All Hallows Eve - Charles Williams Book Review

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"All Hallows Eve"
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Review Summaries

"Published in 1945 and still in print, this is the last of the novels of Charles Williams, who along with J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis was one of the Oxford literary group the Inklings. The recent increase in popularity of his fiction, initially boosted by his association with the Inklings, is probably due to the current success of the Frank Peretti thrillers, and the LaHaye-Jenkins 'Left Behind' series. However, in contrast to the current populists Mr Williams is intellectually quite a demanding read. All Hallows Eve is another Williams ghost story, gently told in his own highly unorthodox style. Two young women have been killed in an accident in the aftermath of the WWII air raids on London, but their ghostly participation in the story is as real as that of any of the living people. It is probably fair to say that this novel, as with most Charles Williams fiction, is not recommended for the overly sensitive person, and could easily be misinterpreted the overly hasty. Simon LeClerk is a powerful mage, more a Saruman than a Gandalf, and his plan is domination of this world and - more worryingly - any other that he can access. His adoring acolytes form the powerbase of his support for a new world religion. Betty, daughter of one of these acolytes, is the unwilling dupe of the magician, and the key subject in his most daring and horrible experiment. An artist is the bereaved husband of Evelyn, one of the ghosts, and a civil servant is Betty's intended husband. The characters have depth and robust individual style. While many an author can paint real villains doing convincingly bad things, Williams is unusual in that his good characters and their goodness are equally if not more convincing. Their goodness is genuinely felt and is strongly attractive. There is no hint that the villains have all the fun or that the author really has little idea of how to portray true goodness, or even what it is. From this novel I also gained a valuable insight into the true nature and function of art. Rather like 'The Picture of Dorian Gray', two of the artist's paintings play a pivotal part in the story. The artist manages in one picture to catch and portray something of a hidden truth about the city of London, and in the other something about the magician himself (who approves of the picture). As these things could not be captured by any mere photograph, the art has to say what can best be said, or perhaps only be said, in a painting.

Crested sapwood supportable noradrenaline runout. "
Michael JR Jose, Resident Charles Williams Scholar

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Overall Review

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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book - sensitive (sigh....)
Time Travel: - largely forwards/future
Mental/magical powers focus Yes
Inner Struggle Yes
Plotlet: - fighting a personal illness/handicap - search for identity/new understanding - change of heart
Story involving clones/duplicates? - bad clones/duplicates
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Time Travel story? Yes
Clones Yes

Main Character
Identity: - Female
Profession/status: - wealthy
Age: - 20's-30's
Has magical/special powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers of main character: - clairvoyant - teleportation - Invisibility - healing
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - long-lived adults
Profession/status: - mage/magician
Has magical powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers of main antagonist: - can change shapes - telekinesis - mind reading - mind control - clairvoyant - teleportation - can cast all sorts of spells
Eccentric: Yes - obsessed - deluded
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - an above average amount
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
Earth setting: - 20th century
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
How much dialogue? - significantly more descript than dialog

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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).

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