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markyon's review
4.0
As Winter draws in here the lure of the supernatural lingers. And so, as a result, I picked up the second book in the Merrily Watkins series by Phil Rickman. (The first book, The Wine of Angels, was reviewed by me way back in 2011.)
The second book continues to build on the premise of the first novel. Merrily is still debating on whether she actually wants to be a Deliverance Consultant (aka an ‘exorcist’ by the non-secular) as well as the vicar of Ledwardine.
This time around it’s a story of possession and spiritual entrapment, set partly in historical Hereford Cathedral as well as in Ledwardine village. In Hereford Merrily is being persuaded by the trendy bishop Michael (“Call me Mike”) Hunter to take on the role of Deliverance Minister for reasons that are not always entirely clear. It seems that the choice of Merrily may be political, partly to annoy Canon Dobbs, the imminently retiring Diosesan Exorcist, who seems dead against a woman being the next. Unsurprisingly Merrily does not like that idea.
With a title Midwinter of the Spirit, it should be clear that there are times when things seem rather bleak here. Merrily and others do a lot of soul-searching, and it is difficult, life-changing stuff. Merrily begins the book going on a Deliverance training course, where she meets the gruff Welshman Huw Owen, who bluntly suggests that the job may not be for her. Events early on in the novel even make Merrily question the choice herself, and she is mentally and physically affected by one visit she makes to a hospital patient.
Seeing the physical and mental toll such matters have on her mother, Jane is also unsure whether her mother is doing the right thing. She also has some heart-searching to do, for as much as she wants her Mum to follow her belief she also thinks that by taking on extra duties her Mum is being lured even closer into organised religion, which in her mind is a bad thing. Jane herself is also uncertain about the purpose and meaning of religion in a modern society. With her friend Rowenna, a new arrival to the village, they visit a spiritual fair, which further confuses Jane on matters spiritual.
Others also questioning their purpose and self-meaning are characters first met in The Wine of Angels. After leaving Ledwardine and moving to Hereford, Merrily’s friend, retired musician Lol Robinson, is asked by a friend to look after his sister, fragile young woman Katherine ‘Moon’. Moon is trying to rebuild her life after a number of events, and to do so has returned to the place where she was born – and also the place where her father committed suicide when she was a child. Lol is torn between his friendship of Moon and his unrequited feelings for Merrily and becomes connected to events as the book progresses.
Of these events, there’s a range of odd to choose from. A body is found in the River Wye near the Cathedral, a nearby ancient church is desecrated, which Merrily has to investigate, and, perhaps scariest of all, signs of evil appear in the cathedral itself, where the tomb of medieval saint Thomas Cantilupe is being renovated.
It’s a potent mixture of contemporary values and ancient history, with current events linked to the past and the folklore of the area. What Phil manages to do so well is combine his fictional characters with real places and history, which grounds them in some sort of normality. Whilst there are supernatural events here, they’re slight enough to be readable by those who just like a good suspense story. The characters show progression and they’re engaging enough to keep the pages turning.
Midwinter of the Spirit takes a little while to get going. It’s a slow build of a book, but by the end all makes sense. Whilst there’s a slight feeling that things tie up a little too neatly, there’s also some intriguing plot points and characters that are set for no doubt further revelation later in the series (which is now up to fourteen novels, with a fifteenth due next year.)
For those hankering after a wallow in British rurality, combined with a certain creepy thrill, this series delivers.
The second book continues to build on the premise of the first novel. Merrily is still debating on whether she actually wants to be a Deliverance Consultant (aka an ‘exorcist’ by the non-secular) as well as the vicar of Ledwardine.
This time around it’s a story of possession and spiritual entrapment, set partly in historical Hereford Cathedral as well as in Ledwardine village. In Hereford Merrily is being persuaded by the trendy bishop Michael (“Call me Mike”) Hunter to take on the role of Deliverance Minister for reasons that are not always entirely clear. It seems that the choice of Merrily may be political, partly to annoy Canon Dobbs, the imminently retiring Diosesan Exorcist, who seems dead against a woman being the next. Unsurprisingly Merrily does not like that idea.
With a title Midwinter of the Spirit, it should be clear that there are times when things seem rather bleak here. Merrily and others do a lot of soul-searching, and it is difficult, life-changing stuff. Merrily begins the book going on a Deliverance training course, where she meets the gruff Welshman Huw Owen, who bluntly suggests that the job may not be for her. Events early on in the novel even make Merrily question the choice herself, and she is mentally and physically affected by one visit she makes to a hospital patient.
