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Starbridge #5
Mystical Paths
When Nicholas Darrow follows his father into the Anglican priesthood in 1968 at the age of twenty-five, he is fleeing a troubled past. But when his fascination with his own psychic powers results in a near-tragedy, Nicholas must face the truth about his relationship with his father before he can find his way out of the seemingly impenetrable darkness that engulfs him.
578 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
June 26, 2008
Nicholas Darrow is the deeply muddled son of Jonathan Darrow. Like his father, he is psychic, and like his father, he is extremely proud and not always likeable. When Nicholas is asked to help investigate the mysterious death of Christian Aysgarth, the investigation takes him on a journey to the darkest corners of his consciousness. As he struggles to understand why Christian's life veered so sharply off course, Nicholas is forced to ask some very painful questions about his own life, including his relationship with his father. Howatch is a master storyteller, and the book does not end without the reader seriously questioning how Nicholas will fare in the future. Yet Howatch seems to grasp that life is a journey, an evolution, and intentionally avoids tying off all the ends at the close of this book.
February 7, 2015
"MYSTICAL PATHS" --- the 5th novel (of 6) in the "Church of England Series" centered on the Church of England in the 20th century --- introduces the reader to Nicholas Darrow, the son of teacher/healer, spiritual advisor, psychic and ex-Fordite monk Jon Darrow, who figures both prominently and peripherally in the series. Nicholas is given center stage here.
The novel begins in 1988, by which time Nicholas is a priest in the Church of England with a healing ministry. He receives a call from an old friend (Venetia Flaxton), who tried --- - without success, for Nicholas, who like his father, possesses psychic powers, can be persuasive when he wants to be --- to get out of her promise to visit him at the Healing Centre. Her call triggers an onrush of memories which carry him back to the year 1968. This was to prove the seminal year in Nicholas' life. At that time he was 25, a Cambridge graduate on the threshold of ordination, and a man sure of himself and his psychic gifts. Yet, beneath the veneer of sobriety and good sense which he liked to project, Nicholas led a licentious and somewhat dissolute personal life. He is set on following his elderly father (with whom he has a close, almost symbiotic, relationship) into the Church of England. Yet, as the novel progresses, the reader becomes witness to a near-tragedy in Nicholas' life. But only "by facing the truth about his relationship with his father" can Nicholas find a way out of the darkness that threatens to engulf him entire.
This is a finely crafted novel peopled by a rich variety of characters, each with their own interesting stories to tell. For the reader who is new to the "Church of England Series", he/she need not feel compelled to read each novel therefrom in sequential order. Indeed, the author states that "[e]ach book is designed to be read independently of the others, but the more books are read, the wider will be the view of the multi-sided reality which is being presented." And what a reality it is.
The novel begins in 1988, by which time Nicholas is a priest in the Church of England with a healing ministry. He receives a call from an old friend (Venetia Flaxton), who tried --- - without success, for Nicholas, who like his father, possesses psychic powers, can be persuasive when he wants to be --- to get out of her promise to visit him at the Healing Centre. Her call triggers an onrush of memories which carry him back to the year 1968. This was to prove the seminal year in Nicholas' life. At that time he was 25, a Cambridge graduate on the threshold of ordination, and a man sure of himself and his psychic gifts. Yet, beneath the veneer of sobriety and good sense which he liked to project, Nicholas led a licentious and somewhat dissolute personal life. He is set on following his elderly father (with whom he has a close, almost symbiotic, relationship) into the Church of England. Yet, as the novel progresses, the reader becomes witness to a near-tragedy in Nicholas' life. But only "by facing the truth about his relationship with his father" can Nicholas find a way out of the darkness that threatens to engulf him entire.
This is a finely crafted novel peopled by a rich variety of characters, each with their own interesting stories to tell. For the reader who is new to the "Church of England Series", he/she need not feel compelled to read each novel therefrom in sequential order. Indeed, the author states that "[e]ach book is designed to be read independently of the others, but the more books are read, the wider will be the view of the multi-sided reality which is being presented." And what a reality it is.
