An Age of Winters: a slow burn mystery with witchcraft rumors, accusations and hidden secrets

An Age of Winters by Gemma Liviero is a story of a time when witchfinders rules and paranoia spreads like wildfire when persecution and betrayal is hiding in the shadows. It is 1625 in the Franconian village of Eisbach, disease, famine and heinous crimes made a merciless winter even more chilling. Katarin Jaspers is the maid servant to the Reverend Zacharias Engel, newly appointed by Rome to discover the truth behind the strange events in the village. Soon a man is declared a witch and burned publicly and all prayed it would end the misfortunes. As peace and sense of normalcy returns to the village with the promise of spring and Katarin finds herself drawn to Zacharias, but when a new midwife comes to the village and becomes a rival for the reverend’s attention, a new fear builds as a new winter sets in and leaves the village on edge once again. As rumors fly, is no one safe from the threat of the pyres? 

An Age of Winters is a slow burn mystery in a day and age when the accusation of witchcraft was a death sentence. Ms. Liviero’s descriptions are so vivid that I could swear I felt the bitter winter wind. I liked Katarin’s character, a simple maid servant with her own secrets. Zacharias was a man of mystery with little eccentric traits that would raise an eyebrow and question his motives as well. Little hints along the way kept me guessing as to who or what was behind the evil that plagued the village. There were definitely questions about who to trust and who was lying and which accusations were real and which ones were fueled by ulterior motives. The ending was a shocker and left me gabbing in surprise. Overall, it was a bit slower than I normally like but it kept me engaged and turning the page. If you enjoy slow burn historical novels, I think you will enjoy An Age of Winters. 

An Age of Winters is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

Symbol Maker's Daughter: the end of the War of the Roses

Symbol Maker’s Daughter by Clare Gutierrez is a tale of intrigue, mystery and destiny as the fight for the English throne continues. The War of the Roses has been ranging between two houses of the Plantagenets: Lancaster and York since 1455. In 1483, Edward IV died, leaving his throne to his young son, but his ambitious brother, Richard, took the throne in the young boy’s place. Edward’s two sons were placed in the Tower under the guise of their protection. But there is a growing, secret support for another claim to the throne, a young man named Henry Tudor.. Lord Weldon began to have dreams, dreams with vivid images that he recreates the symbols for the images he saw. He entrusts his daughter, Nicola, to deliver these symbols. Nicola sets out on a perilous journey that could be life and death for her and the crossroads of history. 

The War of the Roses has always been taught in passing and I know very little how it began or how it ended. This book is the tail end of the war as Richard, Duke of Gloucester, becomes Richard III and meets Henry Tudor on the battlefield. While history already tells us Henry wins the crown to become Henry VII, political alliances, rumors of witchcraft and murder, everyone questions who or what they can trust. History could have been different. Symbol Maker’s Daughter is an interesting take on the events that lead to the end of the War of the Roses. It is a very detailed story with many moving parts. I read the book in about a week, which is a rarity for me. However, because the story was so detailed and intricate, this story requires a slow read to understand the events. I recommend Symbol Maker’s Daughter. 

Symbol Maker’s Daughter is available in paperback and eBook

The Woman of Endor: a story of a witch used by God to deliver an important message

The Woman of Endor or the Witch of Endor is an unusual character in Saul’s story. Her story is brief in 1 Samuel 28. She is immersed in the occult with a reputation of being able to conjure spirits and yet she was kind a motherly. She was a character of compassion and sorrow. She showed King Saul compassion on the eve of his death after her great sorrow of being the one to help deliver a hopeless message to the king. While her role is brief, God used her to deliver a final message to the king. What is her story? Why was it a big deal that Saul sought her out? Why would God allow a witch to deliver his message? 

In the dead of night, a man comes to a woman, begging her to summon a spirit. The woman senses a trap as the king had banished all mediums and outlawed witchcraft. He wants her to summon the spirit of Samuel. It is then she realizes the man in front of her is King Saul. She protests but he insists, assuring her that no harm will come to her for doing as he asked. When Samuel’s spirit appears, she is filled with terror. Saul falls to his face on the floor as Samuel delivers his message. He will die in battle and his sons will die as well. After Samuel’s spirit leaves, the woman feeds Saul. It would become his last meal as Samuel’s message comes true the next day. Saul would fall on his sword and by the end of the day, his sons would be dead as well.

Many ancient peoples, as well as many people today, felt as though they were living in close contact with the spirit world. They relied on divination and fortune telling to communicate with the dead for guidance and knowledge. Right from the start, God told his people to avoid witchcraft in any and all forms. Leviticus 19:31 is clear and firm, “Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.” The story of Saul and the woman of Endor reminds us that there is nothing new to human behavior. We all experience the same desires, temptations and needs. People try to find the answers they desperately want and not necessarily the ones they need to hear. Saul was desperate. He knew the silence from God could only mean one thing but he was willing to break his own decrees to receive a message from God. 

Endor was the land of the Manasseh tribe. A large city on the side of a hill, it became a harbor for refugees who had fallen out of favor with Israel (Bolinger, 2020). The Bible doesn’t specify if the woman truly conjured Samuel. There are many who believe it was a demon and not the spirit of Samuel. Why would God allow the woman to conjure Samuel, when he strictly forbade it? The Bible is not clear as to God’s reasons.  I personally believe God allowed the spirit of Samuel to come forward in order to give Saul his final message, a reason behind his silence. A message, I think, Saul already knew deep in his heart. Saul’s interaction with the woman of Endor could be seen as a story of irony. “He, the destroyer of the necromancers, forsaken by Yhweh himself, repairs to the witch’s house” (Hirsch, no date). 

In conclusion, the heart of the story of Saul and the woman of Endor is fear. Saul was filled with fear that he had been forsaken by God and in one last desperate act, he sought out a medium, despite God’s instructions and his own decrees. Through God’s final message, Saul learns that he had forsaken God first. The woman of Endor was also afraid for her life. If she was caught performing witchcraft, it would mean her life. But Saul was desperate that he would break his own rules. Fear is a very natural, human emotion. It is what we do with our fear that matters. Do we let fear lead us to disobedience like Saul? Or do we focus on our faith in God to overcome our fears? 

References

Bolinger, Hope (October 9, 2020). Who was the Witch of Endor? Christianity. https://www.christianity.com/wiki/bible/who-was-the-witch-of-endor.html. Retrieved September 9, 2021. 

Hirsch, Emil G (no date). Endor, The Witch of. Jewish Encyclopedia. https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/5755-endor-the-witch-of. Retrieved September 9, 2021.