Book Description
This acclaimed history illuminates the horrifying episode of Salem with visceral clarity, from those who fanned the crisis to satisfy personal vendettas to the four-year-old "witch" chained to a dank prison wall in darkness till she went mad. Antonia Fraser called it "a grisly read and an engrossing one."
Customer Reviews:
Quite informative, but dreadfully boring.......2007-07-10
This book appears to be a well researched product, but it is very poorly written. In my opinion, an author needs to be a gifted prose writer to make a book readable and interesting. Frances Hill does not seem to possess that gift.
Microhistorical essay on Salem witch-hunt of 1692-93.......2007-03-12
Witch-hunting is a phenomenon that starts in Fifteen Century Europe as a crusade of the Roman Catholic Church against the still partially pagan traditions that survived among the country folk. Women were those that most kept alive ancient superstitions, practiced traditional medicine and maintained the knowledge on how to conjure spirits and make filters. The Inquisition had about finished persecuting the heretics, even because after Martin Luther they were so many that religious wars had to be fought, when it turned its attention to "witchcraft".
Accusations of witchcraft were mostly made by priests and preachers belonging to the religious hierarchy. Witch hunting however did not cease with the Reformation and Counter Reformation but spread also to England and Northern Europe. However, since these societies did not have a religious hierarchy, accusation and judgement were carried out by neighbors and local religious authorities.
America's witch-hunts of the 1600's followed clearly English patterns and the Salem episode ranks first among others.
Frances Hill's microhistorical reconstruction of the Salem Village witch craze accurately describes this horrible episode of Colonial American history. The plethora of documents available from the Mathers' books, to the relations of the trials, to the speeches pronounced before hanging or many years after by the victims and their accusers allows a faithful reconstruction of those far away village disputes. The Author's precise psychological, medical and sociological analysis of the available facts consents to formulate the hypothesis of the hysterical nature of the Salem girls' "attacks", manipulated in a second time by a part of the Salem Village's traditionalist and retrograde society. The Putnam family is made responsible for most of the accusations, the imprisonments and the hangings. The main pushing force that ignited the whole episode was the fear and the envy towards a part of the society that moved faster and reached economical success with greater ease. Salem's witch-hunt suddenly ceased when Boston's higher and more educated classes were called upon and when Salem's inhabitants visually realized what they were doing.
This book, I repeat, is a good microhistorical essay and gives a credible and rational explanation of the Salem witch-hunt, however the persecution of witchcraft started long before Salem and in each successive wave manifested different characteristics. To actually interpret McCarthyism, child sexual abuse persecution and anti-Islam mentality after 9/11 as episodes of witch-hunting is to my opinion a little reductive.
I live in Italy and my child's professor (9th grade) gave this book as an assignment on religious discrimination, linking it to the crusades against the Cathars. So, as you can see, history may be interpreted in many ways!
A Very Interesting Book.......2007-01-14
A Delusion of Satan by Francis Hill is not only an informative book, but an intriguing one as well. The fascinating topic of the Salem witch trials is thoroughly examined for political, religious, economic, psychological, and social causes and is explained in the fullest of detail. The persons involved in this disturbing chain of events are each looked at psychologically to acquire an understanding of what truly happened during this time period. The thinking process of many of the persons is enthralling.
A fact that I found particularly interesting is the fact that the entire ordeal was started with a few bored teenage girls cracking eggs into glasses of water to see what trades their future husband will have. It seems that this is a very innocent act of child play, but it evolved into a huge mess. Also, their methods of punishment were very interesting. These and may more facts make for an incredibly interesting book.
However, although there are many positive points to this book, some of the negative characteristics must be acknowledged. There were many details in this book that, although they were needed to develop the events and connect them, made the book a tedious and boring read. Also, there was a lot of family history and background of the involved persons that, even though it helped to understand connections between families, was extremely dull and did not contribute very much to the book.
All in all, this book was an accurate and haunting depiction of the Salem witch trials. In some ways, it can be compared to a poem we read in class called "The Road Not Taken." In the poem, a person takes the path not taken by others. In this book, many of the women, instead of confessing and being let out on bail as many women did, chose to stick with the fact that they were innocent and were sent into the dungeon. This "road not taken" in this case, led to their destruction. This book is definitely not for everyone. Elementary school children could be severely disturbed by the graphicness of some of the torture, examinations, and hangings. I recommend A Delusion of Satan to any middle school student, high school student, or adult who has the time and patience to read this long, but important book.
A Very Interesting Book.......2007-01-14
A Delusion of Satan by Francis Hill is not only an informative book, but an intriguing one as well. The fascinating topic of the Salem witch trials is thoroughly examined for political, religious, economic, psychological, and social causes and is explained in the fullest of detail. The persons involved in this disturbing chain of events are each looked at psychologically to acquire an understanding of what truly happened during this time period. The thinking process of many of the persons is enthralling.
