Dunwich - Book Reviews

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The Concise Lexicon of the Occult
Gerina Dunwich
Citadel Press
Nonfiction, Reference/Magic
****

DESCRIPTION: As stated in the title, this is a listing of various terms, people, concepts and things associated with various pagan practices. Many different cultures are covered, from Hawaiian to African. Not a spellbook or instruction manual, it is a simple glossary of words and phrases.

REVIEW: Another treasure from the Bargain Books section at Barnes & Noble. As a fantasy fan and aspiring author, I find this kind of thing useful, as well as amusing. The Lexicon is a great little reference without going so deep as to discourage the casual reader. If I have any complaint, it's that some theologies aren't mentioned at all, and some terms could use a little more background to help explain them to outsiders. I don't know that I would've paid the original price ($8.00) for it, but at half price I was more than happy to take it home.

You might also enjoy:
Mrs. Byrne's Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure, and Preposterous Words (Josefa Heifetz Byrne, Nonfiction - A dictionary of strange words and their meanings)
The Little Giant Encyclopedia books (The Diagram Group, Nonfiction - Handy quick-reference guides to a variety of subjects)
The Giant Book of Magic (Cassandra Eason, Nonfiction - World magical practices and their use today)
The Complete Book of Amulets and Talismans (Migene González-Wippler, Nonficton - How to make protective charms)
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Divination (Stephen Karcher, Nonfiction - How cultures around the world divine the future)
The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures (John & Caitlin Matthews, Nonfiction - Magical beasts and beings from around the world)
The Complete Book of Magical Names (Phoenix McFarland, Nonfiction - How to give names extra meaning, in life and fiction)
What's That?: The Oxford Visual Dictionary of Nearly Everything (John A. Pheby, Nonfiction - A visual dictionary)

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