Customer Reviews

Beneath a Mountain Moon

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I got my start in the Craft with To Ride A Silver Broomstick. I became such a fan of Silver RavenWolf's non-fiction work that I thought her fiction work would probably be just as good. It's a book that should be read in about 1 to 3 sittings, without tons of time inbetween sittings, so you don't lose track of who is who. There are a lot of characters to keep track of in this book, because nearly all of them have an important role to play. While Silver does a good job of juggling them throughout most of the book, I feel, as another reviewer did, that the ending somewhat fizzles.

I can't help but wonder if Silver is planning a sequel to Beneath a Mountain Moon because of the way she ends the book. I could certainly see a sequel for a few of the minor characters whose fates we are left to ponder where there is no resolution.

I found it hard at times to get behind Elizabeyta, the protagonist of this book. I would have liked to have known more about her as a person, not just that she's been coming to Whiskey Springs for two years on a regular basis, that she has this mission to defeat the evil forces who want to kill her family and that the minister next door likes her. I feel that the reader isn't given the chance to really get inside the protagonist's head (and I think a major reason for that was the focus on all the other characters) and while I wanted her mission to succeed, I found myself caring less and less what happened to her personally as the story went on. I started caring more about some of the minor characters who are fleshed out more emotionally than Elizabeyta ever is.

I liked a lot of the elements of the Craft Elizabeyta practises. Some of it was quite fantastic, but I think it's all right to take some artistic licence with fictional writing, and Silver's fantastic happenings in this book are grounded at least partly in reality. I also liked the echoes of lessons from Silver's non-fiction books throughout this book.

The only thing I didn't like with Craft practises in this book was how the Belladonna family was so secretive with the fact they were witches. I found it especially odd that Silver, who from her non-fiction seems so progressive in the Craft, would portray this as a norm for a family of witches. I think this book would have benefited from Elizabeyta fighting the evil forces with more members of her family; I think it would have allowed us to get to know her better as a person for we would have seen more of her emotional connections. I found a lot of things about the Belladonnas to be ridiculous, but I don't want to spoil the plot on anyone, so I won't mention them. But I'm sure you'll notice them if you read the book.

To sum up, it's a good tale for the most part, with a few problems with plot endings and development of characters. But if you like Silver RavenWolf's work, I recommend reading this book.

I've read and thoroughly enjoyed various works of Silver Ravenwolf. However, this is the first time I've read one of her fictitious works. I liked the way it started out but about a third of the way into the novel I began to get confused and would have to go back to check on who's who again. Of course being a fictitious work it offers an exaggerated slant on the rituals of the solitary - at least I've never personally known a solitary or a coven for that matter who was able to conjure up an entity with whom they were able to bond with on a very physical level accompanied with suitable fireworks of the fire and brimstone sort.

The premise of the book vaguely (only very vaguely) reminded me of the love-hate relationship between Sybil Leek and Aleister Crowley, except in the case of the Belladonna and Blackthorne clans it was pure hate, no love at all.

Overall I have to say I was disappointed in the book. I couldn't seem to latch onto any one particular character, including Elizabeyta, that I could say I emphatized with. I didn't care for the ending and felt that several threads were left dangling: while we could pretty much draw our conclusions with the major thrust of the story, the fate of some of the minor characters was not clear.

First off I must say that I am an avid reader of all of Silver's works and am looking forward to her next ficticious work, but I believe she should have included more of the true side of the Craft and have made the villian a bit more 3-demensional. I was able to fall right into the book like a comfey couch and re-read many times over. It is a lovely book and I would recommend it to anyone interested in a tale about the Craft by one of its most well-known practioners.

I thought that this book was fantastic. She was so descriptive and vivid in her writing that I felt there. Her main character was very mysterious and her past was slightly obscure and that made me want to read more to know more. The villain was briliantly concocted and the vilians family seemes perfect to be trouble. There were quite a lot of minor characters but I felt it gave the story more. I especially liked how she brought them all in at the end (the way they didn't necessarily live but helped out the main character).She fleshed them out all through the book giving them quricks and fantstic personality. She did a wonderful job on encorporting the ways on the craft also. Another thing that I found really attractive about the book is the fact that in such a fast paced novel and wth the plot so serious she found the time to encorporate at least some humor in to it. I thought this was one of the best book I've ever read & I personally can not wait to read her other book, Murder at Witches Bluff.

