Jack of Ravens: Kingdom of the Serpent, Book 1.

Once more mashing up fantasy, mythology, and Gnosticism, two-time British Fantasy Award-winner Chadbourn (The Devil in Green) returns to a universe wherein the Void threatens to destroy Existence.%C2%A0Jack "Church" Churchill wakes to find himself in Celtic Britain%E2%80%94over 2000 years before his birth%E2%80%94struggling desperately, along with the other Brothers and Sisters of Dragons, to ward off a mysterious Evil and return to his life and the woman he loves. Careening through time from the Iron Age, to ancient Rome, Renaissance-era Venice, WWII London, and 1960s San Francisco, Church must battle the Army of Ten Billion Spiders, nefarious gods, and the traitorous Ryan Veitch, hunter of the Brothers and Sisters. Crossing back and forth from the timeless Otherworld and the temporal New World, Church races to find the Fabulous Beast that will unleash England's dormant magic and save it from the Void. Chadbourn balances vividly realized worlds, plenty of action, and some wry humor to help carry this paean to hope in its war against despair. (Mar.)