Words of the Witches

Rating:
Summary: One great story, two good, several blah
Review: "Words of the Witches" is highly uneven, but when it's good, it's very, very good.

I bought this book primarily because of Rosemary Edghill's contribution. I really like her Bast character, and her story "The Iron Bride," which is a short Bast mystery, was included here. This is by far the best story in the collection, showing wicked humor, vivid characterizations, and a very complex problem.

The problem is this (and it's how this book relates, btw, to the rest of the collection): Bast is a third-level initiate. She really needs to start her own coven, but does not want to do so. The mystery she solves basically tells her in not so many words that it's time to do so, whether she wants to or not.

Bast's problem is a realistic one, and it's presented with both accuracy and humor. In addition, the fact that Bast is extremely smart and hasn't really found a man up to her intellectual weight is one of the biggest points in Bast's favor. That, too, is very realistic, as Wiccans and NeoPagans of all stripes tend to be smarter than average, but there _is_ still a range.

Basically, the rest of the collection shows Pagans in favorable lights. Only one or two men have strong parts to play; one is a divorced father, the other is a dying soon-to-be father. The reviewer who pointed out the absence of males in this book makes a very, very good point.

The three best stories are Ms. Edghill's, where the men aren't as important as Bast (and rightfully so! She's the point of view character, and once again makes a big point out of not finding anyone for her yet), Ms. Vaughn's "A Solitary Path," where the heroine, Tobi, basically makes a sort of soul connection with a dream creation that may or may not be real, and would rather wait for someone that does at least that much for her, and the romance "The Spelling Error" by Jen Sokolowski (that's the one featuring the divorced father).

There are several other good stories here, but they vary a lot, and aren't evenly paced. "Psyche's Tears" was pretty good, but I didn't totally buy the transformation from the vivid Desdemona to the rather pallid denise, and I really didn't buy the POV character's all of a sudden acceptance of Denise, either. The Gypsy story, "Tamborine Moon," was also good, but had a few problems. The biggest is the last line; it makes no sense, and should have either been struck in editing, or modified somehow to make it fit with the rest of the story. Also, I had a problem with the premise. After the whole story makes a point about how alienated the Gypsy mother is from her two grown daughters, all of a sudden _one_ of them is going to take to her Craft? Not likely!

Then, the biggest problematic story in the collection came from the heaviest hitter (sales wise; trust me, the heaviest hitter author wise was Ms. Edghill), Maggie Shayne. Her story, "Anytown U.S.A.," did have some things to recommend it. It flowed well and easily. I liked the teenage girl witches. I liked the older woman witch.

But as another reviewer said, the minister's wife, who also happened to be a witch in the "broom closet," didn't come off. Her husband was way too stereotypical, and very, very nasty. Also, if he _was_ so abusive, why in the world would the woman want to do something like she does (basically stops an assembly from rioting, and admits she's a witch, which stuns them all)? Even if she never goes home again, he could go and find her and kill her.

That's the problem with making the husband an abuser. You get it all; the abusive mindset on his part, and the cowed, abjective one on hers. Trust me; the minister's wife would _not_ act like this in real life. At best, she'd stand with someone else after _they_ admitted they were a witch, like when the Principal comes up to show solidarity. (If Shayne had shown the Principal as a witch in hiding, and then the minister's wife came out of hiding after a policeman also came out of the "broom closet," then maybe I'd understand the presmise.)

And her husband would not leave her alone; he's an abuser, and he's not tired of her yet. So, her shaking her head "no" on the stage to him would do nothing more than enrage him.

So, despite it being a well-written story, that huge, huge plot hole ruined it for me.

At any rate, Ms. Edghill's story is 5 stars plus; Ms. Vaughn's is just under 5 stars; Ms. Sokolowski's is 4.5 stars. Ms. Shayne's would be 2 stars, at best. The rest were in the middle.

Because the three stories I mentioned first are so very, very good, I'd rather rate this anthology on the high end, which is why I gave it four stars in the first place.

