Alex Epstein's new novel
about Morgan le Fay...
... magic, legends,
history, myth,
and more.
The Circle Cast website
Email Alex
Wiccan Links
Starhawk
Eclectic wicca at its most inventive.
Gerald Gardner
Q. How many Gardnerian witches does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A. That's a secret.
Margot Adler
Author of the influential survey of contemporary Wicca Drawing Down the Moon.
Historical Links
Butser Ancient Farm
Peter Reynolds runs a recreated Celtic farm, with ancient styles of sheep. The Irish in The Circle Cast would have lived more or less like this..
Ireland in 400 AD
About the time of The Circle Cast.
South Cadbury Castle
A Dark Ages hillfort believed to be the original Camelot.
Camlann
The final battle. A short story.
Camlann Eve
I perpetrated a one-night
live-action
role-playing game set in King Arthur's tent on the eve of the battle of Camlann. It was fun. It was a bit geeky. Who will win the battle?
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This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons License.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Jules Jones has some nice things to say about THE CIRCLE CAST:Once I got into the rhythm of the writing I was hooked. Epstein has taken the historical period of 500AD as the basis for his story, a time when the Roman legions had long withdrawn from Britain but many of the British still thought of themselves as Roman. He's drawn on Irish mythology and blended it with modern Wiccan practice to create a believably consistent picture of magic, in a time when both Druid priests and Christian missionaries can draw on the power of the earth, and a young exile can learn to use it to protect herself and the people she loves. The result is a solid addition to the Arthurian legend, covering an area not much touched on, and giving a plausible reason for the adult Morgan le Fay to be who she is. Here she is a strong and sympathetic character, and it's only too easy to understand why she makes the choices she does.
The book's been written in such a way that it can be enjoyed both as a free-standing novel suitable for someone not familiar with any of the mythology and literature that has accreted around Arthur, and as a fascinating new contribution to that ongoing literary conversation. An excellent YA fantasy novel that should appeal to adults as well.Labels: reviews
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Thursday, May 19, 2011
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I understand there is this thing called Facebook? And books have their own pages on it?
Anyway, there is now a Circle Cast Facebook page. I hope you like it.Labels: marketing
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Monday, May 16, 2011
Fantasy Writer A. F. Stewart (Chronicles of the Undead) had some nice things to say about The Circle Cast:... an excellent addition to the genre of Arthurian folklore and legend. The author crafts worlds past with a deft hand, easily pulling a reader into the story...
The author has a nice take on the magical aspects of the story, weaving a mysterious aspect in to the narrative by his effective use of Celtic religion and myth.
The writer also does an exceptional job at creating the main character, making her a full person with fears, doubts and weakness...
Being a devotee of the Arthurian legends, I’ve read many books on the subject, both fiction and non-fiction, and this delightfully enchanting novel is a welcome complement to the mythology.Labels: reviews
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Friday, May 13, 2011
At the used bookstore, I picked up Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle In Time, which I remember liking as a kid, and the nice old lady there said, "When you read it as an adult, it's so much better."
Mmmmm, well, no, that was not my experience.
The main character, Meg, is a good YA heroine. She gets picked on for being smart. She acts out. She's impatient. I can dig it. I spent most of junior high not living up to my potential.
But she never gets to do anything with that personality. In fact, she barely gets to do anything at all. The real hero is her telepathic savant five year old brother, Charles Wallace, and possibly a guy from her school, Calvin, who she essentially bumps into. Charles Wallace has been in touch with three supernatural entities, who know where her missing father is.
And when the entities whisk Charles Wallace off, she's along for the ride. I don't think she makes a single decision other than "hold on!" until 80% through the story, when she decides to risk her life to save her kid brother.
Which, granted, is pretty important. But pretty late, too. You couldn't write a YA novel like that these days. Your publisher would say, "But your heroine is passive!"
I guess there weren't a lot of kickass young female heroines in 1962. The book won the Newbery Award and a slew of others.
I'd like to say, "And yet it has something." But it disappointed me. It has a typical 1962-ish equation of evil with conformity. (After I grew up, I discovered that the 1960's lied to us about conformity. It's sort of important.) It has a Big Bad that amounts to a Big Black Cloud.
I sort of felt that it was the kind of science fantasy that someone writes when they don't actually like speculative fiction. I'm told Madeleine L'Engle's favorite book is Anna Karenina. Beware of speculative fiction authors whose favorite books aren't spec fiction. Personally, much as I enjoyed War and Peace, my favorite books -- the ones I would most like to read again for the first time, if I could, and the ones I reread when I can -- are all spec fiction, by Neil Gaiman and Neal Stephenson.
What books have you read that didn't hold up?Labels: reading books
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