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Light
of the World
Reviewed by Tim McCree
August 2006
BOOK: Light of the
World
AUTHOR: Scott Ciencin
NOTE: This review may contain plot spoilers.
There is nothing like being included in a wedding party as the
Maid Of Honor and Bridesmaids. For most people in those
positions, the most they have to worry about is whether everyone
will arrive at the wedding on time. For the Halliwell
sisters, however, things get a little more complicated.
The Halliwells are invited to attend the wedding of Phoebe
and Piper's childhood friend, Lyssa (I wonder why the author
chose this name, short for Alyssa, perhaps, but I digress).
Paige has never met Lyssa, and she is curious about this old
friend her sisters have told her about. The wedding is
scheduled to take place in the small village of Serenity Cove,
located upstate from San Francisco (Phoebe is the Maid Of Honour,
while Piper and Paige are Bridesmaids). It seems, at
first, that the Halliwells can have a weekend off from being the
Charmed Ones and enjoy the wedding. However, magic always
has a way of finding them.
Upon arrival in Serenity Cove, the Halliwells notice odd
things. Strange colored birds, the villagers acting
oddly. Phoebe even comments that they have stepped into
the Twilight Zone. However, the most disturbing event is
what has happened to Lyssa's fiancé, James. It seems he
became interested in a legend surrounding the old lighthouse
where the wedding will take place. According to that legend, a
century earlier, the keeper of said lighthouse lost his own
beloved in a storm. He swore vengeance on the world that
denied him his true love, and it is said his spirit still haunts
the lighthouse. Soon, the Charmed Ones discover that
legend has become truth, James has become possessed by the angry
spirit of the keeper. This spirit is planning to unleash a
legion of dark gods upon the Earth. Can the Halliwells
manage to stop the keeper and save James at the same time?
Once again we fans get a real treat. This is a
wonderful book in that it has an exciting adventure and once
again characterizes the Halliwell sisters just right.
Also, the Halliwells once again manage to get away from San
Francisco, proving that evil is not just confined to that one
city (a few of the books have done this, taking the Charmed Ones
on the road, once again the books succeed where the show
failed).
This books has quite a few funny moments, in which the
Halliwell sisters are forced to use magic in Serenity Cove, and
then have to try to explain it away to the locals. Believe
it or not, they manage to pull it off, without resorting to have
Leo use memory dust. Once again the sisters use
their brains to help them out of sticky situations and it works
quite well.
Clearly, part of the story in the book was inspired by the
writings of H. P. Lovecraft. One can see the influence of his
Cthulhu stories in this book. The beings that the keeper
deals with are huge creatures from the dark places beneath the
seas, much like the beings in Mr. Lovecraft's stories. I
think this was a great tribute to one of the most famous science
fiction/horror writers of the early 20th Century.
Some other points:
-there is a somewhat amusing subplot of Leo discovering
the Internet for the first time. Although the Net is old
hat to most of us, to Leo, who grew up long before such
technology existed, it would seem like magic (no pun intended).
-Cole is referred to several times in the book, as Phoebe
compares Lyssa's upcoming wedding to her own. It's nice to
see that the books haven't totally forgotten he ever existed.
-there are some nice character moments for Paige, when she
meets Lyssa for the first time. She contemplates the
family and friends she missed out on getting to know, before she
met her sisters in Charmed Again.
-still no sign of Chris.
-Daryl is not in this book, but, once again, the majority
of the action takes place away from San Francisco, so that would
explain it for this book.
All in all, I found this book an enjoyable read.
I give it a 10/10.
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