Btw, some reviewers have pointed out this book shows a whole lot of basics for novice witches. That's almost certainly true. Still, think about all the people that might read this book, from the fans of Ms. Edghill to the fans of Maggie Shayne. Not all of them have any idea what NeoPagans or Wiccans are about. Some of that needed to be in here. Maybe not as much from each author (I was very glad that two of the three stories I mentioned as my favorites didn't have those components), but it did need to be in the collection.

Some of the folks that read this book are certainly in the "broom closet," or at least want to understand friends of theirs (or family members) that are NeoPagans and/or Wiccans. This book should definitely help in that regard, as it shows that Wiccans are the same in most regards as anyone else.

As I've said elsewhere recently, I don't really understand why so many people get hyped on what "flavor" your religion is. So long as you have a pure heart, and care about others, and follow either "Love One Another" or "Do as Ye Will, An Ye Harm None," I can't see that the Deity above us all will care whatsoever.

Books like this are important, because hopefully it'll change some ignorant people's perceptions. And most of the stories are good; a few are exceptional.

I'd definitely recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: One great story, two good, several blah
Review: "Words of the Witches" is highly uneven, but when it's good, it's very, very good.

I bought this book primarily because of Rosemary Edghill's contribution. I really like her Bast character, and her story "The Iron Bride," which is a short Bast mystery, was included here. This is by far the best story in the collection, showing wicked humor, vivid characterizations, and a very complex problem.

The problem is this (and it's how this book relates, btw, to the rest of the collection): Bast is a third-level initiate. She really needs to start her own coven, but does not want to do so. The mystery she solves basically tells her in not so many words that it's time to do so, whether she wants to or not.

Bast's problem is a realistic one, and it's presented with both accuracy and humor. In addition, the fact that Bast is extremely smart and hasn't really found a man up to her intellectual weight is one of the biggest points in Bast's favor. That, too, is very realistic, as Wiccans and NeoPagans of all stripes tend to be smarter than average, but there _is_ still a range.

Basically, the rest of the collection shows Pagans in favorable lights. Only one or two men have strong parts to play; one is a divorced father, the other is a dying soon-to-be father. The reviewer who pointed out the absence of males in this book makes a very, very good point.

The three best stories are Ms. Edghill's, where the men aren't as important as Bast (and rightfully so! She's the point of view character, and once again makes a big point out of not finding anyone for her yet), Ms. Vaughn's "A Solitary Path," where the heroine, Tobi, basically makes a sort of soul connection with a dream creation that may or may not be real, and would rather wait for someone that does at least that much for her, and the romance "The Spelling Error" by Jen Sokolowski (that's the one featuring the divorced father).

There are several other good stories here, but they vary a lot, and aren't evenly paced. "Psyche's Tears" was pretty good, but I didn't totally buy the transformation from the vivid Desdemona to the rather pallid denise, and I really didn't buy the POV character's all of a sudden acceptance of Denise, either. The Gypsy story, "Tamborine Moon," was also good, but had a few problems. The biggest is the last line; it makes no sense, and should have either been struck in editing, or modified somehow to make it fit with the rest of the story. Also, I had a problem with the premise. After the whole story makes a point about how alienated the Gypsy mother is from her two grown daughters, all of a sudden _one_ of them is going to take to her Craft? Not likely!

Then, the biggest problematic story in the collection came from the heaviest hitter (sales wise; trust me, the heaviest hitter author wise was Ms. Edghill), Maggie Shayne. Her story, "Anytown U.S.A.," did have some things to recommend it. It flowed well and easily. I liked the teenage girl witches. I liked the older woman witch.

But as another reviewer said, the minister's wife, who also happened to be a witch in the "broom closet," didn't come off. Her husband was way too stereotypical, and very, very nasty. Also, if he _was_ so abusive, why in the world would the woman want to do something like she does (basically stops an assembly from rioting, and admits she's a witch, which stuns them all)? Even if she never goes home again, he could go and find her and kill her.

