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Post by Tim on Jul 11, 2019 11:03:05 GMT -5
This interview was originally on Andrea's long gone site.
The reason I took part in the interview was because I had reviewed Paul's novel, Leo Rising, which has just come out.
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Post by Trinity on Jul 26, 2020 7:37:24 GMT -5
BOOK: Hurricane Hex AUTHOR: Diana G. Gallagher YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2006 NOTE: This review may contain plot spoilers. You know, I can't help but wonder about the timing of this book. With the double whammy of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita still fresh in many minds, was this latest Charmed book sort of a tip of the hat to those events? Hmmmmm... Anyway, in this book, the Halliwells are in Florida to attend a seminar for Phoebe's advice column. After said seminar is over, the sisters take a trip to visit Paige's friend from college, Sharon Grant, and her husband, Ben. The Halliwells relish the chance to take a vacation from being the Charmed Ones, and this trip seems to be it. However, as always, things do not turn out that way. It seems that Sharon has taken to dabbling with folk magic, along with an older woman named Margaret Olsen. Both women believe it is harmless, but the Charmed Ones know better. They try to warn Sharon about fooling around with things she does not understand, but Sharon won't listen. Soon, the spells Sharon and Margaret cast begin to run awry. To make matters worse, a hurricane is rapidly bearing down on their location, and Sharon and Margaret decide to use magic to stop it. Can the Charmed Ones make Sharon and Margaret realize the danger they are unknowingly putting them all in, before it's too late? Well, this was an enjoyable book. The Charmed Ones are once again very well written as the characters that I knew and loved from the earlier seasons. I liked how they tried to talk Sharon out of using magic, without revealing themselves as witches. This is a fine line they probably have to walk far too many times. This book was also another story in which the Charmed Ones actually managed to get out of San Francisco for a change. The show very rarely does this, I guess the budget is the reason. However, the books are under no such restrictions, and the author puts this to good use. The depiction of Florida is very well presented. The weather, the environs, and even the animals, such as alligators, are believable. Also, Ms Gallagher managed to depict the destruction a hurricane would cause without going over the top. After all, I think a lot of people in the U.S. have had quite enough of hurricanes for a while and don't need to be reminded of them. This book manages to balance that out, telling a good story involving a hurricane, but not so much as to upset some people still recovering from Katrina and Rita. Although he has a very small part in this book, Leo is well written, he is the one that helps save the day at the end. Once again this shows what a big mistake the show made in writing him off. Some other points: - Cole is actually mentioned for the first time in ages. At one point, one of the characters, an elderly woman named Agnes Finney, talks about her deceased husband. Hearing this, Phoebe actually feels a bit sad about losing Cole. I must say that this is a marked improvement over the show, in which Phoebe seems to have forgotten that Cole ever existed. - Margaret is very interested in Florida folklore. I found the stories she told to be very entertaining and somewhat chilling. - once again we have Wyatt, but still no Chris. - Daryl is not in this book, but since there are no scenes in San Francisco in this story, I wouldn't expect him to be. - there was a funny subplot about Piper worrying about Wyatt becoming too "Mommy dependent". It seems she was right, poor Leo is having a heck of a time getting the kid to go to sleep! To sum up, this was a very enjoyable book. I give it an 8/10. I have this book. Isn't it nice when the sisters leave their home city, and go on vacation. It's too bad, most of these novels with the sisters on vacation would make nice summer television movies, Sabrina the Teenage Witch did a number of these summer movies. How cool would it be if Charmed did a few. |
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Post by Trinity on Jul 26, 2020 7:42:04 GMT -5
BOOK: Mist And Stone AUTHOR: Diana G. Gallagher
YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2003 NOTE: This review may contain plot spoilers.
Paige has a good role in this book. The events take place when she was still a Social Worker, and this allows her to help others by non-magical means.
One day, the case of a boy named Todd Corman crosses her desk. Todd has been bounced from one caregiver to another for so long that he no longer has any faith in authority figures. However, Paige is bound and determined to get through to him.
Things get complicated when Phoebe has a vision involving Todd, however, this vision is all misty. Leo tells the sisters that this means that Todd's future is in flux. There is a chance that Todd has an important destiny ahead of him, but what is that destiny.
As it turns out, Todd is being targeted by a Darklighter named Scar. Just why is Scar after Todd? Does it have something to do with that possible future destiny. The sisters must unravel the mystery, before it's too late.
Another excellent novel from the pen of Diana Gallagher. Once again she has all the characters spot on right. Paige really shines here in her role as a Social Worker (and one has to wonder why the show abandoned this idea). She wants to help Todd, by both magical and non-magical means, and you rally want her to succeed.
10/10.
