In a lot of ways, this book is a throwback to another era. The damsels in distress, the robust and portly good guys, booze and tobacco for strength, and all of the crusty conventions are here. If a movie, at times this one feels like it would star Vincent Price late at night, or on a Saturday afternoon. Underneath the crust of stale conventions, though, beats a heart of originality. For good stretches, the book feels like "The Mummy" movies, and in other stretches like Indiana Jones. Quite a lot of it feels like a Sherlock Holmes story. Sometimes it's a reminder about Dracula movies as well. However, Harry Potter seems to me to be the most apt comparison. The heros, while apparently physicians or reporters, are in reality practitioners of White Magic to defend against the villain. In addition, there's an underlying knowledge of Hermetic philosophy on display here at times - sadly emerging from the villian's mouth in its most complete form. Now, that's really interesting. This book in fact seems to reflect several concepts from the early 20th century that had a big impact - including the importance of "Will," vibrations, and other concepts. Possibly, this book could have been something really cool. The early-20th-century British writing can be pretty stiff. Still, it's interesting historically, and is a page-turner.Get more detail about Brood of the Witch-Queen.
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