Fans of pop-goth sword-and-sorcery thrillers with mythic themes, bloody demon battles, and jolting revelations about the secret histories of our planet and civilization will find much to enjoy in Avalon Codex. Crafted for big drama, larger-than-life adventure, and epic confrontations, the novel brims with energy. “Baleful hatred was written all over his features as the wind and lightning rebounded around his home,” Mutter writes, as the heroes face one haunting entity in its lair. The pace is brisk, the world intriguing, and the violence inventive, though characterization can feel flat, and the cosmic stakes don’t always resonate on a personal level.

Still, Mutter takes a big swing with his compelling central premise and fascinating figures like Lorn or the enigmatic, age-afflicted Children of September. As the inspired proper nouns suggest (there’s a City of Wailing Doom and a “giant fallen seraph called Mangol Mammoth”), a passion for pulpy, Warhammer-esque fantasy powers the storytelling. The novel features dark rituals, “Soulburn” powers rooted in an ancient bloodline, and horror-tinged set pieces, such as a scene involving a “living black wall of obsidian flesh.” Building to a promising cliffhanger, Mutter offers fresh takes on familiar ideas, including Amazonians and an angelic Silver Host.

Takeaway: Sword-and-sorcery epic in a pulpy, gothic vein.

Comparable Titles: Stavros Saristavros’s The Tome of Syyx, C.J. Pyrah’s Legacy.

Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: B