“Cauldron of Anastasis” by William P. Blake III

Cauldron of Anastasis

William P. Blake III
Barnes and Noble Press (2026)
ISBN:  979-8256368074
Reviewed by Denise Donaldson for Reader Views (08/2026)

For those adept at mentally leapfrogging through time and place, this book is for you.  The story of Cauldron of Anastasis includes scenes in Bucharest in the 1930s, Providence, Rhode Island in 1935, London in the 1990s, and the Underworld realm of Belial.  The action shifts back and forth, from one era to another, as layers of the story build up.  In this last volume of the five-book The Blood and the Seed series, the plot centers around seven macabre paintings and five manuscripts that hold clues to the cataclysm about to befall the world.  The main character is Morgaine Lefey (le Fay), of Arthurian legends, who is portrayed with an unprecedented twist:  no mere sorceress, she’s actually a demon who’s lived through the ages by possessing women’s bodies and living their lives.  She says that true love is the enemy of magic, and as her ambitions grow, she lives most of her life without love, because her magic is supremely important.  She also distinguishes between “born-magic” and acquired abilities; she possesses quantities of both. 

As the book begins, she’s about to set events in motion that will lead to the escape of goblins and other evil beings from the Underworld.  They will have the power to conquer the human race.

In her various guises, Morgaine accumulates the relics she’ll need to achieve her goal of subjugating the world.  She’s the plot’s catalyst, and she’s largely unopposed for centuries until six modern people deduce that supernatural powers are at work and unite to stop her planned conquest.  Those six characters eventually take over the story, and their work to piece together Morgaine’s moves and devise a way to defeat her occupies the bulk of the second half of the novel.  They come up with a few seemingly unlikely but effective solutions, cleverly devised.

Author William P. Blake III employs places, sacred objects, and characters from Christianity, Celtic lore, Nazi beliefs, Greek mythology, Judaic traditions, and Arthurian legends to create the supernatural world he depicts in painstaking detail.  Nazis, obligatory villains, are the latter-day tools who push the plot into the United States.  The ancient cities and personages Blake uses to anchor the background elements of the book appear in historical records.  Some of the aspects of mythologies and magical practices seem to be altered or combined to add drama and suit the story’s purposes; zombie werewolves, for instance.  Common magical precepts, such as the significance of one’s true name, are standard in tales of magic.  Esoteric facts and uncommon words are sprinkled throughout the story, adding interest and expanding the narrative.  The dizzying sweep of scene changes gets some grounding from the use of brand names and specifics about tools and weapons, along with meticulous descriptions of city features, terrain, and weather.  At the same time, this concrete quality is offset by passages that are surprisingly poetic. 

From the beginning of Cauldron of Anastasis, threads are spun among different sets of characters, some related, others not, across multiple time periods.  The challenge is to hold all the threads and wait until the pattern forms, which it does, in time for the climax of the novel.  Except for Morgaine, the characters aren’t really important in themselves; they’re vehicles to advance the plot.  As such, they all have distinct personalities and obvious motivations, but Blake doesn’t dwell on their deep emotions or the events of their lives, except in relation to the outcome of the story.  Readers aren’t necessarily meant to get attached to the people who battle Morgaine, but in the end, there are hints that their lives may continue in another installment or series.  Their histories are presumably covered in earlier books in the series.

The extensive religious symbology can be heavy going in spots, and the mix of mythologies is sometimes difficult to parse.  That said, intimate knowledge of all the lore isn’t necessary to enjoy the story.  On a more basic level, the book could use a thorough editing for flow and clarity of expression.  As a whole, Cauldron of Anastasis is an unusual and formidable entry in the modern fantasy genre.