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Twenty years after the first book, Masterton wrote "Burial" as a conclusion to the series. The characters are also older as well to reflect the actual passage of time. The main character, Harry Erskine, is a practicing card reader/fortune teller who has tried to distance himself from the past. However, Karen, the woman who "gave birth" to Misquamacus (the Manitou) in the first book, returns and soon they both discover that the Manitou, an Indian witch doctor, has returned and has vowed to return the lands of North America to the way they were when Native Americans were the primary inhabitants.
Old friends return (Singing Rock) and new ones are made (Martin, EC Dude, Papago Joe) in the fight against the Manitou. Karen is overtaken by the Manitou again and it's up to Harry and friends to not only free her, but to stop the destruction of North American cities (Phoenix, Chicago, Las Vegas, small towns in Colorado experience some "changes"). The buildup to the finale is fast paced and the ending is well executed. The battle at Little Big Horn played a big role in the past and does so again.
While the book does have its faults (characters left hanging with no resolution, more detail could have been given on the pact between the Manitou, the Indian god and the other involved party, etc.), overall it's a very entertaining read. The first two books should be read before this one to better understand the history of the Manitou and the characters. The book is very gory in places (the jail scene, for example), but this is what fans of Masterton have come to expect. While not his best work (the Night Warriors series is slightly better), it is still better than most of the horror fiction out there.
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Imagine what happens when you discover a crashed plane with strange liquid in it. Two boys come upon the crash and start playing with the liquid. One of the boys become sick, the other does not. In fact, the sick boy turns out to have come down with German manifested plague, which quickly spreads to other people while Americans try to figure out what's going on.
Graham Masterton is master at Horror. King and Koontz, although good, have nothing on Masterton. Masterton doesn't play it safe with the reader. He is graphic with his details, making him truly chilling. In Condor, the reader is drawn into the plight of the characters. Read this book. You won't regret it.
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"A series of increasingly paranormal events leads a character (here one Harry Eskrine) to discover that an elder god (here one evil Medicine Man) is about to return and take over/destroy the world. As time runs out a team of sorts (here a well meaning doctor and a contemporary Medicine Man) is formed to try and stop the beast's return, but they are late getting to the pass and our hero (Harry) must do personal battle with the hellish entity to save the world."
It's a formula that works beautifully, no matter which elder god monster Masterton decides to pull from the shadows of fictional legend. That Masterton has a sense of humor about all this hogwash is a bonus, making The Manitou (and others) both scary AND funny. Highly recommended.
Karen Tandy visits her old boyfriend Harry Erskine, occult mavin and low-budget tarot reader to wealthy old ladies, because of a unique problem she's developed - a tumor on her neck, which to all intents and purposes appears to be a fetus. The doctors seem unable to remove it, and Harry starts experiencing paranormal disturbances after Karen comes to him for help. He, and a few initially skeptical doctors, reluctantly come to the conclusion that Karen Tandy is harboring the fetus of a powerful centuries-old medicine man about to be reborn - whose birth would first claim the life of Karen, and after, the entire white race, with his vengeful sorcery. What's modern science to do, against such a supernatural adversary? Why, fight fire with fire, of course - get another medicine man.
It's absolutely amazing that this piece works, but it's really great. Masterton never cracks a smile (until the very end), playing the situation up for real and sucking you into it so you believe it. The characters are fabulous, especially Karen, Harry - who appeared in the semi-sequel, The Djinn - and John Singing Rock, the rival medicine man to the rescue.
Masterton's stories almost always end on a lighter note, with the deliberate inclusion of a solution that is almost a joke, but the technique works because he's cluing his audience in to the fact that he realizes how silly it all is - he just wanted to show you he could make you believe it - and the concluding laughter he provokes is welcome and sympathetic, not denigrating the finely written novel at all.
The all-star movie made from this book in the late-'70s is worth a look. It's a faithful adaptation, though it doesn't work quite as well as the book due to some severe special effects deficits and a crummy musical score.
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