A fact that I found particularly interesting is the fact that the entire ordeal was started with a few bored teenage girls cracking eggs into glasses of water to see what trades their future husband will have. It seems that this is a very innocent act of child play, but it evolved into a huge mess. Also, their methods of punishment were very interesting. These and may more facts make for an incredibly interesting book.
However, although there are many positive points to this book, some of the negative characteristics must be acknowledged. There were many details in this book that, although they were needed to develop the events and connect them, made the book a tedious and boring read. Also, there was a lot of family history and background of the involved persons that, even though it helped to understand connections between families, was extremely dull and did not contribute very much to the book.
All in all, this book was an accurate and haunting depiction of the Salem witch trials. In some ways, it can be compared to a poem we read in class called "The Road Not Taken." In the poem, a person takes the path not taken by others. In this book, many of the women, instead of confessing and being let out on bail as many women did, chose to stick with the fact that they were innocent and were sent into the dungeon. This "road not taken" in this case, led to their destruction. This book is definitely not for everyone. Elementary school children could be severely disturbed by the graphicness of some of the torture, examinations, and hangings. I recommend A Delusion of Satan to any middle school student, high school student, or adult who has the time and patience to read this long, but important book.
A Delusion of Satan.......2005-10-30
This book is anything, but a delusion. If you're like me and "The Crucible" is the only literature about the Salem Witch Trials that you've read then this is the book for you. It clearly tells the story as it unfolded, never loosing sight of the personalities involved or the tragedy of the whole thing. I came away with a much clearer picture of not only this sad event, but of Puritan society in Mass. in general. Don't hesitate to pick one up for yourself.
Average customer rating:
- Ages 10-14 will relish this story of witchcraft and legends
- Second time is not a disappointment
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Witch Hill
Marcus Sedgwick
Manufacturer: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Mysteries, Espionage, & Detectives | Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0385328028
Release Date: 2001-09-11 |
Amazon.com
At first, Jamie isn't too worried about the bad dreams he's been having since coming to his aunt's house. Most people awoken in the middle of the night to find their house burning down would probably have nightmares, too. But instead of fire, he keeps dreaming of a "horrible, scary old woman," relentlessly coming after him for some awful, inexplicable purpose. Even though he's come to Aunt Jane's to recover from the fire's aftermath, he doesn't want to bother her or his cousin Alison with his silly fears. He can see that they are very busy with their village's community service project--cleaning off an age-old carving on the side of hill that overlooks the town. But when the carving turns out to be a peculiar primordial figure instead of the "crown" that the people of Crownshill expected to see, and Jamie uncovers evidence of an ancient witchcraft trial in local history papers, he is swept into a centuries-old mystery to which he unwittingly has the key. Who is the old crone chasing him, and what does she want? Jamie will have to endure an experience worse than fire to find out.
British author Marcus Sedgwick has written another perfectly creepy, perfectly wonderful middle-grade thriller. Like his debut novel, Floodland, Witch Hill is written in just the right tone for those suspense seekers who have graduated from Goosebumps but aren't quite ready for Stephen King. And while most of the popular witchcraft fiction on bookstore shelves targets girls, this engaging mystery with its fiery cover and whodunit plot will draw boys into its puzzling pages as well. (Ages 10 to 14) --Jennifer Hubert
Book Description
Now I knew what it was like to wake from a deep sleep and still be afraid long after the nightmare is over. I stared into the darkness, not daring to move. It felt as if there wasn’t enough air in the room. I struggled, gasping for breath. It was as if there was something else in the room, using up my air.
The fire in his home was a family tragedy that Jamie can’t forget. Fire dominates his waking thoughts and haunts his dreams. When his family sends him away to Crownhill to recover, they don’t realize they are sending him to a village with its own dark history of witchcraft and ancient buried powers, unleashed by Jamie’s presence. As the dark secrets of Crownhill and its witches are revealed, Jamie has to confront his worst fears in order to free himself from the horrors of the past.
Customer Reviews:
Ages 10-14 will relish this story of witchcraft and legends.......2002-01-04
Ages 10-14 will relish this story of witchcraft and legends as Jamie goes to life with an aunt and cousin and finds his nightmares turning into reality. An old chalk drawing on a hill and increasing confusion of town members involves Jamie in a well-hidden secret in this story of witchcraft and danger.
Second time is not a disappointment.......2001-11-29
I read and enjoyed Sedgwick's "Floodland," and "Witch Hill" does not disappoint. Filled with more suspense and intensity than the previous book, this one is a more breathless read, making me think that Sedgwick is only improving.
Jamie is traumatized when he fails to save his sister from a destructive house fire. To help the haunted young boy, his parents send him to Crownhill, where he assists in cleaning an ancient carving by a hill. But dreams are haunting him -- not dreams of the fire, but dreams of an ghastly old woman, whom he is pursuing. The worst part is that it is affecting reality -- he wakes with chalk on his feet.