Silver did not set out to make this book realistic. This is a fictional novel, with fictional characters. However she, like Dion Fortune sought to include certain aspects of the magickal practices by having her characters use REAL aspects of solitary magick. While some of the reviews of this book are less favorable, they come from the aspect of those who know the Craft from perhaps a somewhat limited perspective.

This book was not designed to be a real account of a real character, however I can tell you that every bit of what Elizabeyta did is very real from the perspective of Solitary Witchcraft, from the preparation and execution of ritual in the magickal circle, to conjuring divinity for specific purposes, to the use of herbs and oils for protection wards, to the drawing down of the Morrigan to fight the evil forces of the Blackthorn clan - these are all things which Witches do throughout the course of their lives. Having been born an instinctual Witch and having practiced a blend of Scottish/British Witchcraft for a number of years, I can vouch that nothing about the magickal practices used by the main character of the book was fantasy. Those that think so need to broaden their perspectives and do a little more homework.

Silver RavenWolf, like Dion Fortune, attempts to teach by telling a story, rather than providing a how-to manual. Sometimes when we have had enough of how-to books, this book can get the magickal juices flowing again and provide a fresh perspective on the subject.

This book teaches that magickal practices of The Craft are performed by everyday people like you and I, and the magickal results happen for those same people, very much real and in tune with the signs of the times.

Silver RavenWolf... give us more!

Published more than ten years ago when Silver Ravenwolf was one of Llewellyn's most successful authors and before the backlash that her non-fiction works brought down on her, Beneath a Mountain Moon was Ravenwolf's first foray into the genre of magickal realism. It tells the story of Elizabethya Belladonna, a fam-trad witch, who has sporadically come to the town of Whiskey Springs, Pennsylvania over the previous two years to investigate the death of her grandmother and her grandmother's estranged sister.

As the mystery unwinds we learn that the Belladonna clan has had more than its fair share of accidents, fires, and deaths, including Elizabethya parents, which they have come to believe, are all part of a greater plan by an unknown enemy. Rising to become the head of the Belladonna Family as their matriarch, leader, and protector, Elizabethya must prove that she is worthy of the position by solving the mystery of these murders, reveal the culprit(s), and bring them to justice.

Though she has come to Whiskey Spring alone and with only her own powers to protect her, Elizabethya quickly draws those to her who can help her on her quest in the form of her Protestant Priest neighbor, Lee Becker; Mason, the owner of the local funereal home and amateur historian; and Emma, a 80 year old Pow-Wow healer with more power then even she realizes. In addition, Elizabethya has allies in the spiritual world in the form of two ghosts, the angel of death, and two Goddesses.

While Ravenwolf has been criticized for her non-fiction works, I found the inclusion of real magickal techniques in the book to be both entertaining as well as educational. Although the educational aspects of the story are presented in a realistic manner, some readers may find it somewhat preachy. Ravelwolf does an excellent job of presenting the existence of Pagan deities by having them take active parts in the plot, however I would have liked her to have shown the existence of the Christian god to his believers as well. It seems that in the universe of Beneath a Mountain Moon, the Christian god does not exists. While the book had a great number of characters, I felt that each had a necessary part in the story and that they were not superfluous in anyway. In a few instances I had to backtrack a bit to remember who was who.

Despite its few flaws, I found Beneath a Mountain Moon to be an enjoyable read and would recommend it to any lover of magical fiction, provided you read it for what is it....a fictional magical murder mystery.