August 28, 2013
This is the fifth book in Howatch's Church of England series. I read the first, Glamourous Powers, several years ago and the second, Glittering Images, a couple of months ago. Both of those were absolutely fascinating reads. Perhaps my expectations were too high when I started this book, but I found it very disappointing. The plot-line left a lot to be desired, but I still found the combination psychology/theology aspects of the book worth the time it took to read and consider. "Funny how the vast majority of the human race has to generate a repulsive amount of noise before it can convince itself it's having a good time." Another: "...one of the greatest failures of the Church in this century lies in the fact that the strong tradition of meditation in Christianity is so little known." And "You said the words you wanted me to hear, but I heard the words you couldn't bring yourself to say." More: "...it only takes one crack in the psyche, one lapse into weakness, for the Devil to wriggle his way in and cause havoc. No matter how strong the Light is, the Dark is always battling away to blot it out."
June 23, 2024
I reread these every few years and they remain superb.
February 4, 2015
A real psychological thriller exploring the relationship between father and son (Jon & Nicholas Darrow) and the burden of familial inheritance. Of the six Starbridge novels this was the one that I found hardest to stay with simply because relationships and actions are analysed to the nth degree by the protagonists.
My life simply isn’t like that; though at times I did feel very strongly drawn by a certain vicarious fascination. Of all the books I found this emotionally the hardest to take a break from, yet contrarily I simply didn’t have the strength to read it from cover to cover at one sitting. Perhaps what that comes down to is that I’m saying that Susan Howatch really is a superb storyteller.
My life simply isn’t like that; though at times I did feel very strongly drawn by a certain vicarious fascination. Of all the books I found this emotionally the hardest to take a break from, yet contrarily I simply didn’t have the strength to read it from cover to cover at one sitting. Perhaps what that comes down to is that I’m saying that Susan Howatch really is a superb storyteller.
May 23, 2007
1968, London. The height of sexual freedom. Nicholas Darrow, a young man on the verge of being ordained, struggles with his own sexuality and the imminent death of his sickly father in the face of entering the church. As a distraction, he becomes obsessed with the disappearance and death of an old friend. As he investigates his friend's dark life more and more, a scary world opens up before him...
January 11, 2017
I really liked the narrative and characterizations in this author's writing and thought the subject was fascinating, to watch a would-be priest struggle between his religion and psychic abilities.
But I did not get past the first couple of chapters because there was more narrative about his sexual preoccupations and fornicative escapades than what was alleged to be the real story.
But I did not get past the first couple of chapters because there was more narrative about his sexual preoccupations and fornicative escapades than what was alleged to be the real story.
June 12, 2022
If it were half as short it would be be twice as good. And it has the worst title in the series. Even so...4 stars. I say check it out.
January 28, 2023
Third Reading Summary: Nicholas Darrow is coming of age, attempting to prepare to become a priest and live a normal life. But his life is anything but typical as the child of an elderly former monk. And he has never really learned to control his psychic powers. And with the death of his mother when he was 14, there is no longer anyone that can solve the problems between him and his father.
Magical Paths is the fifth book in the Starbridge series. As is standard for Susan Howatch's books, she writes about multiple generations with interlocking storylines and perspectives. Nicholas Darrow is the son of Jon Darrow, the narrator from Glamourous Powers. Mystical Paths has the shortest time period of the series, with most of the story playing out over just over a week.
It is 1968, and Nicholas Darrow has quietly become engaged to a young woman he has known his whole life. He has graduated from seminary and will be ordained soon. In the previous book, set in 1963, we know that Nicholas is on the periphery of Venetia's coturie, as she calls her set of friends. Christian Aysgarth, the oldest son of Stephen Aysgarth and his first wife, Grace. Christian is forty and married with two young children. He had a successful academic career with a professorship at Oxford and a beautiful wife, Katie, the daughter of a Duke. But in 1965, he died mysteriously in a boating accident.
