The Shadows of God (Paperback)

The key of the problem is that the cast of characters is immense, and seems to include everyone of note in Europe and North America from Isaac Newton and Ben Franklin to Tsar Peter the Great. At the beginning of 'The Shadows of God' Keyes spends about 40 pages re-introducing his characters. Before I gave up counting he had mentioned thirty major characters and a host of lesser. Moreover, while diligent in the matter of name-dropping, Keyes makes no effort to provide continuity between this volume and its predecessor.

As such, it was a while before I remembered that Keyes had Newton discover the existence of the Malakim, angels who intersected with the human world and whose powers could be harnessed. As he and his student Ben Franklin move across Europe, great powers are set in motion, eventually leading to London's utter destruction by an aimed meteor, and a Russian attempt to conquer the world. With Europe in tatters, the action shifts to the new world, where men battle men and Malakim, and everyone who can tries to destroy their enemies and take the earth for their own.

In North America, invading armies of the Malakim inspired Sun Boy and James Stuart, pretender to the English Throne prepare to overwhelm the indigenous races and colonists from New England to New France. Ben Franklin is the ringleader in for those who oppose the Malakim as he tries to deal with overpowering magic, traitors on every side, and the rulers of New France, Sweden and Russia. With his family life in a shambles, and his imagination stretched to its limits Franklin must prepare to fight a battle that truly is the apocalypse.

This is primarily alternate history, based on the thesis that Newton's discoveries were of the laws of magic rather than those of science. Misled into thinking that the Malakim were harmless, Newton did not realize that these were the fallen angels, stranded on earth by God, and that many of them fiercely desire the end of man. The fascination of a new scientific system, and Keyes' great writing are what keep the series moving, and this volume is no exception, despite the slow start.

The book probes the possibility of a universe based on and entirely different meta-narrative and the effects of that world on those that people it. It also questions the significance of good and evil and God's place in the entirety of corruption. Keyes created a high action plot while taking the time to investigate philosophical and emotional considerations. In the end, I found the story very satisfying, but be warned that 'The Shadows of God' would be nearly unreadable for someone who has not read the first three volumes. It is unfortunate that Keyes will probably never get the recognition he deserves for this work of science fantasy. If you have the opportunity and the time, you will find the series well worth reading.

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It is a sad thing when an author starts a series with a great idea, like rewriting history with a different set of scientific laws, but then doesn't know how to finish the story. I originally bought the first two books in the series by accident but was happily surprised when I finally sat down and read them. Then when the third came out I was excited to continue the journey, but upon finishing I was somewhat let down. But now, even though I still have 50 pages left, I have been sorely let down.

Keyes seems to have lost track of his characters, giving them outlandish abilities which work in no logical sense. The great powers of the Earth find themselves prostrate over their own minor problems which they never got around to dealing with earlier on in the series. And further, this is the point which angers me the most, the French witch Adrienne becomes a sad copy of Franks Herbert's, Lady Jessica of the Dune series.

She is supposed to be a being not born on chance, but of a breading program monitored over centuries to produce a superbeing. HELLO? This a complete copy off of his plot thread, used to fill in a story loop hole so large a small moon could easily fall into it.

The philosophies brought about have become more mundane with each page. The ideas never coming to any sort of fruition understandable by any sensible reader. The lead characters have lost the readers attention, and have become less important than the much more interesting less brooding supporting cast.

How sad it is when an want to be writter has a good idea but no story arch.

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