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The Gift #1
The Gift
An occult ‘Downton Abbey’ involving Satanists, aristocrats, and Nazis.Born in a Liverpool slum, Lizzie McBride is the daughter of an Irish seer who dies when Lizzie is barely twelve, leaving her in charge of two younger sisters and a grieving father. When her father commits suicide, Lizzie is caught between two worlds.An aunt and uncle decide the three orphans would be better off with them in America, but Lizzie has other ideas and her life changes forever. Pursued by her aunt, Lizzie cannonades into the young and charismatic magician, Aleister Crowley who, for his own reasons, takes her under his wing. He introduces her to Lady Gwyneth Morgan, daughter of the richest family in Wales and sister to the flamboyant occultist, Evan Morgan. At this point Lizzie doesn’t realise her gift— the power to unlock Hell.When the occult world discovers this, governments and powerful individuals seek her out. Only one man can protect the magician John Grey.The Gift is the first book of a trilogy, beginning in 1912 and ending in 1941. The three books trace the magical rivalry between two sisters, Elizabeth and Elsie McBride, interweaving between historical events
350 pages, Paperback
Published July 24, 2018
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May 16, 2019
‘The Gift’ from Michael Keyton benefits from drawing on the facts, assertions and legends of real people in the pedigree of the Morgans family of Tredegar House, Newport, South Wales. To sometimes whimsical then often terrifying effect we encounter the two dysfunctional Morgan rich kids, siblings, both who rank as ‘Honourables’, called Gwyneth and Evan Morgan, the children of the ill suited 3rd Baron and Baroness Tredegar., One feels the latter pair of bad parents really didn’t justify bringing any offspring from their union into the world.
These two untamed Morgan brats were not surprisingly unfinished and hatched into the cruel world before they’d fully developed. Born in the closing years of Queen Victoria’s reign, and playing out to the peak of their sad and wasted lives into the era of the ‘Bright Young Things’ and the age of jazz, with its spate of drugs, sexual adventure, and premature deaths. Arrogant, spoilt, twisted with bad genes, chronically sick, the Morgan duo are let loose by Keyton from their undead state and recalled to life with a clever stroke of his pen, an ever cunning and creative spark, and play out in his game plan in a skilful story rolled out at a steady pace.
The Author also benefits from drawing on his own family’s past location in Liverpool by offering the reader two other siblings. These two are from the opposite end of that ‘ have and have nots’ world, the working classes, humble origins, two sisters named McBride but who also stem from a dysfunctional background and have missing like the two Morgan horrors any likelihood of parental guide lines but in their case through life’s harsh circumstances. These two girls are at the centre of the narrative, they compete to take over the plots and by necessity leave their roots and travel to work and live with the Morgans in South Wales and London and one of them, Lizzie McBride, becomes Gwyneth’s maid and confidante and she seems to be the possessor of this enigmatic “gift” in the book’s title.
These Morgans and McBride misfits are resuscitated into a form of black satanic fiction and carve out an inter play with the true history of Gwyneth and Evan that sometimes complies with their exact timelines, sometimes annoys when it doesn’t, it often baffles and occasionally provokes ( and this is a compliment) by making the toes curl up with each fresh turn of the page fit. The wind chill factor is of the ‘Great Beast’, the devilish Aleister Crowley who lurks in the shadows, with magic traps set here and there to convince the reader that any dark power might be challenged by an enemy of Crowley and that evil can possibly even be stopped and eradicated ( or at best avoided). Keyton is a sophisticated architect of plot, sub plot and dialogue and he often uses to good effect the real events that happened and words actually once spoken or offers plausible reconstructions of what is just fiction, but these workings and contrived conversations do fit the overall purpose.
The presence of Mr Crowley and his enemies at large are ever threatening the lives of those in the story. ‘McBride’ is also a name that sends shivers down the spine of this reviewer as this was the surname of a demon he encountered more damned than evil than Crowley in the shape of a PE teacher who bullied him to the ground almost fifty years ago. The creation of the McBrides is a good invention by the Author and having them weave in and out of the Gwyneth- Evan – Morgan family chronology is a compelling, convincing challenge that indeed overlaps into two other books in this series, the second wave, “Bloodline” is already published and offers further intriguing scenarios to come.
The whole dynasty of the Morgans and upper crust Society in turmoil and decline during the pre and post Great War period is presented as every bit as powerful, curious, messed up and dangerous as it really was in this family of toffs first time round. In making their reincarnation here to this reviewer ( who knows the Morgan history and genealogy quite well) it is like a playful take on Evan Morgan’s favourite hobby of charades coupled with some enjoyable alternative history which I’m pleased to record enthrals rather more than it soils.
The menace lurking behind every scene is a precursor of the inevitable doom to come and even when the storyline departs from truth the fiction is deadly and frightening and sometimes better than fact. The historical chronology and misuse of titles sometimes misshapes things and irks but even as a Morgan perfectionist I would have to admit that the job done here brings to the fore the half- true- half- fictitious stories of the what might have been lives of a fascinating collection of upstairs –downstairs characters told in a masterful way.
