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The Iscariot Sanction
The Apollonian Case Files – Book II
Mark A Latham

Titan Books
20 September 2016/ ISBN 9781783296828
Fantasy/Horror/Historical

Reviewed by Rachel A Hyde

 

Eleven years before the events in the series’ first book, The Lazarus Gate, Lillian Hardwick and Sir Arthur Furnival have been sent to investigate disappearances in the slums of London. Meanwhile rifts are letting in terrible creatures from another dimension and the sky is on fire; this is not our reality but the parallel one from the first book. This is the “villains” story of how they try to save their home from invasion.

Having read the first book, I expected a sequel and a second case for the hapless John Hardwick. He does feature in this or rather his other version does, but instead this is actually a prequel which allows us to see things from the other side’s perspective. This is an unusual idea and it works; first we saw events from our side of the portal with agents valiantly trying to save our world from invasion by a parallel universe. Now we see how bad things truly are there and can sympathize with why people are desperately trying to locate a new safe place to live. Lillian came over as a stock character in the first book - a sort of tough, implacable dominatrix – but here we get to see what made her this way and appreciate her struggle in a man’s world. This is also a story about vampires, rather different ones to the type currently popular, which is another point in the book’s favor. It is a longer novel than the first one, but part of the length is showing the reader another dimension which is similar to ours but with many differences. Despite the length there is always something going on, usually exciting and rather original. I can’t wait to see where the author takes this series next, but I can imagine that it will be well worth reading about.

Reviewers Note: Violence

Reviewed 2016
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