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Book Review of The Book of Spirits

The Book of Spirits
The Book of Spirits
Author: James Reese
Genre: Horror
Book Type: Hardcover
daedelys avatar reviewed on + 1218 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2


If you've already read the first book in this series, you've discovered the author's beautiful writing style. It's a bit gothic, dark, erotic and sometimes even grotesque. It make me feel like I'm reading something written decades ago instead of anything contemporary, which can make it a slower read if you're not used to it. I can't say that it doesn't have it's slow spots, because it did, but it's unlike a lot of books that would have normally made me give up in frustration because the stories just weren't worth it. This one is. It's just so interesting that I wanted to keep reading, regardless, because I had to know what would happen next.

The author manages to tell interesting parts of early American history through the eyes of Herculine in this novel. I also thought it was brilliant how he weaved Edgar Allan Poe (albeit a fictitious one) into the story. I found this quite fitting, considering the genre of the story.

Overall, it's really a great book (and series) that you should take the time to read if you're interesting in the history of early witchcraft (before it became so P.C.). There may be somethings in it that could be considered paranormal, but it's really all a matter of perspective.