Customer Reviews

Weatherwitch: Book Three of The Crowthistle Chronicles

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I'm very fond of Cecilia Dart-Thornton and find her descriptive prose most evocative and lyrical. However, I also appreciate that she is not entirely to everyone's tastes. Her language is very eloquent and flowery - she never uses a plain word when she can use something more elaborate. Whilst this makes her world a rich and engaging place to visit, it does mean that you may be required to keep a dictionary near by! I have enjoyed this, and her detail-rich folklore in previous books and enjoyed it in this one. However, because of the nature of the language, the speeches of the characters come across as particularly pretentious and stilted, not quite ringing true.

What I did not enjoy, however, was the fact that Dart-Thornton was clearly using this particular book to try and force her views of animal rights down the reader's throat. Now, please understand, I myself are an avid supporter of animal rights, believing that they should be treated humanely and with compassion. It just felt very much to me like this book was acting more as a soapbox for the author to preach to her audience. I prefer such preaching to be rather more subtle, but was instead left feeling guilty for not being a vegetarian. This rather darkened my enjoyment. Perhaps this is what the author is seeking to achieve.

Still, save for this little bugbear, I found this a rich and enticing read, with colourful characters (particularly the urisk) and whilst it does act somewhat as a "bridge" style novel (obviously spanning the way to something more), it still proved a pleasurable read.

Asrathiel was born into a family that has known much tragedy. As a young girl, her mother slipped into an enchanted sleep unable to awaken. Her father left her in the care of his father to journey to the uncharted lands to find a way to break the spell. Rich in weather magic known as bri, Asrathiel is the youngest at nineteen to become a weathermage. She feels set apart from the rest of humanity because she is immortal and invulnerable. She wants to travel to distant lands and wield the pure magic sword Fallowblade that is her birthright though not all of its properties are known.

She accepts a posting as a weathermage at King's Winterboune where weathermasters are still respected. The king of Slievmordhu Uabhar wants to be high king of Tir and he sees the weather masters as an impediment to his ambition. He has several people spreading lies about them to the population and many turn against him. When Asrathiel meets with him she doesn't trust him but she has no idea that he is about to plunge the world into civil war or has an ultimate plan for her and her colleagues.

WEATHERWITCH feels likes an in betweeners book that is setting the stage for the last novel in the Crowthistle Chronicles. In many ways it is a coming of age tale as the heroine must decide what she wants as she outgrows her girlhood dreams yet yearns for something even she isn't sure of what it is. There are some cute scenes between the protagonist and the urisk, a seelie being of magic that attaches himself to her and vexes her as he well as amuses her and shares her immortality. There are many sub-plots left dangling which will hopefully be answered in Fallowblade.

Harriet Klausner

This is a GREAT book and so poetic, I am so glad I read it! She is a wonderful author who pulls your right in.

I found this to be a lovely story. The writing reminds me of something you would find in an Emily Bronte novel. For those who love the old classics, this is a book to read.