Anarchyby James Treadwell

Hodder, 4th July 2013

Magic is risen to the world once more.

Anarchy is the second volume in James Treadwell’s Advent trilogy. Since the events of the first book unfolded, magic is once more awake in the world, and ‘Goose’ Macculloch of the RCMP must make sense of the disappearance of a teenager girl, disruptions in the day-to-day life of the modern world (internet disturbances making one think there really are ghosts in the machines, the dead making phone calls to the living, for example), and the sudden appearance on the other side of the world of a boy who’d gone missing; found lying unconscious in the imprint left on a beach by a now gone killer whale.

The narrative moves from Canada, and Goose’s attempts both to find the girl and make sense of what’s happening to the world, to England – now left in disarray by the events of Advent; society’s already broken down there, with anarchy the norm – and back again once more. Along the way we are re-introduced to Gavin (or Gawain) and Gwen, Corbo and Holly, and meet Gwen’s sister – Gavin’s mother – Izzy, who’s desperate to find her son and make peace with him at last. We also meet Miranda, half-human, born of man and water spirit, gradually learning how to deal with the world on her own after being hidden away since birth. We are shown a civilisation that is being forcibly freed from the trappings man has shrouded everything in, ensuring that mankind as a whole has to learn how to relate to the natural world again at its most basic level.

As with Advent, the author has interwoven elements from various mythologies to bring us a compelling story of the various protagonists’ search for meaning in this new reality, and what they discover – leaving the reader eager to find out what the resolution of this tale will eventually hold in its final volume.

Verdict: A thoroughly enjoyable journey through a world torn apart by magic. 8/10

Marie O’Regan

 

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