Citadel Of The Moon (Batrix And Scilli book 2) by Mike Chinn (book review)
A sequel to ‘Hail The New Age’, ‘Citadel Of The Moon’ is another fantasy novel by the very busy Mike Chinn. Again, we have Wilonek Scilli, a government agent and Batrix, a military heteromorph (an artificial human who changes between male and female on a monthly basis), this time acting as guards. They are trying to guard a small religious pilgrimage to honour members of a group called the Anesicci. Travelling are a family and a few hangers-on. They have hired a splendid six-wheel coach and two waggons for the baggage, all pulled by aurochs. These are large ox, the ancestor of our modern cattle, which died out in our world four centuries ago but still survives in this roughly 19th century fantasy.
The characters here are all fascinating, with carefully built-up back-stories, though almost everyone is pretending to be something they aren’t. Scilli, our narrator, has been fitted with a new face, which is standard procedure for government operatives in this world. The man who carries it out is Doctor Bezdichnijs, a splendid creation. The new face itself is an important plot-strand, not revealed until late on in the novel. Batrix is something both more and less than human, providing an occasional alien opinion to the proceedings and reminding me of Isaac Asimov’s robot characters.
The Moon plays an important part in Batrix’s monthly transfigurations, so when we eventually reach the citadel of the Moon, well, read on and find out. I could go through all the characters and their idiosyncrasies, though some are little more than cannon-fodder. As you read, it’s fun to try and work out who might be left alive by the end of the book. There are plenty of surprises. Even the novel’s prologue, which is right over-the-top and out on a limb, fits in with the plot close to the end of the book.
Chinn is a very practised writer, who offers the reader plenty of action. It’s a fast-moving plot with all sorts of nasty stuff happening to this coach and the people inside it. Are these events simply natural hazards or being magically created? The society Chinn has created operates double standards towards magic and magicians. It is unclear how many of the characters have had magical training. Scilli describes himself as ‘a failed wizard’. The only admitted wizard on board is Steganesh, a former friend and sworn enemy of Scilli’s, though he denies all responsibility, as the coach is attacked by a variety of horrors.
It’s noticeable that Chinn has developed a very complex society here, of which the reader gets only a few hints. He offers high quality descriptions of places and events. Yes, there are too many almost unpronounceable names and it probably helps a bit to have read the previous novel first. But this is fantasy as it should be. A great read.
Chris Morgan
August 2025
(pub: Saladoth Productions, UK, 2025. 326 page paperback. Price: £14.00 (UK). ISBN: 978-1-73909-383-9. Ebook Price: £ 5.00 (UK))