Mystical Paths [Mass Market Paperback]

Susan Howatch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 24, 1993

When Nicholas Darrow follows his father into the Anglican priesthood in 1968 at the age of twenty-five, he is fleeing a troubled past. But when his fascination with his own psychic powers results in a near-tragedy, Nicholas must face the truth about his relationship with his father before he can find his way out of the seemingly impenetrable darkness that engulfs him.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Arguably no one writing today can equal Howatch's ability to write compelling novels that combine theology and psychology in a complex, fast-moving plot offering beautifully delineated characters and the suspense of a mystery/thriller. This fifth volume in her sequence dealing with the Church of England is also very much a story of fathers and sons. At 25, Nicholas Darrow, scion of eminent churchman Jonathan Darrow (seen in Glamorous Powers ) has inherited his father's psychic gifts, but overconfidence in his abilities and a dangerously frayed relationship with his father lead him close to the edge of an emotional abyss. Asked by the widow of his friend Christian Aysgarth to investigate her husband's death--Christian was drowned when swept overboard while sailing, but she fears that he committed suicide--Nick embarks on a quest that uncovers dark secrets in the linked lives of his friends and family. Howatch gradually reveals that brilliant, much-admired Christian had love affairs with both men and women, took drugs and was probably nearing a psychotic breakdown when he died. She makes a credible case for his demonic possession, which Nick attempts to prove via several ill-considered acts that bring peril to him and others. The novel's considerable suspense increases as Nick uncovers one astonishing revelation after another, and the denouement will leave readers breathless. 55,000 first printing; BOMC alternate.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

The air is thick with incense and mysteries (both secular and non) in this fifth smashing novel in Howatch's High Church series (Spontaneous Risks, 1990, etc.). Whoever would have thought that she could turn 20th-century theology into bestsellerdom? But she's done it again, this time reminding us that she's a mistress of the generational novel as well--because, here, the sons of heroes (actually, psychically wounded antiheroes, scrambling back to God) from former volumes step up to, well, the altar. It doesn't take 25-year-old Nick Darrow long to get into deep spiritual trouble here; after all, he's not only psychically touched (like his 88-year-old father, Jon, from Glamorous Powers) but young, cocky, impatient, sexually hyperactive--and, to make matters worse, it's 1968. On the eve of Nick's ordination, a debutante friend convinces him to look into the death of Christian Aysgarth, a brilliant Oxford don who died suddenly in a boating accident, leaving behind a wife agonized with guilt because she thinks it was suicide. So, Nick to the rescue, with a botched exorcism and not-so-botched seduction of the grieving widow. Such occurrences, along with Nick's double life as a Casanova among working girls, make him dimly aware that his personality is frayed, but he can't open up to his saintly father for fear that the beloved old guy will die of horror. Nick plunges on, then, eventually getting so obsessed with the Aysgarth affair that he believes himself possessed by the dead man. That's when Father Lewis Hall shows up in his groovy white VW to take Nick by the hand and lead him to the light. Along the way back, Christian's death is resolved in a spiffy little climax that includes an attempted murder, an exorcism conducted--quite successfully this time--by Nick, and a spiritual healing between Nick and his father. If only spiritual guides showed up like fairy godmothers in real life! Howatch even brings psychological and theological meaning to Nick's salvation. A sure-fire hit. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett; 1st US Ballantine Bks Ed. June 1993 edition (April 24, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449221229
• ISBN-13: 978-0449221228
• Product Dimensions: 4.1 x 1 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #733,435 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Conflict, replicas, and "The Dark!", March 24, 2001

By 

Elizabeth G. Melillo "gloriana" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mystical Paths (Mass Market Paperback)

Susan Howatch once again shows brilliance in characterisation, expression of spiritual truths, and integration of Jungian psychology in creating this strange and rather macabre picture of conflict, intensity, and the darkness of deception. While the plot has notable deficiencies, particularly in some major scenes in the last quarter of the action, the author manages to present a deep and thorough, if sometimes horrifying, picture of what seems an eternal battle of good and evil.

