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A review by arthurbdd
The Bones of Avalon by Phil Rickman
2.0
What is the point of writing a historical novel if you are not going to bother researching the history? This novel uses the premise of John Dee's command of magic being real, but doesn't bother using authentic Elizabethan magic when detailing what he gets up to, instead just using a rehash of the sort of Golden Dawn-derived stuff that's become pervasive thanks to Crowley's Thelemite magical system and Gardner's Wicca cribbing from the Golden Dawn so extensively.
All this, of course, would be essentially invented centuries after Dee's death, adding an annoyingly anachronism to proceedings which could have been avoided with just a bit more research. (And if, as an author, you don't want to read up on the history, what the hell are you doing writing a historical novel?) Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/2012/04/23/kindlefluff-mixing-up-history-and-slicing-up-dicks/
All this, of course, would be essentially invented centuries after Dee's death, adding an annoyingly anachronism to proceedings which could have been avoided with just a bit more research. (And if, as an author, you don't want to read up on the history, what the hell are you doing writing a historical novel?) Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/2012/04/23/kindlefluff-mixing-up-history-and-slicing-up-dicks/