Crownhill has a mysterious background -- of strange deaths. And as the carving on the hill is revealed, Jamie finds that the word is not "crown," but "crone." Dreams and flashbacks, past and present mesh together to throw Jamie into a spine-tingling adventure. When he has unraveled the truth about a witch trial centuries before, he must confront the ghostly old woman on "Walpurgis Night" -- and the strange truth of what happened to his sister.
Sedgwick's story feels earthier and more sinister than "Floodland," perhaps because this is not a what-if story, but a supernatural one. He also skillfully weaves together the two stories, of the old witch burning and the present one about Jamie.
Atmosphere is well-handled, conveying the full creepiness of the old crone and of the discovery about the carving. The climax is breathtaking; the handling of Jamie's trauma is better than the twerpy handling of children's trauma in most books, given the revelation at the end and his present preoccupations. The writing is pretty good, though I felt that sometimes the sentences were a little too choppy.
Teens looking for a spooky thriller will enjoy this book -- it might be a little too intense for younger kids, given the subject matter of homes burning, witch burnings in the past, and spectral witches haunting a boy's dreams. I'm looking forward to Sedgwick's next novel.
Book Description
A Da Capo Original: From the acclaimed author of A Delusion of Satan, a unique gathering of firsthand accounts about the background, course, and repercussions of the Salem witch trials.
Salem, Massachusetts, in the year 1692: against the backdrop of a Puritan theocracy threatened by change, in a population terrified not only of eternal damnation but of the earthly dangers of Indian massacres and recurrent smallpox epidemics, a small group of girls denounces a black slave and others as worshipers of Satan. Within two years, twenty men and women are hanged or pressed to death and over a hundred others imprisoned and impoverished. In The Salem Witch Trials Reader, Frances Hill provides and astutely comments upon the actual documents from the trial--examinations of suspected witches, eyewitness accounts of "Satanic influence," as well as the testimony of those who retained their reason and defied the madness. Always drawing on firsthand documents, she illustrates the historical background to the witch hunt and shows how the trials have been represented, and sometimes distorted, by historians --and how they have fired the imaginations of poets, playwrights, and novelists. For those fascinated by the Salem witch trials, this is compelling reading and the sourcebook.
Customer Reviews:
A VERY INTERESTING BOOK.......2007-07-02
I just finished reading this book. It was very interesting telling abut the personal accounts, history of Salem, religious beliefs, the trial, and the persecution that these people went through. I loved this book because it explained in depth while easy to understand and not boring or drawn out. I have a second copy of this book also from a relative and am definitely going to read this one again. Anyone who is interested in the Witch Trials should read this book. It was just like being in court during the late 17th century. A GREAT BOOK.
Great to have all of this under one cover........2003-12-14
This truly a great book on the subject of the Salem witch trials. First, it offers historical context presenting period works, and then it expands to sampling the works written on the event since, showing the fascination we hold for it.
The author begins with writings of the time, things that Salem residents would have come across in their own lives. Past that, she moves into the actual event, showing all sorts of personal accounts. Alongside these she offers brief biographies of the authors and certain named VIPs, which are helpful if you are reading on the subject for the first time.
One of the things that was impressed upon me while reading this was just how many time periods have been caught up by the trials. Immediately after they took place there was an effort to come to grips with what had happened. From then until now each era had their own take on the subject. Fiction seems to have followed a similar pattern. Not being a literary historian, I was surprised that Nathaniel Hawthorn's work on the subject was not the first fictional treatment! She offers works up to the present day, ending with the 1990's.
The only thing I would wish improved upon is that the commentary's typeface would be changed so that the eye can switch easily from the works shown and the author's thoughts.
It would be very hard for anyone to have copies of all the books and essays excerpted here. That there is knowledgeable commentary is a plus. I found it plainly compelling reading. If the Salem witch trials interest you this should be one of the books you own on the subject. It will be a great compliment to any conventional history of the event, which this book does not necessarily replace.
Great Compilation of Source Material on the Subject! ..............2002-03-24
............I have never been so captivated by the early history of the events occurring in New England prior to the formation of the United States and the writing of our Constitution. "The Salem Witch Trials Reader" is really a lesson not only about the Witch Trials, but about an entire period in the history the American colonies, as well as an analysis of human psychology and a glimpse into a world lacking basic human rights where one is guilty until proven innocent. Frances Hill provides us with a wealth of sources as well as analyses of the Witch Trials and the events surrounding them that are written by a number of authors. We meet all the major characters, analyze the social and political situation of Salem Village in the 1690s, delve into the psychology behind the accusations and subsequent convictions. This book, for me, was a true awakening regarding the experience of the settlers in this part of Colonial America. I had never fully comprehended the impact of the US Constitution on establishing and protecting human rights until I read this book. Additionally, I feel I learned something about the Puritans claim to be so god-fearing and religious, when in fact it was likely that their actions were just as motivated by the same temptations that any other human being experiences. Finally, this book was a glimpse into the evil that some people succumb to. You will not believe the punishment, for example, that was sometimes inflicted on even the children of accused witches.
