Review: Cataclysm: Legend of the Iron Warrior Vol. 2 by T.V. Holiday

A shattered antihero must return to the spiritual battlefield and defeat a devilish plan to dominate humanity in T.V. Holiday’s Cataclysm: Legend of the Iron Warrior by T.V. Holiday, the second book in this inventive series.

Carnage Coast is on the brink of its downfall and the Iron Warrior is a grief-stricken shell of his former self, so Lucifer enlists the help of Monsoon and the Crimson Queen to secure victory over the limbo city once and for all. With its destruction, the last obstacle to Lucifer’s dominion will fall, the Black Sun will rise, and eternal darkness will mark the true end of the world.

When a cursed talisman lands in the hands of an unknowing Carnage Coast resident, the Crimson Queen’s unholy appetite is unleashed with a vengeance. The ensuing tidal wave of violence and corpses threatens to wash away whatever faith in God remains, unless Holiday’s divinely chosen champion can escape from a spiral of self-doubt and grief. As a missing person becomes just the first in a wave of disappearing and savagely butchered victims, Travis must connect the dots between vampires, zombies, and infernal forces before the city is awash in blood.

Demonic possession, dauntless detectives, and a people divided by fear and manipulation make for a supernatural fantasy that feels more relevant than one might expect. The thematic weaving of religion, politics, ethics, and societal expectations in Carnage Coast is a revealing mirror for contemporary readers; a vigilante protagonist with a dark side might not be groundbreaking, but these sociological themes make his choices and challenges innately fascinating. Bolstered by the dark quips and black humor that seem on the tip of most characters’ tongues, this already bold novel is able to deliver a satisfying salvo of timely critique.

The character development throughout is whip-smart and original, particularly the book’s more humanized and fallible vision of Lucifer, a deity that is not only devious and devilish, but also able to admit mistakes and pursue his own small redemption arc. Travis also shows his complexity, particularly in terms of his emotional barriers, but he also strikes a unique figure as a superhero protagonist, one that is keenly aware of his multiple failings and using them to his advantage, rather than his downfall. His fickle and evolving powers come into clear focus as well; his Divine Eyes are a useful tool for plot progression, but that conceit isn’t overused as a convenient crutch or loophole. As more abilities spontaneously manifest throughout the story, it sparks a new wave of curiosity and reader interest – how powerful is this protagonist going to get?

In terms of the writing, some polishing and trimming are warranted, particularly for excessive adverb use, typographical errors, occasionally stilted dialogue, and the persistent tendency to tell rather than show. However, those issues aside, the novel fearlessly and effectively pushes boundaries and presses nerves, while examining the modern faith debate through an unexpected lens, delivering a mind-bending philosophical parable played out in a raucous and imaginative storyline, which is gleefully birthed from an eccentric and exciting pen.