And on that note, this is my final review, because I have now done all the Charmed books I currently own. If anyone else here wants to have a go...  One of my favourites. I really loved this one, especially with the whole story with the innocent, and Paige got a great role in this one. It's funny how many of the novels set in the Paige Era I loved way more than S4-S8 of the show. I guess the writers of the novels don't have to put up with Kern rewriting their stuff. Like half of these novels you could have on the show in place of some of the worse episodes of Charmed (I'm looking at you Oh My Goddess, Once in a Blue Moon, Lucky Charmed and A Call to Arms just to name a few.) |
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Post by Tim on Jul 26, 2020 11:55:11 GMT -5
Yeah, the novels had real talent writing them.
Look how the sisters flourish when written by people who actually care about them.
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Post by adzpower on Jul 26, 2020 15:12:00 GMT -5
I always loved it when the books took the sisters out of San Francisco, felt like a nice change of pace and really opened the magical world up. We got real mythology in some of these books and it was weaved in pretty fantastically for the most part to the Charmed world. A shame the writers for the show ended up focusing on Phoebe's boyfriend of the week rather than more awesome stories from the books.
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Post by Tim on Jul 26, 2020 18:20:23 GMT -5
I always loved it when the books took the sisters out of San Francisco, felt like a nice change of pace and really opened the magical world up. We got real mythology in some of these books and it was weaved in pretty fantastically for the most part to the Charmed world. A shame the writers for the show ended up focusing on Phoebe's boyfriend of the week rather than more awesome stories from the books.
I liked that about the books. There was more to the world than just San Francisco.
Shows was happens when talented writers are in charge.
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Post by Sunday on Jul 26, 2020 23:37:21 GMT -5
BOOK: Hurricane Hex AUTHOR: Diana G. Gallagher YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2006 NOTE: This review may contain plot spoilers. You know, I can't help but wonder about the timing of this book. With the double whammy of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita still fresh in many minds, was this latest Charmed book sort of a tip of the hat to those events? Hmmmmm... Anyway, in this book, the Halliwells are in Florida to attend a seminar for Phoebe's advice column. After said seminar is over, the sisters take a trip to visit Paige's friend from college, Sharon Grant, and her husband, Ben. The Halliwells relish the chance to take a vacation from being the Charmed Ones, and this trip seems to be it. However, as always, things do not turn out that way. It seems that Sharon has taken to dabbling with folk magic, along with an older woman named Margaret Olsen. Both women believe it is harmless, but the Charmed Ones know better. They try to warn Sharon about fooling around with things she does not understand, but Sharon won't listen. Soon, the spells Sharon and Margaret cast begin to run awry. To make matters worse, a hurricane is rapidly bearing down on their location, and Sharon and Margaret decide to use magic to stop it. Can the Charmed Ones make Sharon and Margaret realize the danger they are unknowingly putting them all in, before it's too late? Well, this was an enjoyable book. The Charmed Ones are once again very well written as the characters that I knew and loved from the earlier seasons. I liked how they tried to talk Sharon out of using magic, without revealing themselves as witches. This is a fine line they probably have to walk far too many times. This book was also another story in which the Charmed Ones actually managed to get out of San Francisco for a change. The show very rarely does this, I guess the budget is the reason. However, the books are under no such restrictions, and the author puts this to good use. The depiction of Florida is very well presented. The weather, the environs, and even the animals, such as alligators, are believable. Also, Ms Gallagher managed to depict the destruction a hurricane would cause without going over the top. After all, I think a lot of people in the U.S. have had quite enough of hurricanes for a while and don't need to be reminded of them. This book manages to balance that out, telling a good story involving a hurricane, but not so much as to upset some people still recovering from Katrina and Rita. Although he has a very small part in this book, Leo is well written, he is the one that helps save the day at the end. Once again this shows what a big mistake the show made in writing him off. Some other points: - Cole is actually mentioned for the first time in ages. At one point, one of the characters, an elderly woman named Agnes Finney, talks about her deceased husband. Hearing this, Phoebe actually feels a bit sad about losing Cole. I must say that this is a marked improvement over the show, in which Phoebe seems to have forgotten that Cole ever existed. - Margaret is very interested in Florida folklore. I found the stories she told to be very entertaining and somewhat chilling. - once again we have Wyatt, but still no Chris. - Daryl is not in this book, but since there are no scenes in San Francisco in this story, I wouldn't expect him to be. - there was a funny subplot about Piper worrying about Wyatt becoming too "Mommy dependent". It seems she was right, poor Leo is having a heck of a time getting the kid to go to sleep! To sum up, this was a very enjoyable book. I give it an 8/10. I have this book. Isn't it nice when the sisters leave their home city, and go on vacation. It's too bad, most of these novels with the sisters on vacation would make nice summer television movies, Sabrina the Teenage Witch did a number of these summer movies. How cool would it be if Charmed did a few. Wouldn't that have been fun if each season had their own television film, and each one had stories set outside of San Francisco. Yeah, Sabrina did a number of television movies.
