Pros: Some amusing moments, strong characterizations among the humans
Cons: Over-wrought rules of engagement
The Bottom Line: While there are some amusing moments, there are few moments when the necessary suspension of disbelief would kick in and let me go along for the ride
msiduri's Full Review: Diana G. Gallagher - Dark Vengeance
Mr. L. Prosser was, as they say, only human....though he didn't know it, he was also a direct male-line descendant of Genghis Khan, the only vestiges left in Mr. L. Prosser of his mighty ancestry were a pronounced stoutness about the tum and a predilection for little fur hats.... Mr. Prosser's mouth opened and closed a couple of times while his mind was for a moment filed with inexplicable but terribly attractive visions of Arthur Dent's house being consumed with fire and Arthur himself running screaming from the blazing ruin with at least three hefty spears protruding from his back. Mr. Prosser was often bothered with visions like these. --from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
In this 2002 book based on the TV series "Charmed," Piper and Phoebe Halliwell, with their half-sister, Paige Matthews, are three incredibly powerful witches who live together in the family house in San Francisco. Piper is married to Leo, a Whitelighter (a guardian angel for witches and other upstanding folk). She runs a nightclub called P3. Phoebe is engaged to Cole, a half human/half demon who in this book has recently given up his demonic powers, stripped when he drank a potion Phoebe fixed for him. Paige works as a social worker as South Bay Social Services.
Cole is gone for most of the book, soul searching on a fishing trip. This seems to happen all too often.
In the meantime, the sisters are enjoying a relatively demon-free time. Paige is volunteering at a homeless shelter. Kevin, a fellow volunteer, is an injured construction worker, and seems to be dating material. He uses a cane that appears to be some sort of family heirloom with its intricately etched designs. Paige touches it and suddenly feels so tired.
Phoebe decides to take a web design class. She chats with Kate, the woman sitting behind her, and notices the beautiful bracelet she wears. It must be a family heirloom of sorts with its intricately etched design. It snags briefly on her sweater, and Phoebe starts forgetting things.
Piper has come into P3 to hear a new band called With a Vengeance. They specialize in "alternative Celtic." Unknown in the area, they're willing to play for a small fee until they build a name for themselves. Karen asks Piper to pass her flute up to her (oh, by the god Pan, there are so many woodwind jokes going to waste here!). It must be a family heirloom of sorts with its intricately etched design. Piper suddenly decides to not take life quite so seriously and giggles, and giggles, and giggles...
Unlike Mr. Prosser, the three K's are not descendants of ancient warriors, but reincarnations of sorts, all born 26 years ago, anticipating the 3000th anniversary of the last battle of their clan, the Dor'chacht with the Sol'agath, the ancestors of (yep) the Halliwells. When it looked like the Dor'chachts were about to be handed their collective rear end, the wily sorcerer Shen'arch pulled three of his best from the battle and sent them to sleep across the centuries. They would awake and wreak vengeance on the descendants of the Sol'agath.
There are some ground rules, of course. They can weaken their opponents, but they can't attack them when they are powerless. Can the sisters figure out what's going on before it's too late, even though one can't stay awake, one can't remember anything and the third can't get a grip on her emotions? The Charmed Ones can't vanquish the enemy, but maybe they can figure out a way to defeat them.
At the appointed time, they're sucked into the Valley of the Ages, where all magical battles must take place (huh?). Once there, Kevin regains his power to change physical properties, Karen to influence will, and Kate to command the elements. The Halliwells are in for a rough ride, weakened emotionally, physically, and magically.
There are some amusing moments, of course, while each of the sisters suffers and then adjusts to her affliction. The whole rules of engagement for vengeance thing is just preposterous, and so artificial I was waiting for a Blarney-stone kissing contest. Once the three K's get their ugly faces on they morph into utter cartoons, complete with smelly sweaty, matted hair, skins and furs for clothing. The text even compares them the Conan the Barbarian. While they can inflict pain, there is no sense of any real danger.
At the end, they, and the naughty sorcerer who set this all up, are led into hell, to lose their magical abilities forever, but the feeling is like children being sent to the principal's office. It reminded me of the odd commercials where the cockroaches see their doom in a can of bug spray.
I could not suspend my disbelief, couldn't go along for the ride, and thus can't recommend the book.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2008 Shopping.com, Inc.