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cynicgirl's review against another edition
5.0
An amazing story. Well researched and believable. It took me on a journey from start to finish.
fieldofhats's review
I absolutely loved the premise of this book. It’s so refreshing to see christians leaving their faith to join the Pagan tradition, rather than the other way around. But that’s about where my interest stops. The writing style was unbearable. It’s like Brian Bates wanted to write in the third person, but thought first person was more relatable, so he changed the tense but not the mood or style to match it.
The first chapter is also god-awful. The way that Pagan rituals are portrayed is very bizarre… Bates claims to be directly inspired by historical documents, which is fine, but if you’re goal is to have your audience take Paganism seriously, that wasn’t the way to do it, no matter how accurate it was.
The first chapter is also god-awful. The way that Pagan rituals are portrayed is very bizarre… Bates claims to be directly inspired by historical documents, which is fine, but if you’re goal is to have your audience take Paganism seriously, that wasn’t the way to do it, no matter how accurate it was.
mbod's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
gen_wolfhailstorm's review against another edition
3.0
Although I didn't want this to hinder my experience I found this novel to be slow to start and found myself distracted quite a bit, however in saying that, the parts I did focus on were really interesting.
I found the concept behind this, being fiction based on factual events of a kind, really interesting and made for a very creative and unique plot.
In terms of characters, we only really encounter Wat and Wulf and although Wulf was a toughy to figure out I think I ended up liking him, whilst Wat, on the other hand, grated on me a bit because of his whinny sounding questions. (Random, but at times, with the way things were going, I was so sure there was gonna be a cheeky kiss between the two... Maybe I'm some what disappointed... :p ). I also felt like they came out with some super wise comments that really made me think in terms of my existence in the world.
I didn't feel like the religion and spiritual aspects of this book was as heavy or overwhelming as I had expected, which I am greatful for.
I found that this novel had a lot of intervals that consited of sudden bursts of action. It kind of made me laugh because the characters would be talking seriously one moment and then all of sudden, out of seemingly nowhere, and ton of shit is happening. I've decided this is a bad point as I couldn't take a lot of these scenes seriously.
I also found some circumstances where events that happened didn't necessarily do anything for the plot and was a little pointless.
As I was coming to the end, I was anxious that this would not have enough room to end properly and would be forced into hunting down a sequel, however it obviously did end properly and in a mostly satisfying way... It's still rather open, yet still feels like a tidy stand-alone.
The themes explored in the novel of faith, friendship, self discovery and learning were all powerful and brought it together, however the story fell flat slightly for me as I did not manage to grasp a lot of things, most likely because I was drifting in and out of a constant daze.
Overall, it was a good book.
Pick it up, give it a go and enjoy! ^.^
I found the concept behind this, being fiction based on factual events of a kind, really interesting and made for a very creative and unique plot.
In terms of characters, we only really encounter Wat and Wulf and although Wulf was a toughy to figure out I think I ended up liking him, whilst Wat, on the other hand, grated on me a bit because of his whinny sounding questions. (Random, but at times, with the way things were going, I was so sure there was gonna be a cheeky kiss between the two... Maybe I'm some what disappointed... :p ). I also felt like they came out with some super wise comments that really made me think in terms of my existence in the world.
I didn't feel like the religion and spiritual aspects of this book was as heavy or overwhelming as I had expected, which I am greatful for.
I found that this novel had a lot of intervals that consited of sudden bursts of action. It kind of made me laugh because the characters would be talking seriously one moment and then all of sudden, out of seemingly nowhere, and ton of shit is happening. I've decided this is a bad point as I couldn't take a lot of these scenes seriously.
I also found some circumstances where events that happened didn't necessarily do anything for the plot and was a little pointless.
As I was coming to the end, I was anxious that this would not have enough room to end properly and would be forced into hunting down a sequel, however it obviously did end properly and in a mostly satisfying way... It's still rather open, yet still feels like a tidy stand-alone.