Yeah, the novels had real talent writing them.
Look how the sisters flourish when written by people who actually care about them.
They did. I'll have to dig up my Charmed novels, when I'm done with Buffy too. Half these novels could make up full seasons or story-arcs on Charmed than the crap Kern wrote. I always loved it when the books took the sisters out of San Francisco, felt like a nice change of pace and really opened the magical world up. We got real mythology in some of these books and it was weaved in pretty fantastically for the most part to the Charmed world. A shame the writers for the show ended up focusing on Phoebe's boyfriend of the week rather than more awesome stories from the books. I agree, they did some pretty fascinating stories. It was nice to see them out and about in other parts of the country. I was very impressed with the mythology in the novels. I loved Soul of the Bride so much more than Oh My Goddess. That novel should have been the story they used instead. Something the novels did best, was focus on the sisters. A number of them didn't even feature the boyfriends in them. The Warren Witches was also some collection of short stories giving us backstories on their ancestors. I certainly could have done with some of these than the likes of Witchstock or Forever Charmed's poor excuse for going into the past. |
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Post by Sunday on Jul 26, 2020 23:41:30 GMT -5
BOOK: The Legacy of Merlin AUTHOR: Eloise Flood YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2001 NOTE: This review may contain plot spoilers.
More than two years before Sword And The City, Charmed had already dipped into Arthurian legend, with this novel.
In this novel, Prue, still working for Buckland Auction House at this point, goes on a buying trip to Britain, and Piper and Phoebe tag along. While there, they find themselves involved in an adventure involving Druids, and an ancient ritual.
During this story, Phoebe meets a new guy, named Niall, who may be mixed up in all of this. Is Phoebe unknowing dating a Warlock (Piper could relate)? Or is Niall an Innocent, mixed up with something he just doesn't understand? And how does all this connect to Merlin?
This novel did something that the show rarely did, it got the sisters out of San Francisco. I mean, evil can't just be active in just one city, right? It was nice to see the sisters travelling abroad, but still managing to find adventure and mystery. Several of the novels did this, having the sisters travelling to other parts of the U.S., and the world. It made much more sense, IMO.
And this novel has some of the great sister moments the early seasons are known for.
A 9/10 for this one.
I did love this one. Honestly was far better than the likes of Sword and the City. I know Holly loves that one, but I don't. She only likes it because it is when she found out she was pregnant, when it wasn't a good one for Piper's character. I presume this novel is meant to take place in the summer near the end of S1 and start of S2. I really think they did a good job here with the mythology, don't you think Tim. |
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Post by Tim on Jul 27, 2020 11:30:53 GMT -5
I couldn't agree more.
You will note that most of the novels I reviewed were written by either Diana G. Gallagher or Paul Ruditis. These two were, IMO, the best authors. They always paid careful attention to detail and continuity.
And they knew how to write the sisters as human beings, not the horrible creature Kernus turned them into. |
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Post by Sunday on Jul 30, 2020 6:28:01 GMT -5
I couldn't agree more.
You will note that most of the novels I reviewed were written by either Diana G. Gallagher or Paul Ruditis. These two were, IMO, the best authors. They always paid careful attention to detail and continuity.
And they knew how to write the sisters as human beings, not the horrible creature Kernus turned them into. It was so refreshing to see. Can you imagine how a series would look if they were the writers. And it shows, since both have written novels for Buffy too, mostly Diana. G Gallagher did. |
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Post by Melinda Halliwell on Jul 30, 2020 7:20:37 GMT -5
I'm sure the latter seasons of Charmed would've turned out better if any of the good novel writers actually worked on the show had Connie being around instead of Kernus and employed them then and had people like Sheryl J Anderson around still also doing things.
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Post by Tim on Jul 30, 2020 11:27:09 GMT -5
The novels paid more attention to continuity than the later seasons ever did.
I can see why many would have liked to see the novel authors write actual episodes.
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Post by Trinity on Aug 3, 2020 22:51:34 GMT -5
I'm sure the latter seasons of Charmed would've turned out better if any of the good novel writers actually worked on the show had Connie being around instead of Kernus and employed them then and had people like Sheryl J Anderson around still also doing things. Me too, the best writers were the ones part of S1-S3, they knew the sisters so well. I also love the novel writers, and really wished half of them were on the show, and brought their wonderful novel stories and made them into episodes. |
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Post by Tim on Aug 4, 2020 23:38:51 GMT -5
I often found myself preferring the novels over the show.
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Post by Katie on Aug 5, 2020 3:28:49 GMT -5
The Paige year novels especially were so much better than the show. That I'd gladly watch all of those into episodes than anything the show did in S4-S8.
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