Ghostlight

September 4, 1995
Adept at both SF (the Darkover series) and fantasy (The Mists of Avalon), Bradley broadens her range with an entertaining tale of contemporary ``magick'' and self-discovery that combines gothic romance, urban fantasy and horror. Truth Jourdemayne, parapsychologist and illegitimate child of celebrated vanished occultist Thorne Blackburn, decides to write a book about her much-hated father; to begin her research, she visits his estate, Shadow's Gate, nestled in the Hudson River valley. There Truth meets a group continuing Blackburn's occult ``Work,'' led by the exciting and mysterious Julian Pilgrim. The narrative employs gothic props such as hidden parentage, a secret book, underground passages and intricate alliances, and it isn't shy about flashing occult wonders either, but the emphasis is on Truth's growth toward greater understanding and wisdom. With a strong, though not feminist, heroine and a sophisticated treatment of magick, this novel overcomes myriad cliches--including the charismatic occult leader and an apparently haunted mansion--to offer intelligent, if somewhat giddy, diversion.

September 1, 1995
Besides writing science fiction and fantasy, the ever-popular Bradley also pens gothic romances, of which this is the first to debut in hardcover. Young Truth Blackburn lost her parents in the late 1960s to an occultist experiment. Now, a quarter-century later, some New Agers mess around with the same experiment, and Truth ends up with the job of preventing a second disaster. Bradley is a master storyteller, and her latest proves thoroughly absorbing. Like the plot, the characterization is stock but good, not likely to surprise or displease anyone familiar with Bradley's other gothics. There are so many Bradley fans that even though this book hardly reaches out to win new readers, it just doesn't have to. ((Reviewed Sept. 1, 1995))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1995, American Library Association.)