cover image Trajan's Arch

Trajan's Arch

Michael Williams, BlackWyrm (www.blackwyrm.com), $19.95 trade paper (408p) ISBN 978-0-9827149-4-2

Thirteen-year-old Gabriel Rackett befriends the mysterious Trajan Bell, son of the local shut-in, who has come home to take care of his ailing mother. Years later, when Gabriel is middle-aged, a writer of one novel, and an alcoholic, he still thinks of Trajan, and the cryptic and poetic manuscript he left behind. What starts as a classic coming-of-age story becomes a tale of obsession (though, given how infrequently Gabriel and Trajan actually interact, we're not sure why). There's a ghost in here too, but the ghost story is confusing and feels out of place. Trajan's own writings—which allude to the ghost story—are included with mixed effect, as are the descriptions of Gabriel writing Dracia, his Lord of the Rings-inspired novel. Known for his numerous Dragonlace novels, Williams's writing here is vague, heavy handed, and often predictable, and his blending of the past and present kills much of the suspense. A fictional review of Gabriel's novel sums Williams's book the best: "An elaborate, eccentric book...maddening in its fragmentation, obscurity, and slow-moving plot." (Jan.)