King of the Road

Starred review from October 8, 2018
Belcher’s masterful storytelling and worldbuilding make for a gripping and consistently surprising follow-up to Brotherhood of the Wheel. Long-haul trucker Jimmie Aussapile; his squire, Hector “Heck” Sinclair; and Louisiana State Police Officer Lovina Marcou, a road witch gradually coming into her powers, are members of a secret society descended from the Knights Templar, protecting the roads and travelers. While Lovina works a missing-person case involving a ghost clown and an alchemist who assembles a cult of disaffected souls, Jimmie and Heck battle a number of supernatural horrors, including animated corpses and living shadows. They’re also drawn into a savage war between biker gangs that seems likely to destroy them. Belcher has a knack for capturing the best and worst of humanity in his superb characterizations. His story wends expertly through a landscape filled with American folklore, ancient legends, and urban myths, culminating in a showdown that will have fans and newcomers alike eager for further installments of this fascinating series. Agent: Lucienne Diver, Knight Agency.

November 15, 2018
Belcher's latest novel picks up where Brotherhood of the Wheel (2016) left off, following the adventures of the Brethren, modern descendants of the Knights Templar, who patrol America's highways as truckers, bikers, and nomads, keeping supernatural threats drawn to "the Road" at bay. Jimmie Aussapile, a trucker and longtime knight of the Brethren, and his biker squire, Heck Sinclair, deal with internal struggles in Heck's motorcycle club, the Blue Jocks, as a former member attempts to use new-found supernatural allies to pull the club away from the Brethren and turn to the more lucrative world of drug dealing. Meanwhile, Lovina Marcou, Louisiana detective and budding "road witch," follows dreams of a missing girl to a trailer park in Pennsylvania plagued not only by ghosts and killer clowns but also by a string of murders and disappearances that stretches back for decades. Fans of Belcher's previous work will enjoy this latest installment, and fantasy readers who enjoy a bit of grit or horror with their magic should also give the series a look.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)