“Thistlefoot” by GennaRose Nethercott
The Yaga siblings—Bellatine, a young woodworker, and Isaac, a wayfaring street performer and con artist—have been estranged since childhood, separated both by resentment and by wide miles of American highway. But when they learn that they are to receive an inheritance, the siblings agree to meet—only to discover that their bequest isn’t land or money, but something far stranger: a sentient house on chicken legs.
Thistlefoot, as the house is called, has arrived from the Yagas’ ancestral home outside Kyiv—but not alone. A sinister figure known only as the Longshadow Man has tracked it to American shores, bearing with him violent secrets from the past: fiery memories that have hidden in Isaac and Bellatine’s blood for generations. As the Yaga siblings embark with Thistlefoot on a final cross-country tour of their family’s traveling theater show, the Longshadow Man follows in relentless pursuit, seeding destruction in his wake. Ultimately, time, magic, and legacy must collide—erupting in a powerful conflagration to determine who gets to remember the past and craft a new future.
An enchanted adventure illuminated by Jewish myth and adorned with lyrical prose as tantalizing and sweet as briar berries, Thistlefoot is a sweeping epic rich in Eastern European folklore: a powerful and poignant exploration of healing from multi-generational trauma told by a bold new talent.
Review
This was a great story. It starts off a bit slow and the personalities of the characters can be a little annoying for opposite reasons but it makes sense for the story and how they’re dealing with everything. There’s a lot of history involved and not just their own personal history but the family history. I like the way the Yaga siblings are basically opposites with how they handle the world, one always running one always needing to be in control. In the end though both are needed to defeat their enemy. Each sibling has their own gifts and both end up being important. I really like the way final confrontation plays out and the way the book ends – which is also a beginning.
Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “Thistlefoot”
Book Details
- Author’s Website
- GennaRose Nethercott
- Publisher / Date
- Anchor, September 2022
- Genre
- Urban Fantasy, Horror
- Page Count
- 435
- Completion Date
- November 17, 2024