3 Stars

Morven Westfield

The Old Power Returns

Harvest Shadows Publications

ISBN 978-0-9741740-7-5

2007

The "old power" in the title is the power of the Goddess invoked by Wiccans. Although the vampires remain in the background for quite a bit of the narrative, their potential threat preoccupies several of the other characters. The aura of menace thus created leaves the heroes in uncertainty for much of the story, while the reader has access to knowledge of how much their apprehensions are justified. This novel is a sequel to Westfield's DARKSOME THIRST, but the author fills in the necessary background smoothly enough that I had no trouble understanding the characters and their past history. Meg and Alicia, who previously worked together in the same company, encountered a vampire, Wesley, who may or may not have been destroyed in an explosion at the end of the last book. Now the two women, not having seen each other since, both become employees of another high-tech company. Haunted by a sense that the vampire survived and may be stalking her, Alicia seeks help from the coven to which Meg belongs. This story differs interestingly from most vampire fiction in using Wiccan magic rather than Christian symbols to combat evil. The witches teach Alicia the basics of magical protection, while Frederick, a vampire created by Wesley, gradually closes in upon their circle of friends by coincidentally seducing a co-worker of Meg and Alicia. The narrative conveys a small-town feeling about the area in which these women live (Alicia has a phobia about driving into the "City"), so it doesn't seem unreasonably convenient for the plot that Frederick eventually runs into Alicia while dating her friend.

Wesley appears to be a typical predatory vampire master with advanced psychic powers. Frederick, a new vampire, gives the impression that in life he wasn't much different from what he is now—self-centered, pragmatic, and not too bright. Although Westfield frames vampirism as intrinsically evil, Frederick doesn't seem so much evil as sleazy, an interesting portrayal in contrast to the dashing Byronic hero or villain found in a lot of contemporary vampire fiction. Alicia, despite her timidity, comes across as a well-developed protagonist, more than just a bundle of phobias. Although the various subgroups of characters finally draw together to banish the immediate threat, the novel leaves room for a sequel. The good guys impress me as believable people one would enjoy knowing in real life, and the principal antagonist, Frederick, has enough individuality to keep him from being a stereotyped undead demon. In fact, now and then one feels there might almost be hope for him. The final confrontation grants the heroes a satisfying victory without minimizing the horrors they have suffered. The detailed, vivid presentation of Wiccan theory and practice suggests the breadth of the author's knowledge in that field.

This novel and DARKSOME THIRST can be ordered at www.harvestshadows.com.

Reviewed by Margaret L. Carter