AND ETERNITY

Wrapping up the seven-book Incarnations of Immortality series (most recently For Love of Evil) with the Incarnation of Good, better known as God—who, uninterested in, and unable to comprehend, evil, has spent the last half-millenium or so in His highest heaven, contemplating eternity, while things go to hell in a handbasket down on Earth. Orlene, daughter of Orb (currently the Incarnation of Nature), commits suicide after a short and miserable life. But because her affairs on Earth are not complete, she persists as a ghost, and is joined by: Jolie, consort of Satan, now existing as a drop of blood on Orb's wrist; and Vita, a young mortal on the brink of drug addiction and prostitution. Then Nox, the mysterious Incarnation of Night, reveals that she has taken Orlene's damaged baby (one of the reasons Orlene killed herself), and will cure the child if Orlene can obtain valuable gifts from the other Incarnations. But the Incarnations don't just give things away, and Orlene must pass a severe test set by each one of them. All this, however, doesn't solve the problem of God—things are getting still worse, thanks to His inattention; even Satan (he isn't really evil) wants to see a new God appointed. But the successful candidate must win the Incarnations' unanimous approval—and the key, of course, is Orlene herself. Bright and breezy, sexy and fluffy, with far too much chat and a rationale that doesn't really jibe with what's happened in the previous six books. All in all, not a strong finish.