Customer Reviews

The Black Act

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

 

 

The Black Act is a suspenseful, heart-felt, dark-fantasy tale based on a unique mythos as to the creation of our world. Written in a well-executed, non-linear fashion, Bohmer's evocative imagination whisks us away to an old world--- alien, yet familiar.

Ever since the death of their Guild Mother, Anna and Claire's world has been tough. Anna--a second level initiate into the ways of magic--feels her sister has changed. When Anna starts having strange and vivid dreams concerning the beginning of the world--even the inner-thoughts of those who dwelled within it--she approaches her scribe teacher, Rosalind for advice.

Rosalind instructs Anna to scribe what she has dreamed. It is to be part of The Record. Anna, only a second level initiate questions the motives. She feels she is not ready. But she has no choice. For some reason, Anna is watching the forging of the clans that comprise of the Dalthwein lands and the story must be told.

Her sister Claire spends more and more time with her secret lover, Luthien, from the south woods. Anna can't take the pain of being put aside by her sister and her secrets any longer. She implores her for answers. Claire appraises her sister's face to see if she is ready for the truth... the last words their mother spoke before she died.

Once the truth is spoken, Anna's life is turned upside down with a horrible realization that could re-write history in no one's favor. Anna's dreams continue, and when they start contradicting the status-quo of history, she has no choice but to seek help from her Scribe teacher; only to find the harsh truths told by her sister, and the dreams are one in the same.

The Black Act is epic in scope. Bohmer digs deep and immerses us into a world that is fantastical, yet tangible. The use of allegory in history is done very well and is put to good use. The people we come to know along the way are just as human as we are. What truly makes this a gem--aside from creating an entirely believable and fantastical world, unique and rich--is Bohmer's powerful voice and delivery. All of this coalesces into a tale that haunts you long after finishing it. The Black Act heralds the presence of a formidable story-teller.

Which is more powerful? The unyielding curse of hatred, or the enduring blessings of forgiveness? The bonds between sisters, or the pull of an ages-long curse? Louise Bohmer's The Black Act explores these questions, not through one, but dozens of black acts spanning the lives of many generations of one family.

The present day story begins with initiate Wise Women Anna and Claire, twin sisters who have been raised in the sacred fae valley to act as witches, guardians of the land, and as the diplomats between the humans and the fae. But the Wise Women have been harboring a secret about a constant cycle of violence within the guild from their fae masters, and Claire and Anna represent the culmination of these terrible misdeeds.

The names of the fae races may seem familiar, but nothing in this book is described in a traditional manner. The fae are creatures of wood, vines, moss, and fungus. Their physical descriptions are exquisitely graphic, making them both terrifying and intriguing at the same time.

The first two thirds of the book are strong on visual description, scenery, and internal character development. All of these elements are juggled effectively, and with a pacing that is almost breakneck. The first two acts are a true page-turner in every sense of the meaning.

But once the chain of events surrounding the curse become clear in the third act of the book, the chain of deaths all became motivated for the same selfish reasons. Because of this, they felt repetitive and slowed down what had been a blazing fast pace.

The book wraps up these black acts with a tribunal and with a demonstration of poetic justice, bringing the story full circle. Though it seems that no one is capable of forgiving during many points in the third act, the book still manages to close on a message of hope.

I give The Black Act four stars, and I would heartily recommend it to fans of thought-provoking, vivid fantasy and horror.

I recently received "The Black Act" from Amazon and read the entire thing cover to cover in two days. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and highly recommend it to anyone who likes a good mix of horror/fantasy and just plain inventive fiction. Ms. Bohmer has created a memorable world, peopled with fascinating characters.