Nicholas, like his father Jon, has psychic powers, and Venetia comes to him to see if he will perform a seance so that Katie can contact Christian to deal with her guilt over his death. Nicholas knows the danger of trying to contact the dead but thinks he can avoid an actual seance and solve Katie's problems on his own. But, of course, it goes badly because, as a young man in the 1960s, he thinks he is more capable than he is. And he thinks that those older that could help him are all stuck in the past. Both Venetia in Scandalous Risks and Nicholas in Mystical Paths are 23, and that sense of naivete and confidence leads to problems.
I appreciate that Howatch changes up the format in Mystical Paths, and it is much more of a mystery or thriller. Nicholas visits all of Christian's old friends to determine if they thought that Christian's death was an accident or suicide, or something else. And because it deals with Nicholas, it is much more oriented toward the paranormal and discusses demon possession and hauntings and the Christian ministry of healing and exorcism.
There is more on-screen sex (not graphic or titillating, but present) than in the rest of the series. I understand that Howatch is making a distinction in the books between extramarital sex and affairs when at least one person is married and between ordained and unordained. But I still am uncomfortable with some of the ways that the series tends toward grace for men without as much attention to the women.
The final book in the series brings many of the threads of the earlier books together. One of the strenghts of the series is that Howatch is showing a variety of perspectives and emphasizes how hard it is to really know another person, even those that are close to us relationally. The way that Howatch uses a variety of narrators to explore the life and understand motivations and then revisits those scenes later from other's perspectives is a signficant strenghts of the series. The last book, Absolute Truths, is the only book that returns to a narrator. But it also gives Lyle a voice through Charles reading her journal. That along with some joint spriritual direction sessions with Charles, Jon and Stephen/Neville, allows a greater than normal range of voices in a single book. But it is also longer at 672 pages compared to the rest of the series that ranges from 480 to 520 pages.
_________
Short Review: Nicholas Darrow, 25 and soon to be ordained seems to be blundering around reeking havoc instead of bringing healing to those he is trying to help. This is a very different feel to the previous four books. It is more of a paranormal mystery than anything else. And I think that is a good way to break the cycle of the books. Still this book is very good at looking at a Christian that has grown up in the church and has to find his own way of faith instead of his father's means of faith.
As I write this I have finished the sixth book, and I want to enthusiastically encourage people to read this series. It is the best series I have read in a long time. Not traditional Christian fiction by any means, but I have spent a lot of time thinking about my faith because of the questions broached in these books.
My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/mystical-paths/
Again, on a second reading, this is even better than the first. One of the things I like about this series is its focus on the weakness of Christians, both that they are (and continue to be) sinners and that God uses weakness in ways that we could not imagine.
Magical Paths is the fifth book in the Starbridge series. As is standard for Susan Howatch's books, she writes about multiple generations with interlocking storylines and perspectives. Nicholas Darrow is the son of Jon Darrow, the narrator from Glamourous Powers. Mystical Paths has the shortest time period of the series, with most of the story playing out over just over a week.
It is 1968, and Nicholas Darrow has quietly become engaged to a young woman he has known his whole life. He has graduated from seminary and will be ordained soon. In the previous book, set in 1963, we know that Nicholas is on the periphery of Venetia's coturie, as she calls her set of friends. Christian Aysgarth, the oldest son of Stephen Aysgarth and his first wife, Grace. Christian is forty and married with two young children. He had a successful academic career with a professorship at Oxford and a beautiful wife, Katie, the daughter of a Duke. But in 1965, he died mysteriously in a boating accident.
