Book Reviews

The Secret Order of the Scepter & Gavel

W.A. Stanleyby
1 Comment on The Secret Order of the Scepter & Gavel
Vanderough University prepares its graduates for life on Mars. Herbert Hoover Palminteri enrolls at VU with the hope of joining the Martian colony in 2044 as a member of its eleventh graduating class. He thinks if he just keeps his head down and gets his studies done, he’ll get the marks he needs to join the esteemed engineer corps on the red planet. But then Herbert is tapped to join a notorious secret society: The Order of the Scepter & Gavel. As a new pledge, Herbert has to prove himself in a series of dangerous initiation rites, even if it means risking his life and the lives of his friends. Many years later, when Herbert thinks the scandals of his youth are finally dead and buried, a murder occurs in the Martian colony, and Herbert starts to suspect it is linked to the secret Order of the Scepter & Gavel of his past.
The Secret Order of the Scepter & Gavel
Written by Nicholas Ponticello

No matter how many books you read, some leave an indelible mark on your brain, forever etched into your memory as you think back to the good times you had reading that story. Nicholas Ponticello’s Cuckoo Cuckoo is one such book (if you don’t believe me—or even if you do—you can read my review here); the novella was a true highlight of my 2022 reading. Since then, I’ve been waiting to see what the author offers the world next, and it’s finally due to make its debut to the world in the coming months: The Secret Order of the Scepter & Gavel. While I can’t guarantee this novel will still be lingering in my brain two years from now, I find it difficult to fathom that it won’t.

The novel takes place across two time periods, both in our future. The first, from which the book’s protagonist, Herbert, narrates the story, is the year 2080. Herbert was once destined for greatness, but instead finds himself working as a janitor on Mars, thanks to his prior involvement in a secret society, the titular Order of the Scepter & Gavel. Following a murder, Herbert suspects it may be connected to his time within the Order. Herbert recounts the story of the book’s second period, the early 2040s, and the events that led to his current status in life.

Although The Secret Order of the Scepter & Gavel is framed by the murder mystery, it is so much more. The murder mystery has shades of a classic whodunnit, but is less focused on rolling out the suspects than it is in establishing the world, characters and the past events that may have bearing on this mystery. The book’s second mystery, which forms the crux of the story, revolves around what, exactly, this secret society is, and what events of 2041 led to its—and pertinently, Hebert’s—downfall. Not content to simply write a mystery—or even a mystery within a mystery—the book is filled with science fiction elements. More importantly, Ponticello infuses plenty of humour into the book, perhaps making this its primary genre, but has also created a piece of literary fiction that defies the readers’ expectations.

Through the mystery, literary devices and humour, The Secret Order of the Scepter & Gavel’s greatest strength is its humanity. This is a story about a murder on Mars and secret societies, packaged with a dry wit that will ensure the reader is chuckling along with a smile on their face. But above it all, it’s a story about Herbert, someone born into money but suffering from distant family connections. It’s a story about Herbert’s friends and loved ones, the times they enjoy together and the times they don’t. Throughout the novel, Ponticello takes the reader on a journey. The wit on display draws the reader into a false sense of security before it suddenly pulls on their heartstrings with an emotional sucker punch, and soon, has them laughing once again.

This heart wouldn’t be half as effective if it weren’t for its characters. As the narrator, Herbert is the book’s sole point of view character, and therefore anchors the story. As the book hints at transgressions as a member of the Order, it quickly establishes he is flawed. The book doubles down on this by showing these flaws, most of them benign. For all of his flaws are also strengths; he is a protagonist who is a delight to follow. All the book’s other characters are shown through Herbert’s own prism, coloured by his opinion of them. Yet they are all fully formed, often flawed in their own way, and thoroughly entertaining. There are a number of characters throughout the book whose stories could warrant their own books.

Like Cuckoo Cuckoo before it, Ponticello uses The Secret Order of the Scepter & Gavel to provide commentary on today’s society and politics. The book examines current politics, shining a lens on ultraconservative viewpoints, and using fear as a means of implementing regressive policies. While it would perhaps have been easier to simply satirise the politics of the current day, the book uses the two periods to offer a message of hope for the future, even if progress is slower than it should be.

While The Secret Order of the Scepter & Gavel is a fairly short novel at an estimated 275 pages on Kindle (at the time of writing, I don’t have a page count for the paperback version), it took me longer than the page count would suggest. Although the book features more prose than dialogue, the language is clean, clear and easy to parse. However, each sentence is finely constructed to draw the reader in and guide them through the story. This is a book where the reader will want to luxuriate in the words, not for their beauty, but for their style, and how they present the protagonist’s voice. The dialogue, too, delights throughout the book, with each character having a wonderful voice that works with the prose to form the book’s overall feel.

Simply, The Secret Order of the Scepter & Gavel is a book that needs to be read. Its prose and dialogue are an utter delight, and hand in hand, they present a wryly humorous tale. The book’s humour is consistently funny without overpowering the other elements, and through this comes its heart. Mystery fans will be drawn into the double mystery, and science fiction fans will enjoy the setting. Regardless of the genre, however, fans of wonderful literature will delight in the novel Ponticello has crafted.

Favourite Passage

I don’t believe in God. Or purgatory. Or anything like that. But I could be persuaded to believe in a four-dimensional alien named Faaaaah.

The Secret Order of the Scepter & Gavel, Chapter 11

The Secret Order of the Scepter & Gavel was provided by the author for the purpose of an honest review.

The Secret Order of the Scepter & Gavel will be available in paperback and Kindle, exclusive to Amazon, from 1 April, 2024.

Note: I do not post scores for reviews on this website, but do post them on my Amazon and Goodreads reviews:

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The Secret Order of the Scepter & Gavel

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