That's the problem with making the husband an abuser. You get it all; the abusive mindset on his part, and the cowed, abjective one on hers. Trust me; the minister's wife would _not_ act like this in real life. At best, she'd stand with someone else after _they_ admitted they were a witch, like when the Principal comes up to show solidarity. (If Shayne had shown the Principal as a witch in hiding, and then the minister's wife came out of hiding after a policeman also came out of the "broom closet," then maybe I'd understand the presmise.)

And her husband would not leave her alone; he's an abuser, and he's not tired of her yet. So, her shaking her head "no" on the stage to him would do nothing more than enrage him.

So, despite it being a well-written story, that huge, huge plot hole ruined it for me.

At any rate, Ms. Edghill's story is 5 stars plus; Ms. Vaughn's is just under 5 stars; Ms. Sokolowski's is 4.5 stars. Ms. Shayne's would be 2 stars, at best. The rest were in the middle.

Because the three stories I mentioned first are so very, very good, I'd rather rate this anthology on the high end, which is why I gave it four stars in the first place.

Btw, some reviewers have pointed out this book shows a whole lot of basics for novice witches. That's almost certainly true. Still, think about all the people that might read this book, from the fans of Ms. Edghill to the fans of Maggie Shayne. Not all of them have any idea what NeoPagans or Wiccans are about. Some of that needed to be in here. Maybe not as much from each author (I was very glad that two of the three stories I mentioned as my favorites didn't have those components), but it did need to be in the collection.

Some of the folks that read this book are certainly in the "broom closet," or at least want to understand friends of theirs (or family members) that are NeoPagans and/or Wiccans. This book should definitely help in that regard, as it shows that Wiccans are the same in most regards as anyone else.

As I've said elsewhere recently, I don't really understand why so many people get hyped on what "flavor" your religion is. So long as you have a pure heart, and care about others, and follow either "Love One Another" or "Do as Ye Will, An Ye Harm None," I can't see that the Deity above us all will care whatsoever.

Books like this are important, because hopefully it'll change some ignorant people's perceptions. And most of the stories are good; a few are exceptional.

I'd definitely recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Words of the Witches
Review: **** In this diverse collection, many authors, both popular, such as Maggie Shayne, Yvonne Jocks (Evelyn Vaughn), Rosemary Laury, and many new discoveries - Lorna Tedder, Charlotte Brisbon, Zelina Winters, get you ready for Halloween early with tales of wichery. However, they are not conventional ones, but more of a fable, teaching the reader lessons. In the majority, a witch finds herself facing the consequences of her magic. Several of the stories find teenage girls handling powers that are perhaps too large for them and what happens as a result, others show a witch making a courageous stand to be who she is. The settings and characters vary widely, yet all stay true to the theme that witches are not like on Bewitched or Charmed, but true religious practictioners. Interspersed are poems and real spells.

As a Christian, I have some objections to this book, unless I view it as purely something to be placed in the same category as the more fictional work that these authors have presented in the past. Under that, the stories are well written, the poetry moving, but I can not say if the spells work or not. It is interesting to note that there are several points on which Christians can agree with Wiccans. I would advise this as a book to read for enjoyment, and to perhaps learn greater tolerance for others. ****

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore.

Rating:
Summary: Bewitching reading
Review: I actually bought this book in a bookstore, just walking by the romance section, where a copy of this tome was accidentally set. I considered it a case of serendipity and promptly bought it. Since I am interested in wicca and the like, I was happy to have found this book. After reading some of the stories, I was even more pleased, since witches are portrayed in a positive light and the various writers add that pagan perspective to the overall picture. Definitely a worthwhile buy for pagans or for people who want to know more about good witches, and not the oft-slandered ones that so often pop up in book, magazine, film and elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: Hear now the words of the Witches....
Review: I have to say that I don't agree with some of the other reviewers. Granted, the casting of a circle recounted in several stories can be a little tedious, but that's hardly a reason to dislike the stories.
I loved this book. I bought it because I am a fan of Maggie Shayne's Immortal Witch series. I thought the stories were well written and more importantly, well thought-out. It takes a lot to write a good story in short form, and these authors do it very well.
I am a witch, and I think the only problem any witch could have with these stories is that there aren't enough of them. *grin*
These stories have a point, a moral if you will, and I think that those morals are things everyone can agree on, regardless of religious path.

