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Book Review--The Bowl of Night by Rosemary Edghill
The Bowl of Night is the third of the Bast mysteries, and Edghill continues her exploration of the 1990s New York City NeoPagan scene. Bast has been a pagan a long time, long enough that she has finally separated from her coven and is expected to form her own. She keeps postponing that because responsibility is something she doesn’t relish (despite being more dependable than most of her acquaintances.) Early October has arrived, and that means she can use Hallowfest as an excuse to either dodge the question or find a priest to anchor her own role as high priestess of a new group. She’ll sell merchandise for the neighborhood magic store, crush on the manager, who is coming among this year, and in the end, become the go-between for the festival and the local police department when she stumbles across a body.
This is not a slasher thriller. All the Bast books are heavily grounded in her belief system, which is the traditional doing-no-harm and following through on promises to her deity. We’re completely in her head as she weighs the folk she has known for years and questions her place and role among them. Unlike many, Bast actually can consider whether these various adherents to so many shades of paganism will truly take their beliefs to an extreme—and whether those beliefs are metaphorical or literal. The victim has a host of local people who might have wanted to kill him, but Bast made the mistake of checking to see if the man was actually sacrificed, thus signaling to both cops and goddess that she would see justice done…no matter what the price.
“Bowl” has beautifully evocative writing as well. It’s a shame there are no more Bast mysteries forthcoming, as it was a fascinating peek into a fringe society. Also, the character is left in a hard place, though you understand her choices and decisions. But we have three of them, all well worth your time if you like a thoughtful trip through an unexpected world.
This is not a slasher thriller. All the Bast books are heavily grounded in her belief system, which is the traditional doing-no-harm and following through on promises to her deity. We’re completely in her head as she weighs the folk she has known for years and questions her place and role among them. Unlike many, Bast actually can consider whether these various adherents to so many shades of paganism will truly take their beliefs to an extreme—and whether those beliefs are metaphorical or literal. The victim has a host of local people who might have wanted to kill him, but Bast made the mistake of checking to see if the man was actually sacrificed, thus signaling to both cops and goddess that she would see justice done…no matter what the price.
“Bowl” has beautifully evocative writing as well. It’s a shame there are no more Bast mysteries forthcoming, as it was a fascinating peek into a fringe society. Also, the character is left in a hard place, though you understand her choices and decisions. But we have three of them, all well worth your time if you like a thoughtful trip through an unexpected world.