The Witch Hand eBook Wendy Joseph
Download As PDF : The Witch Hand eBook Wendy Joseph 
“You are my heiress now.”
Malaxia, the most formidable witch on earth, chooses young Liana as her successor.
But does Liana want to be the most powerful and destructive
witch in the world?
Liana gets help from a most unlikely source
Jettaret, Vicomte, Crusader, Murderer, Lost soul.
The Witch Hand eBook Wendy Joseph
The Witch's Hand takes place in southern France during the thirteenth century. The book mixes sorcery with a realistic portrayal of the period in a manner that reminded me of the best aspects of A Game of Thrones. The novel has a strong plot about a young peasant girl, Liana, who has been picked by Malaxia, a powerful witch, to be her heiress. Liana meets Jettaret, a disillusioned warrior who has returned from the crusades to restart a privileged life with an arranged marriage. Jettaret's full name is Michel Antoine Jettaret, Vicomte de Solignac. His family is wealthy and powerful while Liana is the daughter of a game watcher for the Bishop. But Jettaret still has the ideals that pushed him to join the crusades. Those ideals, along with his admiration of Liana's innocence, lead him in a fight to save her from Malaxia's power.In some ways The Witch's Hand is a "good vs. evil" story, but it isn't told in black and white. The flaws of the church are shown and the bigotry of the local farmers who fight against witchcraft are also shown. Here is what Jettaret says about that subject:
All this witchcraft business...it is a way, I am afraid, of people saying they don't like what you think, what you believe, what you look like, what you do,"
The attention to detail in Wendy Joseph's writing pulled me into her story. Here is a sample from when Jettaret goes to a local village to purchase a horse for Liana:
He stepped closer, stroked the mare's head - eyes alert, deep and bright, no sign of cloudiness in them - and waved his hand behind each eye to check her rear and peripheral vision. She blinked. Good. To test her hearing he snapped his fingers by each ear, and she flicked them but was not head shy. Good. He pulled her mouth open and rolled her lips back for a look at her teeth, and judged her to be about seven; little wear on the back teeth yet.
The same attention to detail gives a beautiful authenticity to the period and the setting:
The trail descended into thick woods at the bottom of the ridge and they rode through them, not following any path that Liana could see. At Sext they halted briefly for a midday meal of sorts - bread, wine, and dried sausage that chewed like wood bark. As they continued the trees thinned out, broken more and more by meadows in soft bloom, and Liana's thoughts of Malaxia vanished. When the sunrays were slanting low from the west, and Jettaret judged they were well out of the way of any searchers from Peranville or chance wanderers, they stopped by a spring to make camp.
My wife and I spent two weeks in France last year, my first trip to Europe, so I have a particular interest in novels set in that country. This novel is an excellent read for anyone with an interest in European history, with the added pleasure of mysticism for excitement.
Steve Lindahl - Author of Motherless Soul
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The Witch Hand eBook Wendy Joseph Reviews
This book begins with a brief history of the Fourth Crusade, which sets the tone along with some religious dissension. The story is full of references to long forgotten members of the Catholic Church as well as beautiful descriptions of France in the Middle ages. Under the reign on Pope Innocent III the search for witches is made main stream in order to bring the people back under the Church's thumb.
We are first introduced to Malaxia, a witch of some serious power, approaching a home in dead of night and setting it ablaze. She burns it down to the ground for one person the main character Liana. She tells Liana that she's been chosen as her successor.
Liana being a peasant of the middle ages does the whole silly uneducated peasant thing and runs for the nearest church where she is met by an equally uneducated Bishop, labeled a witch for showing up half naked and chased out of how own town by the church guards.
Enter the next main character Jettaret a former Crusader on his way home to marry. Liana and Jettaret travel together under his protection to Lyon, where he lives. He sees her first as weak and troubled and unquestioningly continues to protecter her from Malaxia even though his faith in anything seems to be a little on the faulty side
When Liana begins using her new found powers he grows wary of her but still believes the best place for her is with him at Lyon.
I love all the beautiful descriptions of the terrain the travelers take. A picture is clearly made and appreciated, but when it comes to the characters I wanted more depth. I get that Jettaret is an honest man and that he's disillusioned with the Church. For the first half of the book he is half angry or confused about both Liana and his faith. It does not help that she is confused as well. I just didn't see his motivations for staying with her, spelled out. It was not until Jettaret teams up with an old crusader friend that we see the many more facets of his character.
Malaxia however was given that opportunity. While truly a malevolent woman she had a purpose, goals and was steadfast to her desires for Liana until the bitter end of the book. She is a character of great depth and full of mercurial mood swings executed superbly with minimal words to clog the story.
I found Liana to be a weak confused little girl even if the people in the story did not find her to be so. She has a stubborn streak that is recognized and used by both Malaxia and Jettaret, but that does not make her a strong person. A mule could be stubborn for all Liana was worth.
