As a rule, I’m not really into fiction novels, I’d rather have my nose buried in a reference book any day! But when I found one that was written by an Australian witch (Ly de Angeles) I thought it was worth a look, and after reading through ‘The Quickening’ in one sitting, I was so glad that I did.
In this book she has weaved an urban fantasy about the Sídhe (pronounced Shee) who travel around the country awakening the magickal powers of those who have forgotten their true nature. These Travellers are from the clans of the Tuatha Dé Danann - the mighty Fey Folk - sometimes known as ‘fairies’, but you’d have to be very brave to call them that!
Herne the Hunter (with dreadlocks!), Brighid (a fortyish woman with tattoos on her face) and She who is only known as ‘the Great Mystery’ - work together with a group of musical and magickal friends to discover who is responsible for vicious attacks on various spiritual centres across the city.
I’d met these characters before, in another book by Ly de Angeles called ‘When I See the Wild God’ – which was reviewed in the Lughnasadh 2005 edition of Silver Wheel. That book was a modern perspective of Celtic witchcraft, in which she described how to utilize the energies of the Celtic Gods in ritual work. The people in ‘The Quickening’ formed part of the storyline that was the basis of the seasonal rituals in the ‘Wild God’ book. And now, they’ve become part of a larger, more involved story and with this extra room for character development, they’ve become even more endearing.
Ly de Angeles was initiated as a witch when she was 17 years of age, and became a High Priestess in 1980. She draws upon her experiences of magic and the Otherworlds to create an engaging plot that has all the elements (excuse the pun) that appeal to pagans - and the writing style is quite lyrical at times. Here’s an example... “Shadows, shadows - lithe and swift - surrounded him, all unseen, all alert to danger - earthy graces loving the man they ran with, creating a deeper darkness to protect him.”
In the story, beings from Celtic mythology, and practitioners of Vodoun, Shamanism, Wicca and Shinto all join forces in an unusual saga of Good versus Evil. But in true magickal style, those on the side of ‘Good’ tend to play rather rough, knowing that in the eyes of the gods, the end always justifies the means! They also get help from a flock of birds that are aptly named ‘the Conspiracy of Ravens’ and the conversations between the birds are clever and amusing.
Make sure that you refer to the glossary at back of the book, as many unusual terms are used in the story, but this also adds to its sense of authenticity. The characters are quiet well-rounded. You view some of the bad guys in a different light when you read of the sadness in their souls which drives their negative behaviour patterns. And the gods are shown to have weaknesses too, with bickering and pettiness surfacing occasionally.
This is a highly enjoyable book that brings the Old Gods and the Fey Folk to life. Ly de Angeles has created a series of loveable characters that will stay in your heart and mind long after you’ve put the book down. You won’t look at the world in the same way after you’ve experienced it through the eyes of this author!
Author: Ly de Angeles
Published by: Llewellyn Publications, 2005
ISBN: 0-7387-0664-7
In this book she has weaved an urban fantasy about the Sídhe (pronounced Shee) who travel around the country awakening the magickal powers of those who have forgotten their true nature. These Travellers are from the clans of the Tuatha Dé Danann - the mighty Fey Folk - sometimes known as ‘fairies’, but you’d have to be very brave to call them that!
Herne the Hunter (with dreadlocks!), Brighid (a fortyish woman with tattoos on her face) and She who is only known as ‘the Great Mystery’ - work together with a group of musical and magickal friends to discover who is responsible for vicious attacks on various spiritual centres across the city.
I’d met these characters before, in another book by Ly de Angeles called ‘When I See the Wild God’ – which was reviewed in the Lughnasadh 2005 edition of Silver Wheel. That book was a modern perspective of Celtic witchcraft, in which she described how to utilize the energies of the Celtic Gods in ritual work. The people in ‘The Quickening’ formed part of the storyline that was the basis of the seasonal rituals in the ‘Wild God’ book. And now, they’ve become part of a larger, more involved story and with this extra room for character development, they’ve become even more endearing.
Ly de Angeles was initiated as a witch when she was 17 years of age, and became a High Priestess in 1980. She draws upon her experiences of magic and the Otherworlds to create an engaging plot that has all the elements (excuse the pun) that appeal to pagans - and the writing style is quite lyrical at times. Here’s an example... “Shadows, shadows - lithe and swift - surrounded him, all unseen, all alert to danger - earthy graces loving the man they ran with, creating a deeper darkness to protect him.”
In the story, beings from Celtic mythology, and practitioners of Vodoun, Shamanism, Wicca and Shinto all join forces in an unusual saga of Good versus Evil. But in true magickal style, those on the side of ‘Good’ tend to play rather rough, knowing that in the eyes of the gods, the end always justifies the means! They also get help from a flock of birds that are aptly named ‘the Conspiracy of Ravens’ and the conversations between the birds are clever and amusing.
Make sure that you refer to the glossary at back of the book, as many unusual terms are used in the story, but this also adds to its sense of authenticity. The characters are quiet well-rounded. You view some of the bad guys in a different light when you read of the sadness in their souls which drives their negative behaviour patterns. And the gods are shown to have weaknesses too, with bickering and pettiness surfacing occasionally.
This is a highly enjoyable book that brings the Old Gods and the Fey Folk to life. Ly de Angeles has created a series of loveable characters that will stay in your heart and mind long after you’ve put the book down. You won’t look at the world in the same way after you’ve experienced it through the eyes of this author!
Author: Ly de Angeles
Published by: Llewellyn Publications, 2005
ISBN: 0-7387-0664-7
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