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Waking Brigid
Waking Brigid is a darkly evocative novel set in haunting Savannah, Georgia. Though the city was physically spared during the Civil War, its citizens did not come through unscathed. Into this dark and battered culture comes young Brigid Rourke, a beautiful Irish nun. Driven by the ravages of the famine, Brigid's family chose to give the girl up to the service of the Church to ensure her survival. But in order to do that she had to reject her people's pagan ways. The Church is all she has known and she seeks to do her duty…all the while fighting the lure of her people’s legacy.
Brigid's resolve is tested when a prominent Savannah citizen is cruelly murdered behind a locked and bolted door in an insane asylum. The last words of the man chilled the blood of all who heard him, and the fact that he was murdered while he was alone in the cell defies all logical reason. What follows is nothing less than an amazing clash between the forces of good and evil—dedicated white magicians versus the entrenched devil worshippers--for the soul of a city.
Brigid's resolve is tested when a prominent Savannah citizen is cruelly murdered behind a locked and bolted door in an insane asylum. The last words of the man chilled the blood of all who heard him, and the fact that he was murdered while he was alone in the cell defies all logical reason. What follows is nothing less than an amazing clash between the forces of good and evil—dedicated white magicians versus the entrenched devil worshippers--for the soul of a city.
366 pages, Hardcover
First published February 5, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
March 31, 2010
I think this was a fabulous book. The story is about Brigid and how she comes to terms with her own supernatural powers and how she learns to find her place in the world. I've read criticism on here that there is too much time spent on the "church" and its past/present deeds and power, but I think that this is central to Brigid's inner turmoil and helps one to understand the encompassing power the church possessed and how it could shape people's lives. It obviously could have been told without church involvement at all, but the story would have been thinner and Brigid's transformation would have been less dramatic. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
February 23, 2021
Waking Brigid is earnest, meticulously plotted, and lacking in innovation or spontaneity. It's a primer for beginning genre writers of what NOT to do: Ungraceful infodumps. Characters delivering, "As you Know, Bob...." speeches. Telling instead of showing. Rimaldi is arrogant. Angela is beautiful. Brigid is a hereditary Talent.
There's about a shotglass of plot in a barrel of historical and theological brine. We learn the history of Catholicism in Toledo, Spain, in Sicily, in Ireland, and in Florida. We get the entire history of Savannah, Georgia, religious and otherwise. We get a scholarly dissertation on the social, political, and ecclesiastical ramifications of the Irish Potato Famine of the 1840's—which is actually kind of interesting, but brings the story to a grinding halt. Perhaps the writer is a historian or academic who decided to try his hand at fiction.
What we never do get is into the character's heads or hearts. The narration is trying to be a true omniscient, which the author clearly did not have a handle on. He jumps from one restricted POV to another, often within the same scene, which is sometimes confusing and serves only to keep us outside the character's thoughts. You never see anyone *act* angry or worried or terrified in this book; instead the narrator tells you, "Benito was terrified. He was really, really scared. He'd never been so scared in his life."
As a result, all the characters come off as two-dimensional. The bad guys have only the barest and most stock of motivations—money, power, carnality. They make some stock threats and kill a few people in mundane ways that are supposed to be shocking, but I never got a real sense of menace from any of them. The head of the evil coven spends most of his time thinking about his cotton and investments, which may be a realistic thing for a bad guy to think about, but it doesn't make for an exciting villain.
The good guys go through some ho-hum crises of faith, which are either ignored, in Benito's case, or solved, in Brigid's case, by another of the good guys being fabulously wealthy. And of course Brigid comes to terms with her newfound power, of course at the crucial moment, in a way that was both entirely predictable and seemed to have been designed with Industrial Light and Magic in mind.
The two things the book has going for it are the author's love of Savannah, and the story's ecumenical outlook. Christianity, Paganism, and Voodoun are all painted with affection and equanimity. One character after another makes a speech about how there are good people and bad people in the world, regardless of what religion they follow. While it makes sense for these particular characters to feel this way, by the end of the book it feels like a manipulation of the reader.
