THE QUEEN’S MARKSMAN
By Theresa M. Moore
Antellus Books
285 pages
In 1878, young Robert St. John, a
descendant of the fabled Earl of Loxley, aka Robin Hood, joins the army to
fight in Afghanistan. On the journey east via the Orient Express
with the new recruits, he encounters two very strange European noblemen. They prove to be vampires and one of them,
unable to control his blood-lust, attacks Robert in the middle of the night. In doing so he turns the young Englishman
into one of the undead. From that point
forward, this imaginative adventure focuses on Robert’s learning to adjust to
his new life as a vampire. He quickly
learns to adapt his unearthly powers on the battlefield and soon becomes a war
hero succeeding in exploits beyond the abilities of normal men.
Upon his return to England, he is knighted by Queen Victoria and, via Prime
Minister Disraeli, put in charge of created a new secret service for the
empire. It is clear from the very first
page that Ms. Moore had a genuine affection for all things British and she
skillfully weaves both its actual history and those myths and legends that have
endeared themselves to fiction fans for generations. Via the exploits of Sir Robert, we glimpse a
Victorian world on the cusp of the Industrial Revolution and a burgeoning 20th
Century that will be filled with both wonders and horrors.
None of the latter is more gruesome than
the appearance of Jack the Ripper on the streets of White Chapel. As the empire’s colonial strength begins to
wane around the globe, its own moral decay accelerates in the swelling ranks of
the poor and homeless. And amidst this
changing world walks the Ripper, a madman with his own brand of soulless insanity. Ms. Moore offers up Sir Robert, and his
fellow vampires, as agents of good working in the shadows to keep civilization
on track. Soon our hero and his vampire companion
are on the hunt to find Saucy Jack and end his murderous rampage.
Though not what we would label a
fast paced action pulp, “The Queen’s Marksman,” is a steadily told adventure
focused on developing rich, full realized characters both good and bad. We enjoyed it a great deal and it once again
adds substantial evidence to our beliefs that the best new fiction on the market
today is coming from small, independent publishers like Antellus. Bravo, Ms Moore and well done.
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