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juushikaTitle: Season of the Witch
Author: Natasha Mostert
Published: New York: Dutton, 2007
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 398
Total Page Count: 42,722
Text Number: 124
Read For: personal enjoyment, checked out from the library
Short review: Gabriel is a hacker and a remote viewer, and he loves the thrill of digging up information, of reading the thoughts of others, of discovering secrets. When a former lover comes to him for help, he puts both of his skills to use to track down a missing son who he believes is dead. But when the trail leads him to Morrighan and Minnaloushe Monk, two captivating women, one sensual, one powerful, both with an intense interest in magic, alchemy, and memory, he becomes entranced by the sisters and begins to forget the reason he is there. Season of the Witch begins slowly, and the narrative voice remains vaguely irritating throughout, but the characters are vibrant and the plot eventually resolves into an intelligent, multilayered mystery that embraces sensuality and vivacity, mysticism and alchemy. Despite its faults, including a slow beginning and a too-simple, too-quick resolution, this is a readable and inventive book. Not outstanding, but still enjoyable, and recommended.
The first and most prevalent weakness in Season of the Witch is the narrative. The protagonist is a hacker, and the setting is modern, and so the narrative voice, despite being a bland third person past tense, is also tech-inclined and modern. "Slamming the ride" describes remote viewing episodes, swearing and idioms pop up constantly, and there are descriptions of trendy penthouses and pizza box-filled hacker's dens; meanwhile, diary entries, quotes, and summary and present-tense passages break up the solid narrative. The narrative style is difficult to adapt to, making the beginning of the book slow and unappealing, and never becomes truly enjoyable. Some descriptions and characterizations, particularly of the Monk sisters and the Monk house, are delicate, intentional, and delightful, but they are the exception rather than the rule. On the whole the narrative is the book's weakness, and it makes for a poor start.
Although the narrative never becomes enjoyable, it does quickly become acceptable as the characters of Morrighan and Minnaloushe come to life and the plot begins to unfold. Soon, the book is readable, a mystery rich with mysticism that appeals to both the curious and the intelligent reader. As mentioned, the sections describing the sisters are the highlight of the book: the descriptions themselves shine with rich language and visuals, and the sister are vibrant characters, independent of one another, each with her own appeal, and conceived in wonderful detail. The plot exhibits similar vibrancy and careful planning, although it has such high hopes—alchemy, magic, epiphanies—that it is doomed to fall short of its goals. That is to say: the idea makes for a brilliant plot, thoughtful, many-layered, and with well-timed revelations, but it does not transform the reader or stay with him long after reading the book. On the whole, the plot is clever and intelligent, and so despite faults in the writing, this book is an entertaining, swift read that manages to keep the reader actively involved in both the plot and the ideas without cheap cliff-hangers or too-complex theorizing.
I cannot imagine rereading this book (there are simply too many others worth reading!), but I am still glad that I read it. Due to the narrative voice, I nearly stopped reading, but after the first fifty pages, I was sufficiently interested in the sisters and in the plot to continue reading. From then on, the book went swiftly, well-paced and multilayered. There are some too-abrupt turns, and the ending wraps up very quickly, but on the whole this is a good book—not exceptional, not particularly memorable, but intelligent, well-intentioned, and readable. If you're interested, pick it up, although I would suggest you borrow rather than buy. I do recommend it.
Review posted here at Amazon.com.
Author: Natasha Mostert
Published: New York: Dutton, 2007
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 398
Total Page Count: 42,722
Text Number: 124
Read For: personal enjoyment, checked out from the library
Short review: Gabriel is a hacker and a remote viewer, and he loves the thrill of digging up information, of reading the thoughts of others, of discovering secrets. When a former lover comes to him for help, he puts both of his skills to use to track down a missing son who he believes is dead. But when the trail leads him to Morrighan and Minnaloushe Monk, two captivating women, one sensual, one powerful, both with an intense interest in magic, alchemy, and memory, he becomes entranced by the sisters and begins to forget the reason he is there. Season of the Witch begins slowly, and the narrative voice remains vaguely irritating throughout, but the characters are vibrant and the plot eventually resolves into an intelligent, multilayered mystery that embraces sensuality and vivacity, mysticism and alchemy. Despite its faults, including a slow beginning and a too-simple, too-quick resolution, this is a readable and inventive book. Not outstanding, but still enjoyable, and recommended.
The first and most prevalent weakness in Season of the Witch is the narrative. The protagonist is a hacker, and the setting is modern, and so the narrative voice, despite being a bland third person past tense, is also tech-inclined and modern. "Slamming the ride" describes remote viewing episodes, swearing and idioms pop up constantly, and there are descriptions of trendy penthouses and pizza box-filled hacker's dens; meanwhile, diary entries, quotes, and summary and present-tense passages break up the solid narrative. The narrative style is difficult to adapt to, making the beginning of the book slow and unappealing, and never becomes truly enjoyable. Some descriptions and characterizations, particularly of the Monk sisters and the Monk house, are delicate, intentional, and delightful, but they are the exception rather than the rule. On the whole the narrative is the book's weakness, and it makes for a poor start.
Although the narrative never becomes enjoyable, it does quickly become acceptable as the characters of Morrighan and Minnaloushe come to life and the plot begins to unfold. Soon, the book is readable, a mystery rich with mysticism that appeals to both the curious and the intelligent reader. As mentioned, the sections describing the sisters are the highlight of the book: the descriptions themselves shine with rich language and visuals, and the sister are vibrant characters, independent of one another, each with her own appeal, and conceived in wonderful detail. The plot exhibits similar vibrancy and careful planning, although it has such high hopes—alchemy, magic, epiphanies—that it is doomed to fall short of its goals. That is to say: the idea makes for a brilliant plot, thoughtful, many-layered, and with well-timed revelations, but it does not transform the reader or stay with him long after reading the book. On the whole, the plot is clever and intelligent, and so despite faults in the writing, this book is an entertaining, swift read that manages to keep the reader actively involved in both the plot and the ideas without cheap cliff-hangers or too-complex theorizing.
I cannot imagine rereading this book (there are simply too many others worth reading!), but I am still glad that I read it. Due to the narrative voice, I nearly stopped reading, but after the first fifty pages, I was sufficiently interested in the sisters and in the plot to continue reading. From then on, the book went swiftly, well-paced and multilayered. There are some too-abrupt turns, and the ending wraps up very quickly, but on the whole this is a good book—not exceptional, not particularly memorable, but intelligent, well-intentioned, and readable. If you're interested, pick it up, although I would suggest you borrow rather than buy. I do recommend it.
Review posted here at Amazon.com.