There's about a shotglass of plot in a barrel of historical and theological brine. We learn the history of Catholicism in Toledo, Spain, in Sicily, in Ireland, and in Florida. We get the entire history of Savannah, Georgia, religious and otherwise. We get a scholarly dissertation on the social, political, and ecclesiastical ramifications of the Irish Potato Famine of the 1840's—which is actually kind of interesting, but brings the story to a grinding halt. Perhaps the writer is a historian or academic who decided to try his hand at fiction.
What we never do get is into the character's heads or hearts. The narration is trying to be a true omniscient, which the author clearly did not have a handle on. He jumps from one restricted POV to another, often within the same scene, which is sometimes confusing and serves only to keep us outside the character's thoughts. You never see anyone *act* angry or worried or terrified in this book; instead the narrator tells you, "Benito was terrified. He was really, really scared. He'd never been so scared in his life."
As a result, all the characters come off as two-dimensional. The bad guys have only the barest and most stock of motivations—money, power, carnality. They make some stock threats and kill a few people in mundane ways that are supposed to be shocking, but I never got a real sense of menace from any of them. The head of the evil coven spends most of his time thinking about his cotton and investments, which may be a realistic thing for a bad guy to think about, but it doesn't make for an exciting villain.
The good guys go through some ho-hum crises of faith, which are either ignored, in Benito's case, or solved, in Brigid's case, by another of the good guys being fabulously wealthy. And of course Brigid comes to terms with her newfound power, of course at the crucial moment, in a way that was both entirely predictable and seemed to have been designed with Industrial Light and Magic in mind.
The two things the book has going for it are the author's love of Savannah, and the story's ecumenical outlook. Christianity, Paganism, and Voodoun are all painted with affection and equanimity. One character after another makes a speech about how there are good people and bad people in the world, regardless of what religion they follow. While it makes sense for these particular characters to feel this way, by the end of the book it feels like a manipulation of the reader.
June 5, 2009
This is really a terrible book. I mean that. It is almost in the so-bad-it's-good territory, but too many tortured monologues regarding the Catholic church's witchhunts doom it. If any of this was real, then it might work as an expose of the suppression of native magic by the Catholic church. Instead, it reads like a misdirected diatribe against a Catholic church that doesn't exist in a world that doesn't exist.
Chock full of bad exposition, unbelievable character motivation, sexy nuns, devil worshipping slave-owners, and voodoo, it strives for the outrageous and, instead, delivers the bland. Don't read this book unless you are looking for a lesson in what not to do in writing a novel.
Chock full of bad exposition, unbelievable character motivation, sexy nuns, devil worshipping slave-owners, and voodoo, it strives for the outrageous and, instead, delivers the bland. Don't read this book unless you are looking for a lesson in what not to do in writing a novel.
December 12, 2008
I have not been able to put it down. Read up to the last 30 pages in 3 days.
June 3, 2023
Reminds me of one of my first rules of writing I learned - “show don’t tell.” All Clark did was tell the reader everything at the expensive of letting us get close to the characters and truly inside their heads, their lives. Still the story was interesting and not a bad first novel.
June 4, 2018
I really enjoyed this book, but the ending was a little stretched. I think it could’ve saved the last 100 pages. But other than that I enjoyed it!
March 3, 2008
Okay, so I finally got a chance to read a book. I picked this up at the library and thought it looked intriguing. I'm really into reading about how different religions blend together and this one does a pretty good job. It's set in Savannah about 10 years after the Civil War and deals with demons and "devil" worshippers. It brings together the specially trained magicians of the Catholic Church, Paganistic wise people, a voodoo preistess and a doctor who's just trying to figure out the crazy world of the 1870's.
I love reading books that blend together different religions to show that it really doesn't matter what god or gods you believe in...for the most part we are just all striving for humanity and goodness in the world. This one does a good job of doing just that.
Father Benito is my favorite character. He's strong, but admits his weaknesses openly because he knows its the best way to find success as they go up against an evil demon. He's also not so "preist-like" that he doesn't show his emotion or question his faith when it's put to the test. He also loves to find the best in people and help them to bring it out to benefit the rest of the world.
Brigid is the focus of the book and also another great character. Brigid relies on her inner knowledge and strength to get her through the crisis. She also relies not only on God (she's a nun), but her original pagan beliefs in the Earth and many gods. She like many of the other pagan characters in the story believe they are reincarnated and within each life they must find the keys to unlock the magic within them that they have learned throughout the centuries.
