Joey Madia, New Mystics Reviews

  (Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2021). ISBN: 978-0-7387-6445-0 For those who follow my blogs, read my novels, and listen to my podcast, it will come as no surprise that I embraced the opportunity to read and review this book and get to communicate with its talented author. I have been fascinated since I was a boy with all things werewolf and lupine. It of course began with films like The Wolf Man , although, as I got older and embarked on my journey as a writer and spiritual practitioner, I began to explore in increasing depth the history of European werewolves, Viking berserkers, Celtic/Teutonic werewolf lore, Absaroka and Navajo skinwalkers/shapeshifters, and animal totems. I also have a child who, during their teenage years, identified as a therian with a special relationship to the wolf—even wearing a two-foot faux wolf fur tail everywhere they went. First and foremost, I want you to be aware that Werewolf Magick is a serious work of scholarship and magickal pract...

The marketing verbiage for this book, the first in a series of five planned novels in the Stonewylde series (two others have already been published), states: “Not thriller, nor fantasy, nor romance. Yet all of these and so much more.” Although seasoned readers and reviewers learn to not spend too much thought or energy on short, powerful statements designed to spark interest and excitement, in this case, the cross-genre aspects of this book make it both noteworthy and worth a read. Berry has rendered the boundaries of several genres invisible, pulling elements from each to build her vivid world, and still manages to present a tight, well-crafted story. At 304 pages, Magus of Stonewylde is a quick, page-turning read. Stonewylde is a fascinating place—a closed community in England, where the fair-haired, fair-eyed Hallfolk are supported by the working-class, peasant Villagers. Structured around the eight pagan festivals that mark the cycles of the year, Stonewylde seems to offer a remedy...