Book Review for Wrath of the Ancients by Catherine Cavendish
Wrath of the Ancients, by Catherine Cavendish, is a gothic horror about an unrequited love forever trapped in the depths of evil.
The book is separated into three parts. The first part introduces a widow named Adeline Ogilvy, who goes to Vienna to translate a manuscript by the late Dr. Quintillus. When she begins her job however, she soon finds herself face to face with a terrifying entity, one that continues to haunt her after she leaves. Part two takes place five years after Adeline’s arrival, where Wilheim and his beloved bride move into the house. While Wilheim is initially ecstatic about the move, it’s not long before he meets the same spirit, one that refuses to let them go, no matter what. In the third and final part of the book, Count Markus von Dürastein faces off against this evil, and with innocent lives at stake, he attempts to put a stop to this evil once and for all.
The relationship between Cleopatra and Dr. Quintillus was truly stunning, however strange that may be. The man was clearly obsessed with the Egyptian Queen, so much so he willingly buried his workers alive, if only to supply her with an army. It’s because of his kidnapping of Cleopatra that he also incurred Set’s wrath, a seething rage that had taken up residence in the doctor’s house. Arsinoe was just another piece in this macabre nightmare, as shown when she bound her sister to the rotting corpse of Dr. Quintillus himself. In some twisted way, their story could have been seen as tragic, perhaps even romantic, like a child’s fairytale growing in a field of thorns. Needless to say, whenever I close my eyes, I see both their corpses lying in that lonely basement floor.
I particularly enjoyed the dark history between Arsinoe and Cleopatra. The two sisters clearly had a demonic sibling rivalry, to the point where Cleopatra killed her sister, where Arsinoe endeavored to bury her sister with an obsessed paramour. Their hatred of one another remained long after their death, so much so they allowed it to distort their humanity, erasing it until they’re but a shadow of their former selves.
The context and settings of the story were also well written. There was a time in England when Egyptian relics were “fashionable”, to say the least. As such, it opened the door for many unnecessary consequences, such as demonic curses, horrific hexes, and vengeful deities. Cavendish combines this morbid fascination with the age-old fear of the unknown. She masterfully weaves this concept alongside the detail of when love becomes too dark to bear. The apprehension was so intense that I kept looking up from the book, checking every dark corner in my room, making sure no portraits were staring at me.
As such, I would give this book a rating of a 4.5 out of 5 stars. The characterization of Cleopatra, Arsinoe, and Dr. Quintillus was well-done, as was the eerie atmosphere of when the story took place. The tale of the two rival sisters had added to the story’s Gothic insanity. Thus, I would recommend this book to fans of Clemenceau’s Daughters by Rocky Porch Moore and The Witches of Ravencrest by Thorne and Cross.
