Season of the Witch

...is which witch? ~cackles~

Gabriel Blackstone is an information thief - a hacker, in simpler terms - with an interesting past. When an ex-girlfriend appears out of the blue and asks him to use his specific skills as both a hacker and a remote viewer (clairvoyant) to locate her wealthy husband's missing son, Gabriel finds himself drawn into a complex web of sensuality and the occult in the form of two fascinating sisters, Morrighan and Minnaloushe Monk, with whom the missing man was last seen. Raven-haired, lean, athletic Morrighan and the soft, supple, flame-haired Minnaloushe are descendants of John Dee, the 16th century occultist so valued by Queen Elizabeth I, and Gabriel is drawn into their lush and fantastical world so tightly that he is almost imprisoned by it, all the while knowing that one or both of them is extremely dangerous. Part sci-fi, part goth, part occult, part mystery, I enjoyed this novel so much that I read it almost straight through - a very rare thing for me. I literally could not put it down. That's not to say that it's the perfect book or that everyone will be so enchanted by it, but for me it was the most entertaining and satisfying book I've read in many months. The characters were fantastic. I had a perfect mind's-eye visual of Gabriel, the women, and even secondary characters like Gabriel's hacker partner. Gabe is flawed but extremely likable, and the women are truly magical. I had never heard of the author before, but will be looking for other work from her now!

Natasha Mostert's Season of the Witch is one of the best books I've read in quite a while. I obsessively turned the pages fearful of what might come next but desperately needing to know. I was almost as obsessed as Gabriel Blackstone in his hunger to taste again the cosmic illumination he felt, only once, in a trip into the memory palace, a most dangerous and fascinating place...

Enter a world of beauty and darkness... I was intrigued by the beautiful cover image and the enigmatic tag line of Natasha Mostert's novel, Season of the Witch, when it arrived in my mailbox for review. That is, until I turned the book over. It wasn't the completion of the tag line: Two sisters. A mysterious house. And a man searching for the truth. That sounded positively gothic, a niche of fiction I thoroughly enjoy. It was quotes like, "A mesmerizing blend of alchemy and sexuality. Prepare to be seduced." and phrases like "fraught with eroticism" and "dangerous sex" that brought forth mental images of a witchy ménage a trios that put me off the idea of diving right into this book. Strange, inner jacket comparisons with The Matrix, Interview with a Vampire, and The Historian did not evoke much confidence that this would be a book that I would ultimately enjoy despite liking all those things. Having just spent the last several hours hanging on every word of the last 200 pages of Season of the Witch, I have never been more happy to say, "Boy, was I ever wrong!" The old adage of "don't judge a book by its cover", or more accurately, "its cover blurbs", held very true for my experience with Natasha Mostert's gripping novel. From the book jacket: Gabriel Blackstone is a hacker, information thief, and skilled "remote viewer"-he makes an excellent living stealing other people's secrets. When a former lover asks him to look into the disappearance of her stepson, Gabriel's investigations lead him to Monk House, a rambing Victorian home where time seems to stand still. Gabriel becomes increasingly bewitched by the house, and by its owners... Contrary to what the jacket blurbs would lead one to believe, this is not some sort of occultish erotic thriller. Oh it is a thriller all right, make no mistake, but the melodramatic overtones of "eroticism" and "sexuality" belie the fact that this is a straight up gothic thriller, set in modern times. Having had the experience I have just had with Season of the Witch, I can confirm that in one way the jacket blurbs got it right: "Prepare to be seduced" is a perfectly accurate warning, though possibly not in the way the sentiment was intended. It is obvious from my opening quotes that I was trepidatious going into this book. It didn't take long before I came to realize that what I had in my hands was much better than any initial expectations. I began reading in small doses, fitting in a few pages here and there as I had time over the weekend. Those few pages turned into larger doses and soon I was just that, seduced. Mostert's writing, the way she pulls the reader in as Gabriel is slowly lured into the lives of the two mysterious M women, is artful in its seduction. And once you are woven into her web of words, there is no getting out. I hit a point early this evening, right around the halfway point of the novel, in which I realized that any activity I had planned for the night was due to be rescheduled. I wa

Now, I am not much of a pleasure reader, but when I saw the review for this book in Cosmopolitan magazine, it intrigued me. I've always been one for the supernatural - witchery in particular - but this book went beyond my every expectation. It has everything - magic, suspense, love, sex...... Ms. Mostert is a fantastic writer. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to expand their knowledge on what magic can be and enjoy the ride. Oh, but don't plan on having it to read forever, it's hard to put down! I read it in only 3 days (about 395 pgs. hardcover), and I work 40 hours a week. IT'S THAT GOOD! Can't wait to read The Midnight Side~

I was completely prepared to read this novel quickly and toss off a summary-laden review. I don't read a lot of "goth SF," as Publishers Weekly called SEASON OF THE WITCH, and I thought the lush book jacket looked a bit romance-y fancy. Mea maxima culpa. I judged a book by its cover, and I was wrong. Once begun, I was enthralled and only wish I had been able to read it all in one sitting instead of having to interrupt its progress with mundane things like work and meals. Natasha Mostert has done something fine and rare: she has created an erotically-charged atmosphere that has little of the salacious about it. Gabriel Blackstone is a professional information thief and former member of Eyestorm, a government-sanctioned research study involving Blackstone and his fellow "RVs" ("remote viewers" --- in ordinary fictional parlance, mindreaders and telepaths). He is hired by his former lover's husband, William Whittington, to investigate a son's disappearance, and he becomes entwined in the lives of sisters Minnaloushe and Morrighan Monk. The Sisters Monk --- one curvaceous and titian, the other muscular and raven-haired --- could quickly become stock figures of clichéd fun. Mostert exerts a delicate control over detail, never allowing her "camera" to linger too long on one sister or the other. Added to their beauty is their mystery: the sisters seem to be witches, and the arrogant Blackstone believes he can crack their code before they crack him. Here's where Mostert shines. A former academic and journalist with degrees in linguistics and lexicography, she takes an ancient idea (I won't spoil it!) and uses it to create a modern dilemma. If information is power, then the person who holds the key to that information holds the most power. Mostert wisely grounds her intellectual facts with real-life details. The Monks might be alchemists, but they are also sensualists. Their Victorian pile of a home is filled with roses in all states of bloom, books, papers, jars, bottles and many different colors and scents. As Gabriel becomes more and more (forgive me) bewitched by the women, he unlocks a diary written by one that reveals the author has fallen in love with him. But since she refers to everyone only by first initial, he has no idea which sister it is. Meanwhile, the reader becomes increasingly aware that Gabriel's arrogance is not merely a trope to call attention to his Leading Man status --- it actually is his tragic flaw. As his old love Frankie watches her sick husband decline, Gabriel must decide if Robbie Whittington was murdered and, again, by which sister. The twists and turns continue until the very last chapter, with Mostert using her delicate touch to keep the pace tight yet languorous. I didn't want it to end. --- Reviewed by Bethanne Kelly Patrick