Seeing the physical and mental toll such matters have on her mother, Jane is also unsure whether her mother is doing the right thing. She also has some heart-searching to do, for as much as she wants her Mum to follow her belief she also thinks that by taking on extra duties her Mum is being lured even closer into organised religion, which in her mind is a bad thing. Jane herself is also uncertain about the purpose and meaning of religion in a modern society. With her friend Rowenna, a new arrival to the village, they visit a spiritual fair, which further confuses Jane on matters spiritual.
Others also questioning their purpose and self-meaning are characters first met in The Wine of Angels. After leaving Ledwardine and moving to Hereford, Merrily’s friend, retired musician Lol Robinson, is asked by a friend to look after his sister, fragile young woman Katherine ‘Moon’. Moon is trying to rebuild her life after a number of events, and to do so has returned to the place where she was born – and also the place where her father committed suicide when she was a child. Lol is torn between his friendship of Moon and his unrequited feelings for Merrily and becomes connected to events as the book progresses.
Of these events, there’s a range of odd to choose from. A body is found in the River Wye near the Cathedral, a nearby ancient church is desecrated, which Merrily has to investigate, and, perhaps scariest of all, signs of evil appear in the cathedral itself, where the tomb of medieval saint Thomas Cantilupe is being renovated.
It’s a potent mixture of contemporary values and ancient history, with current events linked to the past and the folklore of the area. What Phil manages to do so well is combine his fictional characters with real places and history, which grounds them in some sort of normality. Whilst there are supernatural events here, they’re slight enough to be readable by those who just like a good suspense story. The characters show progression and they’re engaging enough to keep the pages turning.
Midwinter of the Spirit takes a little while to get going. It’s a slow build of a book, but by the end all makes sense. Whilst there’s a slight feeling that things tie up a little too neatly, there’s also some intriguing plot points and characters that are set for no doubt further revelation later in the series (which is now up to fourteen novels, with a fifteenth due next year.)
For those hankering after a wallow in British rurality, combined with a certain creepy thrill, this series delivers.
ladyonequestion's review
4.0
Really enjoying this series so far.
I think the characters are both appealing and well written, Merrily and Lol in particular. I like the way that both their doubts about themselves are handled. The mysteries are good too, and whereas writing about Satanism and evil spirits could come across as being a bit over the top, he makes it quite believable. I also like the way that real places, books and historical figures are incorporated.
I think the characters are both appealing and well written, Merrily and Lol in particular. I like the way that both their doubts about themselves are handled. The mysteries are good too, and whereas writing about Satanism and evil spirits could come across as being a bit over the top, he makes it quite believable. I also like the way that real places, books and historical figures are incorporated.
hayesstw's review
4.0
After reading [b:The Lamp of the Wicked|325750|The Lamp of the Wicked (Merrily Watkins, #5)|Phil Rickman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1315413700s/325750.jpg|1779116], which was less than impressive, I started re-reading this one to remind myself of what I liked about [a:Phil Rickman|182452|Phil Rickman|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1292252234p2/182452.jpg]'s books. This one is certainly the best of Rickman's Merrily Watkins series of books.
Merrily Watkins, Vicar of Ledwardine in the Church of England Diocese of Hereford, has some spooky experiences in the first book of the series, [b:The Wine of Angels|611395|The Wine of Angels (Merrily Watkins, #1)|Phil Rickman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328870432s/611395.jpg|597864], and this leads to the new trendy and relevant bishop offering her the post of Diocesan Exorcist, with the more user-friendly title of "Deliverance Consultant". She attends a course on deliverance ministry in Wales, led by the Revd Huw Owen, and almost immediately after returning from the course finds herself inundated with "deliverance" work, leading to her churchwarden complaining that she is not spending enough time in the parish.
To add to her difficulties her teenage daughter Jane is going through a New Age phase, and alternates between despising the deliverance ministry as "soul police" and regarding the Church of England as so totally lacking in spirituality as to be incompetent to handle anything spiritual at all.
With a plot involving ley lines, pagan sacrifices, ghosts, demon possession, satanism, suicide and even murder, Merrily Watkins find enemies and allies in unexpected places.
With a great deal packed into a small space, the plot is somewhat overheated and over the top, though the individual incidents are all quite believable, and one can accept them for the sake of the story. It's a supernatural thriller, but there is always the ambiguity of everything that happens also having a natural and rational explanation. This prevents Phil Rickman's books from turning into something like [a:Frank Peretti|5544|Frank E. Peretti|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1201100294p2/5544.jpg] or even [a:Stephen King|3389|Stephen King|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg]. It also presents something of the variety of the religious landscape of turn-of-the-century Britain.