Nicholas, like his father Jon, has psychic powers, and Venetia comes to him to see if he will perform a seance so that Katie can contact Christian to deal with her guilt over his death. Nicholas knows the danger of trying to contact the dead but thinks he can avoid an actual seance and solve Katie's problems on his own. But, of course, it goes badly because, as a young man in the 1960s, he thinks he is more capable than he is. And he thinks that those older that could help him are all stuck in the past. Both Venetia in Scandalous Risks and Nicholas in Mystical Paths are 23, and that sense of naivete and confidence leads to problems.
I appreciate that Howatch changes up the format in Mystical Paths, and it is much more of a mystery or thriller. Nicholas visits all of Christian's old friends to determine if they thought that Christian's death was an accident or suicide, or something else. And because it deals with Nicholas, it is much more oriented toward the paranormal and discusses demon possession and hauntings and the Christian ministry of healing and exorcism.
There is more on-screen sex (not graphic or titillating, but present) than in the rest of the series. I understand that Howatch is making a distinction in the books between extramarital sex and affairs when at least one person is married and between ordained and unordained. But I still am uncomfortable with some of the ways that the series tends toward grace for men without as much attention to the women.
The final book in the series brings many of the threads of the earlier books together. One of the strenghts of the series is that Howatch is showing a variety of perspectives and emphasizes how hard it is to really know another person, even those that are close to us relationally. The way that Howatch uses a variety of narrators to explore the life and understand motivations and then revisits those scenes later from other's perspectives is a signficant strenghts of the series. The last book, Absolute Truths, is the only book that returns to a narrator. But it also gives Lyle a voice through Charles reading her journal. That along with some joint spriritual direction sessions with Charles, Jon and Stephen/Neville, allows a greater than normal range of voices in a single book. But it is also longer at 672 pages compared to the rest of the series that ranges from 480 to 520 pages.
_________
Short Review: Nicholas Darrow, 25 and soon to be ordained seems to be blundering around reeking havoc instead of bringing healing to those he is trying to help. This is a very different feel to the previous four books. It is more of a paranormal mystery than anything else. And I think that is a good way to break the cycle of the books. Still this book is very good at looking at a Christian that has grown up in the church and has to find his own way of faith instead of his father's means of faith.
As I write this I have finished the sixth book, and I want to enthusiastically encourage people to read this series. It is the best series I have read in a long time. Not traditional Christian fiction by any means, but I have spent a lot of time thinking about my faith because of the questions broached in these books.
My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/mystical-paths/
Again, on a second reading, this is even better than the first. One of the things I like about this series is its focus on the weakness of Christians, both that they are (and continue to be) sinners and that God uses weakness in ways that we could not imagine.
May 12, 2020
This is such an engaging series. I'm enthralled at the way the characters deceive themselves and their reasoning behind their actions. This book, however, through the eyes of Nicholas Darrow in the 60s, was too off the rails for me. I didn't like Nicholas and the way he used women, sleeping with a different woman every day and then discarding them. I found his focus on language odd. He alternatively called the Devil real, but also called it "picture language." It's like he couldn't decide if he believed in a spiritual world or just psychological explanations.
I'm always surprised this author is a woman because the men in this series are all arrogant, confident that they're absolutely right about everything, dismissive of women, self-deceiving...
On to the final book - #6.
I'm always surprised this author is a woman because the men in this series are all arrogant, confident that they're absolutely right about everything, dismissive of women, self-deceiving...
On to the final book - #6.
May 19, 2020
Favorite one of the series
June 25, 2007
Set in 1968 this fifth book in the Starbridge series is narrated by Nicholas Darrow, the late in life son of Jon Darrow from Glamorous Powers.
The main characters, Nicholas and his father Jonathan Darrow, both possess rare psychic gifts, and their inability to see situations clearly in relation to one another stems from the mutual belief that the son is a replica of his father.
They are not just alike of course. Nicholas' psychic gifts are drawing him toward a ministry of healing and Jon, who had some bad experiences in the past when he tried to establish a healing ministry does everything he can to discourage Nicholas from going in that direction. Added to that NIcholas is a teenager who is desperately trying on one hand to distance himself from his father and on the other hand terrified to do so because sometimes he feels overwhelmed by his own psychic powers and needs his father to feel safe.
