St. Peter's Wood (Illusian Sequence)

The second book of the author's Illusian Sequence, St. PETER'S WOOD, is strikingly unlike the first book, the fairy tale/fantasy RASHINGOR, ST. PETER'S WOOD recalls instead the wintry contemplations of a 19th century British rural novel. In this haunting tale, fantasy is quieter and more private, hidden "in the ore of the ordinary," and the aging central characters, Veronica Holystone and Dennis Haiworthy, are people who live unsung lives, doing what the days require. And yet the wonderful is in their story as well. To her great house deep in the tangled woods, Veronica draws an assembly of weary and restless characters, some human, and some not, who, each for his or her own reasons, need to be there. Artfully crafted and beautifully written, this is the only book of the Sequence that has no song. At least, none that is written here. The story ends when the story ends, but the Sequence continues with a third novel, THE STREET OF SECRETS.