First I like the author. I read this story a while ago, but my impressions that I remember are that the story was nicely woven together in a few strings, a few of the sideline story plots seemed a little thin and the main plot was about two hereditary lines of traditional witches where one was the good line (the main charactor) and the other (obviosly the bad line) was on the hunt to destroy the good line because of some hard feelings starting a century ago... (OK, so I will have to admit that I thought that was a little juvinille for a plot, but at the same time I suppose the world could produce more strange real life plots and therefore not completely unbelievable).... What really caught me in the book was the main charactor being a Witch who is on the hunt to figure some strange things out..I really really enjoyed this woman!!!! Even with its flaws I enjoyed it and I enjoyed experiencing through the heroine and some of the side charactors(as truth being implied in fiction, I believe Ravenwolfe put a lot of true witchcraft in this book) I recommened this book and I might be rereading it someday (something I hardly do with books :)

OK, the writer in me agrees with some of the reviews here, most notably the "adjectiv-y" writing bothered me in the beginning.

Once the book gets rolling, however, the story becomes "enchanting" enough to get past that and I found myself most interested in the charecter development, (especially Emma, cool charecter.)and the plot, added bonus of the witchcraft twist to it.

some find it a little far-fetched, but if you look beyond the fantasy, (it IS fiction, after all, right?) look past the medium and see the message, the fundamental values of the pagan society are well represented. The rituals are beautifully described, offering a peek into the witches circle for non-magickal people, and for those in the craft, an example and a lesson on the extent of your gifts, and how they must be used without intent to harm. As with any book concerning the Craft, you will take from it what you need, or what you are ready to hear and learn, and enjoy the rest.

The witch in me is absolutly thrilled that Silver Ravenwolf blessed us with such a fun and captivating story, I look forward to more! I am a big fan of her non-fiction, this is one Sister who "Gets it" and has the courage, kindness, and power to share her knowlege with us.

This book starts out in a sort of intriguing light, and I'd say maybe a little halfway through, but then the events start to get very predictable, and takes a very long time to get to a very disapointing climax. There's also a lot of characters to try and keep track of, which I personally found to be quite annoying, because while she's giving you the background story on all of them, it takes a few chapters to actually go into how they're involved in the story. It's also very hard to root for a main character who carries a somewhat elitist attitude. Also, even though the book does revolve around witchcraft, I found that in some parts, it's almost like reading craft propaganda, and tends to stress alot of importance of family traditions, and portrays people that practice the craft on the outside of this as incompetent, or at the very least not as "in touch" as those in a family coven. As I said before, alot of people will be either annoyed, disapointed or both at how long and drawn out it is, just to get to a very disapointing climax and the fact that just about every character in the book is eventually routinely killed off. Oh one more thing, I know you'll see my name is Satan's little helper, please do not think that this review is coming from a biased opinion just because I'm a satanist. I like to give everything a fair shot, but this book just fell short.

In a classic battle between good and evil, I found "Beneath a Mountain Moon" to be a breath of fresh air in it's encompassing an exciting bit of fiction with a realistic use of positive witchcraft. Typically, fiction that involves the craft tends to run long on the dramatic, feeding on the media hype of green skinned witches and brewing cauldrons. This book, however, shatters the myths of media and while it does involve the spirit of a blue-faced hag, she does not cater to the typical by any means.

Elizabeyta is a modern heroin, who happens to be the destined savior of her covenstead. Blessed with the magickal heritage of her Scotch-Irish family, she returns to Whiskey Springs in search of the one who killed her grandmother. She knows it is not safe for her there, but discovers that she has inherited a dangerous, generations-old, battle between her family and one of dark powers.

With an interesting bit of past life influence, the characters are intertwined and lead a fateful existence as they struggle to discover who they are and how they can help each other. With the help of a local healer, a few family spirits and a deity or two, the reader is brought through many an exciting chapter and turn of events.

Silver Ravenwolf most certainly knows her facts, being the author of 16 other titles on, or about, witchcraft, not to mention being the Clan Head of the Black Forest Family that includes 15 covens in the United States. It is no wonder that this book demonstrates so many aspects of the craft, but is also very professionally written. The drama, horror and depth of feeling throughout the book make it a wonderful work of fiction.

For anyone looking for something a bit out of the ordinary, and positively bone-chilling at times, "Beneath a Mountain Moon" is the book for you.