The Gospel of the Night
Will Shetterly
Tor, Jul 2007, $25.95
ISBN: 0312866313

In 1969 in Florida, teenager Christopher Nix adopts the look of the hippies. The fourteen year old is attracted to free love and getting high. However, by doing so, he becomes a target of the intolerant who sees anything different as bad.

Shockingly, an affluent person Jay Dupont offers to pay for Christopher to attend an exclusive private school because he feels a debt owed to their late grandfather Uvdall who he insists saved his life during World War I. The Nix family has never heard of the incident or Mr. Dupont, but the stranger's offer is too good to refuse even as they question the validity of his seemingly altruistic motive.

Au contraire to the simple straightforward sort of mystery described above, this is a complex difficult tale to read as there are deep hidden layers in which everyone has masks (Will's being that of a rookie hippie) and much of the action and relationships come across in the second person. That point of view actually enhances the conflicting doubts and euphoria felt by the parents as well as the coming of age subplot re Will on an internal journey deep inside his soul learning of the "Powers" his family and he possess and the related ethics of using and potentially abusing them. This is a strong character driven fantasy that fans of Will Shetterly will enjoy; just add extra time to read it as THE GOSPEL OF THE NIGHT is complicated with its astute look morality especially religious principles of good and bad.

Harriet Klausner