Novel by Shaun Hamill
Dedicated to Robert E. Howard (1906-1936)
Cover by Nick Marinkovich
Chapter illustration by Patrick Zircher
From Titan Books and Cabinet Licensing LLC
Also available unabridged on audiobook from Blackstone Publishing, read by James Fouhey
Spoilers! Spoilers!
Kane, the Puritan wanderer/adventurer, is now in his fifties, with the help of N'Longa the African shaman/sorcerer, he concentrates his efforts on hunting vampires wherever they may be.
Solomon takes a break from relentlessly battling bloodsuckers, he goes to the village of Baumstadt in the Black Forest of Germany (Shaun Hamill adapts Solomon Kane: Death's Black Riders) and kills a beast with great skeletal wings (like the Eremite from Hellraiser (1987)) and its supernatural rider.
Kane receives a letter from a childhood friend, Catherine Archer, who is now married to Enoch (an homage to the biblical figure), has 4 children and is living in the English Puritan village of Windsend in England.
Catherine's friend Sybil Eastey (the witch from the title, not a Puritan, a practitioner of white magic, a midwife who has a witch's mark) has been wrongfully arrested on charges of witchcraft and murder (ripping Puritans apart).
Catherine wants Solomon to ascertain the witch's innocence.
We are introduced to:
Nehemiah Lockwood (carpenter, believes that the witch killed his infant son, Zachariah)
Joy Lockwood (wife of Nehemiah)
Thomas Blackwell (merchant)
Edwin Wilton and John Howlett (farmers)
George Kidby (owner of The Falling Star inn)
Roger Kidby (son of George, a dreamer who takes care of his ailing mother, an homage to Robert E. Howard)
Esther Kidby (mother of Roger, an homage to Hester Jane Ervin Howard)
Isaac Archer (son of Catherine and Enoch Archer, an homage to Dr. Isaac Mordecai Howard)
Dr. Calvin Cheesebrough (traveling physician, testified in other witch trials)
Ezekiel (Jailer, an homage to Cheever from Arthur Miller's The Crucible)
Reverend Gideon Pelham
Jeremiah Bartlett (interim mayor of Windsend)
Like mayor Edmund Arrowsmith before him, Roger Kidby's father (the innkeeper) gets torn apart (a Hellraiser (1987) homage) by an invisible creature.
The DEEP GOD, a deity from another dimension (an homage to Leviathan from Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)) is disrupting the dreams and the health of the people of Windsend... even white magic and the soil have become unreliable.
Kane's mystical Staff of Solomon confirms that Sybil Eastey is indeed a witch. The witch wants Kane to investigate a large hole in the forest floor outside of Windsend.
Solomon locates and descends into the pit/cave, he enters the blue lighted corridors of a labyrinth (an homage to Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)). Kane is attacked by camouflaged winged creatures (the true servants of The DEEP GOD, a servants of Leviathan homage), he survives the hellish ordeal by unleashing (with remote help from blood brother N'Longa) the power of his pagan magic staff.
Roger Kidby's mother passes away peacefully in her sleep.
The trial of Sybil Eastey goes horribly wrong, Kane is also accused of being a practitioner of black magic.
Mayor Jeremiah Bartlett gets torn apart on his mattress (a Hellraiser (1987) homage).
The villagers (under the influence of The DEEP GOD) hang Solomon and burn the witch at the stake.
Catherine saves Solomon, the witch uses her powers to protect herself from the flames.
Solomon and the witch infiltrate the labyrinth. A minion of The DEEP GOD gravely injures the witch, our two heroes meet the Goddess Rhiannon (an ancient elemental/woodland spirit). Rhiannon saves the dying witch by giving her, her life essence, powers, memories and immortality.
The DEEP GOD (who has a giant stinger like the Engineer from Hellraiser (1987) and Basic Instinct (1992)) crosses from his dimension into the labyrinth, it sinks its palm (like the palms of Dr. Philip Channard from Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)) appendage into Solomon's body (like Leviathan did to Channard).
Kane wakes up in The DEEP GOD's mind, The DEEP GOD, disguised as Reverend Pelham, wants Kane to be his new Priest, Kane strangles Pelham, this kills The DEEP GOD in the real world.
The witch creates a bubble of light (like the escaping souls at the end of Hellbound) that transports her and Kane away from the collapsing labyrinth toward the surface, the bubble gets boosted remotely by N'Longa via Kane's cat-headed ju-ju stave, Roger Kidby digs them out of the earth.
Nehemiah Lockwood has been arrested for killing his wife (the true murderer of their baby boy, Zachariah).
Ezekiel the former jailer and Roger Kidby become messengers/couriers for the Goddess Sybil Eastey.
What I did like:
A rapier and a flintlock pistol appear foil-stamped in metallic red on the cover. It looks fantastic!
A luxurious looking, sturdy, well constructed, high-quality hardcover from CPI Group (UK) Ltd in Croydon, England!
Bess from "Solomon Kane's Homecoming" mentioned.
Cleft Skull Tavern from "Rattle of Bones" mentioned.
Le Loup from "Red Shadows" appears in a dream.
Hemlock (the poison that killed Socrates) mentioned.
The pricking of witches mentioned.
Henry VIII's Witchcraft Act 1541 mentioned.
Witch cakes which are fed to dogs mentioned.
Malleus Maleficarum / Hammer of Witches treatise about witchcraft mentioned.
Inquisitors Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger mentioned.
The Reverend feels genuine, because Shaun is the son of a preacher.
Nakari the Vampire Queen of Negari from "The Moon of Skulls" appears in a dream.
Ezra the miser from "Skulls in the Stars" appears in a dream.
Sutton Harbour in Devon, England mentioned.
Fairies mentioned.
Sir George Banway, Jonas Hardraker whom men call the Fishhawk, Jack Hollinster and Mary Garvin appear in "The Blue Flame of Vengeance aka Blades of the Brotherhood".
What I did not like:
The audiobook is not read by Kenneth Cranham. EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTING!
No introduction or foreword by Clive Barker.
Not an actual Hellraiser crossover with Kane.
The tiny typos.
NO illustrations by Rob De La Torre? NO illustrations by Richard Pace? NO illustrations by Juan Alberto Hernández. NO illustrations? Zero!? DISAPPOINTING!
Kane's bad knee is mentioned 84 times.
Kane's knee never completely heals.
I give it an 8/10. Robert E. Howard's gallant knight-errant finally gets his own full-length pulp fantasy horror novel!
What's your pleasure, sir?
A Hellraiser versus Solomon Kane novel, please.
What you seek does not exist, but I have the next best thing.
Support the dour swordsman with the capotain hat, Shaun, Titan Books and Heroic Signatures! Don't hesitate, go purchase this officially licensed book and ask your local public library to get it also.