So if you are into this sort of thing or you just like a good little ghost story you should pick up this book. It's a pretty easy read, so have fun.
Sadly, the author died last year and only wrote this book and "one other novel" according to the book jacket. It's too bad because I think he would have had a great career in this genre.
I love reading books that blend together different religions to show that it really doesn't matter what god or gods you believe in...for the most part we are just all striving for humanity and goodness in the world. This one does a good job of doing just that.
Father Benito is my favorite character. He's strong, but admits his weaknesses openly because he knows its the best way to find success as they go up against an evil demon. He's also not so "preist-like" that he doesn't show his emotion or question his faith when it's put to the test. He also loves to find the best in people and help them to bring it out to benefit the rest of the world.
Brigid is the focus of the book and also another great character. Brigid relies on her inner knowledge and strength to get her through the crisis. She also relies not only on God (she's a nun), but her original pagan beliefs in the Earth and many gods. She like many of the other pagan characters in the story believe they are reincarnated and within each life they must find the keys to unlock the magic within them that they have learned throughout the centuries.
So if you are into this sort of thing or you just like a good little ghost story you should pick up this book. It's a pretty easy read, so have fun.
Sadly, the author died last year and only wrote this book and "one other novel" according to the book jacket. It's too bad because I think he would have had a great career in this genre.
March 19, 2008
I am currently reading this, but was immediately hooked by the second chapter. It reminds me of when I first read Anne Rice's "Witching Hour"
Here are some professional reviews:
"This book is a nightmare--in a good way. Actually, in a great way."--Susan Sizemore, USA Today bestselling author
“Clark uses language superbly and draws the characters expertly; they and the setting linger with the reader. Although the plot is a stock one, Clark increases the tension as the team members struggle among themselves and against the enemy all the way to a thundering climax.” — (starred review) Booklist
“This debut novel by a Savannah native depicts a richly detailed city peopled with colorful characters overlaid with a touch of the supernatural.” — Library Journal
"Imagine a Coven of killer evil worshippers in post-Civil War Savannah, a strong voodoo cult, and a band of doomed Catholic exorcists who depend for their safety on an Irish born nun with extraordinary gifts. Waking Brigid is a fast-paced nail biting fantasy tale of the perennial battle between good and evil--and good of course speaks with a brogue!"--Father Andrew Greeley
"It's refreshing to read a novel that's so plainly stated, so succinct and yet so vivid. Here from a writer who is well worth watching, is a locked room mystery that is more than worth unlocking!"--Brian Lumley, author of Necroscope
Here are some professional reviews:
"This book is a nightmare--in a good way. Actually, in a great way."--Susan Sizemore, USA Today bestselling author
“Clark uses language superbly and draws the characters expertly; they and the setting linger with the reader. Although the plot is a stock one, Clark increases the tension as the team members struggle among themselves and against the enemy all the way to a thundering climax.” — (starred review) Booklist
“This debut novel by a Savannah native depicts a richly detailed city peopled with colorful characters overlaid with a touch of the supernatural.” — Library Journal
"Imagine a Coven of killer evil worshippers in post-Civil War Savannah, a strong voodoo cult, and a band of doomed Catholic exorcists who depend for their safety on an Irish born nun with extraordinary gifts. Waking Brigid is a fast-paced nail biting fantasy tale of the perennial battle between good and evil--and good of course speaks with a brogue!"--Father Andrew Greeley
"It's refreshing to read a novel that's so plainly stated, so succinct and yet so vivid. Here from a writer who is well worth watching, is a locked room mystery that is more than worth unlocking!"--Brian Lumley, author of Necroscope
April 16, 2009
Brigid is an Irish Catholic nun in Savannah, GA during and after the Civil War. A group of Satan worshipers kill a man who wanted to leave their club. He was killed in the insane asylum affiliated with hospital and church. The church suspects evil and sends for church magicians. They arrive and realize Brigid has hidden powers. They train her and she receives help from others like her in Ireland and she’s able to defeat the spirit and his followers. Brigid decides to leave church, return to Ireland and work on her craft. Well written story with good character development, descriptions and plot.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 3, 2009
Irish nun in post Civil War Savannah questioning her faith because she has the "Sight" makes for a good read. Unfortunately her story line is only about 50% of the book, the rest is devoted to egotistical church men who do not recognize women as equal --- where have we heard that story before? Oh right, in real life.