Things threaten to get out of hand but a new character, Lewis Hall a priest who has been called to a healing ministry takes him in hand and helps him to find the confidence to stand alone without his father and also helps Jon realise that he can safely finally turn loose.
Also, Nicholas contemporaries, the so called "popular crowd" who form secondary characters in the book deteriorate rapidly from a privileged and party-loving group into addiction, mental illness, suicide, murder, or desperate, even pathological, promiscuity. The full consequences of the tragedy involving Venetia Flaxton, which is set in 1963 in Scandalous Risks, are sadly clear in this 1968 setting.
The conclusion of this book is the first time that I felt that Howatch got "really weird," a theme she enlarges on in her St. Benet series and this is the reason that I eventually stopped reading them after the first book in that series. I do not do the occult well.
The main characters, Nicholas and his father Jonathan Darrow, both possess rare psychic gifts, and their inability to see situations clearly in relation to one another stems from the mutual belief that the son is a replica of his father.
They are not just alike of course. Nicholas' psychic gifts are drawing him toward a ministry of healing and Jon, who had some bad experiences in the past when he tried to establish a healing ministry does everything he can to discourage Nicholas from going in that direction. Added to that NIcholas is a teenager who is desperately trying on one hand to distance himself from his father and on the other hand terrified to do so because sometimes he feels overwhelmed by his own psychic powers and needs his father to feel safe.
Things threaten to get out of hand but a new character, Lewis Hall a priest who has been called to a healing ministry takes him in hand and helps him to find the confidence to stand alone without his father and also helps Jon realise that he can safely finally turn loose.
Also, Nicholas contemporaries, the so called "popular crowd" who form secondary characters in the book deteriorate rapidly from a privileged and party-loving group into addiction, mental illness, suicide, murder, or desperate, even pathological, promiscuity. The full consequences of the tragedy involving Venetia Flaxton, which is set in 1963 in Scandalous Risks, are sadly clear in this 1968 setting.
The conclusion of this book is the first time that I felt that Howatch got "really weird," a theme she enlarges on in her St. Benet series and this is the reason that I eventually stopped reading them after the first book in that series. I do not do the occult well.
August 21, 2020
Good but not as good as the other five in the series.
August 31, 2021
Another engrossing read in the series and this time a good mystery too and set up more like the first two I read of hers (I was part way through before I realized that these same characters are in High Flier!). This time (its the 1960s) she delves into how religious truths can be expressed in psychological terms so I highly recommend this to my friends who are interested in both. There was much more darkness to this book and scenes that weren't edifying, but of course the mystery was solved and redemption was found in the end.
Second reading - I enjoyed it and spent a lot of time reading (the other books I am reading are such a slough right now) but this time around it felt like just a little too much! Too many bad decisions and sex (yes set up for redemption but ugh) too many steps to close up the mystery (which I had totally forgotten about so it was like new) too many references to spiritual language (old fashioned picture language) and psychology (wow new ways to talk!) which is was still my favorite part. And as always the end is so good! Treading those mystical paths to get to God/Light/Ground of our Being.
I definitely recommend the series and the Darrows are my favorite family.
Second reading - I enjoyed it and spent a lot of time reading (the other books I am reading are such a slough right now) but this time around it felt like just a little too much! Too many bad decisions and sex (yes set up for redemption but ugh) too many steps to close up the mystery (which I had totally forgotten about so it was like new) too many references to spiritual language (old fashioned picture language) and psychology (wow new ways to talk!) which is was still my favorite part. And as always the end is so good! Treading those mystical paths to get to God/Light/Ground of our Being.
I definitely recommend the series and the Darrows are my favorite family.
