THE EVOLUTION OF GABRIEL ADAM

Two teen archangels continue the fight to save mankind and themselves from demonic takeover.

The archangels, no longer fledglings, are both in college, apparently white in their contemporary forms. This third installment of Duncan’s Revelation saga finds archangel Gabriel—Gabe—lost in the apocalyptic Dark Realm, where he must face the intense allure of the dark power within him. Micah, the female incarnation of archangel Michael, concerns herself with Mastema, who in his depthless fury has a habit of disguising himself by residing in rotting human flesh. The archangels race to close the portal connecting the realms so as to prevent Mastema from releasing hell on Earth. Duncan, again drawing from Jewish traditions, also brings to action the massive beasts Behemoth and Leviathan to do ultimate battle with Gabe and Micah. By now, Gabe and Micah’s relationship has moved from flickering romance into a deep friendship. The tale puts forward the principal that balance requires both light and darkness, good and evil. The third-person narrative, however, devolves into a shambles, swinging between times, locations, and the archangel’s doom-ridden visions so often that readers will find that making sense of the events becomes their preoccupation.

This convoluted episode seems to wrap up the trilogy, though there is a hint that the archangels might be needed again; whether readers will respond is another question entirely.