This book is a must for anyone interested in early American history, human rights, human psychology, or the early American legal system.
A Must for Salem Witch Trials Enthusiasts!!!.......2001-05-19
Finally, original texts! Those of us interested in the Salem Witch Trials must thank Ms. Hill for providing us with the opportunity, finally, to have access to many invaluable first-hand accounts of this most fascinating moment in history. Reading this extraordinary volume provides not only a political, religious, and historical context for the trials, but fills one with a real sense of the emotional response experienced by both victims and accusers. In modernizing spelling, Ms. Hill has rendered these texts a bit more readily comprehensible, yet she has changed neither the actual text nor its meaning. For students and enthusiasts of this subject alike, this is an absolute necessity!
The Salem Witch Trials Reader.......2001-02-06
This book is written in the manner of speaking of that era. This makes it difficult to read.
Customer Reviews:
Witches' Bane.......2006-08-24
One doesn't need to transplanted from a big city to appreciate the joys and frustrations of small town life, as it is portrayed in Susan Wittig Albert's fictional town of Pecan Springs. Everyone knows where you get your hair cut and what you do on Sunday mornings. Things can get especially dicey when religion, fear, and superstition enter the picture.
As in the first China Bayles outing, the mystery in Witches' Bane doesn't take long to puzzle out - the enjoyment comes in watching China struggle with her natural instinct to pursue truth, verses her desire to keep life simple. She is challenged on many fronts. Her best friend, Ruby, in love with a man of questionable character, wants China to defend him against charges of committing a murder with Satanic overtones. China's lover, McQuaid, ex-cop turned professor, wants her to make a greater commitment to their relationship. China's estranged mother, a recovering alcoholic, wants forgiveness. China wants to find a stone frog for her new fountain and a way to keep her herb shop in the black.
In this second installment in the series we are offered some insight into China's troubled relationship with her parents, how it has affected her career decisions and how it still affects her relationship with McQuaid.
An enjoyable read but the killer was too easy to guess.......2005-01-31
This is my first book in the series, and although I enjoyed reading this mystery, I thought the author didn't do a good enough job on the plotting. My secret method of guessing the killer worked like a charm on this book, as I think it will with other experienced mystery readers. Still, the characters and writing were enjoyable enough that I intend to continue reading more in the series.
THe plot involves a killing that appears to be the work of santeria enthusiasts -- a kind of voodoo like religion popular among certain elements of the Mexican population of this Texas town. The townspeople think that these people are responsible for the ritual death, but the police and our herb-shop owner/lawyer think otherwise -- that it was instead someone with a particular motive for wanting this woman dead.
Perhaps the small-town Texas setting is the part of the book I liked best. The author creates a place you can imagine as though you were there -- a place you'd like to visit. The characters are quirky and likeable, except for the ones that the author doesn't want you to like. As I said, I will be reading more in the series -- probably go back and try reading them in order!
Halloween Pranks Turn Deadly.......2004-09-25
Strange things have been going on in the Texas town of Pecan Springs. A town resident has discovered dead chickens with piles of coins nearby. Another resident has discovered one of his goats killed, also with a pile of money nearby. To make matters even worse, China Bayles' friend Ruby Wilcox has started teaching a class on reading tarot cards. Then a Bible-thumping preacher arrives in Pecan Springs and starts accusing Ruby of devil worship. Are all these strange happening due to Ruby's witchcraft, or are they the work of Mexican santerias?
On Halloween night, one of the women in Ruby's tarot class holds an all-woman Halloween party. Then the hostess is discovered brutally murdered the next morning. The travelling minister suggests that Ruby is the prime suspect of the murder, so China goes to work to find the real killer.
"Witches' Bane" is the second book in the China Bayles series by Susan Wittig Albert. This is a fast-moving, interesting mystery, with great twists at the end. There are lots of facts included about growing herbs and other plants. China is such a smart, down-to-earth heroine and very likable. I highly recommend this book, both to fans of the China Bayles series as well as readers looking for a fun Halloween-themed mystery.
--GOOD READ--.......2004-08-04
Since I grow a lot of herbs, I've wanted to read one of the China Bayles mystery stories since they first came to my attention. I began with this one because I thought it was the first in the series, but after I started reading, I discovered that it's actually the second book. The first is called THYME OF DEATH. I like the fact that a plant name is used in the title of each of these stories.
China Bayles is a retired attorney and had previously practiced law in Houston, but had given up that profession to pursue a kinder and gentler life. She now lives in a small town in Texas, where she grows and sells plants. She specializes in herbs. There are several references to different plants and herbs which I enjoyed reading about.
