. He’s also a treasured friend of Linto’s.

Some of my favorite parts of the book were the times that Linto and his fellow Wampanoags interpret various Bible stories. I wasn’t raised with the Bible and I could really relate to some of the questions they ask and their take on the meanings of these stories. These scenes also provide a bit of levity in a pretty serious novel.

My one criticism about this tale is that the ladies are mostly sidelined. Wawaseca is a leader of her community but we rarely see that. We’re told it over and over again but we only see her providing marital comfort to her husband or playing with kids. Late in the story, her character does get a little bit of growth. However, she then becomes a character to pity, not follow. One of the other tribes also has a female leader but she’s described as uppity and rude. Her role is very small. All other ladies are there for comfort. One English lass is described as having a mind to rival any mind in the colony but we only have one brief scene where she cites some Bible trivia. The rest of the time, she’s being a wifely comfort. The ladies could have contributed much more and I was disappointed with their minimal showing.

The tale does have a lot of Bible references but I never felt that the story was preaching at me. For the people in 1670s American colonies, their religion was a major part of their lives so I felt that was reflected well in the story. I also like that there are several views and some people do their best to live up to their chosen spiritual book while others abuse their spiritual authority.

I was very glad to see that the author provides some historical notes at the end about the indulgences he took in creating this tale. The story shows the author’s great care in researching the time and location. This is both enlightening and entertaining. 4.5/5 stars.

The Narration: Angus Freathy was a joy to listen to for this narration. He had the perfect voice for Brewster and also for Linto, the two main characters. I loved all his regional accents for the various characters. There’s also some national accents as Scotsmen and Frenchmen join the cast of characters. My one quibble is that his female character voices weren’t always feminine. All his character voices were distinct. And there’s a bit of singing! Freathy did his singing well and then a short Psalm is sung by a woman (and done well too). The recording quality is excellent. 4.5/5 stars.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by James W. George. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

Wonderful historical novel

This is a brilliant continuation of the story in My Father’s Kingdom. Intelligent writing, excellent narration...I can’t wait for the next James George effort. His writing certainly fleshes out characters and the story moves along at a comfortable pace.

Mankind's Flaws Blazenly Portrayed in Early Colony

I found I was sorely lacking in my understanding of this time period during the growth of the colonies of North America. I’m happy to see someone tried to unravel this difficult time, giving it life through a fictious story, yet following historical events. It’s true, it is understood the indigenous Indians didn’t take kindly to the colonists. However, the colonists wouldn’t have survived their initial time in North America if it weren’t for the Indians.

This is a story, true to form, people, no matter what race, find something to harbor against each other. We see our present by reviewing our past. In this historical fiction, Indian tribes fight against each other, the French and vice versa, the English colonists work the Indians against the other colonists to have the upper-hand in controlling the land taken from the Indians. Add to the mix, religious inclinations. It is rather a dismal time in history, one of greed, power, hardship and tragedy, and yes, there is hope.

If I had read or listened to book one of the series, I might have had a better grounding in what was happening. The narrator moved the story along in one aspect, but I was a little confused on the other. Perhaps it was my lack of the historical layout?

Freathy’s voiceover in singing was enjoyable, yet his various dialog voices for the various character kept me guessing who was speaking. His French is very good and the dialog from the Frenchmen I enjoyed. I liked the way he played up some of the witty dialog. Noted, the women didn’t sound like women, so I didn’t catch on who Linto’s wife was when she spoke. The Indian’s spoke with such a wide vocabulary, I had a hard time identifying they were from Indian tribes. Author George wrote the dialog, so Freathy couldn’t really make it sound anything other than it was written. Only in one scene, Linto spoke with broken English, and that was intentional, since he normally spoke fluent English.

I think if I listened to the story another time, I would get more out of the story and follow the historical events better. There were different Indian tribes and several English colonists which were difficult to follow. I admire the author’s attempt to shed some light on this epoch in the colonial history and look forward to his continued work.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by James W. George. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

A little sleepy but overall good history lesson!

This was a good second story to the first in the series. It is historical fiction so for me personally I have to stop listening a bit and let things soak in. It can be a bit mind boggling if there is a lot of information and this story certainly has a lot of information circling around it. George is a great author and has given these historical events a breathe of fresh air. I felt like I learned a lot just from listening. I’ll give it a 4/5 stars!

Breathy is a good narrator. I like his British accent and I enjoyed his character voices. His singing is a little um off, but I will say that’s probably realistic that people wouldn’t have been singing super superb haha. He has a nice steady voice, although sometimes it is a little quiet and made me feel somewhat sleepy. I’ll give the audio a 4/5 as well!

A Forgotten Piece of History

As with the first novel in this series, I really enjoyed that this series takes on the subject matter of King Phillip’s War. This is an event that is very often overlooked, but very important in the history of early America. Whereas the first novel focused on the early events that led up to the start of the war, this novel deals with the actual war itself. We are witness to battles and strategies on both sides and it was interesting to see how the two different sides perceived this war. This book picks up essentially where the prior left off and as it has been a little while since I read it, it did take me a little longer to ease my way back in and reacquaint myself with the events (again since this isn’t a period I am familiar with).

I enjoyed being able to see the characters that we were introduced to in the first novel grow here in the second. Brewster has become very different from his earlier incarnation thanks to his fall from his high place and I always enjoy the scenes with Linto as I find him to be a dynamic character. Religion plays a huge role in the decisions of both sides in this war and George does an excellent job in bringing the reader into the mindset of what was going on at the time.

Angus Freathy does a very good job narrating this book. His more subtle British accent lends itself well to the personification of the colonial characters. Freathy creates unique voices for all of his characters which lends itself to their uniqueness and how they stand out as individuals in my mind even looking back on it. I loved that Freathy actually sang the songs that make appearance in the novel rather than simply reading them. While not an excellent singer, his attempt at this made the listening experience feel more full and to what the author would have wanted the reader to experience; I know that I tend to sing songs in my head when I encounter them on the page even when I have no point of reference for the tune. I also liked that they had a female singing a song that they were to have overheard in the church, which was a nice touch.

Is it the story or the narration?

I’ve had this book for sometime and have tried on several occasions to get into it. I can’t work out if it’s the story or its delivery but I’ve failed to do so again and feel I can’t waste more time on it.