The themes explored in the novel of faith, friendship, self discovery and learning were all powerful and brought it together, however the story fell flat slightly for me as I did not manage to grasp a lot of things, most likely because I was drifting in and out of a constant daze.
Overall, it was a good book.
Pick it up, give it a go and enjoy! ^.^
notrix's review
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
yaburrow's review against another edition
5.0
I've lost count of how many times I've read this. It's a classic. I used to keep two copies of it, in case I lent it to someone and it didn't come back. Based on the Lacnunga or Leechbook, it's the story of how a Saxon monk from Christianized Mercia travels to Sussex to gather information about the still-Heathen population, as part of the project to convert them to Christianity. He is assigned by the local king to be an assistant to a local sorcerer: a healer and practitioner of magic. As a result, he learns a lot more than he bargained for about Heathenry, and comes to respect it. Wulf, the sorcerer, teaches him all about Wyrd, and he has a direct experience of the spirits of Heathenry. The description of the land, plants, animals, and the spiritual practices of the Saxons are wonderful and detailed. Highly recommended.
gnewna's review against another edition
4.0
Very enjoyable and readable story, not sure without looking at the source material how much is based in actual evidence vs how much is conjecture, but it seems reasonably... internally consistent, I suppose? (Which probably means a lot of it's made up.) Still, there's a bibliography there for them as wants to check.
battlepoet's review
3.0
Fun to read at least once. I remember it was entertaining, particularly to me as a Norse pagan. Lots of Jungian ideas though that didn't feel so relevant.
smcleish's review
3.0
Originally published on my blog here in June 1998.
This book arose from an academic look at "shamanism" in pre-Christian, Anglo-Saxony England. Bates looks at this culture through the eyes of an outsider, Wat Brand, a priest sent to learn how the shamans work so that the church can combat them as they move into the area (I think) now covered by the New Forest. He receives an education in the way of the Wyrd (the principle governing the pagan world-view) from the shaman Wulf.
It's an interesting education, forcing Brand to question many of the assumptions of his own world-view. He is a convincing medieval Christian, which is more than many historical novelists seem to be able to manage.
The problems with the book lie with the world-view of the author. Wulf is given all the advantages; throughout his is assumed to be the correct, insightful way to live a life. Bates is clearly sympathetic to the shamanic and antipathetic to Christianity; and the introduction of many elements from different shamanic cultures means that Wulf is putting forward a strongly New Age perspective. (A quick glance at the bibliography will show just how wide these borrowings are; they are principally North American and Asian, and some of them come from studies on the use of drugs in ritual which I believe have since been discredited.) The author deserves some credit for making the pagan culture more vicious than the standard wishy-washy New Age rubbish, but he certainly doesn't give the church a fair deal.
This book arose from an academic look at "shamanism" in pre-Christian, Anglo-Saxony England. Bates looks at this culture through the eyes of an outsider, Wat Brand, a priest sent to learn how the shamans work so that the church can combat them as they move into the area (I think) now covered by the New Forest. He receives an education in the way of the Wyrd (the principle governing the pagan world-view) from the shaman Wulf.
It's an interesting education, forcing Brand to question many of the assumptions of his own world-view. He is a convincing medieval Christian, which is more than many historical novelists seem to be able to manage.
The problems with the book lie with the world-view of the author. Wulf is given all the advantages; throughout his is assumed to be the correct, insightful way to live a life. Bates is clearly sympathetic to the shamanic and antipathetic to Christianity; and the introduction of many elements from different shamanic cultures means that Wulf is putting forward a strongly New Age perspective. (A quick glance at the bibliography will show just how wide these borrowings are; they are principally North American and Asian, and some of them come from studies on the use of drugs in ritual which I believe have since been discredited.) The author deserves some credit for making the pagan culture more vicious than the standard wishy-washy New Age rubbish, but he certainly doesn't give the church a fair deal.
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