I found this book to be entertaining and I liked China Bayles, the main character. The first part begins with a gathering of China and several of her girl friends at a Halloween party. Some of the women are a little weird in their choice of interests. One woman even has a garden of poisonous plants. When a gruesome murder takes place, China becomes involved and uses her skills as a prosecuting attorney to help solve the mystery. To me, the most interesting parts of the book concerned the tidbits of how an attorney views the evidence of a crime. I think that made the story jell together and become more engaging.
I plan to read more books in this series and hope to see the China Bayles character become more developed.
Witch hunt in Pecan Springs.......2004-06-17
China Bayles has given up the big-city life of a Houston attorney and enjoys running her herb shop in the Hill Country of Texas. She rents half of her building to Ruby Wilcox who runs a New Age shop next door. Ruby starts a Tarot class and is surprised when the two businesses are picketed by a group led by the Reverend Billy Lee Harbuck who accuses them of being witches. Sybil Rand, one of the Tarot class members, decides to have a Halloween party for her friends, and soon she is killed in a ritualistic manner. This give fuel to the anti-satanic crowd and China and Ruby find themselves in the middle of a murder investigation. Police officers decide that Ruby's boyfriend may have committed the murder, so Ruby has an even bigger motivation to find the real killer. Soon another murder takes place, and China begins to make a short list of suspects. Before it's all over, China's life is put in danger. This plot is wound around China's personal life which features a love affair with Mike McQauid, a professor of criminal justice at the local college. As usual, the Hill Country and China's herb garden create an interesting background to the solving of a mystery.
Average customer rating:
- Great great book, lots of info!
- first rate book
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Hunting for Witches: A Visitor's Guide to the Salem Witch Trials
Frances Hill
Manufacturer: Commonwealth Editions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
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Salem: Cornerstones of a Historic City
ASIN: 1889833304 |
Book Description
This fascinating guidebook reveals the true story of the Salem witch trials and describes more than fifty important sites you can visit today.
Take a tour through time. Find the hidden paths and places where so-called witches and their accusers walked in 1692 Salem. This book reveals the truth behind the myths and helps you locate the important houses, churches, and streets of that terrifying time. Maps, photographs, and detailed instructions for touring more than fifty sites will help you understand the Salem witch trials and the people who endured them.
Frances Hill, an international authority, answers your questions about the events of 1692 - what really happened when and where.
*MYTHS and MISCONCEPTIONS strips away the Halloween fantasy surrounding the witch trials.
*THE TRUE STORY uncovers what really happened in fascinating detail.
*WHERE TO GO AND HOW TO GET THERE exactly locates each important site linked to the witch trials and events surrounding them.
*Featuring over fifty illustrations, photographs, and maps.
Customer Reviews:
Great great book, lots of info!.......2007-09-13
This book to me is a must have for any lover of Salem, or anyone interested in knowing the real story of the Witch Hunts. If you are planning a trip to Salem then this book is truly a must have as it tells you all the places to visit, what happened at those places, and most importantly directions on how to get to those places! Truly a wonderful book to have for all the information it provides.
first rate book.......2005-05-23
This is much more than just a guide book. It gives a detailed, fascinating, lucid and very readable account of what happened in Salem in 1692, from when the girls in Salem Village parsonage started going into fits to when the last accused witches were released from jail and compensation was finally paid and names cleared. With surprising subtelty, given its concision, it clarifies such issues as whether the accusing girls were hysterical or faking and what the relationships were between all the main leaders of the witch hunt. Both for people visiting Salem, who want to be taken back in time by exploring what remains from those days, and for people who would like to visit Salem but can't, this is the perfect introduction to the witch trials. With many maps and illustrations and an easy to read format, it's suitable for all ages.
Average customer rating:
- Deserves less stars-DO NOT READ
- Major disappointment
- Genuine disappointment
- Witchcraft cliche with a screwball ending
- A Witch cannot Love
|
Witch Hill
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Bradley, Marion Zimmer | ( B ) | Authors, A-Z | Horror | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Dark Fantasy | Horror | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
General | Bradley, Marion Zimmer | ( B ) | Authors, A-Z | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Paperback | Bradley, Marion Zimmer | ( B ) | Authors, A-Z | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0312872836 |
Book Description
This little-known classic by the late Marion Zimmer Bradley is a wonderful treat for readers feeling the loss of this marvelous author. Part of Bradleys beloved Light series, Witch Hill is a sensuous story of witchcraft, demonic possession, and true love.
Customer Reviews:
Deserves less stars-DO NOT READ.......2007-03-12
This book was just plain horrible. Seriously! It is not worth the paper it was printed on. It is a half-developed story about a young woman who falls into some sort of "witch" cult where there is sacrifice and sex rites and it was all very, very creepy. All I saw it as was a way to perpetuate a myth of pagans being devil worshippers who have orgies and kill people.
