Dreamseeker's Road

Deitz (Above the Lower Sky) knows how to spin a good fantasy yarn. Yet he still manages to mar this nicely paced story by tossing in too many expletives and trendy topical references-as when Aikin, one of the three boys whose use of the magical ulunsuti stone helps land them in the world of Faerie, realizes it's as unlikely that he'll escape the Wild Hunt as that ``pigs farted Frank Zappa tunes in Bob Jones University whorehouses.'' Aikin and his male friends all follow their own visions down difficult paths, seeking lost loves, dead mentors and the touch of the otherworldly. They are aided in their quests by several faerie women and one female sidekick/girlfriend, none of whom receive fully fleshed characterizations. But if Deitz gives his female cast short shrift, he doesn't stint on atmosphere or plot. This novel teems with vivid descriptions of Sidhe cruelty and strange shape-changing beasts, and it transmits a strong sense of the dread engendered by following the Crimson Road leading to, and perhaps away from, death. (July)