End Time

Korman’s violent, whimsical, and expansive tale of disparate people coming together to save the world mashes up science and folklore with an irreverent disregard for both. When the Pied Piper comes calling in modern-day America, young girls go missing. A bereaved father and an L.A. cop team up to find them and come up against what might be a government conspiracy, aliens, or divine intervention. As the Piper taps into the cultural zeitgeist and distributes an addictive drug that leaves its users susceptible to his influence, everyday folk caught in the middle try to resist. By the end, Korman (Secret Dreams) has explained everything in perhaps excessive detail, but the vast array of characters never quite springs to life, leaving the reader to wade through cliché soup and some regrettable stereotyping. However, the complicated puzzle of a plot is pleasantly twisty, and the ending feels satisfyingly correct. Agent: Raines & Raines Literary Agency. (Aug.)