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Ghosts Of Albion: Accursed by Amber Benson and Christopher Golden
01/02/2006 . Source: Sue Davies 
pub: Del Rey/Ballantine Books. 385 page enlarged paperback. Price: $13.95 (US), $19.95 (CAN). ISBN: 0-345-47130-X. Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK. check out website: www.delreydigital.com and www.bbc.co.uk/cult/ghosts/
This novel follows on from the debut of 'The Ghost Of Albion: Embers' as an acclaimed BBC webcast last year. The webcast forms an introduction to the characters who become the Protectors of Albion.
William and Tamara Swift hide a ghastly secret in their house. Their grandfather, the Protector of Albion, has been hideously murdered and their father is host to a demon who has taken him over almost completely. Tamara is aware as woman in Victorian Society she must appear demure and modest but her secret activity as a writer of penny dreadfuls and her role as the magical protector mean she has to occasionally bite her tongue in the company of others.
This time, William and Tamara face new threats. William must resist the advance of his beautiful fiancée Sophia until they are married and Tamara must host jolly tea parties. But worse than that, there is a dreadful disease abroad which is killing close friends and not only the poor and sick but some of the highest in society. As Protectors, the siblings must find the cause without becoming infected themselves. They enlist the help of their resident ghosts: Lord Byron, Admiral Nelson and the fearsome painted warrior Boadicea. Meanwhile, their resident demon continues to stir up their emotions as he uses their father's body and mind.
I had high hopes of this novel. The intriguing Internet drama was very involving when it was released last year but this one suffers from a sprinkling of Americanisms which interrupt the happy flow of death and destruction. It's a good story and there's lots of blood, gore and sex for the average reader. There's plenty of dramatic tension and the other kind, too. I just wish they could have got it Anglicised for us across the pond. Its set in Victorian England after all, so it's not a stretch to make the dialogue a little bit closer to English rather than Californian.
Apart from those quibbles I think it's a good opener for a series and look forward to the next one.
Sue Davies
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