Vellum

April 3, 2006
Scottish author Duncan's challenging SF debut, the first in a two-book series about an epic battle between good and evil, reveals the history of the advanced, ancient and powerful civilization of Kur through Egyptian, Babylonian and East Indian myth as well as bitmites, cyber-avatars and warring bands of fallen angels. A book, The Vellum
(aka The Book of All Hours
), is both portal to parallel realities and guide to a language of power that can be both inscribed in the skin and on the soul. Since individual characters like Seamus Finnan, Jack Carter, Thomas Messenger and Thomas's sister, Phreedom, whose lives are destroyed, prolonged and forever scarred by contact with a realm called the Vellum, tend to appear and reappear at intervals often 20 or 40 years apart, their adventures in the human, parallel and cyber universes can be hard to follow. Readers who persevere will find this a truly rewarding read.

April 15, 2006
This is the first of two volumes in -The Book of All Hours - series by Scottish debut novelist Duncan. Set in 2017 and partially about a conflict between bionanotechnology-enhanced humans and the rest of the race, the book has sf and fantasy components and is deliberately difficult to categorize per commentary on the author's blog, notesfromthegeekshow.blogspot.com. The meta-story of the millennial conflict between angels and devils is played out in Christian, Sumerian, and future contexts and draws together the stories of Glasgow University student Reynard Carter; American biker girl Phreedom and her brother, Thomas; and the pair's sometime mentor, Seamus Finnan. The characters, some gay, are gritty and believable, and their rough vernaculars ring true. The plot is complex to follow as it weaves through space, time, and the -vellum - reality underneath. Reminiscent of both Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" and Kevin Smith's film" Dogma", this novel is suitable for larger public and academic libraries." -Sara Tompson, Univ. of Southern California Lib., Los Angeles"

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2006
Following the trail of a family legend, Reynard Guy Carter finds " The Book of All Hours," aka the Vellum, a blueprint for all creation written by the scribe of God after the word was spoken. Carter thereafter wanders the strange, deserted worlds of the Vellum, while angels and demons, the Covenant and the Sovereigns, battle for control of the order of everything. Within the Vellum, Phreedom Messenger is on a quest to find her brother that will lead her to the very depths of the underworld in a movement parallel to Innana's descent to the underworld of Ereshkigal; and Seamus Finnan, her brother's betrayer and an old friend, is, like Prometheus, bound for his sins. The paths the three characters follow become a scintillating web of journeys across worlds and through the three dimensions of time. Duncan's version of a battle among the messengers of divinity proves fascinating as it takes unexpected turns within the framework of ancient myths.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)