Synopsis:
USSR, 1941. In the frozen desolation of Siberia, a shaman unleashes an ancient entity from its slumber deep within an abandoned salt mine.
England, 1996. The echoes of that distant ritual reach across time as Meren-Ptah, a foe the RPI Gran Maestro occultist Gino Marcotti once vanquished, returns. With the line between the living and the dead blurred, Gino and Carter Williams must unravel the mystery connecting the past to the present. What dark force has been awakened, and how can the mistakes of history be undone? When the past and the paranormal collide, only the dead hold the key to saving the living.
Review:
Thank you James for sending me an early copy for review.
A Crack in the World: The Reckoning is another very strong book from Mordechai. Introducing both new characters to the story and revisiting Gino and Carter the story effortlessly weaves in details from the first book while quickly getting into the action. This can be read either standalone or as a sequel, Mordechai has made sure that no reader will be lost.
Intertwined throughout the book are chapters from Atom, an Armenian physicist who travels to Siberia and encounters horrors in and around a salt mine. This part really reminded me of the Dyatlov Pass incident, as at first it seems like Atom and his team are running from unknown somethings that get most of them killed (I’d also watched a programme about it recently so it was at the forefront of my mind).
Our old foe Meren-Ptah is at the centre of the story again, and he’s once more causing chaos. A second visit to the same demon plane we went to in the first book shows it as a barren and abandoned place. I particularly loved some carvings that Mordechai introduced here as it was not only a really great look back at the events of book 1, but added a whole new sense of creepy to the book.
Carter really shines in The Reckoning. There are points where he is alone and can’t lean on Gino for the occult, and so he comes into his own to figure out some occult things by himself. No spoilers though, sorry.
Mordechai is a wonderful storyteller and while Reckoning doesn’t necessarily have the big world-ending scenes from book 1 it takes a slightly quieter (relatively) approach to ending the world. Demon planes, museums, occult and Gari the dog having his moment. Reckoning is fast-paced and will drag you right into the story. I’m fairly sure Mordechai could throw any occult words or idea and I’d run with it. The confidence and knowledge the book oozes makes it so easy to get lost in the occult.
This is such a fun read and I had the best time revisiting these characters and story.
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