I soooooo Identified with Meredydd, the heroine.... Excellent book and very well written

The second book in a series based on an idea by Marc Scott-Zicree, Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff has crafted an absorbing post-apocolypse tale about a group of friends on a quest in a magically changing landscape. I read the first book by Scott-Zicree and thought it was ... OK; an interesting idea in which technology is replaced by magic. Bohnhoff has taken the intrepid group of characters created by Marc, and imbued them with depth and interest. I liked the fact that the flaws of the characters turn out to be strengths essential to the survival of the group. I also liked the fact that she has imbued the romantic aspect of the novel with some surprises - the hero who gets the girl is not the obvious candidate. Definitely a worthwhile read

Angelfire is the second novel in the Magic Time trilogy. In the previous volume, Secret Service Agent Shango had discovered the remains of Agent Bilmer and returned to a changed Washington to find nobody to whom he could report his findings. Moreover, he had discovered evidence that the President had been killed. In Boone's Gap, Cal and his friends had discovered a spectral Fred Wishart protecting his brother, Bob, from the failure of his life support systems. While Cal and Tina were trying to negotiate with Fred, an attack by the local grunters had distracted Fred and the Source had broken through to take Tina as well as Fred.

In this novel, Goldie is feeling a tug from the west and north and the group is following his erratic directions as they search for Tina. Outside of the town of Grave Creek, the group encountered a new type of creature, shadowed as by dark veils, who are attacking other travelers. After driving off the attackers, Goldie learns that some of the travelers have heard some sort of music as they went through the woods.

The next day, Goldie, followed by Colleen, goes out to the woods to discover the source of the music. Although Colleen can't hear it, Goldie tracks it down the Bluesman, Enid Blindman, half Lakota on his father's side, and a flare, Magritte. When Colleen tries to attack Enid, the Flare throws her up into a pine tree and she is stuck upside down above head high. Nevetheless, Colleen insists that she had not seen a Flare near the Bluesman and suggests that maybe Goldie is having hallucinations; Collen is having a hard time accepting the unthinkable. Later, Goldie finds Enid and Magritte again, but they spook when Cal and company show up. When the group have almost caught up to them again, Enid and Magritte disappear into the "porch" of a burial mound and Goldie walks into the solid rock to follow them.

Goldie comes out in the Preserve, a fold in space protected from the Source; Goldie explains the nature of their quest and points out that Enid and Magritte can protect the group from the Source. However, the leaders of the community are not convinced that Enid should be released to help them; after all, he is already helping them to avoid the Source and only he can let people through the entranceways to the Preserve. Nevertheless, events allow Enid and Magritte to join them, with the first stop in Chicago, where Enid needs to talk to his manager.

In some respects, this story resembles Brook's Knight of the Word series without the visions. However, the towns and terrain in this series have suffered much more drastic damage and rearrangements. Also, the series is intrinsically a group effort, with each contributing a necessary skill or talent to the whole.

In this novel, the choppy flow of the previous novel has been smoothed out, with the point-of-view moving between the four main characters. Sometimes I forget who I am in a chapter, but I am usually able to recover by the process of elimination, so maybe there is still a little chop in the flow.

I also had a little trouble with the geography -- I know, why did I bother? -- so I had to check the web to discover that Grave Creek is in West Virginia and that Put-in-Bay is in Ohio. However, the story did state that the Preserve is near Delaware, Ohio.

Recommended for Brooks fans and anyone who enjoys magical quests.

A group of scientists were working on a top secret project known to them as the Source but what they let loose changed the face of America. Technology has ground to a halt and is about the level that existed during the Middle Ages in Europe. It also changed the DNA of some of the population, turning some humans into creatures like Flairs, elf like beings that the Source uses as a power supplement.

New York Lawyer Cal Griffin raised his little sister Trina, but when she changed and disappeared, he vowed to find her and stop the Source from using and harming her. He gathers together a small group of traveling companions including the mystical homeless man Herman Golding, Russian Doctor Lysenko who used to run a hot dog stand, and Colleen, an ordinary woman. During their travels, they meet another group of people who can help them in their quest if they risk helping them out on a very dangerous situation.

Some of the questions left hanging in the prequel are answered yet there remains many questions that should be answered in the next book in this series. Readers observe more of the revisions and modifications brought about by THE SOURCE to include geographical alterations executed by this perverted energy and more enlightening to the reader the changes happening to Cal and his friends. The authors have written a work that is reminiscent of Stephen King's THE STAND.

Harriet Klausner

Excellant plot - talented author. Maya Bohnhoff's use of vivid descriptions brings both the characters and the historical setting alive for the reader. I encourage all those who enjoy science fiction - fantasy to get to know this authors works.

Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff takes a mystical world in The Spirit Gate and makes it feel real. From the pictures her words paint in your mind to the emotions and desires of the characters that you feel deep in your heart, your mind will live in the world of Kassia and her earth magic. You will follow her as she explores her powers, unravels mysteries, and faces decisions that will decide the fate of a nation, of a religion, of the very magic that runs through her soul. After reading this book, you too will beg Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff to write more!

A splendid tale of magic and intrigue, with an interesting, unusual protagonist. I enjoyed it thoroughly. I'd say more, but the author has already said it better in her note above!