The Magic Cottage

Herbert's 12th novel is a minor effort about a young couple, Midge and Mike (she's an artist and children's book writer; he's a rock musician) who buy an idyllic country home, christened Gramarye (""magic'' in old English) by a former owner. Gradually they find that Gramarye is the focus of supernatural energies, and that they themselves are sometimes the media through which these energies work. The house at first seems lovely and warm but takes on a sinister mood as cracks develop in the stone, moisture and mildew crawl up the walls, and bats multiply in the attic. Complicating the picture is the presence of a local cult, led by an Aleister Crowley type, which desperately wishes to gain control of Gramarye and its forces. A few creepy moments spike the generally lethargic pace of the novel. A veteran horror writer and bestseller in England, Herbert here writes like a noviceeverything spelled out, one-dimensional characterizations, no brevity, no wit; very occasionally diverting. Troll Book Club alternate. (September 14)