The Black Act is a dark fantasy story set in a world filled with witches and fae. The vividly described world is plagued by a curse sprouting from a long-lived prejudice toward the fae by a single family who won't give up their hatred even in death. The story begins with Anna and Claire, half-breed sisters who discover their family's relationship to the curse as the story unfolds. It then follows various family members as the curse works it dark magic on them. The characters are well-drawn and we sympathize with them as their loyalties are torn between two worlds. Because the story spans such a great deal of time and introduces so many characters from different generations I did at times forget the genealogy, but the threat to the characters was always high. Often the effects of the curse were gruesomely described. I would recommend The Black Act to readers who enjoy epic fantasy. I'm looking forward to the next book from this author.

Sometimes discovering an author feels like you've found a bit of treasure, especially when the author hails from the same region as you. Such is the case with reading The Black Act by Louise Bohmer (a fellow Atlantic Canadian).

In her debut novel, she weaves an intricate story set in a mythological world inspired by Celtic folklore. Bohmer cites some of her influences as Tolkien and Lovecraft, which become apparent with her deft ability at world building. I'm not a guy who goes for the Tolkien kind of stuff, myself. I had presumed this novel had a more contemporary setting in which the mythical characters would appear, but it's firmly entrenched in that other-worldliness of so many epic fantasies. Two things helped me in getting over my prejudices towards the genre, as Bohmer's tale carries an undertone of horror and is a remarkably quick read.

The story starts out with twin sisters, Anna and Claire, who seem poised to relive a family curse involving satyrs (wonderfully rendered as beings made from the very earth they inhabit) and other Wood People (the mythical creatures that populate the land). As members of the Wise Women (a sect in the human Dalthwein clans), they're training to become witches, but forces are at work to disrupt them and exploit a generations old curse known as the Black Act in order to reignite a war. While Claire engages in a secret relationship with a satyr that carries a foreboding sense of history about to repeat itself, Anna starts having violent dreams of their ancestors that could hold the key to their preservation. Or their ruination.

The relationship between the twins with its turmoil and empathy was probably the biggest hook for me--not to mention the wonderful array of creatures brought into the story from folklore. And they are grand in the sense that they harken to a truer interpretation of mythology instead of the homogenized children tales provided by Disney. But the story tends to dip and dive from past to present and between point of views, as the twins' ancestors have their stories told as well. For a book that clocks in at 226 pages, I would have preferred the focus honed in on the two sisters. Fantasies do like to take a broader scope, however, and the backstory involving Anna's and Claire's ancestors does add some meat to the bone. In fact, those storylines set in the past have a habit of stealing the show.

The Black Act offers a solid debut effort from an author with an inarguable passion and deft talent at making fairy tales more tangible than what I'm used to. And I think it speaks to the potential of her future work when the biggest gripe I have about the book is the choice of font--Courier was an odd choice for a dark fantasy. If you're into reading fantasies with a darker bent than most, you might want to consider this one.

THE BLACK ACT is one of those rare books that transports the reader- mind and body- into a world like no other. Populated by a list of characters so unique and original, peppered with folklore and rivalry and a plot that is quite simply addicting-(one must read it to fully appreciate the many layers of storytelling)- by the time one finishes THE BLACK ACT- the reader wishes to turn back to page one and remain in the wonderous world created by the brilliant Louise Bohmer!!
Rick
Founder- THE JAMES MASON CLASSIC BRITISH BOOK CLUB

This was really hard to put down. The characters were rich and vivid, I got the feeling they were based off real people. This entire world sprung to life and I found it hard to believe this was the author's first book. The twists and turns were completely unexpected. Kudos to Louise, this was brilliant!

The Black Act blew me away. I don't know what I was expecting, but I have to tell you, this far exceeded anything that was nestling in the cobwebbed recesses of my cranial dungeon. It was so magically charged, lyrical, and filled with such stark imagery... there were times when my breath was literally taken away. (Louise Bohmer has) built a rich and beautiful world filled with wonder, excitement, and a darkness that is as visceral as darkness can be. (Her) depiction of the Fae was nothing short of brilliant, culminating in a dark and terrible feeling of loss and hopelessness that feeds the story so well. This is, in a very real sense, (Ms. Bohmer's) coming out party.

~Bob Freeman
www.occultdetective.com