The to-read pile on my bedside table is out of hand, it has taken on a life of its own, it sneers at me in the night and bides its time. I fear it has achieved sentience, or been processed by some forgotten old gods spirit* and one night soon it will take its moment and collapse upon me. Braining me with a copy of the complete works of Poe, two dozen paperbacks I have promised myself I will get read, several more hardbacks including one about pre-teen cannibalism, a history of dragon infestations in the modern era, and at least one book I had forgotten I even owed involving sheep.

*the to-read piles has over the years held many a volume on myths, paganism, and Lovecraftian horrors… it was bound to happen

I have little doubt one day the police will break in my house after i have been ‘missing’ for several weeks to discover my body, under this pile of books. There are worse ways to go.

Among the Lovecraftian horror of the to-read pile are a couple of books by friends and fellow Harvey authors Kate Baucherel and Ben Sawyer. Books I have been planning to read for well over a year, books in a series that both authors have new books coming out for this month.

Yes, they have managed to write entirely novels while their previous ones sat on my to-read pile, gathering sentience and planning my demise…

Yes I feel guilty about this…

Monster at the Gate, A Holly Trinity novel by Ben Sawyer.

I read my first Holly Trinity story in a early Harvey Duckman anthology (the original series), which I believe was the Christmas edition. It was one of the stories that really stood out. Ben had submitted it to Harvey after he met Gillie and the crew at Scarborough SciFi earlier that year. I was delighted when Ben followed the short story up with the novel he had been working on about his supernatural protector of York.

The pages of Harvey have been filled with many a Holly short story since (as well as other stories by Ben who is an annoying good writer) I read and reviewed the first Holly book, Holly Trinity and the Ghost of York, way back in 2021 and said at the time I was looking forward to the sequel. I see Ben at events and occasionally share a table with him, and say how much I am looking forward to reading the sequel, and it has sat in my to-read pile for over two years staring at me….

So anyway, with his next book due out this month, and in order to placate the forgotten old god of the to-read pile, I made myself pick up Monsters at the Gate, and of course when I started to read it, this turned out to be no chore at all. It was instead a joy…

With the ever present back drop of ancient haunted city of York, which is a character in its own right, its sleeping protector is awake once more, and her past is coming back to haunt her… I know, irony…

Holly Trinity is awake, the arch-bishop has turned to the strong stuff, because she fears what it might mean, the Gjallarhorn has sounded, via text alert, the horned man is running amok in the city streets. Luckily Holy has a new umbrella, with a zip line and The Hounds of Love on mp3 on her phone.

Mira has her own problems. Which is to say she has to keep lying to Sam about what she gets up to on her galivants with Holly. However exactly do you tell your significant other you off saving the world from monsters with the King under the mountain, when you are supposed to be working in a bookshop… And what is he doing with that Delia girl from the archeological dig?

Then there is Treasury House, the most haunted house in York , which is like saying the most chocolatey chocolate in a Rowntree’s chocolate box… Bad thing happened there in the eighties, and for Holly the memories are fresh…

Someone wants to bring about the Ragnarök, They have been planning for this a long time. Luckily while Holly doesn’t have a plan, no one has realized she is making it up as she geos along, she hopes…

Monsters at the Gate is a wonderful ride through the streets and history of York. there is Mystery, horror, and humour, which is a tricky mix, Ben pulls off perfectly. As before I can not wait for the next one… So it will probably end up on my to read pile and become and old god before consuming me in a deadly book-slide, which is like a landslide with books… Or I may just read it straight away, which seems wiser.

Bens new book The Masque of the Mummers a Holly Trinity Novel , is out later this month but not yet available on pre-order so I can not link it here, I have not even see the full cover yet as Ben seems to want to keep that to himself, Though this is some of the art work… And isn’t that a thing….

Monster at the gate and the original Holly Trinity novel are well worth a read while you wait.

Now I am off to lite some incense and offer blood sacrifices to the forgotten old god in the to-read pile. Hopefully that will placate it a while longer…