Shadow Witch: Horror of the Dark Forest Paperback – February 26, 2015

This is a dark fantasy novel with long, frightening forest scenes. There are also sword fights, villages, knights, paddlers, magic . . . the sort of story where you expect a dragon to pop up (none do, but still).THE PROS:The descriptions are awesome. The weather and other elements of the setting are personified such that the setting becomes another enemy.Thorn and Padavona write terrifying forest scenes. The dread wolves are like werewolves that never change back to humans, but the forest spiders are the worst of all.The prose is full of symbolic word choices which make for a meatier, more satiating read.The sword fight scenes are easy to follow. They are bloody, too, without being over the top.THE CONS:Thom, the protagonist, is likable and appropriately flawed, but it’s easier to empathize with Rowan, Thom’s sidekick. I think Thom’s character could have been developed more.While the prose is descriptive, it is a little flowery at times.OVERALL:This is a fun, scary read. I think readers who enjoy frightening stories set in medieval times would enjoy this book.

First and foremost, if you have trouble sleeping and easily have nightmares, this is not the book for you! I feel these authors truly brought the nightmare experience to life and had my heart clenching for the MC and his family. In my minds eye, the past was about to rear it’s ugly head on the MC like a hurricane. There is more to this story than you are lead to believe, so, if you are daring, pick this one up for an awesome scare, then read it again during Halloween! All my reviews are always voluntarily written.

The night is dark, and full of terrors. But so is the day.In fact, the moral of this story should just be, "Don't go into the woods, ever!" But where else is there to go when you're being chased by werewolves? Into the arms of something far worse than wolves, that's where.Thorn and Padavona do a fantastic job of creeping the hell out of their readers in this tome. Monstrous shadows, hordes of bugs, and a heavy, cloying atmosphere that you can almost feel as you read. I swear I could even hear the horror-movie suspense soundtrack at certain points. Awesomely disturbing.And the twists! Who's good? Who's evil? What brought this blight upon the land, is there a cure, and will Thom's family escape with their lives (and sanity) intact?My only complaint is that I wish the characters were developed more. I want to know more of their backstories, more detail on the world in which they live and how they came to be where they are, more insight into their motivations. This is a small complaint, though; such detail would lengthen the book considerably, and the main protagonists are pretty well-drawn as they are.'Shadow Witch' is a dark epic fantasy on an intimate scale. It has all the tropes of fantasy (magic, monsters, and vicious swordplay) as well as all the makings of great horror (suspense, mystery, bloodshed, and darkness). You feel for the characters, and you want them to make it, even when you're sure they won't.Because something wicked waits in the woods...

If you love a good page-turner that will leave you hiding underneath your blankets, then Shadow Witch is the next book you need to read!I love fantasy and I love horror, so when the two are combined, it’s RIGHT up my alley.This book grabs you from the very first page. I had to know if Thom was going to find food for his family to survive the drawn out winter.What starts out as a yearning for winter’s end, turns into everyone’s worst nightmare: Being stuck in the woods, unable to get out. Oh, did I mention the woods are haunted by a terrifying shadow witch?The way the authors are able to describe every little detail around them in a way that forces you into the story, was such a breath of fresh air. Not all authors have this capability. I could feel the fear of the characters because I could see it, thanks to Thorn and Padavona’s impeccable descriptive writing.Another thing I love about this book is that, while it was very descriptive, it wasn’t overly gory at all. I love being scared, but I don’t want to be grossed out!I highly recommend this to anyone who loves a good dark fantasy, and wants to be spooked to the core!

I really enjoyed reading this book. I liked the way the author wrote. I liked all the characters. It almost gave me a feeling, like I was reading a book about the movie "Evil Dead". Out in the woods, creepy, evil all around. I look forward to reading more books by Dan Padavona.

Well written, I read it within a few hours. Couldn't put it down. It was scary. I wish the very absolute end was a little clearer. It was a frightening read.

J. Thorn and Dan Padavona team up for what they term “The Game of Thrones meets Blair Witch”, I’d say they did nailed that rather well. Shadow Witch, Horror of The Dark Forest, for me started out like a Dragonlance novel, and reading like Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman, is a very good thing. But then, it got better and went very Brothers Grimm, but Grimmer. The last half of the story has that flavor, very Grimm and dark. If you are a fan of the Grimms, or Dragonlance, I daresay you can’t go wrong in reading this novel, the twist at the end is great, read it, you won’t be disappointed.

Good book. Fast paced hard to put down. Fast read really like some humor. Love magical stories. Check it out

Enjoyed the pace - the fantasy and the metaphors upon metaphors. - ever so poetic. - good descriptive writing. Nothing is new to this story - but the writing breaths life into the body of the imagination within this familiar genre - couldn't stop reading.Patrick Sullivan

I will admit that I didn't enjoy this story as much as others by J. Thorn, but it was well written, if a little off track at times.It was a creepy tale of monsters and villains and a witch of the shadows, with reasonable characters. There were some great descriptions at times, however, there was something missing to keep me properly hooked...I finished it because I couldn't review until I had.Overall, it was entertaining but needed more.Worth a look...pure horror lovers will enjoy it, I think.

Good read.

Ok story

Good book