Sweep (book series)
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 US version of "Book of Shadows" |
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| Author | Cate Tiernan |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Russell Gordon, Barry Marcus, Marci Sender |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Series | Sweep |
| Subject(s) | Wicca |
| Genre(s) | Fiction, Young Adult |
| Publisher | Penguin Group |
| Released | January 29, 2001 |
| Media type | Paperback |
The "Sweep" series, published in the UK, the Netherlands and Australia as "Wicca" and in Italy and France as "Dark Magic", is a series of books by Cate Tiernan. Starting with Book of Shadows, the series is a work of fiction set against a U.S. East Coast background. The heroine, Morgan Rowlands, discovers that she is a "blood witch" and learns that she must battle dark magick.
As the series progresses, Morgan comes into contact with not only a truly remarkable set of characters but many problems that teens face today.
Contents |
[edit] Main Characters
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
[edit] Morgan Rowlands
- Morgan lives in Widow's Vale, New York and is a high-school junior when the series begins. She is introduced to Wicca when Cal Blaire comes to her school as a senior. The two develop an emotional relationship throughout the first book, which only grows stronger during "The Coven", in which Morgan discovers her heritage, powers, and real family. Morgan loses her best friend, Bree Warren, when the two of them fight over Cal's affections. They remain enemies until their friendship is rekindled in "Awakening". A Seeker comes, in "The Coven", to Window's Vale to stop Cal and his mother from performing dark magick. At the time, Morgan does not know this and almost kills the Seeker. Morgan is betrayed by Cal when he tries to force her to join the dark side. As Cal tries to kills her, she only survives due to her two best friends, Bree and Robbie. Morgan later falls in love with Cal's half brother, Hunter, the Seeker from the International Council of Witches. From there onwards, Morgan uncovers more family secrets, allies, foes, and the full extent of her hereditary powers. Her birth mother had pyrokinetic powers, and Morgan inherited them from her. Pyrokinesis is a rare ability among blood witches. She can also shape-shift, another rare ability inherited from her birth father. In "Eclipse", Ciaran says that Morgan is the "Sgiùrs dàn", meaning "destroyer", who will drastically change the future and course for the Woodbane clan. By the fourteenth book, she overcomes the darkness, allowing her and Hunter to be together. However, in "Night's Child", Hunter is assumed to have died. By this book, Morgan is 37 and a widower of someone else. She has a daughter named "Moira". 16 years after Hunter's death, the darkness returns and Morgan has to fight again.
[edit] Cal Blaire
- Cal, or Calhoun is a fairly main character for some of the books. His craft name is "Sgàth", which is Gaelic for "darkness". He is son to the legendary Selene Belltower and Daniel Niall, and half brother to Hunter, Alwyn and Linden Niall. He is 19 years old and described as tanned with shaggy hair. He moves to Widow's Vale in "Book of Shadows" where he meets Morgan and her friends. He forms a coven, called "Cirrus", with Morgan and other students attending Widow's Vale High School. During their weekly circles he starts to realise Morgan's potential and when his mother, Selene Belltower, a witch of great dark power, comes to learn of Morgan's power and past, she orders Cal to get close to her. Everything is running smoothly for Cal, until his half brother, Hunter, a Seeker for the International Council of Witches arrives. Cal soons falls for Morgan and realising he can't protect her from his mother's plans for her he tried to kill her. He comes back in "Spellbound" to win back Morgan's heart but Hunter has already shown her Cal's true colours. At the end of this book he saves Morgan from his mother by sacrificing his life.
[edit] Hunter Niall
- Hunter Niall is one of the important main characters in the Wicca series. He is described as tall, thin and lean, with short blonde hair and stunning green eyes. He is the youngest member of the International Council of Witches at the age of 19, half brother of Cal Blaire, son of Fiona and Daniel Niall, brother to Alwyn, cousin to Sky Eventide and Morgan's "mùirn beatha dàn" (soulmate). Their relationship doesn't start off well as Cal and Selene lead Morgan to believe he's evil. But Morgan is left conflicted when both Hunter and her mutually partaking in a tàth meànma at Practical Magick and she sees he isn't who she thought he was. Once Cal leaves there is obvious chemistry between the pair and during the series Hunter evolves and develops into the central figure in Morgan's life. In the final book Hunter proposes and they have a child, Moira. But Hunter is involved in a ferry accident and is missing - presumed dead. 16 years later memories and visions of Hunter and how they were together are coming back to haunt Morgan....
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- Hunter's romantic relationship's before Morgan are somewhat of a mystery, except for a young girl called Molly who he confesses to kissing in his Book of Shadows on the night of his initiation. He also kissed Justine Courceau while he was in Canada, and still going out with Morgan (whoops) but he regrets it instantly and insists nothing else will happen between them. Justine later reveals in her Book of Shadows that she had spelled him. Cate Tiernan has claimed Hunter's had around 5 - 6 sexual relationships (excluding Morgan). 1 - 2 serious relationships - the longest lasting around 5 months, 1 - 2 just being a physical, affectionate thing, and 1 - 2 one night stands (during his heavy drinking stage.) Hunter confesses he had never believed in Muirn Beatha Dan's before Morgan and Morgan was by far his longest relationship, they were going out for around 5 months before they slept together and by the final book they had been together for nearly 4 years.
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- Book excerpt:
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- I put the braigh on David Redstone today. Morgan was there. She saw the whole thing, I doubt she'll ever forgive me.
- But I need to make her try, because I need her. Goddess how I need her.
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- I think I'm falling in love and I'm frightened.
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- - Giomanach
[edit] Sky Eventide
- Sky is Hunter's cousin and best friend who came with him to Widow's Vale to look out for him. She, too, is from England, and her craft name is "Athar", Gaelic for "sky". She leads the Widow's Vale coven "Kithic", which receives Bree and Raven as transfers from "Cirrus" after Bree's altercation with Morgan. Later the two covens combine. Sky is bisexual, and she falls in love with Raven, a classmate of Morgan's and a member of Cirrus and Kithic; the two maintain a tumultuous on-and-off relationship. Sky also helps Morgan through her Wiccan education and works at a record store. She is often described as an intense, reserved and arrogant person, but Hunter, who knows her best, describes her as loyal, wise and loving. She is constantly described as protective over Hunter and she, too, comes back in "Night's child" to help Morgan and Moira to find him again.
[edit] Alisa Soto
- Alisa is a half-blood witch with the powers of a full-blood. Initially, she was afraid of Wicca, but when she finds out she is part witch, she forces herself to confront her powers. She finds her mother's book of shadows after Morgan receives it from the owner of the store "Practical Magick". Within the book of shadows, Alisa finds out that her mother, Sarah Curtis, had stripped herself of her powers in fear of them, which inadvertently resulted in Alisa inheriting those powers. It turns out that in Alisa's family, the firstborn female is cursed with uncontrollable telekinesis. Alisa also possesses this power and, as it is later revealed, so does her grandmother. Alisa meets her mother's family later in the series and even receives her mother's tools from her grandmother.
[edit] Moira Byrne
- Moira is the daughter of Morgan and Hunter and is introduced in "Night's child". She is 15 years of age and lives in Cobh, Ireland. She has a bucolic life in Ireland with her family and friends. Her adoptive father is Colm Byrne, who died in a car accident. Like Morgan, she is a powerful witch, and her birth was destined. She is in love with Ian and does everything to prove he isn't a dark witch like Cal.
[edit] Other Characters
- Bree Warren (Morgan's best friend)
- Robbie Gurevitch (Morgan's other best friend)
- Mary Grace Rowlands (Morgan's adoptive mother)
- Sean Rowlands (Morgan's adoptive father)
- Mary Kathleen Rowlands (Daughter of Mary Grace and Sean Rowlands, and Morgan's adoptive sister)
- Maeve Riordan (Morgan's birth mother)
- Ciaran MacEwan (Morgan's birth father)
- Daniel Niall (Father of Cal Blaire, Hunter, Linden and Alwyn)
- Fiona Niall (Mother of Hunter, Linden, and Alwyn)
- Selene Belltower (Mother of Cal Blaire)
- Angus Bramston (Maeve Riordan's lover)
- Alyce Fernbrake (Friend of Morgan and owner of the Practical Magick store)
- David Redstone (Friend of Morgan and owner of the Practical Magick store)
- Killian MacEwan (Morgan's half brother and Ciaran's youngest son)
- Kyle MacEwan (Morgan's other half brother and Ciaran's oldest son)
- Iona MacEwan (Morgan's half sister and Ciaran's daughter)
- Rose MacEwan (Morgan's ancestor)
- Diarmuid (Rose MacEwan's lover)
- Colm Bryne (Morgan's husband and Moira's adoptive father)
- Katrina Byrne (Moira's adoptive grandmother)
- Mackenna Riordan (Morgan's grandmother and former leader of Belwicket)
- Sarah Curtis (Alisa's mother)
- Justine Courceau (Hunter is assigned to her due to her misuse of magick)
[edit] The Series
| Book Number | Title | Year of Publication | Perspective |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Book of Shadows | 2001 | Morgan Rowlands |
| 02 | The Coven | 2001 | Morgan Rowlands |
| 03 | Blood Witch | 2001 | Morgan Rowlands |
| 04 | Dark Magick | 2001 | Morgan Rowlands |
| 05 | Awakening | 2001 | Morgan Rowlands |
| 06 | Spellbound | 2001 | Morgan Rowlands |
| 07 | The Calling | 2001 | Morgan Rowlands |
| 08 | Changeling | 2001 | Morgan Rowlands |
| 09 | Strife | 2002 | Morgan Rowlands |
| 10 | Seeker | 2002 | Hunter Niall |
| 11 | Origins | 2002 | Rose MacEwan |
| 12 | Eclipse | 2002 | Morgan Rowlands and Alisa Soto |
| 13 | Reckoning | 2002 | Alisa Soto |
| 14 | Full Circle | 2002 | Morgan Rowlands and Hunter Niall |
| Super Edition[1] | Night's Child | 2003 | Morgan Rowlands and Moira Byrne |
Spoilers end here.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Night's Child is called "Book 15" in the Wicca versions, though not in the "Sweep" versions.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- The Fire Fairy - Sweep Fansite
- Forever Sweep - Sweep Fansite
