Review: A Smuggler Like No Other
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 28, 2013
Soul Smuggler collects four tales featuring Mercer, a "free spirit" so to speak, who escorts souls to the afterlife, heaven or hell. Everyone seems to choose heaven. Mercer charges a hefty fee for his services and doesn't do charity work. He has to pay for the expensive whiskey he imbibes like water. Mercer is not his true name by the way. You'll have to figure out Mercer's identity for yourself but Fowler leaves plenty of hints. Mercer's nemesis is Father Thomas, an aging priest with some moral issues who likes to think of himself as some sort of samurai for Saint Peter. He works as an assassin for the Terra Sacra order, a kind of Knights Templar, which is dedicated to ridding the Earth of abominations. Mercer is at the top of the list. Suicides aren't supposed to make it to heaven and the people that ask for Mercer's services are essentially committing suicide. As noted in the book's description, Mercer is an antihero. I enjoy reading about him. Fowler pens some wonderful prose here and the characterizations are evocative. But I don't like Mercer. Father Thomas doesn't have much to recommend him either. The best story is the last one, in which Mercer and Thomas battle each other with a terrifying abomination in the middle. Take a trip with the soul smuggler. I'm looking forward to more Mercer tales.