Wicca

Pentworth #2

by James Follett

This is a science-fiction thriller based in a West Sussex village, which becomes cut off from the rest of the world after a UFO incident. A local dignitary takes advantage of an obscure Act of Parliament to seize power and impose his rule on the local population. The community descends into moral anarchy and a civil war breaks out - culminating in the trial of one villager for witchcraft.

Genres: Audiobook, Science Fiction

361 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 27, 2001

About the author

James Follett (not "Follet") was an author and screenwriter, born in 1939 in Tolworth, England.

Follett became a full-time fiction writer in 1976, after resigning from contract work as a technical writer for the British Ministry of Defence. He has wrote over 20 novels, several television scripts (including episodes of the BBC's Blake's 7), and many radio dramas. Follett was one of the 400 most popular British authors, measured by the numbers of books borrowed from public libraries in the UK, having spent 11 years in the public lending right's top two bands of authors.

Reviews

[Sean Randall · Rating 5 out of 5]

My maxim of a series' second book being the best can of course not be panned out until I've finished the thing, but this installment was certainly excellent. On par with the first and one of its only detractions being Follett's rather overused reliance on repeating material from the first book (something also prevalent in the Eagles books), the action was fascinating, the characters as colourful as ever and the story line progressed to a very interesting place. The trial for witchcraft was extremely atmospheric and the whole concept of the story is absolutely engrossing

[Susan Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wicca is the second book in the Temple of the Winds trilogy. It is centered around a woman and a young girl accused of being witches by a crazy cult leader. The beginning of the novel recaps the first one so you can get by without reading the first, but I wouldn't recommend it. This trilogy is filled with characters who have interesting backstories. While you don't have to know all of that to read Wicca, I got more out of it because I knew those backgrounds. I really liked this book. It was a suspenseful story that moved the series forward. Once I finished it, I immediately picked up the third book, The Silent Vulcan. If you like long stories about interesting characters with a little Sci-Fi thrown in, you will enjoy Wicca and the other two books in the trilogy.

[Laura of Lurking · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just like the previous novel in this trilogy I found the characters well built and the plot thought out. As everybody begin to believe that everybody else has it better than them the tension in the town really ramps up, leaving you wondering what next, and how far are the "nut jobs" in power willing to go

When I finished "Temple of the Winds", the first novel in the trilogy I was concerned this would turn into a courtroom drama, and while at times there were scenes of political nature that I felt were drawn out overall it focussed on adventure and plans to stop the craziness.

Having reached the end I feel that this novel and the one before it were just an introduction to the final instalment, where we will find out what is really happening. I look forward to reading it.

[Thom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in September 2008