Don't waste your time!
Major disappointment.......2007-02-16
So not every book an author crafts can measure up to her best work, but this falls so far short that it's embarrassing. If her name wasn't on it, I wouldn't think Bradley (or her estate) even wrote this book. I won't rehash what other reviewers have to say, but they hit the nail on the head. Laughable dialogue (and not in a good way), unbelievable actions, and the most awkward wrap-up of an ending I've encountered. Good premise, BAD delivery. And I don't know who should be faulted: the author or her editor.
Genuine disappointment.......2006-11-04
I have a great deal of respect for Marion Zimmer Bradley as an author, especially for The Mists of Avalon. Therefore, after reading this gobbler I could hardly believe they were written by the same person. The character development is virtually nonexistent, the dialogue-really, the writing style in general- is clanky, and the plot seems to be little more than a frame for sex scenes. The ending also comes across as rather too convenient. It's a shame that Bradley, who has created strong female protagonists in other works, never really allows Sara Latimer to grow much or make a firm demonstration of her personal strength. In short, pass on this book.
Witchcraft cliche with a screwball ending .......2006-04-27
Sara Latimer has lost all three members of her immediate family within a matter of days. The funerals have wiped out her meager savings and she cannot afford to keep the family apartment in New York. When a letter, addressed to Sara's father, arrives announcing the inheritance of property in a rural, coastal town, Sara thinks she's been saved; not only has she just found herself a place to live, but there has been an offer to purchase the historic property from a local pastor. Telling herself that she will only live in the house long enough to complete the illustrations for her most recent children's book before selling to the interested party, she packs her bags and heads to Arkham, Massachusetts and the property on Witch Hill Road. Little does Sara know that Matthew Hay, the "pastor" who has offered to buy the property, is actually the leader of a local coven and he believes Sara to be the reincarnation of her great aunt, the former priestess and most valued member of Matthew's congregation...
Marion Zimmer Bradley's tale of witchcraft in the rural Northeast starts out strong, immediately grabs the attention of the reader, and then slowly but surely sputters to a frightfully prosaic ending. It seems as if Ms. Bradley began writing in an enthusiastic frenzy and then lost interest in her characters and her story line, bringing it all to a hasty ending; perhaps in an attempt to either meet a deadline or write a more interesting novel. The ostensible mystery that surrounds Matthew Hay and his coven is ultimately revealed as nothing more than overtly trite descriptions of witchcraft (e.g. naked men and women drugged and wildly copulating in a graveyard while worshiping a maniacal deviant in a horned mask). The possession of Sara is never clearly accounted for and her transition from wholesome girl next door to fanatical nymphomaniac is just as abrupt as it is absurd. And, finally, we have the young doctor's involvement in Sara's inevitable rescue; not only is it inconceivable, it is poorly illustrated and (let's be honest) downright hilarious. The introduction to the novel is so spirited, so well written and so full of potential (thus earning it the two stars) that I just can't imagine why and/or how it ended the way it did; it really could have been so much more! I can honestly say that I was grossly disappointed.
A Witch cannot Love.......2005-10-16
Sara Latimer is the last of her family. After the shocking deaths of her parents and brother Sara is left all alone in the world with no direction or plan. After receiving a letter regarding the estate to her late aunt (also named Sara Latimer) sara decicides to leave New York City and travel into the county and spend the summer in her new house on witch hill.
It is here in this rual small country town that Sara learns the secrets to her family's past.
Upon arriving at the town Sara notices the odd reactions she receives from the fellow towns people, although there is only one person Sara takes particular interest in. While Sara discovers her creepy and some what seductive house she finds herself trapped in a cultic plan to make her the priestess of her late aunt's coven. The only power that can save Sara from her aunt's spirit and her coven's follwers is a man name Brian who can teach Sara how to love, something that a witch cannot do.
I found myself loving this book for it kept my interest while introducing interesting and gothic characters. Witch Hill is known for it's erotic flavor so I wouldn't recommand this to some one who blushes easily. I particularly admired Marion Zimmer Bradley's style of writing. The story was a quick read with a lot of plot and depth. I recommend this book to someone who wants a gothic tale told in the 70's.
Book Description
January, 1951, while the country is in the grip of war in Korea, the threat of nuclear annihilation, and Senator Joe McCarthy, the residents of St. Adele, Michigan are more concerned with staying warm and shoveling snow, until a bizarre ice storm brings down a towering pine. Entangled in its roots is evidence that leads Constable John McIntire to the abandoned farmstead of a young couple who had supposedly left the community years before, part of an exodus of Finnish-Americans gone off to build a workers' Utopia in the Soviet republic of Karelia. McIntire's fears are realized when he discovers two bodies, buried sixteen years in an unused cistern.
