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IRON SHADOWS by Steven Barnes

IRON SHADOWS

By

Pub Date: March 1st, 1998
Publisher: Tor

Another contemporary horror/fantasy that, like Blood Brothers (1996), features the same mysterious immortal sorcerer known as the African. Maxwell Sinclair, of Sinclair Electronics, hires Juvell Associates (sleuth Cat Juvell; her huge, black ex-husband Jax Carpenter; and Cat's crippled computer-whiz Tyler) to track down his sister Kolla, who's in the clutches of the Golden Sun--a cult headed by the charismatic Japanese-African twins Joy and Tomo Oshita, whose talents purportedly include healing, firewalking, and psychic powers. On her upcoming 21st birthday, Kolla will sign over to the Golden Sun her share of the business--some $140 million. But Cat's investigations turn up a disturbing mixture of evidence: sexual ecstasy, terror, soup kitchens, unexplained deaths, and genuine miracles. Soon, Cat and Jax uneasily attend a cult workshop with Kolla and the twins, where some sort of blood-sharing seems to be going on--yet they can't decide whether to trust the genuinely psi-powered twins. Then Max Sinclair and assorted gunmen burst in to capture Kolla, Cat, and Jax. He just used Cat to discover Kolla's whereabouts, and intends to destroy the cult. But there are further adventures in store for Cat and Jax before they must irrevocably decide if the twins are a force for good or evil, and what they should--or can--do. A solid, hard-hitting workout, well-pitched and balanced, with plenty of broad appeal.