"History, mystery, and dark fantasy"
In 1919 London, a car full of young people runs over an
old man and with his dying breath he says "He's in my
mind" and then says Arcanum. The Ministry of Munitions
Winston Churchill notifies Sir Arthur Conan Doyle that
Konstantin Duvall is dead. Duvall was a mage and a
mystic, an explorer and collector of all things occult.
He kept many secrets one of which, The Book of Enoch, the
third part of the Bible that was thought to be erased from
existence in the first century, was stolen from its hiding
place by a practitioner of the dark arts. Doyle goes to America where he brings together the rest of
the members of THE ARCANUM, Harry Houdini, H.P. Lovecraft
and the powerful voodoo priestess Marie Laveau. They must
find the missing book and the killer. The perpetrator is
a powerful mage who practices the black arts and is able
to elude THE ARCANUM. They meet on his terms as he is
able to spring a trap that has Houdini in jail and the
rest of the group running from the law while guarding an
Angel who doesn't know how to get home. History, mystery, and dark fantasy combine to make THE
ARCANUM a noteworthy book, a pop icon and a source for a
good movie similar to the League of Distinguished
Gentlemen. Historical figures are brought together in a
time when the forces of darkness threaten the world,
setting up the classic good versus evil confrontation.
Thomas Wheeler's debut novel totally enthralls the readers
with another perspective on the evil forces that threaten
this world making the horror feel new and exciting. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted April 21, 2004
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