A Sad Tale's Best for Winter

Witchlight
by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Genre; Sci-Fi/Drama
Publisher; Tor Books/New York/1996
Pages; 303
ISBN; 0-312-86104-4

Plot; Winter Musgrave is a Wall Street whiz who has a good job, a fantastic apartment and was brought up by a well-to-do family. So, why does she now find herself escaping a sanatorium?

All of Winter's life has vanished. Apart from a few memories here and there, Winter has lost years worth of her life. Has she gone mad or has something happened to her, something inconceivable? Winter believes she has gone mad, for nothing else can explain the shattered glass and bloodless animal corpses she leaves in her wake, without explanation.

With the help of Truth Jourdemayne, the daughter of a well known "warlock", and her partner Dr. Dylan Palmer, Winter must now piece together her past, reconstructing the memories that can save her from the danger which looms closer and closer.

My Thoughts; Brilliant! Intoxicating! Enthralling! Why read the classics when there are so many wonderful contemporary books like this one.

As you may have heard me mention before, Marion Zimmer Bradley's book The Mists of Avalon is the book which acted as a catalyst for my life. I had never been much of a reader, to put it lightly, until my first semester of University when I did a unit of study on Gothic Literature and The Mists of Avalon was the little gem we were given to read. Since that moment you will almost always find me book in hand. So you can understand why I had to pick up Witchlight when I saw it poking out at me from the library shelf.

I will not go so far as to say it has left as lasting impression as The Mists of Avalon, but Witchlight is definitely a journey I would suggest everyone takes.

Again, Bradley is at her best. The way she builds and developes the characters and plot is, well, exciting. I was intrigued and dumbfounded until the very end, which is always a good sign.

Bradley has a wonderful knack for taking her readers on an exciting adventure. Not one moment of this story dissappointed me, or left me wanting more.

If I had to make one negative comment it would be the use of "witchy" jargon. At times I felt a little behind the eight-ball when the characters used chunks of terminology I was unsure of. However, having said this, those moments are few and far between making them a mere blimp on an otherwise entrancing tale.

To any reader who hasn't read a Marion Zimmer Bradley book, you are missing out! Go out right now and buy one! You will not regret it.

Happy Reading!