Babylon Gets Reviewed
The Pulp Super-Fan has reviewed The Second Book of Babylon. Let’s see what he had to say:
I recently picked up Barry Reese‘s newest work, The Second Book of Babylon (Pro Se Productions). While this is part of his Sovereign City Project and tied to his other works, I find this more superhero than pulp.
We are introduced in this work to the “spirit of cosmic retribution,” known as Babylon. His origin goes back to 1802 when black slave Gideon Black, whose master is devil-worshiping Abraham Black. Due to a series of events starting when Gideon has a son with Abraham’s daughter, he is bound to the Babylon armour and his future descendants would be able to summon and posses the armour, allowing them to be a “spirit of retribution.”
While we get hints of these past adventures, there is no “First Book of Babylon.”
This particular story is set in 2011. As shown in the Peregrine stories with the fourth Peregrine, the “Black Mass Barrier” has risen, causing the “World of Shadows” to merge with the real world, allowing various faerie races along with magic to be part of the world.
Due to a strange conspiracy, the world’s main magic users have been exiled. Someone of great power is trying to cut off England from the rest of the world, and had shut them out, and now Babylon, who is being hosted by Jennifer Black, must figure it out and save them. We also meet others, such as Johnny Galahad, another relative who for a time hosted the armour. There is also Michael Bolan who has a less-powerful set of armour, called Retribution.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read, and expanded his universe/timeline in the “modern times.” We are promised a Third Book of Babylon, but I wonder when/if this will happen. We don’t see this on his timeline, though I do see Lazarus Gray volumes 8, 9, and 10. Barry noted on his blog he’s completed volume 13 of Lazarus Gray, and that volume 8 should be out in August, with the next 6 coming out quickly. Can’t wait.
Me: Thanks for the review! I would definitely agree with your assessment that the tale is more superhero than pulp. I have started work on another Babylon story and the character makes guest-appearances in some of the upcoming Lazarus Gray books so you should see more of him in the near future.
Major Events specific to certain stories and novels are included in brackets. Some of this information contains SPOILERS for The Peregrine, Lazarus Gray, Gravedigger and other stories.
The current novel was begun in earnest at the beginning of February so in less than two months, I’ve almost completed it. I haven’t written a book this quickly in ages and it’s a good feeling. The book has flashbacks to the 19th century and the early 20th but the bulk of it takes place in the modern day – you’ll see a few familiar faces from around the Reese Unlimited universe but mostly it’s about adding to the universe. So you get an all-new villain, a lot of supporting characters that I think will grab your attention, and a lead character with only previous appearance (Lazarus Gray Volume 11).
York returned in The Peregrine Animated Script that was recently reprinted in The Peregrine Omnibus Volume Three. In this story (set somewhere in the 1936-1937 period), York has managed to acquire the body of Princess Femi, the immortal enemy of Lazarus Gray. York revives her in hopes that she’ll aid him in destroying The Peregrine but once again he is dispatched back to Hell. How did he survive his prior defeat? We’re told that York was persuasive enough to convince the Elder Gods that he deserved a second chance. I imagine they weren’t so forgiving after yet another defeat.
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Major Events specific to certain stories and novels are included in brackets. Some of this information contains SPOILERS for The Peregrine, Lazarus Gray, Gravedigger and other stories.
So The Second Book of Babylon was released this weekend and that’s probably a good time for me to say that I’ve started work on the sequel – I’m currently a little over 18,000 words into it. Once I’m done with this, I have a Gothic Romance that I started work on that I might go back to… or I have been dreaming of a return to Sovereign City to pay a visit to Lazarus Gray and company. We’ll see.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BABYLON