Magic Time

October 8, 2001
Television writer Zicree teams with fantasy and SF bestselling Hambly (Knight of the Demon Queen, numerous Star Wars and Star Trek novels) on a story straight out of the Hollywood mold for vintage sci-fi disaster films. A government experiment so secret even the president doesn't know about it produces strange energy flows that wreak havoc with the space-time continuum, resurrecting skeletal prairie wolves and disturbing ancient Indian burial grounds. Despite his misgivings, Dr. Fred Wishart continues the questionable experiments, only to blast the United States with a force so destructive all electricity and communications are knocked out nationwide. The bulk of the book concerns various characters' attempts to adjust to the chaos left in the wake of the catastrophe—one made still more dangerous by the frightening mutations it produces in the population. Cal Griffin, a young New York City lawyer, finds his vibrant teenage sister turning into a near-translucent ghost of herself. Meanwhile, Cal's boss is transformed into a demonic, reptilian killer who stalks Cal as he tries to lead his sister and a hodgepodge of friends safely out of the city. Zicree's TV experience—he's written for Star Trek: The Next Generation
and Sliders, among others—is obvious in the swift, episodic pacing; unfortunately, that doesn't give Hambly's usual gift for characterization much to work with. Like the pilot for a new television series, this effort promises much and delivers only hints of bigger things. (Dec. 4)Forecast:Before the World Trade Center attack, this would have been a natural candidate for screen adaptation. Chances are the public will now have less of a taste for fictional disasters set in New York City.

November 4, 2002
In Zicree (The Twilight Zone Companion) and Bohnhoff's (The Spirit Gate) engrossing sequel to last year's Magic Time, Cal, Colleen, Goldie and Doc continue their quest for Cal's sister, Tina, a captive of the magical Source centered in Chicago. They journey from New York through a contemporary America where magic has wreaked havoc and come across the Preserve, where they recruit half-Lakota musician Enid Blindman, who can defend humans against the creations of the Source. In Chicago the company has to try freeing Enid from the Primal, the local supernatural presence, who turns out to be a golem under control of another formerly human minion of the Source. And so the quest goes on—which most readers will consider good news, as this is an intelligent variation on the quest theme as exemplified by Stephen King's The Stand. The story doesn't repeat itself; the characters grow (witness the relationship emerging between the ferocious army-brat survivalist Colleen and nurturing Chernobyl survivor Doc Lysenko); and the ultimate secret of the Source is sufficiently well hidden that several more volumes seem logically justified. The book doesn't escape the current saga-mongers' problem of losing some emotional impact for new readers, but the series will probably win a strong SF/fantasy following as long as future installments keep up the high quality. (Dec. 23)FYI:
Magic Time was written by Zicree with SF and mystery author Barbara Hambly. Robert Charles Wilson is slated to be the coauthor for round three.

November 29, 2004
SF screenwriter Zicree (The Twilight Zone Companion
) teams with Philip K. Dick Award–winner Wilson (The Chronoliths
) for the rousing, if overly long, conclusion to his Magic Times fantasy trilogy. Since the Change, which nudged the universe into another dimension thanks to a U.S. government agency's snafu, unpredictable magic has replaced modern technology worldwide. Former New York lawyer Cal Griffin leads a courageous band out West in search of his sister, Tina, while another stalwart member of the group, Herman Goldman, looks forlornly for his lost sweetheart, Magritte. The saga's lawyer-dragon villain, Ely Stern, whose iridescent scales are gaudier than ever, provides the biggest plot surprise. As Cal and company attempt to destroy the evil that caused the Change, the authors effortlessly move the action from New York to Chicago and the old West, where buffalo still roam, a few guns still fire and simulacra of Indians and Calamity Janes lend a helping hand. Some readers may find the heroes' repetitive adventures tiresome, but most will applaud the upbeat message about humanity's survival, if without cell phones or TV. Agent, Chris Lotts at Ralph M. Vicinanza.