Originally published July 28, 2015. Updated April 13, 2018.
Villordsutch reviews Ring of Roses…
The X-Files Meets The Da-Vinci Code! London, 1991. But not the London you may be familiar with. Imagine an England under Catholic rule – a rule so iron-fisted that science and technology has been set back decades. Lawyer Samuel Waterhouse investigates a ghoulish murder mystery set in alternate history London of religious mania, secret societies, and the plague.
With Ring of Roses you hold in your hands something quite wonderful. A slice of “what could have been” dystopia” delivered by the artistic talents of John Watkiss and with the writing skills from Das Petrou. This is a skewed corrupted England, distorted and held back in progression by nearly half a century due to catholic rule; this is shown to us via brutal murders, the return of the Bubonic Plague, religious persecution and players who can or can’t be trusted.
This all looks instantly fantastic and you cannot help but to be impressed by the artwork that John Watkiss delivers; every detail of this festering, corrupted cesspit is captured beautifully and it moves perfectly along with the numerous treads that Das Petrou had woven through this tapestry of a story. There are so many intertwining moments within this book that if you’re not paying attention you can easily get lost and begin to stumble wondering who is who, both art and word require – and deserve – you full attention at all times.
There are minor issues with this book, but these are more cosmetic than the failings of Watkiss and Petrou. I was reading this – as usual – on my Nexus 7 and as I came across the two-page crossing moments the flow is lost for a brief second or two. I would offer the suggestion that this book should be a gift to yourself on paper rather than an electronic format.
Ring of Roses is something you need to buy, sit down quietly with and read. You deserve to treat yourself, so do the aforementioned three.
On the 29th July, John Watkiss and Das Petrou will be signing copies of Ring of Roses at Forbidden Planet Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, WC2H 8JR.
Villordsutch likes his sci-fi and looks like a tubby Viking according to his children. Visit his website and follow him on Twitter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&v=IWWtOQOZSTI
