SOLDIER OF LIGHT

Transcendental SF from actor De Lancie (Q in Star Trek: The Next Generation, etc.) and ex-Navy Panama resident Cool (Secret Realms, 1998). As some people experience transcendental visions, and others succumb to a seductive, deathly sleep, the world is changing. Why? Well, the One—one of many alien species—moves between spheres of being; after a million-year slumber inside the Earth, it’s finally emerging. Problem: the One is ancient, utterly mad, and determined to wipe humanity out. San Francisco sculptor Owen Keegan, his wife Kate, and their autistic daughter Constance head south in a boat, while Owen’s big brother Harley opts to remain. With Kate susceptible to the sleep-death, Owen must keep injecting her with stimulants. Meanwhile, Owen finds he’s developing strange mental abilities. Harley also develops mental powers, and meets fearful but talented orphan Axel. When Owen’s boat makes landfall, Constance is drawn inland by a powerful seductive mind. Owen and Kate follow. They’re saved from a lynch mob by the eerily powerful Erik Van Meers—a tool of the One—who grabs Constance. But Kate sinks into terminal sleep, and weary Owen decides to join her. The Hiyul, an enemy of the One, brings them back to life. Soon Harley and Axel show up, too: Owen will need all the help he can get in the forthcoming showdown. Astonishingly inventive, brimming with dazzling concepts—but, sadly, without plot and propellant.