Hiram Grange is an anti hero for the 21^st Century. He’s unattractive, wears ill fitting suits and sports an unhealthy interest in actress Jodie Foster. When he’s not ogling over Foster’s image he’s courting alcohol and opiates; physical crutches for his psychological ills.

Armed only with a bayonet and his trusty Webley revolver (the very weapon with which his mother shot herself when he was a boy) the occultist – under the guidance of the mysterious “Mrs Bothwell” - patrols The Confluences, the twelve portals where the battle between good and evil has raged so fiercely it has eroded the barriers between planes to the point where entities can punch into our world. And it’s Grange’s job to redress the balance with his inimitable blend of violence.

When Grange is sent by Bothwell to investigate an “electromagnetic spike” in the sleepy town of Great Bay, he stumbles upon a case of corpses rising from the grave, an ancient order who appear to be using their Rites for retribution, and the onset of a potential apocalypse.  

Hiram Grange has a flair and originality that has been missing from contemporary horror fiction for some time. A seamless blend of wickedly dark humour and full-throttle horror, the series begins with great promise. Jake Burrows puts in a sterling performance bringing Grange to life, complete with layers of fallibility that makes even the repugnant elements of the character’s personality endearing in a very creepy way. Burrows leaves the reader wondering if Grange is so flawed he’ll never make it through the 125 pages alive, let alone bring events to any kind of resolution. This notion jacks up the suspense as the battered protagonist staggers from one gore-fest to the next.

Intelligent and bloody, Shroud have combined elements that will undoubtedly give the Hiram Grange series a formula that cannot possibly fail.

Dave Jeffery