Stephen Hayes reviewed War in Heaven, A Novel by Charles Williams (Frye annotated -- no. 2010)
None
5 stars
I've just finished [b:War in Heaven|143223|War in Heaven|Charles Williams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1172150891s/143223.jpg|138158] for the 5th time, at least, possibly the 6th, but the first since I joined GoodReads, so it is perhaps time to write a review here.
[a:Charles Williams|36289|Charles Williams|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1217390107p2/36289.jpg] wrote seven novels, and in three of them there is a McGuffin, an object that motivates the characters and the action in the story. In his novel [b:The Greater Trumps|1232960|The Greater Trumps|Charles Williams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347478510s/1232960.jpg|1221564] the McGuffin is a set of Tarot cards that reflect the movement of a set of dancing images. In [b:Many Dimensions|433567|Flatland A Romance of Many Dimensions|Edwin A. Abbott|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1435435775s/433567.jpg|4243538] it is a stone with miraculous properties. And in [b:War in Heaven|143223|War in Heaven|Charles Williams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1172150891s/143223.jpg|138158] it is the Holy Grail, or Graal as Williams spells it.
A sceptical and rather obnoxious archaeologist, Sir Giles Tumulty, publishes a book on sacred vessels in folklore, in which he claims that the Graal is …
I've just finished [b:War in Heaven|143223|War in Heaven|Charles Williams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1172150891s/143223.jpg|138158] for the 5th time, at least, possibly the 6th, but the first since I joined GoodReads, so it is perhaps time to write a review here.
[a:Charles Williams|36289|Charles Williams|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1217390107p2/36289.jpg] wrote seven novels, and in three of them there is a McGuffin, an object that motivates the characters and the action in the story. In his novel [b:The Greater Trumps|1232960|The Greater Trumps|Charles Williams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347478510s/1232960.jpg|1221564] the McGuffin is a set of Tarot cards that reflect the movement of a set of dancing images. In [b:Many Dimensions|433567|Flatland A Romance of Many Dimensions|Edwin A. Abbott|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1435435775s/433567.jpg|4243538] it is a stone with miraculous properties. And in [b:War in Heaven|143223|War in Heaven|Charles Williams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1172150891s/143223.jpg|138158] it is the Holy Grail, or Graal as Williams spells it.
A sceptical and rather obnoxious archaeologist, Sir Giles Tumulty, publishes a book on sacred vessels in folklore, in which he claims that the Graal is probably in the parish of Fardles in Hertfordshire. The Archdeacon of Fardles, Julian Davenant, happens by chance to see a proof copy of the book, from which a paragraph was removed in the published version at the request of the publisher's father and former head of the firm, Gregory Persimmons, who is a satanist, and wants to get hold of the Graal for the purpose of performing black magic rituals. The Archdeacon, a Roman Catholic nobleman, and a publisher's clerk each have their own motives for wanting to keep the Graal out of the hands of Gregory Persimmons, which keeps them chasing back and forth between London and Fardles.
The plot is complicated by a police investigation into a murder that had taken place in the publisher's offices. Charles Williams's novels have been described as "supernatural thrillers", but this one also has the elements of a supernatural murder mystery. And I find that every time I read it I see something that I hadn't noticed before.
