Witchlight

A couple of weeks ago, I decided that I had to do something about my bookshelves, so I consolidated genres, moved the shelves together so they weren't standing haphazardly about the room, and took a close look at the titles.

There were two fiction books in particular that I thought deserved closer attention. I got the one for free and the other for $0.50, because, hey, why not? The secret to happy living is to never pass up free food or books. Unless you're allergic, in which case this is probably not the secret for you. That's okay, there's lots of secrets to happiness!

Anyway, even though I got these two fiction books some time ago, it was at a time when I was, well... "allergic" to certain types of stories. Child's fiction is always safe, but these weren't in the children's section. I decided to test my limits and picked up Marion Zimmer Bradley's Witchlight.

This would be one of those random coincidences that proves there is a God. Because one week earlier, I wouldn't have been able to get to the ending. Three weeks later, I might not have liked the ending. But that particular day at that particular time? Exactly what I needed.

I knew it was going to be a spectacular story from its very first chapter. Winter Musgrave, the story's protagonist, is living alone in a cottage, with no memory of how she came to be there, why she dares not leave, how long she's been in the cottage, or even who she used to be. What she does know is that she has to leave the cottage for supplies and that might prove to be a little too much for her.

Right up my alley.

There's an apple orchard behind the cottage and, within the first few pages, you find out that "something terrible happened" in the apple orchard, but there's no way to be sure if it's that apple orchard or a different one. As the story progresses, though, the reader becomes aware that whatever happened in the apple orchard is pivot on which all the story turns.

Whatever it was, whatever happened, someone... or, perhaps, something... is trying to kill Winter for it. If she doesn't figure out the missing pieces first, there's no telling who will get hurt along the way.