Ordinary teenagers are enjoying their upcoming eighteenth (or sixteenth, depending on the country) birthdays, but the 13th birthday is a special occasion in the Devil family. It is then that the young people confirm their magic skills and take part in a specific challenge – a witchcraft ritual, which ends with a meeting with the body of the dead daughter of the family – Ariana – and touching her medallion. We meet Sata (short for Saturnin) and his relatives when they are preparing for this holiday. The teenager himself is very nervous because he is not sure if he will turn out to be worthy and live up to expectations. His sister, Dragomir, who was a few years older, had made it. Parents and grandmother are convinced that the boy will also be able to do it. However, no one expects that this event will be the beginning of a cycle of tragic situations, which will test the power of a few other members of the witch’s family as well. And not necessarily those with a good value system.
I am a witch and I live in Krakow
I am extremely positively surprised by Adam Faber’s book. I haven’t had any contact with any title he wrote so far, so I didn’t know what to expect. Faber, an English teacher by education, has published the Kroniki Jaaru series and two volumes from the Krew Ferów series, published by We need YA . Once a witch is deadis the first part of the Bies Family Saga, presenting us the first adventures of a magical family living in contemporary Poland, on the outskirts of Krakow. The family consists of a conservative father, a clever mother, an eccentric grandmother who cares about maintaining an attractive appearance, two curious teenagers (Saturnin and Dragomir) and a familiar in the body of a dog. We get to know them in the circumstances mentioned above, which very quickly develop into several parallel threads. Each of the heroes is drawn in an interesting way, so we get to know in detail the personalities and temperaments of all Demons and their reactions to specific situations. There is no single main character in this story. Since all family members have their secrets and errands to take care of, every now and then the person following the plot changes.
Athame, Raróg i Witchnet
Faber included some nice ideas in his work, such as the Internet for witches aptly named Witchnet or the communication channel called Echo. In turn, he drew several elements from mythology (including the figure of Rarog) and old beliefs. Finally, an interesting book about magic and family dependencies was written, which to some extent reminded me of The Miracle, Honey, Raspberry by Aneta Jadowska; Another association I had while reading it was the Sorceress series. I can imagine how Koźlaczki and Biesy are fighting together with something, because both of these families simply like each other from the very first pages of their history. When it comes to portraying magic in a novel, from what I understand, you can be born with it. The opponents of witches are the families of the Witch Hunters (of which there are not many), and besides them also namhaidas, i.e. all dangerous beings, such as ghosts, strigoi, etc. Witches use spells, various gadgets and blood to magic they also have magic books. Everything looks well assimilated with the modern world.
Hokus Pokus, Czary Mary, give me the second volume, man!
Once a witch, death has the right dose of everything I like: mystery, intrigue, magic and interesting characters. Reading this book so lightly that we get confused when it comes to its end (sadly, with the cliffhanger). It is with great pleasure that I reach for the continuation and recommend the book.
