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The Guardians
This book is S C A R Y! There's a witch on Riverside Drive... Lise Brown was thrilled with her new apartment; it was more than anyone fresh from the Midwest had a right to expect in Manhattan. She loved it for the river view and the high old ceilings, but even more for the unexpected way she felt instantly at home there - as if the place had been waiting for her. She could not know that apartment 647 contained a rift into another world, a frightening world of malevolent spirits kept contained only by the rituals of the previous tenant. She can feel the evil on the other side of the rift, growing stronger, feeding on her fear, waiting for the moment when it will be powerful enough to break through into a helpless world. To stop it, Lise must learn what it means to be a witch...
Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
4 people are currently reading
92 people want to read
About the author
Lynn Abbey
146 books192 followersLynn Abbey began publishing in 1979 with the novel Daughter of the Bright Moon and the short story "The Face of Chaos," part of a Thieves World shared world anthology. She received early encouragement from Gordon R. Dickson.
In the 1980s she married Robert Asprin and became his co-editor on the Thieves World books. She also contributed to other shared world series during the 1980s, including Heroes in Hell and Merovingen Nights.
Abbey and Asprin divorced in 1993 and Abbey moved to Oklahoma City. She continued to write novels during this period, including original works as well as tie-ins to Role Playing Games for TSR. In 2002, she returned to Thieves World with the novel Sanctuary and also began editing new anthologies, beginning with Turning Points.
In the 1980s she married Robert Asprin and became his co-editor on the Thieves World books. She also contributed to other shared world series during the 1980s, including Heroes in Hell and Merovingen Nights.
Abbey and Asprin divorced in 1993 and Abbey moved to Oklahoma City. She continued to write novels during this period, including original works as well as tie-ins to Role Playing Games for TSR. In 2002, she returned to Thieves World with the novel Sanctuary and also began editing new anthologies, beginning with Turning Points.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 13, 2017
I wanted to like this book and in many ways, I did. But there lingers a sense that it could have been more. I don’t feel like I understood the main characters (Lise and Edith) very well, even though most of the chapters are told from their points of view. We occasionally get glimpses of other points of view, notably Nigel and the Baron, and while they were important to the story, those sections felt jarringly out of place.
Maybe the author meant to leave the reader with a number of unanswered questions, but I feel like the story would have been more complete and satisfying if at least some of those questions have been resolved.
Maybe the author meant to leave the reader with a number of unanswered questions, but I feel like the story would have been more complete and satisfying if at least some of those questions have been resolved.
April 6, 2011
Lynn Abbey’s The Guardians is an urban fantasy of powerful, ritual magic, filled with characters who had no intention of ever becoming involved with something as alien as the Wiccan tradition, much less with magic. We have several characters we know well; two are POV, Lise Brown and Edith Brompton, the first a young woman who lucks into an affordable apartment in New York City (and we all know that no one just lucks into an affordable apartment in New York City) and the other the High Priestess of an ancient Coven, one of the High Covens that guard the great Rifts between worlds on the high holy days of the “old religion.”
What Lise does not know as she agrees to rent the apartment she’s found, is that one of the great Rifts floats in the living room of the apartment – and that the malevolent spirits of the Otherworld were kept out of our world by the efforts of the previous tenant. The lease manager is relieved to have a taker for the apartment – the neighbors thought the last renters were devil-worshipers, and now are suspicious of the apartment itself. Edith knew those people – they had left England decades before, to cover the new Rift and try to build a Coven to guard it. Something evil came through that Rift, the last time a ritual held it open, and that evil is picking off the last of the old Coven members – and others in NYC as well.
Now, the Powers (never Good or Evil, in Lise’s mind – she sees them as Other) have decided that Lise will make a good High Priestess for a new Coven. Lise not only is not a witch, she doesn’t believe in magic, and has enough on her plate. But the Rift begins to infiltrate her dreams, her life, her body. And all the strength and stubbornness she was born with now rises up, first to keep her from asking for or accepting any help – and eventually, to accept that this is her problem to deal with, and to accept as much coaching as Edith, come to New York City, can give her.
The Guardians gave me a new impression of Wicca, through the eyes of the many characters who wander through Lise’s life. I knew that it was a very accepting religion, and also that it did not see itself in conflict with other religions – to Wiccans, the Goddess and God have many faces, and can be found in many places. Lise ends up pulling into her sphere not only several Wiccans she meets, but also her good friend who is a devout Catholic – and her friend’s husband, who accepts at first that his wife witnessed things that could not be explained normally, when she stayed overnight with Lise, and eventually himself sees things that he must accept as real. Other members of the coven include the Jewish couple across the hall, who once were a problem for the previous coven, and now come to understand that they are helping protect New York in a very special way. None of these people turn their back on their birth faiths – they see themselves as adding magic as a way to follow the tenets in which they were raised.
Lise discovers that a High Priestess may not walk the traditional path of becoming a witch, and has to trust her gut first. Where others might see things that frighten them -- that hint of the darkness of the Otherworld -- Lise can see potential allies, whether they are ‘Voodoo” practitioners, or follow other paths.
