A novel in the Sigils and Totems mythos, in ebook and paperback from Crossroad Press.

It’s a simple enough concept.

There are houses like this all over the world. Most people only know of them from whispered stories over campfires; tall tales told to scare the unwary. But some, those who suffer, some know better. They are drawn to the places where what ails them can be eased.

If you have the will, the fortitude, you can peer into another life, where the dead are not gone, where you can see that they thrive and go on, in the dreams that stuff is made of.

In this one you'll find a hurricane, a scrimshaw chess set, a derelict boatyard, beer, cigarettes, a Newfoundland fishing town, more beer, sigils, totems, a ouija board and an old whaler, going to rot...among other things.

We went through a hurricane here a few years ago, and this story was sparked off by some of the mayhem the force of nature left behind. So there's that, a lifelong love for interesting chess sets, and a look at another facet of my ongoing Sigils and Totems mythos (see the link under the book cover for more details of that.)

But it's mainly about getting older, and friendships lost, and found again in dire circumstances.


Dave Wiggins is taking a trip to his past. He doesn't much want to - but his Ma is dying.

He intends to get in, do his duty, get out and forget about his small town roots.

But there is something back home that has been waiting for his return - something that lurks, waiting in a tumbledown boathouse in an abandoned community offshore.

Once Dave and his past meet up again, the game is on.

A hurricane, a scrimshaw chess set, beer, rum, cigarettes, old friends and past mistakes all conspire to keep Dave right where he least wants to be.

The game is on.

And it's his move.


This and Broken Sigil are my favorite of the Sigils and Totems series. The latter is the classic demonstration how the Sigils and Totems work. This novel is, so far, Meikle’s most inventive variation on it. But I also liked its atmosphere and setting, the blasting winds and rains of Catalina and the wonderfully described Eye, location of the boathouse. I’d recommend this book for fans of weird fiction even if you aren’t interested in the central Sigils and Totems conceit. - MarzAat