Blackmantle

The seventh volume of the author's Keltiad saga, in which the Celts are gods from outer space, takes place entirely off Earth. Keltia has fallen under the sway of the Firvolgi (read: the English), but a champion arises, one Athyn Cahanagh, known as Blackmantle for the cloak she wears in battle. Athyn raises an army of liberation, frees Keltia, is chosen High Queen, then loses her beloved Morric Douglas to a treacherous plot. After avenging Morric's death, she enters Annwn, the land of the dead, and brings him back to rule at her side. This could have been a splendid tale, and indeed it is full of fine writing. But it is also full of overblown plotting and ideas, as the reader is asked to swallow Athyn's arbitrary gaining of magical powers, battlefields where lasers and war chariots co-exist (if not peacefully) and a pseudo-bardic style that makes the glossary at the end vital for figuring out what's going on. The series seems to have a readership that will probably sustain the author's ambitious plans for it, but those who do not share her passion for all things Celtic will find the novel to be only a qualified success. Author tour. (Sept.) FYI: Kennealy-Morrison is the widow of rock legend Jim Morrison, inspiration for the character of Morric Douglas.