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Search - The Book of Shadows
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The Book of Shadows Author: |
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Book Information
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Other Versions of this Book: Paperback
Book Description:
An extraordinary new literary voice makes a stunning debut in a darkly sensual, powerfully told tale of strange destiny and miraculous reawakening.
Herculine is only six-years-old when she watches her mother die horribly and inexplicably. A child alone in the nineteenth-century French countryside, she makes her way to the secluded convent, where she is taken in as a foundling orphan and raised by nuns who teach the children of the privileged to fear a wrathful God. But shy, unworldly Herculine is not like the others in this cold, forebidding place. And when she is led down a dark path by a rebellious fellow student, she soon finds herself convicted of crimesunimaginable.
But death at the hands of the ignorant and falsely pious is not to be Herculine's lot. Held captive in the convent library, she is visited by four unexpected saviors with timeless needs of their own: the incubus priest Father Louis; the tragic, damned beauty Madeleine; the demonic Asmodei; and Sebastiana d'Azur, a witch. By dawn, Herculine is free yet forever changed as she follows her liberators into a world of sensuous pleasures and great mysteries both wondrous and strange.
Secreted away in Sebastiana's once-grand manor high above the Breton sands, Herculine sets out to find out why she has been "chosen" and for what purpose. Her quest--ripe with erotic discovery, dark magic, heresy, and blood--propels her headlong through the perils of the age, across borders between the living and the dead, and back through a time when hysteria and madness reigned, when noble heads were impaled and paraded through the streets of Paris. For only when her mysterious mission is completed--and the terrible otherworldly roots of a gruesome Revolution are finally revealed--can she understand who and what she truly is. Until then, she must simply trust ... and learn.
A work of stunning originality, gorgeous terror, and lush, disturbing beauty, James Reese's The Book of Shadows is a miraculous achievement -- a richly atmospheric, superbly rendered novel that brings to life epochs as colorful as they are chaotic. Rich with unforgettable characters and startling events, it is a masterwork of the imagination that will stand with the novels of A. S. Byatt and Anne Rice, Bram Stoker's Dracula, and other classic literature of shadowy sensuality.
Herculine is only six-years-old when she watches her mother die horribly and inexplicably. A child alone in the nineteenth-century French countryside, she makes her way to the secluded convent, where she is taken in as a foundling orphan and raised by nuns who teach the children of the privileged to fear a wrathful God. But shy, unworldly Herculine is not like the others in this cold, forebidding place. And when she is led down a dark path by a rebellious fellow student, she soon finds herself convicted of crimesunimaginable.
But death at the hands of the ignorant and falsely pious is not to be Herculine's lot. Held captive in the convent library, she is visited by four unexpected saviors with timeless needs of their own: the incubus priest Father Louis; the tragic, damned beauty Madeleine; the demonic Asmodei; and Sebastiana d'Azur, a witch. By dawn, Herculine is free yet forever changed as she follows her liberators into a world of sensuous pleasures and great mysteries both wondrous and strange.
Secreted away in Sebastiana's once-grand manor high above the Breton sands, Herculine sets out to find out why she has been "chosen" and for what purpose. Her quest--ripe with erotic discovery, dark magic, heresy, and blood--propels her headlong through the perils of the age, across borders between the living and the dead, and back through a time when hysteria and madness reigned, when noble heads were impaled and paraded through the streets of Paris. For only when her mysterious mission is completed--and the terrible otherworldly roots of a gruesome Revolution are finally revealed--can she understand who and what she truly is. Until then, she must simply trust ... and learn.
A work of stunning originality, gorgeous terror, and lush, disturbing beauty, James Reese's The Book of Shadows is a miraculous achievement -- a richly atmospheric, superbly rendered novel that brings to life epochs as colorful as they are chaotic. Rich with unforgettable characters and startling events, it is a masterwork of the imagination that will stand with the novels of A. S. Byatt and Anne Rice, Bram Stoker's Dracula, and other classic literature of shadowy sensuality.
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Top Member Book Reviews
Karen K. (
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
This was a mixed book for me. It was beautifully written - at times evocative and at times poetic. I especially liked the description of the French Revolution as seen through the eyes of the witches and other characters. I also liked the characters Herculine, Madeleine, Father Louis and Sebastiana. While there were parts that dragged, especially chapters concerning the convent and Sebastiana's first coven meeting, the crossroads scene towards the end made the read worthwhile.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Fantasy novel dealing with witches.
Please Rate these Book Reviews
Rachel F. (This book is all right, though there's far too much of Lebrun's diary bogging down the middle of it, and it doesn't seem to go anywhere at the end. I prefer books that stand on their own better, even if a series is intended. Call me weird.
Dana (This book was a slow read, but I thought it was well worth it. I think it started out different than what I expected because the main character was raised in a convent and I was expecting a character who would immediately be part of the pagan society due to the title of the book. But since the writing was so well-done, I didn't want to put the book down and just kept reading because Herculine's character was quite interesting. The story does pick up up you begin to realize that Herculine isn't a normal girl, but instead a hermaphrodite, who has never known until an occurrence that brings her uniqueness to the attention of others. The awful things that this person has to endure at the hands of Christians is quite sad, but not as awful as some of the things she finds out about when she reads of things done to people by the church to "prove" they were witches or from first hand accounts of two spirits who need her help.
The historical parts of this book that were researched by the author to show this past bigotry and persecution gives us a very grim and horrifying look at the methods of torture used on people during the "Burning Times". It really makes me glad that I didn't live during a time where the church had such free reign over society because the hatred and cruelty is mortifying. The lies and threats used to prove people were witches, demons, or just "in league with Lucifer" in general does, ironically, tend to remind one of modern day activists or extremists.
The paranormal events in the book also make it quite interesting, as Herculine is able to communicate with spirits. There is also, definitely, some scenes in which old-school witchery is used, along with the less gruesome, more contemporary, "pagan-lite" rites that are more often found in popular modern-day fiction.
Overall, it's an interesting read, and though it didn't make me want to sit down and devour it in one session, I'm definitely going to be reading more of the series and books by this author.
Brigida F. (The book is in excellent condition but the cover wrap is missing but otherwise is in prime condition good book very interesting in my house everybody read it my son my daughter and myself we recommended
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Herculine (Primary Character)
Sebastiana (Major Character)
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