Novels With Pagan Characters

Honestly, I'd like to see

One - some Pagan characters that aren't walking stereotypes.
Two - some Pagan characters who aren't Wiccan, or who don't claim to be something other than Wiccan and then pretty much just embody the public stereotypes of Wicca.
Three - Some Pagan characters who are just people, with the Paganism being a facet of who they are rather than a defining characteristic.

BunnyMaz said:

Honestly, I'd like to see

One - some Pagan characters that aren't walking stereotypes.
Two - some Pagan characters who aren't Wiccan, or who don't claim to be something other than Wiccan and then pretty much just embody the public stereotypes of Wicca.
Three - Some Pagan characters who are just people, with the Paganism being a facet of who they are rather than a defining characteristic.

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Here here!

Druids are considered pagans by Christians and Merlin was a very powerful druid.

Bernard Cornwell has a really good series about Merlin, Arthur, Mordred, Nimue and the whole Arthurian legend that is not your typical Merlin-King Arthur story line. I highly recommend, 'The Warlord Chronicles."

As a matter of fact, a lot of Cornwell's historical fiction novels set in early Britain uses Druids and Pagan religions along with early Christianity. None of them are presented in good light, as they each have their good and bad points...

Spy_on_the_Inside said:

Well, it does sound indeed like there is a large opening in the world for Pagan fiction. What kind of Pagan stories would you like to see from the SFF genre. I feel like there are a lot of ways a story like that could go wrong, but also a lot of ways it could be amazing.

Wha kind of Pagan stories from the SFF genre would you like to see?

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This thread is similar to another one started earlier in the pagan forum : Pagan Stereotypes in fiction

There might be some relevant info for you there.
Cheers.

Ok, that was a good read.

I think the Necronomicon could prove to be a wealth of material for pagan fic. Although we know it is a work of fiction, there are lots of people who believe it does have power now. The reason is because the symbols and entities have been used successfully because the practitioners had faith in it. When enough people collectively have faith that something is real, why, then, can't it become real? That which you create in your mind, you can create on Earth, right?

Of course that falls in line with my beliefs: The power actually resides in the mind. If I've got an anointed candle for Ellegua with candy, cigars and rum strewn about, I believe I can accomplish the same goal as if I had a specific sigil from the Necronomicon that had never been viewed in the light of day and the appropriate offerings or pretty much anything else I chose to use.

Then again no one has ever accused me of being normal. ;-)

When I thought I might become a pagan/Wiccan, I read a portion of a series of Wiccan YA books (I think I read the first three and brought them to my Catholic middle school lol). Anywho, can't remember what they were called, but a really good series on young Wiccans. If I remember right, it was three girls who became best friend over this bond of Wicca. I think there was the standard cheerleader, maybe a more gothic-character, and then I want to say a nerdy one. Anyways, I enjoyed them around 8th gradeish. Really good books.

Found out the series name: Circle of Three.

Also, I think Alice Hoffman wrote about Wiccans, or maybe they're more modern day witches. She wrote Practical Magic which I've heard good things about but haven't gotten around to reading.

I assume you've read Rosemary Edghill's Bast mysteries? Speak Daggers to Her, The Book of Moons, The Bowl of Night. All set in the Wiccan communities of New York City in the 1980s; slightly dated, but pretty solid writing and good reads.

The Bast Mystery series are mystery novels about modern-day Witches in NYC. They're fairly realistic. The mysteries are solved in normal, non-magical ways, but there's interaction among covens, holiday rituals, etc. The best thing is that the characters are not portrayed as weird or spooky. They don't fly brooms, they take the subway and drive cars.
http://www.squidoo.com/bast-novels-rosemary-edghill

In SFF, I'd like to see one who remains Pagan even in the face of increasing technological disconnect from nature, increasing instances of scientific knowledge explaining things previously explained in mythology, etc.