Rating:
Summary: What a great idea
Review: I really enjoyed this book. The short stories are really great. The thing I like best is that they relate to my life. The women in the stories are real women. Not airheads, or flakes. Further, the stories do not glamorize or sensationalize witches. Also, the authors of the stories provide rituals that any solitary can do. Great fun to read.

Rating:
Summary: Wish I liked it better
Review: I'll preface this by saying that I am a Pagan. I was definitely hoping for a lot from this book, and I was sorely disappointed.

To be honest, most of the stories are thoroughly mediocre, and some are purely abominable. Maggie Shayne's "Anytown, USA," which starts the book, is an example. "Anytown" is almost frightening in its adherence to cliche and histrionics. A minister's wife, who of course is physically and mentally abused by her husband (Rotten Men! Rotten Christians! Now everybody: Boo, hiss!) finds her inner strength and faces down a town full of nasty ole rotten witch-haters at a school chorus festival. Shayne lets no point remain anything less than obvious, and hammers each moral lesson home with a verve betraying her background writing scripts for soap operas. I almost stopped reading the book after this first story.

The second and third stories were not much better: a half-written, half-plotted cyberpunk object, and a "Love Story" based tearjerker almost made me throw the book out again. Charlotte Brisbon's "Psyche's Tears" was better; at least there was something going on that seemed semi-realistic, and the characters were actually fleshed out. "The Spelling Error" by Jen Sokoloski is nothing more than a romance, but a good one. "Tambourine Moon," by Zelena Winters, was a significant step above the rest, with its depiction of a Gypsy mother trying to reconcile with her daughters. I'm not sure how to take Celia Moon's "The Letter," which is more about marriage, family, betrayal and healing than anything else. I can't say it's one of my favorites, but again, the characterization is good, and the message, for once, is not bluntly hammered home. It still reminds me too much of the stories I used to read in my mother's "Woman's Day" magazines. Valerie Taylor's "The Reluctant Psychic," seems incomplete; the story needs a larger treatment. As it stands, it's fine, but it seems quite incomplete. "A Solitary Path," by Evelyn Vaughn, is quite good. Witty and fanciful yet realistic, her Tobi is a character I liked and would follow into a novel. Rosemary Edghill's "The Iron Bride" is the bright spot in the book; an acerbic mini-mystery that is less about witchcraft and murder than it is about power and responsibility. Definitely the shining light in this collection.

Overall, this collection suffers from several flaws. One is the excessively preachy tone taken by several of the stories. Second is the political correctness angle; men in these stories are either (a) absent, (b) Evil, or at best untrustworthy, or (c) dying. Third: most of these stories are romances in one form or another. Looking at the author profiles in the back of the book, I note that many of them make their living writing romance novels. Too much of their daytime work leaked over into the stories they wrote here, and not always with good effect. I find it hard to believe that the editor could not have found authors who write outside the romance genre to contribute to this book. I also wonder why no male authors were included.

In summary, this is not an indispensable book. If you like your fiction heavily on the romantic side and don't expect too much, this book is...acceptable. But if you're looking for some real literature about modern-day witches and how they live and work in real life, this isn't going to work for you. It definitely didn't work for me.

Rating:
Summary: (3.5)
Review: In _Words of the Witches_, editor Yvonne Jocks brings together a variety of authors from several genres, with one common thread: all are neo-pagans, or at least pagan-sympathetic. In this book, they present stories, spells, and a little bit of poetry--all of which are concerned with the daily lives of the people who call themselves "Witches".