In this sense [b:Midwinter of the spirit|317372|Midwinter of the Spirit (Merrily Watkins, #2)|Phil Rickman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1391314794s/317372.jpg|1779108] probably marks [a:Phil Rickman|182452|Phil Rickman|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1292252234p2/182452.jpg]'s high point. The later ones degenerate into rather run-of-the-mill whodunits, with the "deliverance" aspect played down. In [b:The Lamp of the Wicked|325750|The Lamp of the Wicked (Merrily Watkins, #5)|Phil Rickman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1315413700s/325750.jpg|1779116] it looks as though Rickman is trying to write Huw Owen out of the series, or at least to write him off as an incompetent bumbler.
Merrily Watkins, Vicar of Ledwardine in the Church of England Diocese of Hereford, has some spooky experiences in the first book of the series, [b:The Wine of Angels|611395|The Wine of Angels (Merrily Watkins, #1)|Phil Rickman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328870432s/611395.jpg|597864], and this leads to the new trendy and relevant bishop offering her the post of Diocesan Exorcist, with the more user-friendly title of "Deliverance Consultant". She attends a course on deliverance ministry in Wales, led by the Revd Huw Owen, and almost immediately after returning from the course finds herself inundated with "deliverance" work, leading to her churchwarden complaining that she is not spending enough time in the parish.
To add to her difficulties her teenage daughter Jane is going through a New Age phase, and alternates between despising the deliverance ministry as "soul police" and regarding the Church of England as so totally lacking in spirituality as to be incompetent to handle anything spiritual at all.
With a plot involving ley lines, pagan sacrifices, ghosts, demon possession, satanism, suicide and even murder, Merrily Watkins find enemies and allies in unexpected places.
With a great deal packed into a small space, the plot is somewhat overheated and over the top, though the individual incidents are all quite believable, and one can accept them for the sake of the story. It's a supernatural thriller, but there is always the ambiguity of everything that happens also having a natural and rational explanation. This prevents Phil Rickman's books from turning into something like [a:Frank Peretti|5544|Frank E. Peretti|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1201100294p2/5544.jpg] or even [a:Stephen King|3389|Stephen King|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg]. It also presents something of the variety of the religious landscape of turn-of-the-century Britain.
In this sense [b:Midwinter of the spirit|317372|Midwinter of the Spirit (Merrily Watkins, #2)|Phil Rickman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1391314794s/317372.jpg|1779108] probably marks [a:Phil Rickman|182452|Phil Rickman|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1292252234p2/182452.jpg]'s high point. The later ones degenerate into rather run-of-the-mill whodunits, with the "deliverance" aspect played down. In [b:The Lamp of the Wicked|325750|The Lamp of the Wicked (Merrily Watkins, #5)|Phil Rickman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1315413700s/325750.jpg|1779116] it looks as though Rickman is trying to write Huw Owen out of the series, or at least to write him off as an incompetent bumbler.
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review
3.0
mrspoonzs's review
5.0
2nd Merrily Watkins book even better than the first.
Country vicar Merrily is now the exorcist for her Diocese, which can only lead to yet more problems in her life - not least with her teenage daughter Jane.
Greatly realised characters and a well written story that just makes you want to carry on and read the next in the series.
Country vicar Merrily is now the exorcist for her Diocese, which can only lead to yet more problems in her life - not least with her teenage daughter Jane.
Greatly realised characters and a well written story that just makes you want to carry on and read the next in the series.
velocitygirl14's review
3.0
It took me a while to get through this and have decided that the occult bits aren't as a big of a draw to continue reading these series. Lovely setting and characters are great, but I don't think this book was for me in the end.
cdcsmith's review against another edition
4.0
When I started this book (and I think the first one as well), I thought it was moving very slow. The thing is, it's a bit like building a campfire. You start slow, build it up, and then you get the big 'ole campfire, crackling away.
I don't have a lot of the beliefs that are the basic tenets of the main character in the book and yet, while I'm reading, I seem to. A mark of good writing because if it was crap, I wouldn't be sucked in.
I don't have a lot of the beliefs that are the basic tenets of the main character in the book and yet, while I'm reading, I seem to. A mark of good writing because if it was crap, I wouldn't be sucked in.