SEASON OF THE WITCH

A quartet of young, powerless witches rely on their wits when their small towns are attacked by a renewed threat in Bobe’s contemporary fantasy novella.

When 31-year-old spellcaster Endicott Thyne notices the moon’s unusual appearance, she identifies as a herald of the Season of the Witch, which happens every 30 years. Endicott and her witchy crew (including her best friend, Gabriela, along with new acquaintances Xandra and Maritza) soon find out what that really means when a being that emerges from a spooky veil suppresses their powers. To restore those powers, and research this implied threat to their stomping grounds, the twin towns of Mire and Ember Hollow, Endicott must locate the hidden archive of her late grandmother, Dorothea Thyne, the longtime Mire librarian. At the library, she unearths the diary of Claudia Barry, who was seduced by a man from Ember Hollow and was later corrupted by the energy of the otherworldly veil during the Season of the Witch 60 years earlier. Claudia escaped into the world behind the veil and hadn’t been seen since. But now she has returned with a vengeance, wreaking havoc on the twin towns. Endicott proposes a strategy of power in numbers, seeking every available witch, circumventing the communications barrier caused by the veil using their animal familiars. Still, this army still requires a re-powered Endicott and friends to end Claudia’s menace. Bobe deserves much credit for creating a magical land which still feels modern, including cars and cell phones. She effectively introduces all of the key players in her tale using flashbacks to Claudia and her earlier visit. The author illustrates that Claudia is also a victim of a sort, which doesn’t in any way forgive her latter atrocities. This is the story of Endicott’s evolution (she’s been adrift since her guardian Dorothea’s death a decade earlier). A shortcoming of the narrative is that, aside from Endicott, none among the large cast of witches is very well developed, making it harder to differentiate among the supporting characters. Still, that barely lessens the diversion provided by this engaging work.

The past is the gift that keeps on haunting in this gripping paranormal fantasy.