Season of the Witch tells the story of Gabriel Blackstone: hacker, information thief, and skilled “remote viewer.” Asked by a former lover to investigate the disappearance of her stepson, Gabriel's suspicions fall on Minnaloushe and Morrighan Monk, two beautiful sisters who live in a rambling Victorian house in London. Independently wealthy, the sisters spend their time dabbling in alchemy and the ancient Art of Memory—invented by the Greeks and used by alchemists and magi such as Giordano Bruno and Leonardo Da Vinci. The sisters are white, or “solar,” witches, who aim to use alchemy not to turn lead into gold but to attain ultimate knowledge and therefore ultimate power. Gabriel soon becomes convinced that his client's son had been murdered and that one of the women is the killer. But which one?

As Gabriel infiltrates the world of the sisters, he finds himself drawn inexorably deeper— becoming entranced even as he realizes that he is in mortal danger. When he is caught snooping, Gabriel must race to unlock their secrets before they can retaliate. To save himself— and the one he loves, presuming she is not guilty—Gabriel will have to fight one of the sisters within the landscape of her own mind.

PROLOGUE


He was at peace: his brain no longer blooming like a crimson flower.
Slowly he opened his eyes. Above him, a black sky shimmering with stars. A pregnant moon entangled in the spreading branches of a tree.
Vaguely he realized he was on his back, floating on water. A swimming pool. Every now and then he would move his legs and hands to stay afloat. But the movements were instinctive and he was hardly aware of them. ...view entire excerpt...

From Author Natasha Mostert:

1. At the beginning of Season of the Witch, Gabriel is hip, sexy, self-assured and in control of his life. At the end of the book we see him much older and in the grip of obsession. Do you think he has grown during his journey or has he become a diminished, sad figure?

2. One of the themes in Season of the Witch is that ordinary life is filled with magic. And that if you think there is something wholly mysterious that lurks at the edge of your peripheral vision…you may be right! Do you agree? Do you believe in paranormal and mystical experiences? If you don’t, did the author still manage to create a believable world within the pages of the book?

3. Gabriel falls in love with a voice in a diary. Do you think this is a realistic scenario? When the author started writing the book, she pitched the idea to friends and the women thought the idea romantic and plausible whereas the reaction of the men ranged from disbelieving laughter to a more diplomatic “Nothing is impossible.” What is your view?

4. Following on from the above question: Do you believe that it is precisely because the woman in the diary is unattainable that Gabriel becomes obsessed with her? Do you agree that unresolved sexual tension lies at the heart of attraction?

5. Which of the two sisters is the more attractive? Please give reasons for your answer.

6. The two witches in the novel are information addicts and they are building a memory palace in order to strengthen their memory and use it as a tool to reach enlightenment.

Do you agree with the central premise of the book that despite ever-increasing multi-tasking skills, that the memories of people today are far weaker than those of our ancestors -- even those of our grand-parents? Before the advent of the printing press, people had to remember everything. Today we need only click a mouse and we have an ocean of information at our fingertips. But do technological advances weaken our ability to recollect? And does it matter?

7. At the end of Season of the Witch, Gabriel writes: “One of the crueler jokes of creation is being burdened with brains capable of conceptualizing a state of higher consciousness we have little hope of ever achieving. But we can strive, walking with hands outstretched like a blind man trying to orient himself in an alien place. And sometimes our clumsy fingers graze the mind of God.”

8. Do you agree that most people feel a pervasive sense of discontent within themselves – a yearning for something bigger and finer that lies outside their frame of reference? Would you say this lies at the heart of the human condition?

»	Publisher's Book Info
»	Author Natasha Mostert's web site
»	Play Season of the Witch Memory Game
»	Natasha Mostert's My Space Page

A Note from Natasha Mostert for BookMovement Members:

I started off trying to create a modern-day Scheherazade story. When I was a little girl, my mother told me the Arabian Nights fantasy of Scheherazade and the Sultan while playing the music of Rimsky-Korsakov in the background! The idea of a woman captivating a man -- not by the beauty of her face, but by the power of her words -- is a seductive concept and I wanted to translate this idea into a modern idiom.

The second idea I wanted to explore, was more esoteric. I believe most of us feel a pervasive sense of discontent, which we find difficult to articulate but which informs our lives. We sense that we are sleepwalking through life and that there is another way of looking at the world, which will enable us to experience life intensely and with much greater joy. What I tried to convey in Season of the Witch, is the poignancy that underlies this quest for enlightenment. Because even though man was created with a brain powerful enough for him to realize there is a higher consciousness to which he can aspire, it is not powerful enough to allow him to truly achieve his goal.

Overall rating:
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Member ratings:

"Well written. Easy read. Made for a great book discussion."
by kbatson (see profile) 10/31/07

"What a great book!"
by terrislatts (see profile) 10/31/07
I love the way Natasha Mostert writes. Very interesting and I was totally happy with the books ending. For me, I am always dissapointed in a books ending but not the case with this one. Great book!

"Season of the Witch"
by zamak (see profile) 05/15/09
Very interesting book. I loved it. I think about different things about it every day. Very intriguing.

"A love/drama story"
by Kathy E. (see profile) 11/30/07
This book was beautifully written. I enjoyed the book very much and recommend it to anyone. There were only 2 things that really took from the book. 1. Frankie's character was no as well developed... (read more)

"a gothic thriller about a love triangle between two witch sisters and an information thief."
by adelumeau (see profile) 09/18/07
this book is very well written and well researched, but too dark for my taste plus for personal reasons i did not care too much for the sorcery theme!