Other Gods: The Averillan Chronicles [Paperback]

Barbara Reichmuth Geisler (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Women prevail in Barbara Reichmuth Geisler's first novel, Other Gods: The Averillan Chronicles, set in the aftermath of the Norman invasion of England in the mid-12th century. Dame Averilla struggles to protect her Benedictine abbey when an important book is stolen, another nun goes missing and an alleged witch suddenly returns.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Lost Coast Press (February 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1882897641
• ISBN-13: 978-1882897643
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,234,667 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Delightful New Twist on an Old Genre, September 17, 2002

By 

Elen Pass Brandt (Northern California, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Other Gods: The Averillan Chronicles (Paperback)

When I picked up this delightful book, I fully expected it to be a "no-brainer" quickie read -- what a surprise! Barbara Geisler weaves a fascinating, well-balanced blend of mystery, history, anthropology, and arcane and religious studies. If you are a history/anthropology buff -- you will be delighted. The author gives enough detail to feed your imagination and teach -- but not so much that it becomes a pedantic bore. If you like mysteries -- this is as well-crafted as most of the better ones on the market. If faith and religion are your bailiwick -- there are wonderful little bread crumbs left on the trail of this tale that enhance the experience and give the reader a little extra to ponder. It is an easy book to read -- but not "lightweight". I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to the future offerings in the "Averillan Chronicles" Highly recommended!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Set in the twelfth century Norman England, June 3, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Other Gods: The Averillan Chronicles (Paperback)

Other Gods: The Averillan Chronicles is a female protagonist-centered response to the Brother Cadfael mysteries. Set in the twelfth century Norman England of the wars of King Stephen and Empress Matilda, This challenging-paced medieval mystery incorporates historical details of daily living and speech patterns as well as beautiful landscape and environment descriptions into the tale. Dame Averilla, infirmaress of the Benedictine abbey at Shaftesbury, seeks to find the lost Laece Book, King Alfred's collection of precious herbal lore, and to find the lost Dame Agnes, thought to be possessed. Her search abilities, sleuthing skills, and faith are put to the extreme test by a complex struggle for power among Norman and Anglo-Saxon women of rank who are cohabitants of the Order. Amidst rumors of witchcraft, the return of "Old gods" of the forest, and continued civil strife and disorder, Dame Averilla must find her way with the help of several unlikely allies. She strives to uncover the truth despite horrible and fearful obstacles and in the end is rewarded. Other Gods: The Averillan Chronicles does a highly credible job of recreating a sense of fear and despair and loss of order that must have characterized this age, reverse side of the faith which sustained it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars England, 1141, January 16, 2009

By 

Lyn Reese (Berkeley, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Other Gods: The Averillan Chronicles (Paperback)

Other Gods-The Averillan Chronicles
by Barbara Reichmuth Geisler

Here is yet another story featuring a medieval nun! This time it's Dame Averilla, infirmaress of the Benedictine abbey at Shaftesbury, and in a sense the whole convent as more than one member is drawn into the plot. What is new is the story's revelations about power struggles between the Church and surviving "pagan" beliefs, brought dramatically to the surface by the town's witch Galiena. Also interesting are the clashes between nuns of the conquered Anglo-Saxons and those of the new Norman elite. While Geisler does a superb job describing convent habits and 12th century England dwellings and habits, at times this information overwhelms the story. Also off putting are some of the characters repeated flights of fancy and fearful sightings, presented usually in short declarative phrases. "She was alone. And had lost the path. Where did they go? Which way? Fie on all men! `No, Averilla may not go! Just a woman!" And so forth.