I found the richest parts of the book were moments between Malaxia and Liana after Liana's training began and between Jettaret and his crusader friend Alberge. The interactions during these times were the best. Yet the time when Liana and Jettaret were alone in the woods traveling just seems long confusing and dry.
Maybe it is my lack of familiarity with the behavior between men and women during the middle ages that leaves me wanting more. Maybe it is the difference in classes between the two of them Jettaret being of the nobility and Liana a peasant that leaves me wondering what's not being said. What ever it is, I don't know. Somehow a bond is formed between Jettaret and Liana, that spurs him to search for her after they are separated. This bond is the reason the story continues and does make for a nice ending even if the end came as a surprise to me.
For the ending alone I give it one thumb, for the colorfully painted picture the journey was, I give this another thumb. I guess that makes two. But overall, I can honestly not stay with that vote. Some places in the story were too sparse, some places so rich in detail, and a few places met a perfect balance of detail and interaction without wasting any words. So my final vote on this is 1.8 thumbs if that is such a thing.
I encourage everyone to read this book though if you like stories about boys coming home from war, women with knowledge being persecuted, and like thinking about how far we've come since the middle ages. You might even see a few parallels to the type of ignorance you see in this book and what you see now in the news.
This story has many twists and turns that will keep you reading late. You won't want to put it down. Bravo.
Can't wait to read the next story from W.J.
A well-mannered, highly-descriptive read. It is obvious early on that the author has done her homework, (and a great deal of legwork) to set the stage for this richly-conceived piece. Often I felt as if I were privileged to be there, parting the branches, peering out along with the characters. Often I held my breath along with them.
One word of caution Don't expect to read this and take a stroll at the same time. It is not the kind of heavy-handed book that wallops you and drags you along. This novel is like a fine wine, both subtle and complex; you will be rewarded if you pay close attention.
FYI I purchased this book for , read it, and then sent for a paper copy for my shelf library. That should be recommendation enough.
Wendy Joseph has nailed this story with her historical details, the descriptions of witchcraft and the peasantry who are ill-educated, and the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade as it affected nobility and the returning warriors. I was most impressed with the background of the Crusades, the power of the Church, and the descriptions of the area where the story takes place. Weakest to me were the scenes and conversations between Liana and Jettaret in comparison to the background story. But this is a story well told and the reader learns something about the 13th century attitudes toward witchcraft, everyday life, the wandering Crusaders coming home, and the class distinctions. No dull incidents in this account. The author has done an outstanding job of bringing the 13th century into the 21st.
Jean Rodenbough, author
The Witch's Hand takes place in southern France during the thirteenth century. The book mixes sorcery with a realistic portrayal of the period in a manner that reminded me of the best aspects of A Game of Thrones. The novel has a strong plot about a young peasant girl, Liana, who has been picked by Malaxia, a powerful witch, to be her heiress. Liana meets Jettaret, a disillusioned warrior who has returned from the crusades to restart a privileged life with an arranged marriage. Jettaret's full name is Michel Antoine Jettaret, Vicomte de Solignac. His family is wealthy and powerful while Liana is the daughter of a game watcher for the Bishop. But Jettaret still has the ideals that pushed him to join the crusades. Those ideals, along with his admiration of Liana's innocence, lead him in a fight to save her from Malaxia's power.
In some ways The Witch's Hand is a "good vs. evil" story, but it isn't told in black and white. The flaws of the church are shown and the bigotry of the local farmers who fight against witchcraft are also shown. Here is what Jettaret says about that subject
All this witchcraft business...it is a way, I am afraid, of people saying they don't like what you think, what you believe, what you look like, what you do,"
The attention to detail in Wendy Joseph's writing pulled me into her story. Here is a sample from when Jettaret goes to a local village to purchase a horse for Liana
He stepped closer, stroked the mare's head - eyes alert, deep and bright, no sign of cloudiness in them - and waved his hand behind each eye to check her rear and peripheral vision. She blinked. Good. To test her hearing he snapped his fingers by each ear, and she flicked them but was not head shy. Good. He pulled her mouth open and rolled her lips back for a look at her teeth, and judged her to be about seven; little wear on the back teeth yet.
The same attention to detail gives a beautiful authenticity to the period and the setting
The trail descended into thick woods at the bottom of the ridge and they rode through them, not following any path that Liana could see. At Sext they halted briefly for a midday meal of sorts - bread, wine, and dried sausage that chewed like wood bark. As they continued the trees thinned out, broken more and more by meadows in soft bloom, and Liana's thoughts of Malaxia vanished. When the sunrays were slanting low from the west, and Jettaret judged they were well out of the way of any searchers from Peranville or chance wanderers, they stopped by a spring to make camp.
My wife and I spent two weeks in France last year, my first trip to Europe, so I have a particular interest in novels set in that country. This novel is an excellent read for anyone with an interest in European history, with the added pleasure of mysticism for excitement.
Steve Lindahl - Author of Motherless Soul
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