Fantasy Book Critic: Hell Of A Witch by Rachel Aaron (reviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)

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AUTHOR INFORMATION: Rachel Aaron lives in Colorado with her family. She has graduated from University of Georgia with a B.A. in English Literature. She has been an avid reader since her childhood and now has an ever-growing collection to show for it. She loves gaming, Manga comics & reality TV police shows. She also posts regularly on her blog about publishing, books and several other intriguing things.

OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: One month ago, Bex, the demon Queen of Wrath, and Adrian, witch of the Blackwood, pulled off the upset victory of the century. Now, they find themselves facing the question all unexpected champions must answer: what next? They’ve declared war on Heaven, but how do you actually bring down a divinely powerful tyrant when your army’s still in the single digits and your magical fortress is an illegally modified Winnebago?

It seems like a hopeless situation. As always, though, Adrian Blackwood has a plan, and this time, he’s going big. He’s got an idea to take down the Seattle Anchor, the giant magical fortress that houses the Anchor Market and every other bit of critical infrastructure that connects Heaven to Earth.

How the Anchors work is a closely guarded secret, and getting to the good stuff will require going deep into the heart of Gilgamesh’s power. There’s a reason even the Queen of Wrath has never attacked one directly, but now that Adrian’s on her team, Bex thinks they can do it. She’s finally got the power she needs to actually move the needle on this war, and she’s going to hit that Anchor with all the fire she’s got.

But the enemies of Heaven aren’t the only ones making plans. After the fiery return of his most persistent annoyance, Gilgamesh has ordered his princes to take care of the demon queen problem personally. It’s time to roll out the big guns and show these rebels what divine wrath really means, starting with the Hell of a Witch who made it all possible.

FORMAT/INFO: Hell Of A Witch is 372 pages long divided over seventeen chapters and an epilogue. Narration is in the third person via Adrian Blackwood, Bex & one other character. This is the second volume of the Tear Down Heaven series.

October 1, 2024 marked the e-book, paperback, hardcover & audiobook publication of Hell Of A Witch and it is self-published by the author. Cover Art is by Luisa Preißler.

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Hell Of A Witch was one of my most anticipated books for 2024, plus Rachel Aaron gave us the sequel within three months of its predecessor’s release. This was a tremendous boost for us readers.

The plot of the story is set a month apart from the events of Hell For Hire and we are reunited with our beloved protagonists. Adrian along with Boston, is enjoying cultivating and growing his grove & making it a rival to the Blackwood forest on the east coast. Bex & her team have been busy freeing demons all along the west coast & building the survivor network. However Adrian isn’t just content with that & wants to do something earth shattering. He has his eyes set on understanding what an anchor is and why are they such a secret even within Heaven’s emissaries. This entire story is about this pivotal secret but as things stand, to learn the truth, Adrian & Bex will have to move heaven literally to make their plan succeed.

Thus begins the explosive second volume of this fantastical series wherein once again our intrepid gang seems to take on a task that’s more difficult than what they accomplished. Rachel Aaron this time around really gives us more of the characters we love namely Bex of the bonfire & Adrian Blackwood. Both characters are focused upon and we also get more of the romantic tension that’s been simmering between them. Moreso though, this book also fundamentally explores the question about what truly drives a person who has been alive for nearly five millennia. Plus how they do square their responsibilities as they are the last hope for their people versus just wanting to live their own life. Adrian Blackwood is trying something new (his ultimate aim has so far been hidden from the readers), he's a cerebral character & the author really gives us an in-depth look at how he constantly uses his intellect to overcome obstacles (though he doesn’t always succeed). This book focuses less on Iggs but we get more about Lys and Nemini and their personas are so much fun to explore.

Rachel Aaron’s characterization is top notch and she shows (rather than telling) what makes these characters tick. But by not only focusing on the main heroes, she also gives us a look in to the villains so as to speak. This was a smart move as I think in the future sequels, we might be getting more about the heavenly side. Plus the author smartly shows that those in Heaven also have their own struggles and not everything is golden.

However the best part for me was the small nods and reveals that are interspersed within the story that really accentuate how grand the world truly is:
- Firstly the reveal about the anchors and what they truly are. This was mindboggling IMHO.
- The seven heavenly princes and their seven swords, how is their power tied to the nine daughters of Ishtar?
- Also why do the princes seem to be so afraid of their father Gilgamesh?
- Also there’s a casual hint about Adrian’s paternity & it might just be causing further paradisiacal issues in the future.

The worldbuilding is revealed in snippets and careful portions so as to not overwhelm the pace of the main plot. Particularly I want to highlight one scene involving Adrian and the anchors which reveals the true brilliance of Rachel Aaron’s imagination. This scene for me was the best one of the entire book and rivals the best of China Meiville, George R. R. Martin, & Tad Williams’ imagination. There’s also a nice reveal about what other gods might have existed before being taken down by Gilgamesh. All of this is looking to be of paramount importance in the main fight to come. I’ve come to be amazed by Rachel’s brilliant plots and worldbuilding, but I honestly think she might have outdone herself with the magical underpinnings of this world. On another note, I honestly wish she returns to epic fantasy where she truly explore her magical systems & worldbuilding without being constrained by the logic of Earth’s corollaries.

The action sequences are fun and emotionally enticing. While Bex and Drox get more to do with her flames and swordpower. It’s Adrian Blackwood who really gets to show off his cool herbological knowledge & magical horticultural skills. I hope we get to see more of this in the future books, because it’s rare to see magic of such kind. Plus Adrian is really a brilliant witch & it’s a rare joy to see him confound the forces of heaven with horticultural magic.

Lastly this book is a solid sequel that takes the positives of its predecessor and then gives us doubly with its POV characters namely Adrian & Bex. If you are looking for a fun ride with lots of emotional hijinks, romantic tension & magical battles. Then this is the book for you, proving once again that Rachel Aaron is one brilliant lady at getting us readers hyped and then bowling us over with her fun, action-packed books.

CONCLUSION: Hell Of A Witch is a hell of a sequel, as it mixes action, romance, magic in a hella crazy way and give us a story that leaves us satisfied but also wanting the next book desperately. Tear Down Heaven is fast proving to be one of 2024’s best series and it might just be Rachel Aaron’s best one yet.