Queen of the Sun

Originally self-published in 1994, this occult adventure yarn pales beside the bestseller it resembles in so many ways. As in The Celestine Prophecy, the tale is told by a down-and-out middle-aged narrator-- here, a man named Jason who is struggling to stabilize a shaky marriage and escape his dead-end job as a courier in the Bay area. After a disastrous picnic with his wife and daughter in the Pacific hills, he discovers a valuable lost medallion that turns out to be an ancient relic with mysterious powers that contains encoded wisdom from the past. Unfortunately, he reveals its existence to one of his clients, powerful banker Ulysses Bundy, who belongs to an international capitalist organization (the real-life Trilateral Commission) whose members here seek to use the artifact for evil purposes. Various assailants attack Jason as Bundy tries to steal the powerful trinket, but he escapes in a series of misadventures that echo Redfield's Peruvian chase scenes, until finally he delivers his ancient prize to the superhuman denizens of a hidden, utopian Mayan city. The narrative's first half features some lively storytelling, but as the plot slows and the predictable resolution looms ahead, Michael resorts to politically correct proselytizing and long-winded explanations of basic New Age precepts. He adds some unusual wrinkles with his inclusion of the Trilateral Commission, a favorite bete noir of conspiracy theorists, and with a final, apocalyptic message from the Virgin Mary--which roots the story as much in the Marian tradition as in the New Age and makes it a bit of a spiritual hash. While this novel is no more mediocre than such recent offerings as God on a Harley and The Messiah Stones, it looks as if readers eager for a stirring new spiritual adventure tale will have to count their breaths until the sequel to Celestine appears. $150,000 ad/promo; author tour. (Sept.)