<\/a><\/p>\nI bought this book on a random whim back in 2005 \u2013 I know this because I evilly mark the top corners of the inside front cover of my books with my name on the left and the year on the right. I don\u2019t recall the actual buying of the book, or the reason why \u2013 I generally don\u2019t buy books without knowing the author. \u00a0But I guess I figured, meh, why not, it\u2019s secondhand and only $2, sounds okay and looks ghosty. I do remember that I bought another book at the same time, one that was also unusual for me to buy.<\/p>\n
Eleven years I have had this book, this was maybe the fourth time I have read it.<\/p>\n
The Chalice is a good book, in my opinion. \u00a0It\u2019s not my favourite in the whole world, it\u2019s not my favourite genre, but it\u2019s good and worthy of re-reading every few years. \u00a0I enjoy it immensely and it sucks me in, like a good book should.<\/p>\n
I love that it begins the story with Violet Firth aka Dion Fortune as a character in the story (not throughout, just the first little bit, the intro and otherwise mentioned frequently). \u00a0Reading her as a character made her a bit more of a person than some legendary figure of modern Pagan history. \u00a0It also nods at John Cowper Powys by having a maybe-descendent of his, Joe Powys, also a popular Pagan author (in the story).<\/p>\n
When I first read this book, I didn\u2019t really know much about Glastonbury \u2013 the Grail is Christian myth after all. But after reading this book I had added it to my Must Visit if I Ever Have the Money list. \u00a0I don\u2019t imagine I shall be confronted with any magical Chalice, grail or anti-grail, if I ever go there \u2013 but the Tor, the Abbey, the history of the place, that is worth seeing. \u00a0And this book is what made me realise that. \u00a0Re-reading it this time, just reinforces that feeling.<\/p>\n
The paranormal side of the story is fun, the idea of a dark chalice, an anti-grail \u2013 awesome! \u00a0I liked how it made the Pagan-y characters seem like, though they were Pagan or New Age, and they felt familiar with the paranormal \u2013 the still could freak right the hell out when confronted by even the basic stuff, like a poltergeist.<\/p>\n
But what I truly love about this book is it\u2019s no nonsense look at Pagans and New Agers. \u00a0It shows all the forms that really actually exist. \u00a0The, maybe believe but maybe don\u2019t believe. \u00a0The ones on the fringes. \u00a0The New Age Fadders. \u00a0The old style hippies, still living the hippy life. \u00a0The extreme feminist Wiccans. \u00a0The Dark and Scary Pagans who might, literally, kill you. \u00a0The ones losing interest, losing faith. \u00a0The ones who have experience with the supernatural, but don\u2019t treat it like no big deal (on the inside, they show a brave face though). The manipulative ones. The cultist ones. The show ponies out to make money. \u00a0And more.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s real. \u00a0These characters are real types of Pagans and New Agers. None of this, Pagans are Evil, or Pagans are all Good, stuff. Not even, all Pagans are magical. \u00a0No, it\u2019s real and human. \u00a0We are, after all, human and then Pagan. \u00a0And this book gives you glimpses and long views into that.<\/p>\n
It shows you the interplay between the different types of Pagans and New Agers, how they interact with each other \u2013 and yes, even how they hate each other. \u00a0It shows how they interact with non-Pagans and how they face people who hate Pagans\/New Agers.<\/p>\n
So for me, the pull really is the way the Pagans and New Agers are portrayed \u2013 and just as a note, I reference both Pagans and New Agers, because many of the characters self-identify as New Agers rather than Pagan, and some are most definitely New Agers and not Pagan.<\/p>\n
The paranormal stuff is great of course. \u00a0And Glastonbury is something I love in this book. \u00a0But it\u2019s the way we are portrayed that makes me love this book so much. \u00a0I suppose too, the realistic-ness of the people makes the unrealistic stuff seem more believable. \u00a0Which is only a good thing.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Chalice: A Glastonbury Ghost Story, by Phil Rickman. \u201cGlastonbury, legendary resting place of the Holy Grail, is a mysterious and haunting town. \u00a0But when plump, dizzy Diane Ffitch returns home, it\u2019s with a sense of deep unease \u2013 and not only about her aristocratic family\u2019s reaction to her broken engagement and her New Age […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2764,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5],"tags":[7,6,35],"class_list":["post-41","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-multimedia","category-resources-and-material","tag-book-review","tag-books","tag-fiction"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a><\/div>\n