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37th out of 131 books
—
62 voters
The Book of Shadows (Herculine #1)
by
James Reese (Goodreads Author)
Herculine is only six-years-old when she watches her mother die horribly and inexplicably. A child alone in the nineteenth-century French countryside, she makes her way to the secluded convent, where she is taken in as a foundling orphan and raised by nuns who teach the children of the privileged to fear a wrathful God. But shy, unworldly Herculine is not like the others i...more
Paperback, 640 pages
Published
December 3rd 2002
by HarperTorch
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The preface to this book should have read, "No homo."
This book was meticulously researched and for that reason it got an extra star. Most of the time you find someone writing a historical novel set in the 1800s and they somehow know about things like chromosomes and the law of thermodynamics. I will name no names, you know who you are.
My main complaints with the book were:
A) Sex. Boring perverted sex that served no purpose. If there is a person out there who was getting hot and bothered by the...more
This book was meticulously researched and for that reason it got an extra star. Most of the time you find someone writing a historical novel set in the 1800s and they somehow know about things like chromosomes and the law of thermodynamics. I will name no names, you know who you are.
My main complaints with the book were:
A) Sex. Boring perverted sex that served no purpose. If there is a person out there who was getting hot and bothered by the...more
A mixed bunch this book. First of all; I have just read a lot of reviews tha say there was too much sex. On the contrary I think there wasn't actually that much at all. I have certainly read books with a lot more and with more detail. I love the historical aspect and look for books, a good deal of the time that satisfy that need! This book was recomended by one of my favourite authors; Diana Gabaldon so I couldn't wait to try it, and yes there were those parts that were well rooted in historical...more
Oct 30, 2010
Lisa (Harmonybites)
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Those Interested in Witches; French History, Dark Fantasy
Recommended to Lisa (Harmonybites) by:
The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Ultimate Reading List
Like Rice's Interview with the Vampire, this is sensual and sexual and interweaves a subject of the horror genre--in this case witches--with well-crafted historical fiction. Set in the France of around 1830, this is mostly the first person narrative of Herculine--the very name was a hint of her nature given the famous French hermaphrodite Herculine Barbin. She is a man, a woman--and a witch.
I found this novel a page turner--the details are lush and vivid without being flowery or overdone, makin...more
I found this novel a page turner--the details are lush and vivid without being flowery or overdone, makin...more
You know those trainwreck movies that are bad, but so amusingly bad, you stick with them until the end? This book is like that - in terrible want of an editor, both for redundant and contradictory content and for length (nearly 500 pages) - it's just awful and yet I couldn't walk away.
Some points won for an interesting revisioning of Paris before, during, and after the Revolution. Some points docked for overly gruesome accounts of witch trials, tortures, burnings, and beheadings. I'm surprising...more
Some points won for an interesting revisioning of Paris before, during, and after the Revolution. Some points docked for overly gruesome accounts of witch trials, tortures, burnings, and beheadings. I'm surprising...more
This book was laborious to get through. The premise sounded interesting to me; historical fiction with a supernatural twist. Too bad all of the characters were flat and boring! The plot was incredibly slow moving and very muddled. The novel begins with a young French girl in a school run by nuns. She was orphaned at a young age. From there it gets crazy. Is she really a he? Nope, a hermaphrodite. She winds up outcasted by the other students and is forced to try to flee for her life. She is “resc...more
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I disagree with many of the critics who tear this book to pieces. They say it has no plot, that it's poorly written, that the pacing is so uneven that the book is unreadable. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this book in my opinion. It's good poolside fiction. It's well researched and the author uses the tools of his craft well. I may even go on to read the sequel, next time I have a few hours to kill.
Now for the criticism. It's just not very deep, profound, memorable, or challenging. It h...more
Now for the criticism. It's just not very deep, profound, memorable, or challenging. It h...more
I'd like to address the various negative reviews I've seen; many people have complained about the eroticism of this book. While there are indeed some sensual scenes, they are much milder than in many books I have read. I think the main problem that people have is with the bisexual aspect of it. If that will bother you, then this is obviously not a book you should read. (You should also avoid anything by Gary Jennings) Other people complained that the book was too long, too detailed, boring. This...more
4 likes · like · see review
I liked this book just enough to grab the second one in the series. That being said...For most of the book, I found myself thinking what the hell? At several points I was asked what I was reading. I have to tell you, I lied. Its an ok read, but youd be pretty embarrassed if someone said, "You know that book you were reading? I got it and oh my goodness, what were you thinking reading that?!"
There was a lot of sex in this book. A lot. Not the normal kind either; The kind that makes you feel dirt...more
There was a lot of sex in this book. A lot. Not the normal kind either; The kind that makes you feel dirt...more
Enjoyable, but not wholly satisfying. Left too many unanswered questions and plot holes that needed to be flushed out more. And the ending? Hello Titanic...NO. I know this is supposed to be fantastical, but come on...let's add a little reality, huh?
I enjoyed reading this novel, mostly due to the style of the writing and the fascinating characters. I would go on to read more in the series if I came across them, but I also wouldn't go out of my way to find them. The story is very disjointed, the characters, while fascinating, aren't really "likeable", and although I feel somewhat prudish to say it - wayyyyy too much of the novel was dealing with sex. It seemed a shame as the story - what was there of it - was quite good but if all the bits d...more
I respect anyone that works hard. And I have no doubt that good Mr. Reese worked very, very hard on this novel. However, he worked too hard. There is quite a difference in prose that is lush and opens up to the reader as if he or she comes through a thicket to find an verdant magical glade and the sort that becomes obsessed with itself and stumbles haphazardly over its own love of the thesaurus. James Reese lapses into the later of these two quite often. His love of eloquent language is admirabl...more
I would really like to give this book 2 1/2 stars. It is like a train wreck, you cannot look away, yet you have gained nothing in the looking. The author researched this book well, and parts of this book are exquisite, but there are a lot of plot holes and random characters who are either not developed or who do not serve any real purpose that I can see. Also the sex scenes are creepy and perverse. The basic story is entertaining and I will probably read the next in the series in hopes that the...more
Fans of 'The Witching Hour' will fully appreciate this book. It is a wonderful story with such a realistic history and accuracy that will enchant you until the end. However, the authors technique of providing entertaining background of his wildly imaginative characters with the story line needs some development to flow better. I am looking forward to the sequel of this novel, which I feel will provide the reader with more action and drama. I gave this book a rating of 3 stars when I feel that it...more
Fans of 'The Witching Hour' will fully appreciate this book. It is a wonderful story with such a realistic history and accuracy that will enchant you until the end. However, the authors technique of providing entertaining background of his wildly imaginative characters with the story line needs some development to flow better. I am looking forward to the sequel of this novel, which I feel will provide the reader with more action and drama. I gave this book a rating of 3 stars when I feel that it...more
Mixed feeling about this one... it had potential to be several good things. In the end, however, I feel that it pretty much missed the mark on all of them.
In the "positive" column: Blasphemy! Witches! A priest-incubus! A bloody revenant! A hermaphrodite schoolgirl!
In the "negative" column... a slow-as-molasses plot that suffers from ADHD, and an inexplicable middle-of-the-road approach to the outrageous subject material.
OK, our protagonist is intersex - but this is no "Middlesex." This is not a...more
In the "positive" column: Blasphemy! Witches! A priest-incubus! A bloody revenant! A hermaphrodite schoolgirl!
In the "negative" column... a slow-as-molasses plot that suffers from ADHD, and an inexplicable middle-of-the-road approach to the outrageous subject material.
OK, our protagonist is intersex - but this is no "Middlesex." This is not a...more
Wait, there's a sequel to this? gtfo.
You know what's really sad? When you pick up a book, and it starts amazingly, and you're sucked in right away... because the story is fascinating, and the writing is so lush - a little bit wordy, maybe, but still very pretty. And you're all gleeful that you've found a five-star book, after you've put off reading it for so long because it's 70,000 pages long with the world's tiniest font. When there's ALL THAT, and then you end up giving it TWO STARS.
Ugh.
The s...more
You know what's really sad? When you pick up a book, and it starts amazingly, and you're sucked in right away... because the story is fascinating, and the writing is so lush - a little bit wordy, maybe, but still very pretty. And you're all gleeful that you've found a five-star book, after you've put off reading it for so long because it's 70,000 pages long with the world's tiniest font. When there's ALL THAT, and then you end up giving it TWO STARS.
Ugh.
The s...more
James Reese, The Book of Shadows (Morrow, 2002)
James Reese's debut novel gives us nineteenth-century France's dark side in a grisly, but often interesting, way. Herculine sees the unexpected, ugly death of her mother just before she's consigned to a convent. There, being studious, she becomes the mother superior's pet. When the mother superior's rather diabolic niece comes to stay, she is put into Herculine's care and tutelage. The girl ends up getting them both into a world of trouble, the end...more
James Reese's debut novel gives us nineteenth-century France's dark side in a grisly, but often interesting, way. Herculine sees the unexpected, ugly death of her mother just before she's consigned to a convent. There, being studious, she becomes the mother superior's pet. When the mother superior's rather diabolic niece comes to stay, she is put into Herculine's care and tutelage. The girl ends up getting them both into a world of trouble, the end...more
The Book of Shadows
James Reese
Harper Collins Publishers Inc.
http://www.harpercollins.com
PB 468
ISBN #0-06-621015-1
Hard Cover
Review by Christina Francine
How many people were brutally murdered during the Great European Witch Hunt? The numbers are as varied as the opinions and rumors. One theory is from witch hunting propaganda based upon theories from systematic studies from witch trials and speculation. It claims over 50,000 executions. Of that roughly ¾ were women. The other study is based on ac...more
James Reese
Harper Collins Publishers Inc.
http://www.harpercollins.com
PB 468
ISBN #0-06-621015-1
Hard Cover
Review by Christina Francine
How many people were brutally murdered during the Great European Witch Hunt? The numbers are as varied as the opinions and rumors. One theory is from witch hunting propaganda based upon theories from systematic studies from witch trials and speculation. It claims over 50,000 executions. Of that roughly ¾ were women. The other study is based on ac...more
i try not to hate on too many books. i mean, if i'm going to devote a huge chunk of my time and brain to a book, i always try to find something worthwhile in it.
