Review of Seer’s Moon by Karen Wolfe

Image by stuartaken via Flickr

Seer’s Moon is Karen Wolfe’s second fantasy novel centring on the unusual activities of Granny Beamish and her cronies. With its mixture of comic style and supernatural content, the book had me smiling, chuckling and laughing out loud; much to the consternation of my fellow bus travellers. The story, or at least the main thread, follows the fate of poor Kenneth who has inadvertently become a werewolf and is being chased by a sinister bounty hunter. Granny Beamish and her friends, family and associates, who have some sympathy with the vegetarian Kenneth and his harmless, if somewhat destructive, werewolf alter ego, do their best to prevent his capture and execution. The incompetent local police, an interfering busybody, and a creepy ambitious member of Granny’s Seer community all provide the necessary conflict. Meanwhile, Granny has to contend with the advances of her ex boyfriend, who jilted her, as he tries to win her back.

Seers, for those who are unsure, are members of a parallel community who use telepathy and certain types of magic. It isn’t wise for a normal human to mess with an accomplished Seer, especially one with the gifts possessed by Granny Beamish.

Karen Wolfe writes in a style of her own; colloquially and with a type of humour that touches my laughter muscles. This is a very English novel in many ways and some of the language and references may be lost on readers from outside. But there is so much that is universal in appeal that this very Englishness acts as an enhancement, giving the book a quirky character that will appeal to readers of all nationalities. And, talking of ‘quirky’ this is the way her characters come across. All are individual, even the dogs, wolf, griffons and other animals, and especially the rampaging sheep. Her people have flaws as well as positive attributes and all of them are very human, sometimes touching and always hilarious, often in ways that completely escape the characters themselves.

If you are seeking enjoyment with the option of laughing and smiling whilst examining human frailty and strength, this is definitely for you. I thoroughly enjoyed it and happily recommend it.

http://www.hornseadogowners.co.uk/kwolfe/index.html 

Word of the day; narrative – concerned with telling a story, the series of facts, events and incidents that comprise a tale.  ‘The writer’s dramatic narrative of the fantasy tale was worthy of  J.R.R. Tolkien.’

Review of SEERS by Karen Wolfe

Image by stuartaken via Flickr

In Seers, Karen Wolfe has devised an entertaining narrative populated by believable but idiosyncratic characters. She has a very unusual voice, which expresses humour particularly well. All the goodies in this tale of a parallel society, where mindreading is an everyday experience, have flaws to make them real human beings, or dogs, wolves or unicorns. The baddies are monsters whose wickedness is based in some past event or personality flaw and, in spite of their awfulness, the reader understands where they are coming from. These are the sort of people you either love or hate and in both cases you hope they’ll get their just desserts. This is a well constructed story with excellent pace. Karen's imagination is clearly fruitful and I love the names she uses. The humour ranges from smiles to laugh out loud and forms a worthy counterpoint to the tension and action that directs the story. If you enjoy your heroes/heroines as characters with balls and a sense of humour and if you enjoy tales set in parallel societies that are believable, you'll enjoy this book. I certainly did.

 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seers-Karen-Wolfe/dp/184923129X

Word of the day: Decadence – decay, deterioration, decline, self-indulgence. But we often use this specific quality to describe people or situations with a sexual connotation. ‘Much contemporary art displays the decadence of skill and craft in the modern practitioner.’