February 27, 2020
'Mystical Paths' is book #5 in Susan Howatch's Starbridge Series. Howatch continues her complicated tale of the men and women associated with Starbridge. This is the story of Nicholas Darrow, the son of the psychic clergyman Jonathan Darrow, now in his eighties. Young Darrow's story is set in the middle 1960s and when we meet him, he is about to be ordained into the Anglican Church. He has a conflicted relationship with his father (and his contemporaries) and by now, has also lost his mother. Nicholas has a great psychic gift, possibly even greater than his father's powers, but he must learn how to use them wisely. Enter Lewis Hall--a very flawed clergyman who becomes Nicholas's mentor We have already met most of these characters (Hall is the exception) in the previous books, but they continue to hold the reader's attention as their stories unfold through Nicholas's eyes. There are lots of twists and turns and just when you think, you are getting tired of reading, Howatch throws something unexpected at you. I have found all of the books very entertaining so far. I highly recommend reading these books in order even though each one can stand alone.
October 17, 2017
Nick Darrow is gifted, callow and emeshed with his deeply spiritual and fellow psychic father. He is, in his youth, a walking disaster, promiscuous and arrogant - and about to be ordained as an Anglican Priest. The most charismatic of all of Howatch's protagonists, Nick finds himself deeply involved - to the point of obsession - with the disappearance and presumed death at sea of the glittering and golden Professor Christian Aysgarth. His investigation leads him straight to hell until he breaks down and finds himself being repaired by the dark and intense Rev. Lewis Hall. Mystical Paths works as a potboiler, a mystery and a family study. It looks at the folly of peoples gifts being turned away from God and towards the satisfaction of their own ego. It climaxes in the most terrifying scene of the series. Strongly recommended.
December 7, 2021
Re-read. Set in the late 1960s, this penultimate book from the Starbridge series is about Nicholas Darrow, the son of Father Jonathon Darrow. Nicholas has inherited his father’s mystical powers and also wants to be ordained. But will he follow down the same disastrous paths as his father? As usual, this was a very satisfying story of Christian fallibility and redemption.
I think I might have more sympathy for obnoxious Nick Darrow this second time around since encountering him again in Howatch’s. Benet’s trilogy. I can’t believe I forgot Lewis from this book! He is so critical in the later trilogy and such a breath of fresh air here. I loved his interaction with Jonathon Darrow.
I think I might have more sympathy for obnoxious Nick Darrow this second time around since encountering him again in Howatch’s. Benet’s trilogy. I can’t believe I forgot Lewis from this book! He is so critical in the later trilogy and such a breath of fresh air here. I loved his interaction with Jonathon Darrow.
December 12, 2013
This complex tale emphasizes both the risks and the rewards of psychic develpment
.
It starts slowly and a bit ponderously but the pace picks up once the reader has made way through the thicket of characters and finally can get into the protagonists POV.Although the emphasis on Christianity is strong,it is by no means conventional.The questions posed are still perhaps even more releVant today.
The last bit was electrifying.
How do we know our true self,and how to live authentically are the outstanding questions here.
IS THER ANYTHING MORE WORTHWHILE THAN THE JOURNRY TO THE CENTRE OF THE SELF?HOWATCH MAKES A STRONG CASE THAT THERE IS NOT.
.
It starts slowly and a bit ponderously but the pace picks up once the reader has made way through the thicket of characters and finally can get into the protagonists POV.Although the emphasis on Christianity is strong,it is by no means conventional.The questions posed are still perhaps even more releVant today.
The last bit was electrifying.
How do we know our true self,and how to live authentically are the outstanding questions here.
IS THER ANYTHING MORE WORTHWHILE THAN THE JOURNRY TO THE CENTRE OF THE SELF?HOWATCH MAKES A STRONG CASE THAT THERE IS NOT.
