From Publishers Weekly
The five novellas in this slapdash mosaic anthology are loosely interconnected by the presence of Johnny Divine, a hoodoo man who materializes magically in each story to present lost travelers who accidentally stray onto the unmapped Brimstone Turnpike with knickknacks that alter their lives supernaturally. In Thomas F. Monteleone's "The Prime Time of Spenser Golding," a pair of eyeglasses given to an egotistical television newscaster allows him to see the "truth" behind his stories—whereupon he become a self-righteous blowhard of a reporter. In Michael Oliveri's "Warning Signs," a magic pendant bestowed on a woman in a troubled marriage warns her of menace from a predictable suspect. In the other stories, Divine's gifts stir up weird scientific experiments and skeletons in family closets. Burke (
Taverns of the Dead) appears not to have specified to contributors whether Divine should be depicted as an agent of good or evil, with the result that his character flip-flops confusingly from story to story. His role in some of the tales is so superficial that readers may wonder if the stories wouldn't have worked better without his appearance.
(Dec.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Life as a highway is an archetype: we may know from whence we come, but we know not whither we go. We frequently get lost, but sometimes we are given a chance, a guide, an opportunity to change direction. In these five stories, the guide is Johnny Divine, an old man with a tragic past, sitting in the ruins of a gas station on Brimstone Turnpike. His battered suitcase holds treasures for those who dare to accept them. Thomas Monteleone's hard-nosed journalist receives a pair of spectacles ("Dey . . . hep ya see real good"); Harry Shannon's alcoholic LAPD detective, a child's toys; Scott Nicholson's protagonist, pieces of very special pie; the unhappy wife going camping to repair her marriage in Michael Oliveri's contribution, a necklace; and the dutiful young woman Tim Waggoner presents, bound to see the grandmother she fears, a rock and a hard-to-open jewelry box. Each story features high-quality characterization and plotting. All are so well attuned to the theme that the book reads more seamlessly than many novels.
Frieda MurrayCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
