THE VOICE OF THE MOUNTAIN

Another outing for wandering balladeer Silver John, who pokes into supernatural crannies and defies evil by means of his pure heart and silver-strung guitar. This time John investigates the moaning Cry Mountain, a place of ill-repute where John finds sorcerer Ruel Harpe (with three witches) behind a stockade--defended by giant killer bees, Bigfoot, and other irascible creatures. Harpe has large ambitions: to kill off most of the world's population, turn the rest into placid peasant farmers, and rule them as a god. He tempts John with wealth, power, sex; John promptly rejects all, and comes to realize that Harpe's power depends entirely on the amulet he wears. Engagingly narrated in John's Appalachian dialect: the usual folksy, woodcrafty fare, with a thin and formulaic plot, but satisfying enough for faithful fans.