In his zeal to uncover the truth, McIntire brings the scrutiny--and the suspicion--of a Red-hunting government agent upon his neighbors and himself. It is only the beginning of his mis-calculations. Each step in investigating the deaths seems only to bring more misery to the living. Old wounds are opened, old terrors rekindled, and old wrongs exposed. McIntire himself is not immune. He struggles to solve the two-decades old murders, while a part of the past he hoped to bury forever threatens to destroy his new life.
Customer Reviews:
Solid complex murder mystery.......2006-04-29
Author Kathleen Hills has a history with regions of the northern United States, and although the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is separate and distinct, from, say Montana or Northern Wisconsin, there are certainly similarities. In this third outing for the author's protagonist, the reluctant constable of St. Adele, John McIntire, comes across evidence that two former neighbors had not emigrated to the Soviet Union, as was supposed by pretty much everybody in the region.
In the early 1930's this country was in the grip of a serious depression and there was more than a little unrest. Some people organized a sort of mass emigration by mostly poor or disaffected people to a place in the Soviet Union called Karelia. Karelia was touted as the people's Eden, a place where everyone would be well-housed, properly fed and would find useful work, according to their needs. Karelia was advertised as sort of the penultimate socialist community. In reality, a lot of people who went, disappeared and were never heard from again. What was their fate in Stalinist Russia?
WITCH CRADLE, is set in the early fifties, a time when suspicion of that great evil, Communism, also known as the Soviet Union, was rampant in this country. It was the time of Roy Cohen and Senator Joseph R. McCarthy. It was a time of black listing and anxiety. And while the people of the Upper Peninsula were relatively isolated from most of the excesses of that time, there were those who would take advantage of the circumstances. Bringing those national concerns down to the individual and very personal concerns of the people of St. Adele is a feat worth reading about, especially in the careful and adept hands of author Kathleen Hills.
Many questions rise. What is the FBI doing hanging around this isolated area? What exactly was Constable McIntire doing during his time away from St. Adele, the time he refuses to talk about? What exactly did happen to the people who went to the Soviet Union? And if some of the former residents of the area never made it to Karelia, what happened to them and why? This is a moving, solid work about people we all can relate to, in one form or another.
Average customer rating:
- this is NOT a Wicca textbook
- Good for young people
- Dispells myths & presents an enlightening history of witches
- Very plain and boring.
- Boring!
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Eyewitness: Witches & Magic Makers
Douglas Hill
Manufacturer: DK CHILDREN
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Nonfiction | Halloween | Holidays & Festivals | People & Places | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Folklore & Mythology | Social Science | People & Places | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Social Science | People & Places | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Reference & Nonfiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Mystery & Wonders | Science, Nature & How It Works | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Curiosities & Wonders | Fun Facts | Reference | Subjects | Books
General | Reference | Subjects | Books
General | Children's Books | Mythology | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0789458780 |
Book Description
Discover the world of magic and the history, mysteries and beliefs of magic-makers around the world.
Here is an original and exciting new guide to the mysterious world of witches and wizards -- who they are and what they do. Stunning full-color photographs of magical implements and tools, costumes and magic-makers in action provide and unparalleled look into the rich legacy of complex and mysterious practices that have existed in the world, and which, in some regions, are still very much alive today. See a catalog of magical amulets and talismans, magic dolls from different cultures, a stereotyped witch and wizard, tools for divining and predicting the future. Learn which animals are traditionally associated with witchcraft, how magic was practiced in ancient civilizations, and what cruel methods were used to punish witches in medieval times. Discover some simple spells, witches and wizards in mythology and the movies, magic-makers from other cultures around the world, the "craft" of present-day witches, and much, much more.
Customer Reviews:
this is NOT a Wicca textbook.......2003-01-02
This book is NOT SUPPOSED to have, you know, spells and that kind of stuff. It is explaining a brief history of WitchCraft, not just New Age and Wicca. But it is a great explanation to non-Pagans and people just interested in magic(k)-making throughout the ages. OK? Besides all the Eyewitness books have excellent pictures, and good text. If you want to learn Wicca like me, read _Exploring Wicca_ or _Drawing Down the Moon_. If you are merely curious about magic(k)-making, READ THIS BOOK!!!
Good for young people.......2001-03-10
This book was meant to serve as part picture book, part mini-packet of magical trivia. It was not marketed as an actual religious text of any stripe.
I think that this book can be used to open up discussion between open-minded parents and their kids. If a young person sees something in the book and asks, "what's this?", parents then have the opportunity to actually TALK to their kid(s) about something ancient and potentially meaningful.
Sure, there are better books on the history and practice of magic and witchcraft; but this book is meant to spark an interest, not encompass an entire cirriculum.