August 4, 2020
3.5 stars
Definitely not loving the second half of this series as much as the first, but at least we're mostly done with Aysgarth for the moment. Mystical Paths was definitely the one that I was most uncomfortable with, as far as content goes, mostly because the whole mystical/psychic thing is SO far outside of my experience. And I realize we're closing in on the swingin' 70s here, but does EVERYONE have to be sleeping with someone other than their spouse in these books? Yeesh. However, I continue to appreciate the honest exploration of spirituality and the many, many ways that God can heal broken people.
Definitely not loving the second half of this series as much as the first, but at least we're mostly done with Aysgarth for the moment. Mystical Paths was definitely the one that I was most uncomfortable with, as far as content goes, mostly because the whole mystical/psychic thing is SO far outside of my experience. And I realize we're closing in on the swingin' 70s here, but does EVERYONE have to be sleeping with someone other than their spouse in these books? Yeesh. However, I continue to appreciate the honest exploration of spirituality and the many, many ways that God can heal broken people.
April 4, 2015
Another excellent instalment in the Starbridge series (#5). In some ways I liked this book better than previous novels in the series. In others I liked it less. By the end of the book the author has tied up most of these fantasies into rational, real world stories with logical explanations. But whilst reading it was hard to swallow some of the details. I know it was set in the 60's but I'm not willing to believe that much odd stuff happened. I didn't love the main character as much in this book as in some previous. But the suspenseful writing is amazing. I couldn't put it down.
December 15, 2009
Why is it that my favorite characters are not the lead characters for my favorite books in this series? Hmmm... Once again Susan Howatch manages to tell an interesting story as she details a mysterious death in the English setting of the 1960s Anglican Church. All the favorite characters from the first 4 books are revisited as the mystery unfolds. I'm looking forward to book 6 and the conclusion of the Starbridge series.
March 4, 2014
The fifth novel in Howatch's series on the Church of England in the 20th century, this book is set in the late 1960s. It focuses on the psychic son of Father Jon Darrow, who is coming of age and learning about his own powers. The book is set amidst the turbulence of the late 1960s, and is centered around a mysterious death and bizarre supernatural happenings. The author does an excellent job of drawing compelling characters and creating a fast-moving and exciting plot.
April 5, 2014
I took this book away as a holiday read.I found that it was not the book to take on a holiday. !! There was so much deep reading in it and I could not really get interested long enough to warrant a day by the pool reading. I have to admit that I didnt finish it as even when I came home I could not find enough enthusiasm to continue where I left off on holiday. I have always enjoyed the series and other Susan Howatch books but this one was really heavy going.
February 3, 2015
Covering the Anglican Priesthood, psychic abilities, past lives, theology and psychology all combine in this book. Though I have not read Susan Howatch books before, this one holds many of my own interests and though only quarter of the way through this book, perhaps I should have started at the first book in the trilogy of the Starbridge books had I known it was a trilogy, but this no doubt will be a book written in a way that it will be a compelling read full of mystery and deception.
May 13, 2017
Randomly picked this up second hand and when I first started reading it I thought it was going to be a self-indulgent philosophical rambling by the author. I could not have been more wrong!!! The story is gripping and the linguistic comparisons between the traditional church imagery and modern psychology are truly fascinating. Epic read. Can't wait to read the rest of the series.
February 23, 2017
I realized as I read this book that if I had read this series when it was written , my youger self would not have recognized the spiritual discussions . I like that this series are novels with a spiritual background. flawed characters but extremely interesting!
May 27, 2018
Tempted to up this to 5 because it's a corkingly odd page-turner thriller (really, my 'ratings' on here are calibrated way too high. Never mind) - the usual mix of psychology, theology and off-the-rails priests, etc, along with some pleasingly dark & spooky moments. (re-read)
September 16, 2016
Love this series. Great story line and interesting theology.
February 26, 2022
Enthralling psychological thriller with a compelling mix of theological debate, family saga and Jungian philosophy.
July 23, 2017
Protagonist seemed taken from an earlier era. His mental rigidity seemed out of place for the time. Finally finished it this time round.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews