Dec. 22nd, 2008
Much like Speak Daggers to Her, its predecessor, Book of Moons is a tight, thoughtful little mystery. Its selling point isn't necessarily the complexity of the crime at hand; since this book's only a couple hundred pages in length, there's not much time for things to get too complex. Rather, what makes it interesting is Bast and her interactions with everyone in her neopagan community, and in particular as a followup to the events of Book 1.
Several of Bast's fellow Wiccans are noticing strange disappearances of their personal Books of Shadows. But the strangeness of this is nothing compared to the claim by one Ned Skelton that he has discovered the Book of Moons-the tome with the secrets of Mary, Queen of Scots, which can prove that modern Wicca's lineage extends back much farther than anyone had ever proved before. When a shocking death overshadows both these events, though, Bast is pulled unwillingly into dealing with all three.
All in all, a not very surprising book; the astute reader will figure out fairly quickly who the culprit is, given the nature of Bast's community and who she interacts with on a regular basis. But I actually liked this in some ways better than Book 1. Since Bast and her community are now established, there's less of the obligatory addressing the reader about her (presumed) misconceptions about the religion, and more story as a result. Three stars.
Several of Bast's fellow Wiccans are noticing strange disappearances of their personal Books of Shadows. But the strangeness of this is nothing compared to the claim by one Ned Skelton that he has discovered the Book of Moons-the tome with the secrets of Mary, Queen of Scots, which can prove that modern Wicca's lineage extends back much farther than anyone had ever proved before. When a shocking death overshadows both these events, though, Bast is pulled unwillingly into dealing with all three.
All in all, a not very surprising book; the astute reader will figure out fairly quickly who the culprit is, given the nature of Bast's community and who she interacts with on a regular basis. But I actually liked this in some ways better than Book 1. Since Bast and her community are now established, there's less of the obligatory addressing the reader about her (presumed) misconceptions about the religion, and more story as a result. Three stars.
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