but i hated this book. i tried so, so long to hold onto my fleeting hope that there was something worthwhile in its pages. i told my self (in vain) that it was at the least technically well-written.
but lordy, lordy, how BORING it is. a nearly-500 page book made up of 20% story and 80% minutiae. ugh. for the life of it, this book couldn'...more
but i hated this book. i tried so, so long to hold onto my fleeting hope that there was something worthwhile in its pages. i told my self (in vain) that it was at the least technically well-written.
but lordy, lordy, how BORING it is. a nearly-500 page book made up of 20% story and 80% minutiae. ugh. for the life of it, this book couldn'...more
5 likes · like · see review
This was a really interesting book, but it is heavily laced with a man's version of a woman's sexual fantasies. A tale of a young witch who is given a task to "save a soul" that has been in jeopardy for 2 centuries.
I liked the witch craft but it tended to go off on soliloquies, usually when explaining sexual fantasies. I did like the witches soiree but felt that it didn't have enough detail while at the same time having too much detail.
I probably won't read it again, but it was very interesting...more
I liked the witch craft but it tended to go off on soliloquies, usually when explaining sexual fantasies. I did like the witches soiree but felt that it didn't have enough detail while at the same time having too much detail.
I probably won't read it again, but it was very interesting...more
It was kind of creepy, and it was the first book to ever make me nauseous.
There were some really cool things in it though. It is written from the perspective that witches are real. There is one witch who wore glorious robes of bright colors. She had long black hair that she wore in one big thick braid. She had fair skin, and was just perfect. If I was a witch, I'd want to be her, in her rose garden, wearing robes of electric blue.
There were some really cool things in it though. It is written from the perspective that witches are real. There is one witch who wore glorious robes of bright colors. She had long black hair that she wore in one big thick braid. She had fair skin, and was just perfect. If I was a witch, I'd want to be her, in her rose garden, wearing robes of electric blue.
Sep 17, 2009
Pa
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
those interested in witchcraft, and/or 19th century France
This is a tale of the making of a witch in early 19th century France. There are some interesting bits about witchcraft, the French revolution, etc., but also lengthy (and ultimately boring) descriptions of clothing, architecture, etc. The plot is interesting in spots but drawn-out in others. There is suspense here and there, but not much real action. Although the book is well written, it is one I was glad to finally finish.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This was my second time reading this book, the first time I never completed it. I ran out of new materials to read, so I started re-reading all of my books. I left this one for last...
This timeI did finish the book, but like all comments before has stated - the book was painfully redundant. It started off with a good story line, then added in side stories with a ton of fluff. It was as if the author was adding everything he could to make it a longer book. I was happy to finally finish the story!
This timeI did finish the book, but like all comments before has stated - the book was painfully redundant. It started off with a good story line, then added in side stories with a ton of fluff. It was as if the author was adding everything he could to make it a longer book. I was happy to finally finish the story!
Got about 3 chapters in and decided this was not the book for me. I don't necessarily consider myself too much of a prude, but there is a fine line between a love scene and disgustingly descriptive sex scene. I flipped through the rest of the book and it seemed the whole thing was peppered with them, a long with a lot of evil. A very dark novel and way too graphic for me.
A story of a young woman discovering who she is and what makes her very, very different than other people her age. It's filled with twists and turns that will keep the pages turning. There are a few chapters that are simply unforgettable!
Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the rest of the series. This can be a stand alone book - I wouldn't read on.
Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the rest of the series. This can be a stand alone book - I wouldn't read on.
I give this book two stars only because it is well written. However, the plot lines are woefullly tangential and the characters are not well formed at all. Additionally, I found it annoying that the author kept throwing out French phrases every few sentences or so, as if to show off his literary prowess. Needless to say, I will not be reading the sequel.
Weird - some of it was interesting, but overall it was just strange. It seemed too much and too little tried to happen. It was hard to keep going, the pacing was sloggy. At the same time as a reader I was bombarded with information - some which made sense, some which was such a reach or seemed to break in logic or backup material. Not my favorite.
This was about a witch who lays a succubus to rest. It started in a convent in France. She ended up having another witch, demon, succubus and an incubus save her. An incubus, a succubus and a demon. C'mon, what more do you want? Also, if you enjoy history, James Reese gives a lot of facts about the French Revolution and the people of the time.
good book, but slow to start. It's a gothic tale. Though the story takes place in the 1800s it has a medieval feel. The draw back to this series is that it is a slow start. You need to wade about 200 pages deep to get into the good stuff. Otherwise, I would have given it four stars. This is a trilogy that gets better with each book.
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| Peronette | 2 | 14 | May 17, 2012 03:37pm |
James Reese was born on eastern Long Island. He attended the University of Notre Dame and the State University of NY at Stony Brook, where he received an MA in Theatre. As an undergraduate, he had a play staged off-Broadway at the Actors Repertory Theatre. While living in New York, New Orleans and Key West, Reese held various jobs in the non-profit sector, working on behalf of the arts and the env...more
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