These two untamed Morgan brats were not surprisingly unfinished and hatched into the cruel world before they’d fully developed. Born in the closing years of Queen Victoria’s reign, and playing out to the peak of their sad and wasted lives into the era of the ‘Bright Young Things’ and the age of jazz, with its spate of drugs, sexual adventure, and premature deaths. Arrogant, spoilt, twisted with bad genes, chronically sick, the Morgan duo are let loose by Keyton from their undead state and recalled to life with a clever stroke of his pen, an ever cunning and creative spark, and play out in his game plan in a skilful story rolled out at a steady pace.
The Author also benefits from drawing on his own family’s past location in Liverpool by offering the reader two other siblings. These two are from the opposite end of that ‘ have and have nots’ world, the working classes, humble origins, two sisters named McBride but who also stem from a dysfunctional background and have missing like the two Morgan horrors any likelihood of parental guide lines but in their case through life’s harsh circumstances. These two girls are at the centre of the narrative, they compete to take over the plots and by necessity leave their roots and travel to work and live with the Morgans in South Wales and London and one of them, Lizzie McBride, becomes Gwyneth’s maid and confidante and she seems to be the possessor of this enigmatic “gift” in the book’s title.
These Morgans and McBride misfits are resuscitated into a form of black satanic fiction and carve out an inter play with the true history of Gwyneth and Evan that sometimes complies with their exact timelines, sometimes annoys when it doesn’t, it often baffles and occasionally provokes ( and this is a compliment) by making the toes curl up with each fresh turn of the page fit. The wind chill factor is of the ‘Great Beast’, the devilish Aleister Crowley who lurks in the shadows, with magic traps set here and there to convince the reader that any dark power might be challenged by an enemy of Crowley and that evil can possibly even be stopped and eradicated ( or at best avoided). Keyton is a sophisticated architect of plot, sub plot and dialogue and he often uses to good effect the real events that happened and words actually once spoken or offers plausible reconstructions of what is just fiction, but these workings and contrived conversations do fit the overall purpose.
The presence of Mr Crowley and his enemies at large are ever threatening the lives of those in the story. ‘McBride’ is also a name that sends shivers down the spine of this reviewer as this was the surname of a demon he encountered more damned than evil than Crowley in the shape of a PE teacher who bullied him to the ground almost fifty years ago. The creation of the McBrides is a good invention by the Author and having them weave in and out of the Gwyneth- Evan – Morgan family chronology is a compelling, convincing challenge that indeed overlaps into two other books in this series, the second wave, “Bloodline” is already published and offers further intriguing scenarios to come.
The whole dynasty of the Morgans and upper crust Society in turmoil and decline during the pre and post Great War period is presented as every bit as powerful, curious, messed up and dangerous as it really was in this family of toffs first time round. In making their reincarnation here to this reviewer ( who knows the Morgan history and genealogy quite well) it is like a playful take on Evan Morgan’s favourite hobby of charades coupled with some enjoyable alternative history which I’m pleased to record enthrals rather more than it soils.
The menace lurking behind every scene is a precursor of the inevitable doom to come and even when the storyline departs from truth the fiction is deadly and frightening and sometimes better than fact. The historical chronology and misuse of titles sometimes misshapes things and irks but even as a Morgan perfectionist I would have to admit that the job done here brings to the fore the half- true- half- fictitious stories of the what might have been lives of a fascinating collection of upstairs –downstairs characters told in a masterful way.
September 1, 2018
Book Info
Kindle Edition, 324 pages
Published July 20th 2018
ASIN B07FRH7JDY
Other Editions None found
Buy book link
Amazon
An occult ‘Downton Abbey’ involving Satanists, aristocrats, and Nazis.
Born in a Liverpool slum, Lizzie McBride is the daughter of an Irish seer who dies when Lizzie is barely twelve, leaving her in charge of two younger sisters and a grieving father. When her father commits suicide, Lizzie is caught between two worlds.
An aunt and uncle decide the three orphans would be better off with them in America, but Lizzie has other ideas and her life changes forever.
Pursued by her aunt, Lizzie cannonades into the young and charismatic magician, Aleister Crowley who, for his own reasons, takes her under his wing.
He introduces her to Lady Gwyneth Morgan, daughter of the richest family in Wales and sister to the flamboyant occultist, Evan Morgan.
At this point Lizzie doesn’t realise her gift— the power to unlock Hell.
When the occult world discovers this, governments and powerful individuals seek her out.
Only one man can protect her: the magician John Grey.
The Gift is the first book of a trilogy, beginning in 1912 and ending in 1941. The three books trace the magical rivalry between two sisters, Elizabeth and Elsie McBride, interweaving between historical events
There is a saying Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
This story contained that truth tenfold and is a warning to those of a certain disposition to heed its wisdom. For those like myself it is just a story, albeit one filled with fantastical elements woven together to weave reality and make believe together.
What the story did not illustrate until it was almost too late is that one should learn early to whom that adage applies to.
