The Sword Of Michael
Marcus Wynne
Baen, Nov 4 2014, $15.00
ISBN: 9781476736891
As the dead man he killed twice chases him into a
cemetery, Shaman Marius Winter muses the story of his life is in his hands as
he holds the sacred power of Christ’s rosary beads and the profane worldly Glock. He fires shots into the knees and elbows of
the zombie, preventing it from moving before sprinkling holy water on the Dark
Force and asking Michael of the Light to cleanse this evil. Marius now knows the Dark Forces are back and
he is a prime target probably because of his Depossession success rate
Hell’s Dark God Belial sends a sorcerer to
destroy Marius starting with possessing the souls of those his adversary loves;
like his girlfriend Jolene, Avatar to the Goddess. When Marius learns the fate of Jolene and
others he cares about, guided by his triad of spiritual advisors (First In
Front medicine man, Tigre the spirit tiger and Burt the spirit raven); he accepts
the risks associated with his undertaking to save their souls. Accompanied by his guides, Marius initially must
deal with the hellish sorcerer and, if successful, traverse the circles of Hell
to confront Belial in the innermost; losing at any point means the Dark
possesses his soul.
With a nod to Dante, the first Depossessionist urban
fantasy is filled with plenty of action-packed fighting scenes and some religious
philosophizing. The storyline is at its
best when the plot stays focused on the war, but loses momentum with
unnecessary, odd power hungry groups joining the fray. Although the cast, even the hero, is never
developed beyond their prime reason for existence, The Sword Of Michael is an
entertaining Forces of the Light vs. Minion of The Dark thriller.
Harriet Klausner
