THE HEALING

Some allies converge in Pennsylvania to stop evil from flourishing on Earth and in other worlds in this fantasy/thriller sequel.

Pittsburgh reporter Jason Tribe gets an odd inheritance—a small weekly newspaper—from a woman he never knew. He takes the paper, as he’s barely making ends meet with his daughter, Sierra, just four years after his mentally ill wife killed their toddler son. Jason doesn’t immediately grasp the significance of his writing for theTestament. His moral stories about people with “gifts” (for example, hearing the voice of God) help an energy field called Bloodfire—which is similar to the Force in Star Wars—spread to worlds beyond Earth. Otherwise, all the worlds would collapse. The mysterious group the Silent Crusade fights to suppress Bloodfire. Meanwhile, Bloodfire Guardian Danny Chambers struggles to protect those gifted people from the sinister organization. But he may be blinded by revenge; he is convinced the Silent Crusade murdered his beloved family. Uniting the Healer, a man whose blood heals, and the StoryGuide (who’s possibly Jason) will hopefully push Bloodfire to more worlds and races. But Jason, Danny, and several associates must also unravel the Silent Crusade’s puzzling, ominous scheme: “Burn the ships.” As in Tuft’s series opener, The Healer (2019), this deliberately paced sequel thrives on hazy details. Myriad characters either have no clue what’s going on or won’t explain what they know. The novel’s latter half clarifies the narrative to some extent, like Bloodfire’s strong ties to earthly religions. The author nevertheless builds a strong cast, from Jason and Sierra, who have an engaging father-daughter relationship, to memorable baddies like ice-cold Luther Quinn. Shocks abound as well, especially unexpected deaths and characters returning from the first book. Readers will see where at least some of the story is headed, as its early-21st-century time frame is days away from a real-world tragedy. The book ends, perhaps unsurprisingly, with plenty of material left for additional installments.

An intriguing, if enigmatic, spiritual tale with remarkable characters.