Headstrong, always going her own way – Lise is stubborn enough that it would be easy to wash your hands of her. But the position she’s been chosen for requires a strength and steeliness that a more pliant person might not be able to handle. And her story kept me reading, through the end and into a short story written much later, showing where Lise and the coven went in the years following – a story that also explains 9/11 from a possible Wiccan point of view, even as we see that Lise lives with the damage her first brushes with the Rift brought her. Wicca does not always heal you – it just gives you the strength and inner direction to find your own healing.
If you enjoy books about guardians, and/or Wicca, you might check this one out. It has different emphasis than many novels, a motley group of all too real people, and gives both the thrill and threat of living in a huge city. The 26 page new piece “Past Tense” is only in the Yard Dog Press edition.
What Lise does not know as she agrees to rent the apartment she’s found, is that one of the great Rifts floats in the living room of the apartment – and that the malevolent spirits of the Otherworld were kept out of our world by the efforts of the previous tenant. The lease manager is relieved to have a taker for the apartment – the neighbors thought the last renters were devil-worshipers, and now are suspicious of the apartment itself. Edith knew those people – they had left England decades before, to cover the new Rift and try to build a Coven to guard it. Something evil came through that Rift, the last time a ritual held it open, and that evil is picking off the last of the old Coven members – and others in NYC as well.
Now, the Powers (never Good or Evil, in Lise’s mind – she sees them as Other) have decided that Lise will make a good High Priestess for a new Coven. Lise not only is not a witch, she doesn’t believe in magic, and has enough on her plate. But the Rift begins to infiltrate her dreams, her life, her body. And all the strength and stubbornness she was born with now rises up, first to keep her from asking for or accepting any help – and eventually, to accept that this is her problem to deal with, and to accept as much coaching as Edith, come to New York City, can give her.
The Guardians gave me a new impression of Wicca, through the eyes of the many characters who wander through Lise’s life. I knew that it was a very accepting religion, and also that it did not see itself in conflict with other religions – to Wiccans, the Goddess and God have many faces, and can be found in many places. Lise ends up pulling into her sphere not only several Wiccans she meets, but also her good friend who is a devout Catholic – and her friend’s husband, who accepts at first that his wife witnessed things that could not be explained normally, when she stayed overnight with Lise, and eventually himself sees things that he must accept as real. Other members of the coven include the Jewish couple across the hall, who once were a problem for the previous coven, and now come to understand that they are helping protect New York in a very special way. None of these people turn their back on their birth faiths – they see themselves as adding magic as a way to follow the tenets in which they were raised.
Lise discovers that a High Priestess may not walk the traditional path of becoming a witch, and has to trust her gut first. Where others might see things that frighten them -- that hint of the darkness of the Otherworld -- Lise can see potential allies, whether they are ‘Voodoo” practitioners, or follow other paths.
Headstrong, always going her own way – Lise is stubborn enough that it would be easy to wash your hands of her. But the position she’s been chosen for requires a strength and steeliness that a more pliant person might not be able to handle. And her story kept me reading, through the end and into a short story written much later, showing where Lise and the coven went in the years following – a story that also explains 9/11 from a possible Wiccan point of view, even as we see that Lise lives with the damage her first brushes with the Rift brought her. Wicca does not always heal you – it just gives you the strength and inner direction to find your own healing.
If you enjoy books about guardians, and/or Wicca, you might check this one out. It has different emphasis than many novels, a motley group of all too real people, and gives both the thrill and threat of living in a huge city. The 26 page new piece “Past Tense” is only in the Yard Dog Press edition.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 28, 2019
Still a good read
I first read The Guardians shortly after its release. I've reread it several times since. Each reading, while familiar, is fresh and engaging. Some of the characters feel like old friends, whom I've not seen in a long time. I simply like the story,and that the author is one of my favorites, certainly doesn't hurt.
I first read The Guardians shortly after its release. I've reread it several times since. Each reading, while familiar, is fresh and engaging. Some of the characters feel like old friends, whom I've not seen in a long time. I simply like the story,and that the author is one of my favorites, certainly doesn't hurt.
February 22, 2019
Enjoyable
It started slowly, and predicated that Wicca is a client in it's current form, but despite that I want to read more. It is excellently written and the narrative doesn't let you go once the pace picks up. Lynn did a good job.
It started slowly, and predicated that Wicca is a client in it's current form, but despite that I want to read more. It is excellently written and the narrative doesn't let you go once the pace picks up. Lynn did a good job.
April 4, 2018
A little dense, but interesting concepts and conflicts
August 6, 2014
Probably one of the most disappointing books I have read penned by LA. Unstructured, weak characters and a somewhat bland lead. After so many strong women in earlier books, I was quite deflated and abandoned her novels for years!
September 19, 2018
Not the same book
Read this As a teen. The last chapter was very odd and a post 9/11 addition. Not sure what I think.
Read this As a teen. The last chapter was very odd and a post 9/11 addition. Not sure what I think.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews