The Chalice

By Phil Rickman

A standalone supernatural thriller from the author of the chilling Merrily Watkins Mysteries

Glastonbury, legendary resting place of the Holy Grail, is a mysterious and haunting town. But when plump, dizzy Diane Ffitch returns home, it's with a sense of deep unease - and not only about her aristocratic family's reaction to her broken engagement and her New Age companions.

Plans for a new motorway have intensified the old bitterness between the local people and the 'pilgrims', so already the sacred air is soured. And, as the town becomes increasingly split by violence and death, Diane, local bookseller Juanita Carey and the writer Joe Powys must now face up to the worst of all possibilities: the existence of an anti-Grail - the dark chalice.

A PHIL RICKMAN STANDALONE NOVEL

• Language: English
• Publisher: Corvus
• Release date: Sep 21, 2012
• ISBN: 9780857896919

Phil Rickman

PHIL RICKMAN lives on the Welsh border where he writes and presents the book programme Phil the Shelf on BBC Radio Wales. He is the hugely popular author of The Bones of Avalon, The Heresy of Dr Dee and the Merrily Watkins Mysteries.

Reviews for The Chalice

[pollymoore3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of Phil Rickman's best novels, a thoroughly imagined Glastonbury with locals, hippies, ghosts, and a real struggle with evil. That lovely Joe Powys appears again (from Crybbe).

[Evelyn Treptow · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What can I say, this was the one that started my love affair with Phil Rickman's books over 20 years ago and I have read all of them at least once but this has been my third reading of the Chalice and I liked it even more, because I am now more familiar with Dion Fortune and John Cowper Powys, so the story made more sense. Rickman is my favourite author, but I doubt he is for everyone, he speaks to a certain audience that is interested in occult phenomena and supernatural themes, but likes to keep those grounded in reality rather than fantasy. The characters feel real, the dialogue is punchy peppered with humorous cynicism and the gloomy English settings are sublime.

[carol420 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really liked the complex dark and creepy plot of this one. The author has drawn a real life picture of the tensions in the town between the long-time residents and the new comers brought by its mystical aura. He writes about Pagans, Christians, and New Age people who all have to deal with the horror and hatred that goes with fascism. Power goes to those who desperately want it and are willing to sell their humanity and immortal souls…but he conveys the message to never allow only one group to ever be in complete power. Good lesson in that one Mr. Rickman. One word of warning…the paperback addition is 500 pages of tiny print that you could go blind trying to read….so go for audio or hardcover if you can.

[victorianrose869 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

September 30, 2003The ChalicePhil RickmanVery long and involved, as all Rickman’s books are. I love them, especially the Welsh / English settings that he seems to cast in a perfect light, a combination of past and present. This story features Glastonbury, home of the Holy Grail according to legend. A girl from a wealthy family who left years before has returned via a pagan caravan, and is being badgered by her father and brother because she’s an embarrassment to them. That’s really just one part of the story, as there are so many characters and sub-threads – the woman who runs the New Age shop, the writer with a past, etc. Rickman’s settings almost have a flavor to them – the coolness of an English night, the sense of the ancient and the hidden, the smell of wet grass and rain – and it really comes alive for me. I’m in such a Rickman mood that I’m going to read another one now…

[riverwillow · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

 Phil Rickman's Glastonbury is a scary and spooky place,but is also recognisable to anyone who's visited Glastonbury, as its populated by an anxious mix of locals and new-agers, many of who run specialist shops in the High Street. Although this is promoted as a horror story, as with Rickman's later novels, local politics and the clashes between incomers and locals are an important part of the plot.A long but fascinating read.