Set in 1968, when the previous modern certainties of the stability of church and society were crumbling, the story of Nicholas Darrow shows us both the tearing conflicts within one man's life, where his faith is overshadowed by his intense tendency to use his psychic gifts for power and manipulation, and the overall despair of a world which seemed totally unstable. The popular crowd who form secondary characters deteriorate rapidly from a privileged and party-loving group into addiction, mental illness, suicide, murder, or desperate, even pathological, promiscuity.

The main characters, Nicholas and his father Jonathan Darrow, both possess rare psychic gifts, and their inability to see situations clearly in relation to one another stems from the mutual belief that the son is a replica of his father. The differences, which manage to pointedly reflect the times as well, are drastic. Where Jonathan, whose insight and wisdom are clear in the various novels of the series in which he appears, is grounded in Christian mysticism, Nicholas has fallen into a gnostic approach, which he sees as superior, and his manifestation of psychic power is frighteningly manipulative in its various plot depictions. Though father and son have certain common weaknesses, Jonathan is sustained by classic mystic theology and monastic experience, where Nicholas (until his own turning point) cannot except the elements of conversion, and, despite giving them a Christian flavour in his own mind, engages in displays of (mostly apparent) unusual powers that seem close to sorcery.

Lovers of the series will find that action in this book enlightens the portrayals of characters who appear elsewhere. For example, the full consequences of the tragedy involving Venetia Flaxton, which is set in 1963 in Scandalous Risks, are sadly clear in this 1968 setting. Readers who know Charles Ashworth from other novels undoubtedly will feel Nicholas's frustration keenly when, in his turning to Charles for assistance, one who might be expected to be comforting and wise is quite the contrary because he has decided what Nicholas is trying to say without giving him a chance to speak. The same Lewis Hall who, in other volumes, will be invaluable to Ashworth and, much later, rather exasperating in a joint healing ministry with Nick, is here "at his best," a strength for both Nicholas and Jonathan.

It is unfortunate that most of the action in this book involves elaborately staged dramatic, which can obscure the essential themes even if it delivers certain key messages powerfully. However, in the outcome it is an exceptional depiction of the hard path to self-knowledge (from which even wise spiritual guides of 88 find constant), resolution of internal conflict, providence and, ultimately, redemption.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Quite Enjoyable, April 9, 2003

By 

Tammy L. Schilling "tammyl84" (MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mystical Paths (Mass Market Paperback)

Mystical Paths is my first experience with a Susan Howatch book. I found that I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters are solid, complex, very different, and interesting. I truly felt like these were people that I would like to get to know better.

I won't reiterate the plot here, since other reviewers have done it well. I will just say that this book has elements that many readers will likely find enjoyable for pure fun reading: demonic possession, exorcism, mystery, and suspense. There are also complex elements for the reader that likes more meat to a story:guilt, pride, vocation, growing up, and parental relation complexs.

My only very tiny complaint about this book is that in a few places it bogs down a bit, though it does tend to recover quickly. Overall, though, I highly recommend this book and will be seeking out the other titles in this series.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars introducing Nick..., December 6, 2001

By 

Sharon Maas ([e-mail]) (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mystical Paths (Mass Market Paperback)

The second trilogy in the Starbridge books takes place in the 1960's. In this book Jon Darrow's son Nick is now a young man shortly before his ordination as a priest. Nick is in no way a model ordinand. Like his father he has psychic powers, and cannot resist the urge to show them off as parlour tricks to impress the girls. He has quite a collection of female admirers and has it all figured out - how to separate the nice girls from the bad ones, and, of course, when to go to Confession (not compulsory in the Church of England) only to start all over again. The central story in this book is Nick's obsession with finding out the truth about a friend who has died under mysterious circumstances. There is also the father-son dynamic between him and his father Jon - now living as a recluse - and Nick's problems with keeping his psychic powers under control. Nick tends to blunder from one mess into the other - but remains a loveable and sincere young man who needs to learn the lesson: I CAN BE WRONG.

In spite of Nick's charms I wasn't entirely captivated by this book. I never really developed an interest in Christian and couldn't quite follow Nick's fascinationwith him. Also I found the psychic-occult element a little tedious this time around; it had been dealt with adequately in Glamorous Powers, I felt. Nevertheless it's an important part of the series and it was wonderful getting to know Nick, and witnessing the love between him and Jon.