At last, The Complete Lychford! All five volumes of Paul Cornell's popular Witches of Lychford series, together for the first time!
Traveler, Cleric, Witch.
Witches of Lychford
The villagers in the sleepy hamlet of Lychford are divided. A supermarket wants to build a major branch on their border. Some welcome the employment opportunities, while some object to the modernization of the local environment.
Judith Mawson (local crank) knows the truth — that Lychford lies on the boundary between two worlds, and that the destruction of the border will open wide the gateways to malevolent beings beyond imagination.
But if she is to have her voice heard, she's going to need the assistance of some very unlikely allies...
The Lost Child of Lychford
It’s December in the English village of Lychford – the first Christmas since an evil conglomerate tried to force open the borders between our world and . . . another.
Which means it’s Lizzie’s first Christmas as Reverend of St. Martin’s. Which means more stress, more expectation, more scrutiny by the congregation. Which means . . . well, business as usual, really.
Until the apparition of a small boy finds its way to Lizzie in the church. Is he a ghost? A vision? Something else? Whatever the truth, our trio of witches (they don’t approve of “coven”) are about to face their toughest battle, yet!
A Long Day in Lychford
It's a period of turmoil in Britain, with the country's politicians electing to remove the UK from the European Union, despite ever-increasing evidence that the public no longer supports it. And the small town of Lychford is suffering.
But what can three rural witches do to guard against the unknown? And why are unwary hikers being led over the magical borders by their smartphones' mapping software? And is the immigration question really important enough to kill for?
The Lights Go Out in Lychford
The borders of Lychford are crumbling. Other realities threaten to seep into the otherwise quiet village, and the resident wise woman is struggling to remain wise. The local magic shop owner and the local priest are having troubles of their own.
And a mysterious stranger is on hand to offer a solution to everyone's problems. No cost, no strings (she says).
But as everyone knows, free wishes from strangers rarely come without a price . . .
Last Stand in Lychford
There are changes in the air, both in Lychford and in the land of fairy.
The magical protections previously employed by the town are gone, and the forces of darkness are closing in — both figuratively and literally.
Can Autumn and Lizzie save their community, and, well, the world?
Exploding fairies, the architect of the universe and a celestial bureaucratic blunder make this a satisfying conclusion to the ever-popular Witches of Lychford series.
Paul Cornell is a British writer of science fiction and fantasy prose, comics and television. He's been Hugo Award-nominated for all three media, and has won the BSFA Award for his short fiction, and the Eagle Award for his comics. He's the writer of Saucer Country for Vertigo, Demon Knights for DC, and has written for the Doctor Who TV series. His new urban fantasy novel is London Falling, out from Tor on December 6th.
I actually read only the first book in this series (but a single volume did not present in the Goodreads search!) So, a 3.5 rating for this cozy story. A village located in a critical place on the border of this world and that of the Fae is threatened by Big Store development. Should the building be allowed, the barrier between worlds will be destroyed, and this world could be overrun by the Fair Folk (who, it turns out, are not so fair). Several women with connection to the occult and magic, and a priest at the local church, work together to fight this threat. A short volume, but the author skillfully introduces backstory, builds a solid and three dimensional group of characters and tells a good story. This is an enjoyable book and I will definitely read more.
All in all a great book. From the 5 stories I liked some more than the others, but that's ok. I would not mind to read more about the witches and see what they are up to. Hopefully there's more to come?
The storyline is very interesting and the characters, in the first book were good but as the series progressed they got less believable as the author started to introduce his own version of wokeness, to the final point of making Lizzie a closet Lesbian. I also coudnt quite reconcile the author's political correctness with the central tenet of defending the human race from beings that were the original inhabitants but were displaced by the human universe. Can he not see the irony in his writing.
I also found the authors use of English and his phraseology very confusing. long convoluted statements that had to carefully interpreted to make sense. His descriptions of how the witches did their magic don't bare close examination or make any sense at all, I had to let the passages about the witches completing spells just wash over me in order to enjoy his basic ideas.
Three witches in Lychford, guarding the borders between mundanity and fairy. There's always SOMEONE trying to cross them.
I thought the books were ok. I think I've read maybe the first one before, but I really didn't remember it. At the start, I kept thinking of Pterry's "the mother, the maiden, and THE OTHER ONE," though come to think of it, there really wasn't a mother, not at the beginning.
Pleasant quick reads, not too demanding or engaging. These novellas were fine.
I wanted to like this a lot more. It starts so promisingly and then loses its way a bit but the prose and the plot concept are so good that I can kinda forgive the author. The idea that magic and reality are compatible because both are rooted in information theory is a complete blast. All is gesture!