'A mad surrealist’s art threatens to rip open the fabric of reality, in this twisted tale of eldritch horror and conspiracy, from the wildy popular world of Arkham Horror.
'Aspiring painter Alden Oakes is invited to join a mysterious art commune in Arkham: the New Colony. When celebrated Spanish surrealist Juan Hugo Balthazarr visits the colony, Alden and the other artists quickly fall under his charismatic spell. Balthazarr throws a string of decadent parties for Arkham’s social elite, conjuring arcane illusions which blur the boundaries between nightmare and reality. Only slowly does Alden come to suspect that Balthazarr’s mock rituals are intended to break through those walls and free what lies beyond. Alden must act, but it might already be too late to save himself, let alone Arkham.'
The Arkham Horror series has very strong links to the works of H.P. Lovecraft, with much of the games and their lore being adapted from the stories produced by the horror writer, and subsequent others who've come along after and added to the Cthulhu lore. Because of this, you might be likely to come to a book like The Last Ritual with certain expectations, but I found that S.A. Sidor was able to subvert these expectations, and gave me a much different story to the one I was expecting.
I'm sure we've all seen stories based upon Lovecraft's work that use the horror elements, that push the otherworldly strangeness of creatures like Cthulhu and his fellow entities. I think that readers come to expect that these creatures will eventually take centre stage in these stories, even if they only appear right at the end as our hero faces off against some tentacled monstrosity that pushes the limits of their sanity. Whilst this book does feature Lovecraftian beasts, it's less of a psychological horror and more of a mystery; and that definitely makes it stand out.
The Last Ritual follows the character of Alden Oakes, a young socialite from Arkham who's travelling across Europe and living the rich playboy lifestyle when he runs into his old friend, Preston, in France. He discovers that Preston has just become engaged, to Alden's former girlfriend Minnie, and encourages Alden to return to Arkham to celebrate with them and attend their wedding. Alden agrees, but decides to spend some more time in Europe for a while. However, after finding himself in a small town in Spain weeks later, he gets caught up in a local festival that takes a turn for the sinister. The event leaves him slightly shaken, and encourages him to return to his home.
Back in Arkham, Alden learns that there have been several strange incidents across the city, including disappearances, killings, and strange accidents. When he goes to the scene of the latest accident he meets Nina, and is soon drawn to her not just because of her beauty, but because of her notion that some strange things are happening in the city. When he meets her again at Preston and Minnie's engagement party the two of them stumble across a grizzly murder. Now they find themselves as the centre of a mystery that has the whole of Arkham on edge, has cult like connections, and may involve a mysterious surrealist painter from Spain.
Straight away it's clear that there's something strange happening around Alden, even before we've managed to get to Arkham itself. Whether it's him seeing bizarre symbols being drawn in the sand on a French beach, or the almost nightmarish events of the Spanish festival, it really feels like something is zeroing in on our hero. This makes the narrative somewhat more interesting, as it gives you a sense that whatever he chooses to do he can't escape from what's to come.
Some mystery horror stories have protagonists that are drawn into the narrative, either by making a strange discovery themselves or being asked to investigate something, and it tends to be their own desire to find answers, or their unwillingness to back down that leads them to trouble. But with Alden it seems that even if he were to try to run away from the horrors to come it wouldn't make much of a difference, and that there's no escaping this.
This makes for a story that feels a lot more personal, even though it doesn't seem to involve the people he cares about. He's not connected to this through friends or loved ones being put in danger, but rather because someone or something has chosen to make him a part of it. This ties into the sense of powerlessness that a lot of Lovecraft's stories utilised; the idea that we are unable to alter our own fates, or that we cannot fight the forces that are controlling everything because they rival our powers and abilities in ways that we could never match.
Fortunately, Alden isn't just content to be a pawn in someone's game, and actively goes about trying to get to the bottom of things alongside Nina. The two of them make for an engaging pair, and it's enjoyable to see them getting through their initial misgivings about the other to form a team; and eventually go on to become lovers. It's a pretty believable relationship, and it never once felt like it was being forced, and it was instead a natural progression of their journeys. The two of them are so isolated in a city where no one else wants to acknowledge that awful and bizarre things are happening, so of course they'll find strong affection for each other when they're the only person the other can turn to.
Despite the focus on Alden and Nina the book is filled with interesting characters, many of whom you'll end up wanting to learn more about and spend more time with. Whether it's Calvin, the dock worker who gets drawn into the mystery when his friend is killed, party animal Preston, who you're never quite sure is involved in the bigger mystery or not, or even Roland, Alden's butler and oldest friend; you end up wanting to learn more about the inhabitants of Arkham, and could easily see these characters going off and having their own strange stories in this cursed city.
The characters are definitely one of the strengths of Sidor's writing, and they really make the city come alive in interesting ways. It also helps a lot, as much of the book is focused on the mystery, rather than the horror elements of Arkham Horror. With the frightening moments being few and far between, though incredibly effective, it means that the mystery and the characters have to carry much of the book. With a lesser writer this could easily have fallen apart, but Sidor is able to make even the most mundane scenes interesting because you stop focusing on wanting answers to the mystery and just end up wanting to spend time with the characters instead.
The Last Ritual might not be the scariest story I've read, but it's one of the more interesting mysteries, with enjoyable characters, and a setting that felt completely alive. Whether this is your first introduction to the world of Arkham Horror or you're a long time fan I'm sure that it will keep you hooked right up to the end.
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