After re-reading MY ENEMY, MY ALLY and THE ROMULAN WAY (thus reminding myself once again why I consider Diane Duane the best writer of quality Trek fiction), I tore through SWORDHUNT and HONOR BLADE, only to be outraged (as so many of my fellow reviewers have been) by a "to be continued" at the end. Since the first two books were complete stories unto themselves, I had no reason to expect such a nasty shock. If I'd had any inkling that the story wasn't yet finished, I'd have waited before reading #3 and #4.

Where is the last third of this one, giant novel that's been so cynically sold in separate pieces, and when may we expect to see it in print?

Tom Holt once again endeavors to turn a literary tradition and a mythic system upside down and inside out, in order to take the reader on a wild ride and suggest the general folly of nuclear arms, romantic stereotypes, and self-destructive tendencies in all forms. In DJINN RUMMY, the literary tradition and mythic system is taken from The Arabian Nights (as told to Hollywood), with a Force 12 genie called "Kiss" stuck with the task of saving an ungrateful world while stumbling through the minefield of mortal romance. Though not, perhaps, among Holt's best works, DJINN RUMMY is still a worthy and entertaining afternoon's read.

While not quite up to the 5-star standard of EXPECTING SOMEONE TALLER, FAUST AMONG EQUALS is certainly more than equal to the task of entertaining a reader for an afternoon. Holt's unique spin on theology, literature, and popular culture continues to be worth the price of admission to the "Disney-meets-Dante" theme-park ride contained between the covers of this novel.