Book ReviewReview of The Season of... by Natasha Mostert ; |
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In common with summers past, Waterstones have been having a three-for-two deal on their paperbacks during the past few months and I have taken the opportunity to explore some new authors and where they particularly impressed me to then buy the books in hardback. Because there is nothing quite like a hardback book.
Mark Mills captivated me with his 'Savage Garden' tale of post-war Italy and Kate Morton had me wondering just who her heroine's parents were right up until page 550 when I finally worked it out. But it was not until the final few of the 650 pages that the reason for the 'Forgotten Garden' playing such a prominent part was finally revealed. A masterpiece of storytelling. And then came Natasha Mostert. I must admit the title grabbed my attention first, - 'Season of The Witch', and it had a good cover photograph with the hauntingly beautiful woman and the vicious looking crow. And the story outline sounded intriguing enough. But within the first few pages my expectations had been surpassed. She had revealed herself as no ordinary author. She writes from the perspective of one who has first hand experience. She knows what she is writing about. And I know authors can only write about what they know, but read this and whilst you are being entertained with a first rate murder-mystery, you will learn what it is to be a twenty-first century witch. She achieves in a few chapters what masses of so-called 'authoritative' books on witchcraft fail to do. She tells it like it is, today, in 2008; because whilst her witches' roots are firmly in their ancestry, they are women of the twenty-first century, using their powers to full advantage, celebrating the fact that they are women and thriving in their surroundings and technology. Our hero, and victim, is a computer hacker who possesses the ability to enter other people's minds. He uses the wonderful phrase 'slamming a ride' and whilst in the book it is aligned to Remote Viewing, it is in actuality closer to Granny Weatherwax's 'borrowing'. The descriptive detail of the 'ride' is so vivid, it can only have been written from experience and it is just so refreshing to read something which initially was bought as 'recreational reading' and be able to identify with the experiences and feelings of the protagonists. I won't tell you what happens, but suffice to say I have now sought out Natasha Mostert's previous novels and am looking forward to her next. Freda |
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