I began this book with great trepidation. There's an endnote at the end of "Deosil", final book of "Whyborne & Griffin", where Jordan Hawk notes that endings are very important; the author is very correct in this. If there's not a definite ending - and more importantly a *good* ending - to a story, it can be very unsatisfying and also open to endless continuations and, most dreadfully, retcons. I wasn't sure what to expect when I saw "Unhallowed" come up on my author alert list, but I loved Widdershins so much the chance of returning to it was enough of a draw. I was wrong to ever doubt Hawk and I will gladly, gladly admit it.
What I adored first and foremost about this story is that it is *not* merely a new book of Whyborne & Griffin in disguise. I can say this without spoiling anything because the way Hawk pulled this off was astoundingly and simply clever -- Vesper Rune is our new character, and he doesn't know Whyborne or Griffin or Christine or Iskander, but he sees a newspaper article clearly physically describing them on their way out of the country for a dig. It was a very clever way of giving you the teensiest peek into what our beloved group is doing now while also firmly establishing that they are not going to be present for this story, giving Vesper and Sebastian Rath, our two new main characters, their own time and space to tell their own story. It's amazingly refreshing.
That said, this book very obviously picks up a couple of years after the events of "Deosil", and the fallout of the climax of "Whyborne & Griffin" are still being felt here. We get a very, *very* interesting look into the inner workings of the Fideles Cult, which was never entirely clear, and what happens to a fanatical religious group when their religious beliefs fall to pieces around them. The nature of the Lovecraftian secret Ves is hiding will put you firmly back in Widdershins. Ves is a wonderful character, and Sebastian...I will be honest that I don't like him *quite* as much, but he grew on me very very quickly. He was in danger of being a Whyborne stand-in, but Seb does quite quickly become his own person with his own personality, trauma, and foibles.
As in the "W&G" books, Hawk expertly navigates very real characters with real traumas and psychological issues tossed into a supernatural horror setting, and we're still firmly in the early 20th Century setting of the first books. It's a joy to revisit some characters (particularly Mr. Quinn, our beloved Librarian) and meet some new ones (you definitely figure out what happened to the Endicotts, for starters). The town of Widdershins is so very familiar but also brand new -- Percival and Persephone's actions changed a great many things. The approach to Ves and Seb's relationship was wonderful, and yet still very much their own. I also loved that Hawk continued their tradition of inserting some small bit of real-world history to the extraordinary Widdershins stage; in this case, it's the appearance of Halley's comet and the resulting hysteria that gripped the nation briefly enough.
The ending is a bit of a cliffhanger, in keeping with "W&G" tradition, and will definitely leave you immediately wanting for more. If you, like me, were a bit a unsure about how Widdershins could continue after the finale of "Deosil", rest assured that your worries are totally baseless. Widdershins lives on, and Ves and Seb have a world of stories of their own to tell. And yes, I proudly got a bit of a tear in my eye the first time I re-read the words "Widdershins knows its own. Welcome Home."
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Top reviews from other countries
Myriam Hamdorf
A wonderful return to the world of Widdershins
Reviewed in Germany on September 25, 2020
