Cloud Castles

Stephen Fisher is torn between his business ambitions in New Europe and his memories of magic and adventure in the Spiral

In a well-conceived fantasy of high adventure and deep mystical lore, brilliant inventor and businessman Stephen Fisher finds himself a focal point in the struggle between order and chaos as, once again, he is drawn to the Spiral universe of inconstant time and space that he first encountered in Chase the Morning. After he is inveigled by the evil necromancer Le Stryge into stealing the Spear of the Sangraal (Holy Grail) of Heilenburg, a primeval source of the world's goodness, Fisher and his companions, Jyp the Pilot and Katjka, a Warden of the forces of order, invade the castle of Baron Lutz von Amerningen, Fisher's mysterious partner, to find evidence of his dealings with the chaos-allied Brocken. Attempting to return the Spear and pursued, then aided, by Alison Laidlaw, a European Commission investigator-turned-Knight of the Grail, Fisher and his companions fight and flee through a tumultuous Europe of the near future, as well as of other dangerous eras, while pursued by the monstrous Night Children, evolved in the Spiral from nightmares of our own times. Throughout, Rohan creates a vivid fantasy, drawing on some of the most powerful of ancient myths as well as the most enduring of modern ones.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Rohan's series features a fantasy world comprised of a mundane Core and a highly magical Spiral and Rim crawling with weird and nasty creatures (The Gates of Noon, 1993). Corporate whiz Steve Fisher has developed a company, C-Tran, that uses computers to send freight consignments to their destinations without human intervention. But then he is summoned to the Spiral by an old foe, the sorcerer Le Stryge, who compels him to steal a powerful magic Spear from a huge, mysterious temple. The Spear allows Steve to handle it safely, but it shrivels bad guys at a touch. Helped by opponent-turned-friend Alison Laidlaw, Steve learns that the Spear belongs with the Graal, an ultimate force for good. If Le Stryge and the Brocken, a sort of evil sentient mountain, succeed in destroying the Graal, both Core and Spiral will be locked into a future of oppression, misery, and pain. Steve must reach deep within himself for new talents and to realize his true destiny. Churning, fizzing narrative with plenty of action, but overcomplicated and hard to follow: worth a try for the series' fans. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.