Sometime, More Really Is More
Mark Latham's Apollonian Case Files should not work. The reader should get a headache from rolling eyes at every introduction of a new sci-fi/fantasy cliche. The books--three so far--throw so many fantastical themes and plot curveballs at the reader that fatigue should make the hapless audience drop the book if simply overwhelmed senses and imagination don't. But after just finishing the most recent installment, The Legion Prophecy, that the only things that could cause me to put these books down are thumb fatigue from holding them open and non-negotiable work meetings that could affect my whole career.
It is no spoiler to say that within three books, Latham has concocted a literary stew that incorporates steampunk, vampires, the multiverse, Hell itself, mistaken identities, geopolitical conflict, codebreaking, dysfunctional family dynamics, romance, the Romani, espionage, psychics, mediums, fortune-telling, split personalities, the immortality of the soul, and Nikola Tesla into a surprisingly tasty and intellectually meaty meal. Yes, it's a lot to keep straight, particularly if you're diving into Latham's newest offering without having read its predecessor recently. But finishing one book and going back to re-read the earlier ones is nothing to complain about. these are people and places you will enjoy revisiting and will always learn something more about.
Fundamentally, these books are about a former prisoner of war from Britain's colonial exploits in Burma who returns to London in the late 19th century and is drawn into a shadowy quasi-governmental security agency protecting Queen and country from an apparent anarchist threat. Completely unsurprisingly, the threat turns out to be deeper, broader, and far more sinister than anarchists protesting colonialism and capitalism. We're fast approaching the point where going further would risk spoilers, so I'll restrain myself and let you discover the nuances of what comes next for yourself.
Coco Chanel is widely attributed with some variation on the observation that after getting yourself dressed and ready to leave home, you should look in the mirror and remove two accessories, suggesting that more adornment, more detail, more decoration, can become too much. Marie Kondo, of decluttering fame, probably would agree. Mark Latham is here to prove that this philosophy can only go so far. No one but the must unimaginative of bakers ever looked at a cake and said it had too many sprinkles. There is surely a case for a more Spartan approach to plot lines and character development in some stories. But in the case of the Apollonian Case Files, Mark Latham deserves our appreciation for having the courage and, probably, the stubbornness for sticking to his literary guns in the face of a world that wants cleaner, neater, straighter, and slimmer. Like the Victorian world in which his novels are set, Latham appreciates the value of detail and the rich tapestry that can only be woven from many threads, textures, and covers. Minimalism may have led to a more conventional set of books, but their richness and impact would have been minimized too. So read, and revel in, these books for the rare and ornate gifts that they are.