I bought this book mainly because it contained a new installment in Rosemary Edghill's "Bast" series. Unfortunately, that story, "The Iron Bride" is a little disappointing. It's as well-written as her other mysteries, but it suffers a bit by being written in the short story form. It's hard to write a mystery that short; such stories usually need more time to develop tangled plot twists and drop clues. (Poe and Doyle could write short mysteries, but they were the defining masters of the genre.) While "The Iron Bride" is not bad at all, it probably would have been better at novel length. As it is, everything falls into place just a little too quickly and easily. However, Edghill's trademark wit, command of occult lore, and philosophizing keep the story from being too disappointing.

My favorite story in the book is "Anytown, USA", by Maggie Shayne, a writer I'd never read before. In this story, the wife of an small-town Christian minister begins to explore Wicca, just as the arrival of two Wiccan teenagers ignites anger and prejudice in the local high school. The ending is very idealistic, but Shayne admits this freely; this is how she *wishes* such situations would turn out.

Also included in this book are several romances, a touching story about terminal illness, a story about an elderly Romani woman trying to draw her daughters back to the old ways, and some stories about friendship and other matters. All of them deal with paganism and/or Wicca not as "fantasy" but as a part of the lives of regular people, and all of them consider issues of ethics, responsibility, and pagan philosophy. Interspersed with the stories are several simple and harmless spells.

Why did I rate this book only a 3.5? I think it's because I'm not really the target audience for it. This book is more geared toward someone just getting into a pagan religion, or perhaps an outsider wanting to know "what witches are really like". For example, in almost every story, someone casts a circle--in exacting detail, in the manner of a how-to book. This book seems like an enjoyable and painless introduction to pagan (especially Wiccan) practices and issues. If you've been on your path for years, you might want to check this out from the library, or buy it as a gift for your neophyte friend.

Rating:
Summary: An entertaining eclectic blend
Review: It's difficult for me to find much time to read these days and when I finally get a chance I'm likely to reach for something that's brain candy as opposed to real study material. Not that I don't want the chance to do some serious reading . . . but when it gets late I've got a limited amount of absorption ability left.

That's why it was such a pleasure to read "Words of the Witches," a new anthology edited by Yvonne Jocks. There are a dozen short works of fiction in this book by authors such as Lorna Tedder, Maggie Shayne, Zelena Winters, and Rosemary Edghill. Additionally, there are 9 meditations, spells, recipes, or invocations sprinkled throughout.

The tales are diverse and unfold from a sweet tale of cross-cultural acceptance to a somber story of what happens when you meddle in practices beyond your knowledge or ability. There are love stories, family tales, what-ifs, theoretical physics, and a wide range of traditions and practices all deftly handled in this collection.

Several of the stories brought tears to my eyes. Several more got me doing some cross-checking about trads I was unfamiliar with.

Jen Sokolski's "The Spelling Error" is just perfect in every way. Who knew that a teenager's spell could have such wonderfully far-reaching consequences?

Make sure you have tissues available while reading "A Reverence for Trees" by Lorna Tedder. She deftly handles the themes of guilt, remorse, fear, and letting go.

Of particular interest to me was the last story in the book, "The Iron Bride" by Rosemary Edghill. It's another installment of her wonderful Bast murder mysteries. For those that have never read any of the Bast books, I highly recommend them for a remarkable look at the pagan scene in NYC during the late 1970's.

I found myself sneaking this book around with me so I could read it whenever I got a moment to spare. While water was boiling, at a doctor's appointment, while waiting on hold on the phone. You'll want to go back and reread sections and, if you're new to the pagan path, will most likely be intrigued by the how-to additions as well.

Rating:
Summary: Fun Wiccan Reading
Review: This book contains a lot of short stories with Wiccan characters. I was more than happy Bast was brought to life one more time. I love her!