The Touchwood Chronicles
3.5/5
REVIEW OF FREE COPY
I have stayed in the realm of the supernatural and spiritual for my next book review of ‘The Touchwood Chronicles - Book 1: The Sun & the Moon’ by Corin Thistlewood.
Synopsis:
The reader follows Corin Touchwood as he embarks on his journey of spiritual awakening. Starting with a keen interest in Ley lines and extraterrestrial phenomena, Corin feels that something is missing, until he accidentally observes a group of women conducting a pagan ceremony. Absolutely captivated by it, but not really understanding it, he makes it his mission to learn more. His journey, which begins in the 70’s in the UK, takes him from meditation lessons with the Atlanteans, spiritual healing of both the self and nature, to creating his own group of practitioners and joining a Wiccan coven, which leads to the climax of his spiritual experience.
Review:
The novel is categorised as semi-biographical, so it remains up to the reader to decide, which elements and true and which aren’t. Each chapter begins with a poignant quote, predominantly taken from song lyrics and scientists. I was genuinely captured by Corin’s journey of spiritual awakening. The book is packed with interesting stories and facts about spiritualism in many different cultures. Starting out quite innocent in the sense of not being aware of all the pagan and spiritual events and groups around him, he maintains an open mind and explores a great many different approaches to spiritualism - which speaks for the general open-mindedness of the youth in the 70’s in particular. So from that perspective it makes a captivating read and is very enjoyable and informative.
However, there were a couple of things that dampened my excitement a little bit. The story is written from the point of view of an old Corin Touchwood reminiscing about his experiences, which makes sense, of course. However, every chapter I felt I was being pulled back to a different reality as an old Corin Touchwood reads the last few sentences he just wrote down in his notebook. Personally, I would have preferred to just continue the journey and come back to the present at the end. It was so captivating to read his stories, that I found the reality check at the end of every chapter a bit disruptive.
I also felt, that towards the end, spiritualism is mainly focused around sexual spiritualism. The descriptions of which are at times quite explicit as well. While I can empathise with the general concept of sexual spiritualism, I struggle with the idea of performing it with someone who’s not my partner and doesn’t intend to be. Again, it’s my personal perception, and who knows, maybe it’s all true…
Lastly, there were unfortunately quite a few grammatical mistakes that disrupted the reading experience.
In conclusion, The Touchwood Chronicles are generally speaking a really interesting read and can really recommend it, but because of the above, it’s a 3.5 from me.
About Corin Thistlewood:
Leaving his career as electronic engineer, he trained in a Wiccan coven, established a self-sufficient community in Ireland, and and was editor of two New Age magazines: ‘Earth Spirit’ and ‘Sheela na Gig’.
Corin followed his passion for personal development, training with one of Australia’s leading hypnotherapists which lead him to develop his own hypnotherapy practice incorporating psychotherapy & Shamanic Healing. Here, he founded the ‘Australian College of Druidry’, ran many courses on Celtic spirituality, including Shamanic drum making, and developed the ‘Celtic Shaman correspondence’ course.
Corin now lives in the South-West of England, where he has become a full-time author. He is a member of the local Drama group, enjoys long walks to megalithic sites or along the coast with his son and dog, Scrappy. (Quoted from ‘The Touchwood Chronicles’)
If you’re interested in reading ‘The Touchwood Chronicles’ for yourself, it’s available on Amazon.
The Touchwood Chronicles (Amazon UK link)
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