Comments | methodius: Novels of Phil Rickman

methodius

Novels of Phil Rickman

Sep 28, 2005 07:53

I've just finished reading a couple of novels I picked up in the cheap books tray in a supermarket. They were "Midwinter of the Spirit" and "A crown of lights" by Phil Rickman. I bought them because they seemed suitable light reading to fill in odd moments -- on Tuesdays I travel to Johannesburg to give a one hour lecture on church history, but I ( Read more... )

ghost stories, merrily watkins, books, phil rickman

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canonjohn October 8 2005, 14:45:44 UTC

I've read all the books in Rickman's "Merrily Watkins" series. I like British mysteries in general and those with a church setting are particularly interesting. In Rickman's work, the characters are well drawn and, as you said, the books are well researched. Most of the details of church life ring true to me. There is apparently a new novel being released in November.
John

Novels of Phil Rickman methodius October 12 2005, 00:08:48 UTC

How many novels are there in the "Merrily Watkins" series? Was The wine of angels the first?

I've reread a couple of the others, and see that the same characters appear in some of them - Gomer Parry in Crybbe for example, but I think it was only with Merrily Watkins that he really hits his stride -- cross between a ghost story and a whodunit, with humour and showing the contemporary religious scene as well. I found that Crybbe lacked the humour of the Merrily Watkins ones.

Re: Novels of Phil Rickman canonjohn October 12 2005, 00:24:12 UTC

Hello, Methodius - The new novel (Smile of a Ghost) is the seventh in the series. As far as I know "The Wine of Angels" was indeed the first. I enjoy the ongoing characters - we see them develop, e.g. Merrily's daughter is growing up; M's relationship with the musician friend develops. And I think he handles the complex relationship between religious themes and the "darker side" fairly well. I have read any of Rickman's other work...not sure if they would be worth my time. I am drawn my the religious themes plus the mystery. I am less interested in the "occcult"
John

Re: Novels of Phil Rickman methodius October 12 2005, 04:25:17 UTC

I've been trying to stir up some discussion of Phil Rickman's novels in the "Christianity and society" discussion forum. You would be welcome to join us there if you like. More information at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chris_soc/

I've read the first three Merrily Watkins novels now, but they are hard to find in local bookshops, which is why I've been giving them a bit of a plug. I think Rickman's religious and social commentary is right on; hie ecclesiastical characters are believable, and his description of relations between Christianity, neopaganism and New Age is better than many "factual" accounts, most of which are polemical and have axes to grind.

Re: Novels of Phil Rickman 52darkstar October 12 2005, 23:33:47 UTC

Strange sort of serendipity going on here. I was just thought I'd check to see if a new Phil Rickman was out yet and this sight also came up when I was looking for Phils site ( ... )

Re: Novels of Phil Rickman methodius October 13 2005, 03:56:33 UTC

I've just been rereading Candlenight, which I think was one of his first novels, and it's definitely not as good as the later ones. I keep having to go back to check up on things that he has said -- the reader has to remember quite trivial details in order to make sense of things that come up later. It's not as if they were clues in a whodunit.

But the more recent ones seem much better and very true to life, and what you say about some of the characters being people we have all met is very true.

So he does seem to be seriously underrrated, to judge by the lack of his books in the bookshops.

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