Power is of course seductive and the promise of unlimited power is downright deadly for the person who has it. Elizabeth McBride found out this bit of knowledge when her gift was discovered by those who knew it's true worth. The end result of which led to a twisting set of circumstances that came full circle when the story finished. The ending of course set up the next book that follows and will be about the youngest sister Elsie McBride. Now the same age as Lizzie/Elizabeth was when our oldest orphan separated herself from her two younger siblings rather than going with them along with their maternal Aunt and Uncle to America.
The years in between 1912 when the book begins and the year the book ends are filled with many events that lead into each other in a way that is not totally seamless but is at the same time paced out nicely. This method gives our main character, Lizzie/Elizabeth McBride, time to grow up from a grubby orphan from the slums into a beautiful young woman with poise. A woman whose common beginnings give her a grounded outlook on life. An outlook that serves her well when confronted with those who would abuse her abilities for their own selfish purposes.
This particular book was one that caused me a bit of hesitation to accept and read. There were several reasons which upon further reflection, now story is finished, were proved biased and unnecessary. It was entirely comfortable for me in all but a few scenes that were a bit gross but not horribly dragged out. There will be those more squeamish than myself who may think differently but need to forge on as the meat of this tale is worth a bit of mental discomfort, in my opinion anyway.
I had to think about this one a bit as it is hard to put into words without revealing too much. To that end rather than going into details kept to surface impressions while focusing on the fact that Lizzie/Elizabeth McBride's tale is a little different from what I usually allow myself to read anymore. As tastes change mine have fluctuated to fluffier books.
Want to say sincere thanks to author Michael Keyton, it did not disappoint. Except of course for the fact now have to wait to find out what happens to the McBride sisters next. I think it will be worth it.
Kindle Edition, 324 pages
Published July 20th 2018
ASIN B07FRH7JDY
Other Editions None found
[Digital e-pub copy from Author Michael Keyton]
Buy book link
Amazon
BOOK BLURB
An occult ‘Downton Abbey’ involving Satanists, aristocrats, and Nazis.
Born in a Liverpool slum, Lizzie McBride is the daughter of an Irish seer who dies when Lizzie is barely twelve, leaving her in charge of two younger sisters and a grieving father. When her father commits suicide, Lizzie is caught between two worlds.
An aunt and uncle decide the three orphans would be better off with them in America, but Lizzie has other ideas and her life changes forever.
Pursued by her aunt, Lizzie cannonades into the young and charismatic magician, Aleister Crowley who, for his own reasons, takes her under his wing.
He introduces her to Lady Gwyneth Morgan, daughter of the richest family in Wales and sister to the flamboyant occultist, Evan Morgan.
At this point Lizzie doesn’t realise her gift— the power to unlock Hell.
When the occult world discovers this, governments and powerful individuals seek her out.
Only one man can protect her: the magician John Grey.
The Gift is the first book of a trilogy, beginning in 1912 and ending in 1941. The three books trace the magical rivalry between two sisters, Elizabeth and Elsie McBride, interweaving between historical events
My Thoughts
There is a saying Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
This story contained that truth tenfold and is a warning to those of a certain disposition to heed its wisdom. For those like myself it is just a story, albeit one filled with fantastical elements woven together to weave reality and make believe together.
What the story did not illustrate until it was almost too late is that one should learn early to whom that adage applies to.
Power is of course seductive and the promise of unlimited power is downright deadly for the person who has it. Elizabeth McBride found out this bit of knowledge when her gift was discovered by those who knew it's true worth. The end result of which led to a twisting set of circumstances that came full circle when the story finished. The ending of course set up the next book that follows and will be about the youngest sister Elsie McBride. Now the same age as Lizzie/Elizabeth was when our oldest orphan separated herself from her two younger siblings rather than going with them along with their maternal Aunt and Uncle to America.
The years in between 1912 when the book begins and the year the book ends are filled with many events that lead into each other in a way that is not totally seamless but is at the same time paced out nicely. This method gives our main character, Lizzie/Elizabeth McBride, time to grow up from a grubby orphan from the slums into a beautiful young woman with poise. A woman whose common beginnings give her a grounded outlook on life. An outlook that serves her well when confronted with those who would abuse her abilities for their own selfish purposes.
This particular book was one that caused me a bit of hesitation to accept and read. There were several reasons which upon further reflection, now story is finished, were proved biased and unnecessary. It was entirely comfortable for me in all but a few scenes that were a bit gross but not horribly dragged out. There will be those more squeamish than myself who may think differently but need to forge on as the meat of this tale is worth a bit of mental discomfort, in my opinion anyway.
I had to think about this one a bit as it is hard to put into words without revealing too much. To that end rather than going into details kept to surface impressions while focusing on the fact that Lizzie/Elizabeth McBride's tale is a little different from what I usually allow myself to read anymore. As tastes change mine have fluctuated to fluffier books.
Want to say sincere thanks to author Michael Keyton, it did not disappoint. Except of course for the fact now have to wait to find out what happens to the McBride sisters next. I think it will be worth it.
[Digital e-pub copy from Author Michael Keyton]
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews