Rituals

By Ed Gorman

In a small New England town, several women have been targeted by a secret society of witch hunters. Inspired by generations of superstition, these witch hunters are convinced that witches are evil-and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0756400503
• Release Date: February 2002
• Publisher: DAW
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.8" x 1.1" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

Horror excellence

Ed Gorman, always a master writing stylist, works in the horror vein, essentially a modern update to the Salem (MA) witch trials and hunts long ago blooding the region. Hastings Corner, located outside of Boston, is the suburban setting this tense fable plays out in. Two groups of witch hunters, a traditional one relying on trials and the newer one on computers, stalk and exterminate today's witches. Interestingly enough, the majority of the witches, as seen in the protagonist Dr. Abby Stewart, serve mankind in good, positive ways. The evil corruption is seen in the witch hunters who "brainwash" captive witches into executing their murderous agenda. Greer Morgan, the daughter of Abby's best friend, becomes the next target to take out. This storyline absorbs you, even if you're not yet a fan of the genre, and the modern prose remains accessible. No weird science or odd names are used. These witches are "normal" and could be your next-door-neighbor. A seamless, enjoyable story.

Solid work from the master

The Salem Witch Trials: a sad piece of American history. But it couldn't happen again, right? That is the idea posed by Ed Gorman's novel Rituals. In it, witches are merely regular people (women, of course, men can only be "carriers") who are born with special "secret" powers that bloom after puberty (shades of Carrie) and fizzle out during adulthood only to partially resurrect themselves during old age. Direct descendants of the persecutors of Salem are hunting down the witches' descendants in an attempt to completely destroy them. Our focus, however, is on a small cache of characters in Hastings Corner. Laura and Abby were best friends who had the power to heal. Separated by their marriages, they managed to stay close. Now Laura is dead, as is Abby's daughter. They both had the power; is there a pattern? Though probably best known for his rough-and-tumble mystery and western characters, Gorman shows off his sensitive side in Rituals. Most of the proceedings are seen from the points of view of the female characters, and even Cam is painted as a really nice guy, someone who was an insensitive jerk and messed up once but is now very understanding. I never doubted the truth of these people, though I take their behaviors into question now and then. The plot itself depends on a flimsy act of restraint, that is repeatedly reinforced, but that could easily be overcome with a simple lie, solving most if not all of the characters' problems. Also, the ending, unfortunately, takes much too long to actually happen, even though some parts feel rushed, as if some cutting was done and some tightening attempted, but was just not fully successful. Nevertheless, Rituals is immensely readable, especially at the beginning, when I didn't want to put it down.

another winner from Gorman.....

This is just another great book from Ed Gorman, a differentwitch thriller and fast ride, well worth the time. Gormanstill has the goods and takes the time to get it right.

exciting paranormal thriller

From the dawn of time, the human race was split into two sub-species. One is the Normals while the other is the minority Witches, who have extra sensory powers involving telekinesis, telepathy, healing, and mind control. The Witches did whatever was necessary to hide their powers from the Normals, but as evidenced by the Inquisition, the Salem witch trials and other purging events, they were not always successful. The refugees who escaped the Salem witch trials moved to the remote and conservative town of Hastings Corner. Following them were the witch hunters, who also settle there in order to kill witches when one surfaces. This mission passed down from father to son and in the present their target is Greer Caine, the daughter of a woman they killed. Dr. Abby Stewart, who lost her own child to the witch hunters, and Greer's father vow to keep the child safe no matter how many come after her. Ed Gorman has written an exciting paranormal thriller that illustrates the effects of blind prejudice on a group of people with uncommon characteristics. The Witches must hide, not because they are evil and want to harm the rest of the humanity, but because history has shown man kills when he fails to understand. Rituals is Mr. Gorman at his spectacular best.Harriet Klausner