Rosemary Edghill

Bast — (1994-1996) This omibus edition contains the entire trilogy: 1. Speak Daggers to Her 2. Book of Moons 3. The Bowl of Night. Publisher: Bast (alias Karen Hightower) is a single white witch, entirely at home in the New Age Nineties. But when a close friend dies suddenly, possibly the victim of a magic spell, Bast must turn detective to find out who killed Mirian Seabrook — and how.

Bast: Bell, Book, and Murder

Speak Daggers to Her, The Book of Moons, and The Bowl of Night are some of the best fiction about modern witches I've seen yet. And the main reason why is the heroine — Bast. In Bast, Rosemary Edghill creates a delightful heroine with a deep belief in the Goddess and magic — and also with a barbed tongue that deftly skewers the politics and foibles of the Pagan community. Even if there had been no plot in these three novels, I would have kept reading just to "listen" to Bast talk. And as an added bonus, there is a plot.

Speak Daggers to Her: An old friend of Bast's dies of seemingly natural causes in her apartment. Bast discovers that her friend had gotten mixed up in a cult — could this be related?

The Book of Moons: Probably my favorite of the three, because of the historical speculation. Several New York Wiccans find their Books of Shadows missing. Then, an obnoxious newbie shows up at a picnic brandishing a book he is certain is the BOS of Mary Queen of Scots. Then someone ends up dead. How are all these things connected? Read on...

The Bowl of Night: Bast thought the most confusing part of the Samhain retreat would be sharing a cabin with handsome ceremonial magician Julian. But when a local fundamentalist preacher ends up dead on the campsite, things keep getting weirder...

I'm not sure how well these books work as mysteries, since the solution is generally not hard to figure out. I guess I'm just used to the sort of mysteries with 85 red herrings, and no concrete clues until the last two pages, when suddenly the culprit kidnaps the sleuth and reveals the whole plot. Actually, I find that I like Edghill's more straightforward style better, since the mystery is gradually revealed in layers instead of completely hidden and then suddenly sprung on the reader. (I just want to warn readers of the more usual sort of mysteries that these work a little differently.)

As for me, I like them. I only wish this were an ongoing series. —Kelly Lasiter

Carolus Rex — (1999-2001) With Andre Norton. Publisher: Young Sarah Cunningham is ripped from the present day and thrust into a volatile alternative Europe of 1805 where King Henry IX rules over the English Empire, America has no revolution, and Napoleon Bonaparte marches unchecked across Europe.

The Shadow of Albion: Refreshing as the spring rain

I've heard others gripe that this book is basically fluff. Well, yes, it's light, but that's part of what I liked about it. I've read a lot of serious (and sometimes depressing) books lately, and this one was a much-needed cool breeze of just plain fun.

The Marchioness of Roxbury, a vain and vapid woman, is on her deathbed, having failed to fulfill a promise made to the Fair Folk. She lives in an alternate England where magic exists, though it's subtle. The only way she can keep her word is by switching places with Sarah Cunningham, her double from our world, an independent woman who was raised in the wilderness and knows her way around a musket. Sarah's memories are jumbled by magic, and now she has to figure out who she is.

She and her new husband, Wessex, get caught up in a deadly game of espionage, kidnapping, and murder. When Sarah becomes friends with the Crown Prince's new sweetheart, the game gets even deeper. Danger, betrayal, and unexpected allies are around every corner. While the love story between Sarah and Wessex is never developed really well, the adventure is fun and movie-like, and the end leaves me wanting more. Gotta go read the sequel now. —Kelly Lasiter

Leopard in Exile: Zzzzzzz...

Is it a bad sign that I just finished Leopard in Exile the night before last, and now I'm hard-pressed to remember much of the plot?

This book's predecessor, Shadow of Albion, was fun in a light sort of way, with the promise of sequels that would delve deeper into the faery magic at which it hints. I should have gotten my first clue about Leopard in Exile when I looked at the cover art. Thomas Canty's drawings are lovely as always, but this illustration looks like it's supposed to be a rough preliminary sketch, compared to the sublime cover of Albion. Even the typefaces are clunkier. But I tried not to judge the book by its cover.

Inside, though, I found little of interest. I had hoped that the characters, who were kind of cardboard in Albion, would get fleshed out now that we're getting to know them better. Nope, still cardboard. It's even worse in this one because people are going around moping about how much they love their husband/wife and yet the relationship has not been developed in the story. Why do they love each other? Because the authors say so, I guess.

And to add more frustration, the authors seem to be under the impression that a good plot can be obtained simply by continually landing the characters in danger. (It reminds me of a 70s bodice-ripper I read years ago, in which the heroine got raped, then shipwrecked on a tropical island, THEN kidnapped by pirates, THEN trapped in an opium den... You get the idea.) Dropping the characters into one problem after another works pretty well if we KNOW the characters and CARE what happens to them, but since they're still 2-D, the constant action keeps us from learning any more about them. It's just crisis after crisis after crisis, and seldom a conversation.

Not to mention, the magic doesn't get explained! Sarah went to the New World to fulfill a promise to the Fair Folk, but then they were absent for the first nine-tenths of the book, then showed up just long enough to give Sarah some vague aid against the villain, then disappeared again, without any explanation.

I know both Andre Norton and Rosemary Edghill are capable of better books than Leopard in Exile. Let's hope they remember that. —Kelly Lasiter

Stand-alone novels:

Veneance of Masks (Childeric the Shatterer) — (2003) According to Ms Edghill, there was supposed to be a second book called City of Tombs published in 2004. Publisher: For a thousand years the Eidolon Empire has commanded all: humans, demi-humans, beastmen, and themselves. In courts of honor and debauchery they hone their manners and their daggers. They rule with a cruelty that is made more cruel by their capriciousness. For a thousand years the demon Malvisage, the Suffering Servant, has lain chained, controlled by the Mindmask of Thrones. For a thousand years, Malvisage has waited. Tonight all that will change. Tonight the godborn will become the prey of mortals. Tonight the exquisite City of Contradance will become the City of Tombs. Malvisage commands the night, and the night is spreading to cover all the lands. Childeric, the Child of Night, Prince of the Starlight Gates, born to be Emperor, will become the ruler of desolation. Wine, blood, and poison are one. Malvisage controls all. Except Childeric. Except the human woman bound to Childeric by ties that he cannot suspect, even in nightmare...

Met by Moonlight — (1998) Publisher: When modern day witch Diana Crossways plunges back to 1647 England, she learns that a mysterious man she saw in Salem, Massachusetts is a notorious witch hunter. He holds the power of life and death over Diana — but she also inflames his desire.

The Warslayer: The Incredibly True Adventures of Vixen the Slayer — (2002) Available as a free e-book from Baen Free Library. Publisher: Gloria "Glory" McArdle plays Vixen the Slayer in a straight-to-syndication TV show where even the fans say the villain is the better actress. The wizards of Erchanen have been searching all the worlds to find a hero, and Vixen the Slayer is the last name on their list. The Warmother, imprisoned a thousand years before by Ginnas the Warkiller, has broken free of her ancient chains. If a hero can't be found somewhere in all the universes to fight for them, the people of Erchanen are toast. But is it Glory they're looking for... or Vixen? It all seemed to be a perfectly straightforward misunderstanding when Belegir was explaining it in Glory's dressing room. The reality — if you could call it that — isn't just fighting for her life. Faced with a challenge like that, what can a girl do but pick up her magic sword and her stuffed elephant and give her trademark battle cry: "Hi-yi-yi-yi! Come, Camrado! Evil wakes!"