The second installment of Crowther’s horror-nuanced Forever Twilight saga (after 2002’s Darkness, Darkness
) can be summed up in two words: unfulfilled potential. Set on an Earth where all but a few people have “just up and sidestepped into another world” after a blinding flash of light, the eerie, apocalyptic story revolves around a handful of misfit survivors, including Ronnie Mortenson, a miserable man stuck in a loveless marriage; Sally Davis, an emotionally unstable widow who hears voices; and Virgil Banders, a serial killer with a fondness for binding his victims like mummies. Though the novella is rich in well-developed characters and dark ambience, at its conclusion the plot has barely been advanced. Readers expecting insights into the multitude of questions will be sadly disappointed. (Aug.)
