Brian Bates (1) (1944–)

A cover blurb says, "Carlos Castaneda meets J.R.R. Tolkien". That pretty much sums it up. Lots of weird head-tripping with a very thin overlay of Anglo-Saxon culture. There are pages and pages of references provided at the end. But most of it all dates from the 1960s and earlier, with a handful with dates in the 70s and early 80s, when the book was published. My feeling is that if Bates truly had real evidence for the "wizarding" initiation the book describes, he could/would have pointed to it directly rather than attempt "credibility by numbers".… (mais)

Bates's short novel is a thoroughly historically rooted fantasy about a Christian Monk who relocated tot h British Isles to convert the pagan populace but is instead converted himself. The book is a soothing balm to the modern pagan soul and would be of great interest to the fan of historical fiction wanted desperately to break out from 1 family of Tudors and WWII drama. The historiography is sound, the writing is lush,t he characters are likable, the world of pagan Britain feels alien, strange, familiar, and lush.… (mais)