I have to admit that I'd feel kind of smug if churches were shown as dwindling while Pagan religions held firm, lol. But the only part I really crave is the "Pagan religions hold firm" part.

I for one have considered it. But I can't write futuristic fiction for the life of me, I seem to do my best work in original fantasy (too different from our world to have a direct equivalent of the Pagan community) and the occasional foray into historical (WWI, on which my mild obsession has resulted in bit of lay knowledge).

My novels have very strong Pagan characters. Mostly Dead Melvin features a Voudon named Marcella. I researched the Kreyol language and Haitian customs to make her as realistic as possible. The voodoo was incredibly fascinating, and I hope I did it justice in the novel.

Marker of Faith features an African American witch named Minerva Donovan. She doesn't call herself wiccan and doesn't buy into all the stereotypical hooha of Hollywood. She's earthy and real, and her magic absolutely kicks ass when she needs it.

The Fifth Sacred Thing and Walking to Mercury by Starhawk feature pagan characters. They might be a bit hard to track down though.

There really aren't a lot of others though that are explicitly pagan though I have seen work that has some coded pagan content.

I think it's an area that authors have been reluctant to enter into.
Practical Wicca doesn't have the wizz bang of a lot of fictional magic. I've been practicing fourteen years and I have yet to light fires with the power of my mind or levitate but I am a lot closer to the patterns of nature and life than I once was.

SM Stirling "Dies the Fire" series has some pretty well done Wiccan characters. One of the settlements in the book(s) is founded by a Wiccan Coven.

Ms Minxx said:

The Fifth Sacred Thing and Walking to Mercury by Starhawk feature pagan characters. They might be a bit hard to track down though.

There really aren't a lot of others though that are explicitly pagan though I have seen work that has some coded pagan content.

I think it's an area that authors have been reluctant to enter into.
Practical Wicca doesn't have the wizz bang of a lot of fictional magic. I've been practicing fourteen years and I have yet to light fires with the power of my mind or levitate but I am a lot closer to the patterns of nature and life than I once was.

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Welcome to the Forum, Ms Minxx! Great to see you here. I do hope you stop into the New Members area and introduce yourself to the rest of the spectacular community here at AW!

dirtsider said:

SM Stirling "Dies the Fire" series has some pretty well done Wiccan characters. One of the settlements in the book(s) is founded by a Wiccan Coven.

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Thanks for the recommendation. Cheers!

It's out there, but it's relatively rare, still. There was a recent indie movie released about a house full of 20-something Pagans that was true to the mini-dramas we have, rather than going into exploitative stereotypes. There's also a subtle thread in ABC Family programming where Wiccans are mentioned as part of ordinary life across multiple shows.

What was the movie called? I'd like to see it.

Dark of the Moon. There's a youtube trailer floating around, too.

Ah sweet, thanks.

That's a good question. There are more Christians, but only a small percentage read "Christian fiction." I'd be willing to bet -- just a gut reaction, mind you -- that a higher percentage of Pagans would be interested in Pagan fiction.

That said, what is it? Is it fantasy (genre) with magick and Pagan characters? Or is it mainstream fiction where the characters just happen to be Pagan?

Christian fiction is defined by its underlying philosophy, not just the religion of its characters. How is Pagan fiction defined? Is it Wicca only? Magick? Any magick? Realistic magick only? What if the character were a Christian ceremonial magician? WHat about Hoodoo, which has its roots in the Protestant, African-American South?

Edited to add: I talked to a friend (who happens to be a witch, though I don't think that matters), and she said, "I'd say 'pagan fiction' is most likely to be fantasy with a heavy reliance on traditional mythology and realistic magick systems." I thought that was a fantastic definition!!

Honestly, I think there's room for both the fantasy version (the "witches aren't real" types) and the "real people" version. Too strict a definition might cheat us out of enjoying broad variety. Right now I think the reason fiction with Pagan characters doesn't exist (as opposed to fantasy version, which I think is plentiful) is just because most of it hasn't been written yet.