Review of The Witchdoctor Paradox

[Ashley Thompson 27]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Witchdoctor Paradox" by Barry Tyrrell.]

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3 out of 5 stars

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"The Witchdoctor Paradox" by Barry Tyrell is a blend of historical fiction, autobiography, and fantasy that captured my attention with the beliefs, history, and magic of a culture not of European origin. It was fascinating to see how, even if very loosely based on truth, people from other cultures approach magic, religion, betrayal, and power. The author paints a beautiful landscape in which their story takes place and portrays a compelling narrative of the struggle between tradition and modernization via the main characters, Tshiremba the great witch doctor, and Philemon Thlabati, respectively. I also love a story with a map in the front, so that captured my attention immediately as I was reminded of all the epic fantasy stories I read as a child that included these maps.
The story itself is decent. It could, however, use some professional editing, given the large amount of grammatical errors and the way that the book sometimes reads more like a screenplay than a novel. There was a strong use of exclamation points that felt like a push for the reader to realize the surprise of a situation, much like canned laughter in a sitcom after a character tells a joke so the audience knows that something is funny. Some sections felt like a scene that was part of a different story but didn't add any value, except perhaps as background information. There were also some parts that felt forced that definitely took me out of the story.
Between the superb setting and the quality of the writing itself, I ultimately rate this book 3 out of 5 stars . It has some wonderful elements that really bring you in, and some glaring deficiencies that really take you back out, but I would still recommend this book to someone asking me for something that deviates from the standard European based fantasy novels.

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The Witchdoctor Paradox
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