Falling Light

December 23, 2013
Michael, a warrior who has fought the renegade Deceiver over time and space, and Mary, a healer who has suffered much from the Deceiver's onslaughts, were once "creatures of power and fire." Now the reincarnated soulmates continue the Good vs. Evil battle Harrison launched in Rising Darkness. Harrison trivializes Lucifer's rebellion and his subsequent campaign to corrupt mankind, recasting it as a series of grisly firefights and smarmy healings punctuated by genre-requisite erotic encounters. The cosmic fireworks fizzle among unconvincing dialogue and superficial characterizations. Petulant Mary fails to hit it off with Michael's aged extraterrestrial mentor, Astra, who decides to kill the noncompliant young woman. Michael both defends righteousness and yields to his raging lust with "grim, dogged endurance." Astra endlessly mulls her own past failure to destroy Lucifer. And an ignoble Lucifer himself, stuck in a "monkey suit" body he detests, is a cardboard caricature of evil. Even the Devil deserves better than this.

January 15, 2014
Part of an ancient contingent sent to Earth to destroy the Deceiver, Mary and Michael have lost nearly all of their friends over the thousands of years they've existed here, but now, despite exhaustion and grief, victory may be in sight for the soul mates. Thousands of years ago, a criminal from another planet escaped his confines and fled to Earth, wreaking havoc through the ages. Focused on world domination, aided by physical and psychic advantages, and unburdened by any moral compass, this monster can only be stopped by his own kind. Hunted by a group of his species through the ages, he has destroyed all but three of them. Michael and Mary have left their home planet behind to seek the Deceiver, unable to ever return. Mated for eternity, the two made the mutual decision to follow the villain across time and space in hopes of curtailing his murderous, power-hungry rampage, but 900 years ago, Mary was so badly injured that she was unable to regenerate into human form until the end of the 20th century. Michael has been searching for her for centuries, and now that he's found her, they must destroy the Deceiver to ever have a chance at a peaceful, secure life. Mary is only beginning to remember her gifts and the fact that she isn't truly human. Furthermore, she doesn't have the benefit of centuries of training and preparation for a showdown. Still, she is a quick study, and some of her more empathetic qualities may be just what the two need to balance the power scale in ways Michael could never have imagined. Harrison builds a creative, fascinating urban fantasy world that looks a lot like ours but with one troubling supervillain who has slashed and burned his way through human history. In this second of two installments, Michael and Mary just might be able to stop the demonic Deceiver once and for all, with help from the enigmatic Astra, some Native American wisdom and heroes, and some ancient and powerful allies. Beautifully written, boldly imaginative, action-packed and captivating.

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