FUTURE INDEFINITE

Sadly arriving too late for a full review, here's the final installment (Past Imperative showed the author's ``wonderful knack of conjuring up wacky scenarios and making them believable and fascinating,'' declared the Sept. 1, 1995, Kirkus review; and Present Tense, not seen) of Duncan's trilogy set on Earth in 1914 and in Nextdoor, an adjacent reality whose oppressive, capricious gods—immortal and charged with magic ``mana''—were once mortals who have crossed over from Earth and elsewhere. Edward Exeter of Earth accepts his destiny to become the Liberator of Nextdoor's suffering folk by overthrowing the evil god Zath, whose power derives from human sacrifice. Unfortunately, Edward finds that his friends from Earth, on becoming gods in Nextdoor like himself, are quite happy to stab him in the back in order to retain their thrilling new powers. The estimable Duncan manages, somehow, to be in tremendous form every time out; his fans certainly won't be disappointed with this one.