Fantasy/SF Book Reviews

by Editor

Night of Glory by Scott Ciencin
Eos, June 1998.
Paperback, 246 pages.
ISBN: 0380779838.
Ordering information:
Amazon.com.

Cover of Night of Glory
by Scott Ciencin

Cover of Night of Glory
by Scott Ciencin

In the early 1500s, Elves escaped their magical realm to enter our world. After reading the Bible, the Elves set themselves up as Angels, thereby holding sway over the humans and generally terrifying everyone they meet. Some of the Elves have forgotten who they really are, and actually believe that they are Angels. In this third book of the Elven trilogy, an evil Elf has changed places with the Elf who was supposed to be elevated to Godhood. With an evil and insane Elf as one of the Mighty, the world has gone mad with illness and terror and the Elves have a terrible plot to destroy our world. It is up to one human, Tom Keeper, to enter the magical realm to stop the evil one and save all of mankind.

The premise of this trilogy -- that a mistaken belief has Elves believing they are Angels -- is unusual and appealing. With strong, well-delineated characters and plenty of action and magic, Night of Glory is a satisfying ending to this interesting and entertaining trilogy.

Reliquary by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Tor, July 1998.
Hardcover, 464 pages.
ISBN: 0609601121.
Ordering information:
Amazon.com.

Cover of Reliquary
by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Cover of Reliquary
by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

While on his first dive into the muddy sewer waters of the Humboldt Kill, dreaded by police divers because of its years of accumulation of feces, sludge, dead animals and mud, rookie diver Officer Snow encounters two human skeletons. Panicking and nearly drowning in the sludge, Snow is rescued along with the two skeletons he found. Investigation of the skeletons shows gross deformities and lieutenant D'Agosta calls on museum curator Margo Green and paleontologist Dr. Frock to help determine what happened to the skeletons. Green and Frock investigate with caution fearing similarities in this case to the museum beast, a strange and powerful creature that murdered museum workers and visitors a few years ago. As an outbreak of reported murders begins the investigation leads downward into the underground world below New York where decapitated bodies are being found by the underground homeless -- known as mole people.

Reliquary is an excellent sequel to Relic, a scientific thriller about a creature that terrorizes a museum. This sequel manages to contain the same level of excitement and terror, brings back the interesting characters including super know-it-all FBI agent Pendergrass set against the backdrop of the New York underground labyrinth. For those that have read Relic, Reliquary is a must-read. Those who have not yet read Relic should read it before Reliquary to get the full impact of the novel. You'll be glad you did.

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Night of Glory by Scott Ciencin

Reliquary by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child