Book Review: Magick without Mirrors

Magic Without Mirrors by David Conway
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you are a student of the Occult, especially the history of the revival of the occult, you'll love this book.

This man was a fortunate man who met some of the big names of the day (Crowley) and other unknowns who aided him on the path to the unknown.

The book is chock full of rememberances, philosophy, and anecdotes.

The only thing that kept me from giving it five stars was that there was so much information that it could have been two or three books. It would have benefited from an organizational edit and a proofread.

Still, this is an important book in occult studies. Recommended.

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Book Review: The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've read some of the reviews of this audiobook, and though I agree with some of them, I still can't stop myself from saying I really enjoyed the book.

Yes, you can figure out the villain and the plot long before the highly educated protagonist, but the way that author Howe wove the tale was just delicious. Yes, at first I was irked by the Brahmin Boston accents that sound like nothing I'd ever heard, and yes, at first I was impatient with the the deeply descriptive writing, but the world Howe drew was rich -- and believable.

I'm a patient reader, and I'm glad I didn't put the book down when I first realized that someone might be related to a real Salem witch from Witch Trial days, because the slight spin on the worn and dismal story of the Trials that Howe did was worth the wait.

Am I not giving you enough detail? It's because I don't want to spoil it. Yes, you'll probably guess much of it early on if you know anything about the trials, but it's fun to watch what she does with it, and her guess on how it could have happened. Okay, here's a mini-spoiler: the heroines are very cunning.

Will historians enjoy it? I don't know. Her "interludes" sounded authentic to me, but I'm not a historian.

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