Dispells myths & presents an enlightening history of witches.......1999-10-23
This book is fascinating! The pages are repleat with exquisite photographs of actual artifacts. Covers a diverse sampling of witchcraft from around the world and through time. Blatantly honest and frighteningly factual.
Very plain and boring........1999-09-13
I didn't like this book that much because it was boring, and it didn't really tell that much. This book was very plain and only had pictures of things.
Boring!.......1998-02-16
This book is very dull and plain. It has no spells, charms, and true wicca. It just has pictures of stuff.
Book Description
Fifth Book in the Magic Kingdom of Landover series
Former Chicago lawyer Ben Holiday was proud and happy. And why not? The Magic Kingdom of Landover, which he ruled as High Lord, was finally at peace, and he and his wife, the sylph Willow, could watch their daughter Mistaya grow.
And grow she did - shooting through infancy in months, learning to walk and to swim in the same week. Mistaya had been born a seedling, nourished by soils from Landover, Earth, and the fairy mists, come into being in the dank, misty deadness of the Deep Fell. With dazzling green eyes that cut to the soul, she was as lovely as her mother, and Ben wanted nothing more than to enjoy his daughter's childhood and his peaceful kingdom forever. But his idyll was interrupted when Rydall, a king of lands beyond the fairy mist, assembled armies on Landover's border and threatened to invade unless Ben was able to defeat Rydall's seven champions.
Some counseled the High Lord to refuse Rydall's challenge, but Holiday could not, for Mistaya had been snatched from her guardians by foul magic. And Rydall held the key to her fate . . .
Customer Reviews:
Witches' Brew.......2007-05-07
Still good, but Terry Brooks starts being repetitive - you can figure out the plot in the first half
Landover' Great.......2006-03-25
Ben Holiday continues to struggle with the Kingdom of Landover, always seems something's going on which requires his attention. Very well done and may be the best of the series to date. Good fantasy and a an easy, enjoyable read.
If you like books like this one, might I suggest another I've recently come across. The Unsuspecting Mage by Brian S. Pratt. It's another fantasy adventure sure to please. I highly recommend it.
Lighthearted fantasy in keeping with Landover mystique.......2004-11-23
I was a big fan of Terry Brooks' Kingdom of Landover series when the original books came out. Because I was a member of the Science Fiction Book Club, receiving regular mailings, I always saw when the next one came out and made sure I would get it right away. At some point, however, either my subscription ended or I got the series before the final book, Witches' Brew came out in 1995.
I've never read Brooks' critically acclaimed and bestselling Shannara Series, though I did come across his The Word and the Void trilogy and was fascinated by those, but they ended a few years ago. It wasn't until I decided to sell my Sci-Fi Book Club edition of The Tangle Box on eBay that I discovered there was a fifth and final book to the Landover series.
The book was fantastic, to say the least, a very lighthearted fantasy in keeping with the earlier books. I was pleased and enchanted by the book, and it didn't take long for me to remember bits and pieces of the earlier novels as I went along.
The story was entertaining as well, as a stranger calling himself King Rydell of Marnhull comes to challenge Ben Holiday, King of Landover. Ben and his sylph wife, Willow, decide to send their magical daughter, Mistaya, away because of the danger, but the girl is abducted along the way.
Not much heavy reading here, but very much a story to enchant kids of all ages. I would be most grateful if Brooks were to follow it up, but maybe I'll just have to start reading the numerous books of the Shannara series.
The second best Landover novel yet.......2002-01-18
Book 5 was especially creative and kept me interested; much better than the long-winded #4 in this series. Almost as good as the original Magic Kingdom for Sale! Holiday's daughter is an intriguing character and I liked following some of the story through her eyes. What now, Terry??
actually it is 4.5.......2000-07-13
This one is almost as good as "The Tangle Box," if you can believe it. Nightshade's hatred seems a bit over the top, but I guess that is her character. Again, Ben is confounded by things he can't understand and he doesn't really know what to do, even though it is clear to the reader what is going on, down to Nightshade's sidekick. But the plot is well developed and the mud puppy bit is a great addition! Poor Abernathy. Enough said. Read this one. You really must.
Books:
- Atlas of Clinical Ophthalmology
- Bartlett's Familiar Quotations: A Collection of Passages, Phrases, and Proverbs Traced to Their Sources in Ancient and Modern Literature (17th Edition)
- Blizzard of the Blue Moon (A Stepping Stone Book(TM))
- Blowback, Second Edition: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire
- Bone Volume 4: The Dragonslayer
- Children Left Behind: The Dark Legacy of Indian Mission Boarding Schools
- Children of Chaos
- Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself
- Crooked House (Minotaur Mysteries)
- Cucina Simpatica: Robust Trattoria Cooking From Al Forno
Books Index
Books Home
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In the Devil's Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692
The Devil in the Shape of a Woman: Witchcraft in Colonial New England
Witch-Hunt: Mysteries of the Salem Witch Trials
