The World of Darkness is a role-playing game, perhaps the most famous of those published by White Wolf Game Studio. The game focuses on the occult and paranormal in a dark and gritty modern urban setting. Like most popular games in the late 90’s and beyond, several books were written that take place in the game’s setting, each one looking at a different aspect of what the World Of Darkness has to offer.  “Sins of the Fathers” focuses on the wraiths, departed spirits who face a restless death just on the other side of the world of the living; unable to move into the tempest beyond.

Kirk is a drug dealer and musician hopeful living in Atlanta, or at least he was. That was before he was killed by powerful cartel for muscling in on their turf. Free of the concerns of life yet filled with all the regrets that come from a life full of wrong decisions, Kirk finds himself caught in between heaven and hell, stuck in a shadowy underworld that mirrors the living Atlanta.  He’s still getting used to being dead when he finds himself caught between rival underworld factions, and finds himself having to make weighty decisions that could affect all of Atlanta…and the infant son he left behind. Somewhere in all of this is his torturous father, who haunted him while he as alive and now stalks him through the underworld. Friends are made and alliances forged, but can Kirk learn the things he never did in life and become responsible before it is too late to help his living loved ones?

Two things really struck me about this book. The first is that the book is written with gritty real-world realism. It’s very obviously set in the 90’s, as can be told by the character’s attitude. References to songs by Metallica and other real world points of culture seem to personalize the book and make the story a bit more believable.  The writing style is gritty and urban, and again, very 90’s. The second thing that struck me about this book was the level of intrigue involved in the underworld. The book describes in detail the underworld of Atlanta and unfolds the differences between certain factions of restless dead who hold some importance to Atlanta itself or the greater World of Darkness in general. How the realm of the dead works is described in rich detail but it also never becomes boring; we learn things at the same pace that Kirk does.  A cast of colorful characters fills out the tale nicely, though sometimes the grittiness of the story overshadows them.

I know next to nothing about the lore behind the World of Darkness, but I found this book to be a reasonable read. It expands nicely on the lore, or as in my case, serves as a good introduction to certain aspects of the game. It is also a nicely written tale of intrigue in the land of the dead, and does a good job of weaving together several plots into a cohesive whole. Something about the writing style rubbed me the wrong way, but it serves its purpose in lending a gritty and urban flair to the tale. In conclusion, I think it is a good book which presents ideas that are more interesting than the story itself.