THE ARCANUM by Thomas Wheeler supposes a few real-life historical figures – Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, magician Harry Houdini, writer H.P. Lovecraft and voodoo priestess Marie Laveau – comprise a crime-fighting team in 1919 New York City to avenge the murder of a friend and save some angels.
This occult-themed novel plays like a mix between LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN and HELLBOY, and would make a better movie than a book, since it seems designed to be that anyway. As a book, though, I was really with it for the first half, which is full of intriguing setup. The second half drags more than a bit, as it becomes little more than an extended battle with Lovecraftian monsters, but overall, it ain’t bad. It’s just not nearly as good as it should be.
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