From Publishers Weekly
Despite a misleadingly slow and uninspiring beginning, this supernatural thriller is enjoyable: a combination of Charles William's books War in Heaven and The Greater Trumps, but moved to a small town in Northern California. Here the Holy Grail is actually an origami cup which, folded to form different shapes, provides the owner with diverse powers. A quiet group of ordinary people have been helping Michael Graham, its guardian, to protect it. When Graham is about to die of old age, the Grail summons Howard Barton to visit his relatives and take over its guardianship. Of course, he has no idea that he has been summoned, nor even that the Grail exists, but neither factor stops Heloise Lamey and her greedy crew from using Howard to attempt to obtain the Grail for themselves. Blaylock ( The Last Coin ) redeems the familiarity of his plot with a gift for drawing characters who are eccentric in delightful and original ways, whichever side of the war they are on.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Museum curator Howard Barton's search for a lost sketch by the legendary artist Hoku-sai leads him to northern California where he becomes an unwitting front-line soldier in a battle between good and evil. Blaylock ( The Land of Dreams , LJ 8/87) ventures into the realm of magical realism as eccentric matrons and failed entrepreneurs assume mythic proportions in this witty and intelligent metaphysical novel. This crossover novel belongs equally well in literary and fantasy collections.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
