Kris Van der Bijl

Matthew MacDevette’s debut novel, The Tilted Pentagram, is an excellent example of occult fiction. This genre is often neglected by traditional South African publishers, so it’s great that it found its home in the recently formed Mirari Press. This press seeks to publish “the books they ban in libraries, the books that are labelled as too-risky, the books that shake the foundations of the earth.”

What is Occult Fiction?

Occult fiction is a sub-genre of horror fiction. For this reason it can go by the name occult horror.

It’s loosely related to the weird, gothic, generally horrifying work of HP Lovecraft.

Occult fiction’s major contribution to the horror genre is its focus on black magic, cults, and somewhat unseen sinister forces that are usually traceable to some Western-aligned religion, whether pagan or their interpretation of Abrahamic works.

My favourite examples of occult fiction novels are Ghost Story by Peter Straub, The Stand by Stephen King, and The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle.

Occult Detective Fiction

Occult detective fiction combines occultists and supernatural elements with the rationality and surety of detective fiction. Often, it’s merely used to show that deductive reasoning can’t order the chaos of certain sublime plot points. Blaming demonic forces is useful when neither the detective nor the writer can explain the impossible.

Think of Bram Stoker’s Dracula and the pitiful tribulations of Dr. Abraham Van Helsing trying to make sense of a blood-sucker.

Occult detective fiction is a subgenre of occult fiction. But it is also a subgenre of detective fiction. And don’t forget that occult fiction is also a subgenre of horror fiction (and possibly whatever supernatural fiction fans of Lovecraft classify him)

It’s good to remember that classifying books into genres is foolish and dull criticism. Horror, in particular, works best when the suspense of mystery remains.

The Tilted Pentagram by Matthew MacDevette

The Tilted Pentagram presents an alternative vision of European history. Here, the Catholic church still rules through an alliance with the Holy Roman Empire.

Nell Blythe is a second-year university student at Dresden University. Her life under papal rule would be manageable were it not for a secret: she inherited strange and magical powers from her mother who was killed on suspicion of witchcraft.

Although Nell has kept her powers secret, the truth comes out. She finds herself in danger of death and needs to flee the confines of the university for safety.

The novel is structured into 35 chapters. Each chapter has its name that links it to its own thematic focus. Structurally, the novel has few intricacies. And like most popular novels, the inner thoughts of Nell are denoted by a switch to italics.

I found the plot quite intriguing. Like Nell, we learn about the secret world of witchcraft and magic through the mentors and lessons she encounters along the way. We see her progress as our understanding of the novel’s universe grows. This helps to keep the mystery alive. I’m sure that it helped MacDevette equip Nell with the exact knowledge she needed for the inevitable final battle.

But the novel is also about Nell’s quest to understand and know more about her dead mother. The nature of a society that burns witches means that the children of witches are best advised not to talk about their parents unless they themselves want to burn at the stake. Because of this, Nell grew up knowing very little about her mother. She wants to find more.

I don’t want to spoil too much of the plot by explaining what she learns – I’ve been told good book reviews leave some of the mystery for the reader. But it’s worth mentioning a man called Eli, a Jewish man whose name probably begs mention that its Hebrew meaning is ‘height’ or ‘my God.’

Eli tells Nell about “D-O-T-S: Druidic Order of the Shard”, an order formed “with the intention of finding, cultivating and teaching the practices they believed would allow them to fully know and experience God, whatever he or it is”. The orders symbol is the Tilted Pentagram alluded to in the title.

Eli’s understanding of the Order’s purpose shines a light on the evil Nell feels inside her due to her witch-like nature. He goes on to say that tilting the pentagram allows the Order to say that “both virtuous and malicious acts are legitimate ways to understand God”. This reading is great for Nell.

Remember that Nell was raised knowing that her mother was killed because of an evil that she has now inherited. To Nell, it was unquestionable that her powers were evil because the main structure of society, the Catholic church – with their Draconian views on virtue and sin – was the speaker of singular truth.

Eli’s words provide a counter to this. They allow Nell to better understand her own nature. Humans, she realises, are more than the narrow image of the Papal ideal.

But the novel is nowhere as dull as my discussion suggests. There’s a love interest and an absent father that must be experienced first hand.

The Tilted Pentagram is, at heart, a story of adventure, self-discovery, and expressing the magic humans feel they must keep inside. Its characters are eccentric at times and sympathetic when it matters.

There’s also little complaint when it comes to the writing. Matthew MacDevette’s prose is clear, precise, and gets the job done. It’s the kind of writing you can read with a glass of wine.

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Book details:

Interested in more horror? Consider reading:

• Psychological Horror and the Creation of Unknown Entities
• Narrative Tricks in The Angel of Santa Sofia by Josep M. Argemí