The Sword of Agrippa: Antioch

A man struggles to save humankind with New Age mysticism in this disappointing opener to a new fantasy series. College student Roy Swenson, brokenhearted after the death of his sweetheart in a car accident, plunges into his studies and becomes a scientist working on energy sensors. By the year 2020, Roy longs to strike out against the dystopian “bulletproof-vested interests dominated by science and religion” that want to kill free thought and “bold experimentation.” Armed with Sanskrit chants and exercises that increase his intuitive awareness, Roy teams up with former Silicon Valley wonder boy Steve Randall to explore whether pineal tissue can be used to see dark energy and/or God. In the meantime, Roy’s meditations reveal that he was previously Marcus Agrippa, an engineer who served Caesar in ancient Alexandria and fell in love with a mysterious woman who guided him to spiritual enlightenment. Beyond Roy’s repetitive rants against the status quo, there’s no sense of the world he lives in, and the book’s sudden halt will leave readers unsatisfied. (June)