The Heart of the Fire

After reading this book, I will never take for granted the liberties of today. I became one with Fiona (whose story is told) through her love, fear, joy, sadness, strength, and pain. There are no words to describe the power that this book holds. Being taken back to a time that I felt a personal connection, I found myself knowing, feeling, and seeing as I held onto each and every chapter. I have purchased additional copies of this book for my own coven sisters. You are sure to treasure this book as I have. I pray that the Goddess sends love and healing into the past to Fiona, Annie, and the other brave innocent spirits who fell to the hands of hatred. To Cerridwen Fallingstar, thank you for sharing your memories. Blessed Be!

Cerridwen Fallingstar's novel is amazing. Her writing style is not that original or beautiful, but her descriptions manage to reenchant the world...after reading the first few chapters I went outside, cast a circle, and felt a more palpable energy than I have recently. As Fiona, the main character, grows and changes, one can't help but be caught up in her world. Once she met the minstrel i felt something catch and i thought, 'ah, that's a lot like the kind of person i'm looking out for..." And once the witchhunter came, Goddess, I felt my heart sink heavy with some sort of collective memory.Even though I am a Witch, the New-Agey, simplistic politics that Fallingstar adds at the end got my goat a little bit. You see, she claims that Fiona McNair is one of her past incarnations..which I find simultaneously annoying and believable. At any rate, this book is not to be missed.

Reading this book was like going home for me. The descriptions of the countryside and rituals, the smells and feelings invoked transported me through time. I read the first 225 pages in a day. I highly recomend this book to anyone interested in the old ways, herb lore, and magik.The love scenes will make you squirm in your seat and long to run your fingers through the long smokey hair of Annie or press your face in to the strong chest of the minstrel. I wish it could have lasted forever.I was not prepared for the brutality at the end of the book, however, and felt the wind knocked from me. I ached to help Fiona, feeling every stab of pain she felt... I sobbed, and wept for not only her experience but for all those who have suffered in the name of "God" and religion.This is an outstanding book but be wary the end is very graphic and brutal.Blessed Be.

This is an unforgettable book about the ancient Goddess religion and its survival even to the 16th century. For women, reading it is a particularly empowering experience, a reclaiming of our ancient heritage. I think, however, it could be an empowering experience for men as well. Fallingstar shows both what it means to be a man in a male supremacist culture, and what it can mean to be a man outside of patriarchy, in a culture that celebrates the sacred humanity of both woman and man, goddess and god. One of the underlying themes of the book is how male domination corrupts men, and like all supremacism does, destroys their humanity. We see young Fiona and Annie, best friends, learn about their ancient heritage from the elder women of the village, a heritage stretching in to ancient times, perhaps to the origins of humanity. We experience their intense bond, their falling in love, with each other and with young men who cross their path. As another reviewer noted, each eventually meets her true mate, both men of power and magic. Ms Fallingstar's portrayal of the lovemaking scenes was consciousness-raising for me, since it showed once and for all that there is a definite, indivisible line between the erotic and the pornographic. One is based and grounded in humanity; the other in ownership and domination. Women have had it beaten into us that if we are anti-porn, we are anti-sex. It was joyous to re-discover that this is not so, and to find writing that depicts that so beautifully.This is a story about the Burning Times, so it does end tragically. I want to include a warning here for anyone thinking about getting this book for their teen daughter, or any reader who is a survivor of violence. The end of the book contains vivid descriptions of rape and torture from the victim's point of view and is traumatic to read. Otherwise, this book is a must.

Being a Wiccan of Celtic descent, many of the events struck a cord of resonance in my soul... If you enjoyed Mists of Avalon and The Forest House, you will love the Heart of the Fire.