fantasy book reviews science fiction book reviewsfantasy book reviews Lammas Night Katherine KurtzLammas Night by Katherine Kurtz

Within neo-pagan circles, there is a persistent legend that numerous British witches and occultists banded together during World War II, using magic to keep Hitler from invading Britain. I’m not convinced there was a huge organized effort, but I’m sure there were occultists in Britain at the time, and it would surprise me more if no one had tried to lay the magical smack down on the Führer. Katharine Kurtz uses this legend as the basis for Lammas Night.

This historical fantasy centers on John “Gray” Graham, an intelligence officer who is also a member of a witch coven. The other major characters are people close to Gray, such as his son, who is currently in uniform; his High Priest and Priestess; and his best friend, Prince William, a (fictional) younger son of the royal family. Through their mystical arts, Gray and his coven learn of Hitler’s plans to stage a massive attack on Britain. They now must persuade a number of other covens to help them in their attempt to repel the attack.

At the same time, Gray is having troubling visions of his past lives. Kurtz draws on the lore of the sacred/sacrificial king, especially that posited by Margaret Murray, in creating Gray’s history. Throughout the centuries, Gray has sometimes been the killer of the king, and sometimes he himself has died as a substitute. Gray begins to wonder if another terrible sacrifice is needed in this perilous time.

Lammas Night is an enjoyable novel, though it’s very “talky” and a little dry in places. The characters sometimes seem too good to be true, not in a superpowered “Mary Sue/Gary Stu” sort of way, but in their almost saintlike devotion to duty. Somewhere between their military training, their faith, and the times they lived in, these characters make personal sacrifices that many of us would be unwilling, or at least hesitant, to make. Indeed, the entire plot hinges on this trait. Perhaps the characters are best seen as analogues of the Knights of the Round Table, and I mean the idealized, virtuous versions of said knights. (In fact, there’s even an Arthur/Guinevere/Lancelot triangle of sorts, but Kurtz’s “Lancelot” sticks to loving his lady from afar.) They do heroic deeds, but it’s not always easy to relate to them.

What Kurtz does best in Lammas Night is weave the magical elements perfectly into the real history. The reader is left with the impression that this could have been going on behind the scenes. I recommend Lammas Night to readers looking for an unusual historical fantasy with subtle magic, with the caveat that the cover makes it a little uncomfortable to read in public. Sure, there’s a knife through that swastika, but the swastika is so much more visible…

Lammas Night — (1983) Publisher: What Magic Can Stop Adolf Hitler – History’s Most Evil Black Magician? Modern War. The year is 1940. Hitler’s Germany is about to employ the secret arts of evil witchcraft to destroy England. What can stop them? Ancient Weapon. It is the mission of John Graham, colonel in British Intelligence, to stop the onslaught of evil with an extraordinary strategy that defies all the rules of twentieth-century warfare: Unite the different witches’ covens throughout England, drawing upon powers that reach back through dark centuries, in a ritual of awesome sacrifice on the first night of August, the magical. Lammas Night.

Author

  • Kelly Lasiter

    KELLY LASITER, with us since July 2008, is a mild-mannered academic administrative assistant by day, but at night she rules over a private empire of tottering bookshelves. Kelly is most fond of fantasy set in a historical setting (a la Jo Graham) or in a setting that echoes a real historical period (a la George RR Martin and Jacqueline Carey). She also enjoys urban fantasy and its close cousin, paranormal romance, though she believes these subgenres’ recent burst in popularity has resulted in an excess of dreck. She is a sucker for pretty prose (she majored in English, after all) and mythological themes.

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