This is the story of Cal Thorpe, marketing agent to Death, errand boy to Life, and Grim Reaper himself, who is about to meet a cruel fate. Want to catch up with me on the latest twists?
I should really have used a capital F in that last paragraph, because Cal is on his way to meet Fate – mother of Death, weaver of the tapestries of the universe.
One does not simply walk into Mordor, and one does not simply call out to Fate without a proper beacon, which turns out to be Death’s Heart. So Cal might be soulless, but he sure isn’t heartless, right?
And yes, Fate is cruel. Maybe even more so than Life – because after all, Life is not really cruel, she just lusts for her heroes to fight her, because Life is all about fight.
Fate is all about manipulation. And it turns out she has manipulated Cal and his soul for quite some time. It’s most likely she’s the reason Death hired Cal, and also the reason his soul got lost in medieval Italy and lived throughout the centuries, slowly going insane. So Cal has to face Fate to be whole again – but what else has she in store for him?
There’s also a certain miniature griffin here from the novel before, making a reappearance as a ghost. That fills me with equal parts joy and pride, because I remember my email conversation with E.G. about possible ways for the dead griffin to return, and we talked about ways – and one of them is now incorporated into this novel. For me, it feels like I have made an impact unto the story, and yes, I’m proud about it.
I won’t spoil too much about the story, but let me tell you this: I find it intriguing how E.G. is capable of intensifying the drama (the plot really thickens!) while keeping a light hearted surface. All the drama goes down so much better due to the right amount of humour. I think the latter novels in this series have found just the right balance between nonsense, snark and drama, a blend that is nothing short of tremendous enjoyable.
If you’ve followed the On Behalf of Death series this far, you should read on. And if not, now is a good time to start!
Crossing the Pond Reviews 