I like how the author developed the character of Brigid - showing how her faith unwound and how she was able to come to terms with what she really believed through dialogue with other women - both in and out if the church.
I like how the author developed the character of Brigid - showing how her faith unwound and how she was able to come to terms with what she really believed through dialogue with other women - both in and out if the church.
October 31, 2016
I really enjoyed this book, despite it's darkness. At some points the plot progressed rather slowly, and at others I had to go back and re-read because I had absolutely no idea what had happened. The characters were good, but some of them didn't really have very long to develop, nor much of a chance. This is a rather mature read, with vivid descriptions of gruesome things. When I finished though, I wished there was a sequel. If you enjoy creepy stories, and aren't easily scared, this is something you should read.
October 10, 2013
This is currently one of my favorite books. The story was easy to follow and it contained many elements of interest to me, namely spirituality, fantasy and traditions. I thoroughly enjoyed the symbolism, especially toward the end when Brigid understood herself enough to own her power. This book reminds me that God is presented in many faces and as humans, we will never be able to thoroughly understand the nature of God.
September 20, 2016
I was fortunate to have worked with Francis and read some of his early work. When 'Bridget' appeared, I snapped it up and couldn't put it down. I enjoyed the pace and subtle mystery throughout. Having known Francis and his delightful personality, I could almost hear him reading it me. I was saddened to lose him so early in life but will treasure 'Bridget' so I can listen to Francis speaking to always.
June 3, 2008
What a great book Waking Bridgid is. It is the classic tale of good vs. evil. This book was a recommendation by a friend and I am glad she told me about it otherwise I would have missed out on this treasure.
I am sad to say that there won't be anymore books by this author as he died unexpectedly last spring.
I am sad to say that there won't be anymore books by this author as he died unexpectedly last spring.
August 6, 2008
I should have liked this book. It all the elements -- a historical, set in post-Civil War times, a supernatural story. But the more I read, the less interest I had in it. I just couldn't force myself to open it any longer, and I didn't manage to finish it. Life is too short to read books one doesn't enjoy.
July 18, 2011
Creepy good fun - I more than liked it. It's the kind of story that reminds you that every book doesn't have to be about realistic crime or self-discovery. It a nice change to suspend belief and just have fun with the sort of gothic fantasy this book provides - especially when it is as well written and suspenseful as this one.
April 28, 2008
This was an interesting premise - good vs. evil in Savannah, Georgia immediately following the Civil War. The juxtapositions of history and religion were fascinating. However, if you aren't into detailed descriptions of black magic rituals, don't read this.
November 24, 2008
Good book...very good build up of suspense. Any book dealing with demons and the devil always gives me the chills and this one was no different. Plus it had a touch of the mystical in it as well which I always like. I'd recommend it.
March 9, 2008
Great story, but poorly written.
June 17, 2008
Great mix of Catholic mysticism and Irish pagan beliefs, and scary enough to keep you reading straight through to the end.
July 15, 2008
It was one of those books that once the lights were turned off you had your head under your covers! Spooky!
September 23, 2008
Held my interest, but somewhat trite at times.
June 24, 2009
This is a tremendous book, particularly for those who are beginning to question their own religious faith in the face of what they are seeing/hearing of the world of magick.
August 31, 2009
I randomly chose this book and ended up loving it. Read the book in one day. Anyone who enjoys supernatural thrillers will love this book.
May 11, 2010
This book was okay. I am really not all that interested in books about the supernatural, but found this book interesting.
August 28, 2010
started out great and kept me interested. Slows down a little in middle and takes a while to build to climax. enjoyed it as a whole and will recommend it to friends.
July 29, 2010
This is a terribly interesting story! I can't put it down!
Read
January 24, 2013This one had a little too much going on for it to be believable. I didn't think it was going to be one I would enjoy, so I didn't finish.
Read
November 13, 2013just removing this from my shelf. haven't read this book yet
October 7, 2013
Irish Catholic nun, mystical / mythic overtones, a splash of voodoo- what's not to like? I enjoy the waking of past experiences or lives sleeping within us. I also enjoyed the post-Civil war setting.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews