Customer Reviews

Witchdame

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

 

 

WITCHDAME by Kathleen Sky is one of the most delightful fantasies I have ever read, and I have read it at least 4 times. Magic of two races, dragons, castle intrigue, love, and a cast of colorful characters. The coming of age of a princess. The life power of a land in jeopardy. The destiny of a country is of interest to the Earth Goddess and the demons of Hell. I would have to rate this novel up there with Barbara Hambly's DRAGONSBANE.

I stumbled across this book years ago, when I was hungry for some light fantasy. Having never heard of the author before but intrigued by the premise, think pre-Victorian England meets Tolkien, I picked up the book and devoured it in hours. Though at times silly beyond belief, the characters come off as well thought out and thoroughly fleshed. They breathe and move as only good characters can. You will cheer at the end of the story and want more, but so far this is the one gem. So enjoy.

I found the mix of paganism and religion a change from the norm and battle scenes fun. Princess Elizabeth would have been dead when attacked by 50 armed men but for the woodwitches interceding. In the beginning of the story she is a spoiled brat but by the end she has come into her own. Throughout the book she is more concerned about her country than herself even if she is in search of a husband.

Sublimely told story about some of the essential things in life (as we know it). I was stupid enough to lend the book to someone years ago and that was the last I saw of it. Unfortunately the book is out of print, but I sincere hope I'll get my hands on a copy one day. I KNOW it will be worth the waiting......

Superman was boring because he couldn't lose.

The heroine of Witchdame is unbearable for the same reason. I started getting a queasy feeling when she beat fifty mounted men in combat (yes. fifty men on horses rode at her with sharp objects and she beat them all.) When she became apprenticed to the Goddess, I knew it could get no worse. (I was wrong, of course.) By the time she wound up married to the Archangel Michael and beating a major lord of Hell in single combat, I was in physical pain.

The book mixes Christianity and Paganism in a way that would make even the writer of "Teen Witch" take a step back and cry hold. The heroine is a bossy and unpleasant woman who everyone ends up loving, who can knock down walls, and can probably leap tall buildings in a single bound. The disclaimer that Ms. Sky put at the beginning warning the reader that all of the spells in the book were REAL but too powerful to use almost drove me to homicide.

Caveat emptor: this is a bad book. A very bad book.