The following review of End of the Century appears in the January 1st and 15th issue of Booklist, which mails out this week. Some slight spoilers included, so be warned.

Roberson conjures up a triple-threaded tale: (1) Driven by visions of a lady in white, Galaad gets Artur and his knights to help him find a glass tower. Breaching a wall of mist to the Summerlands, they are beset by terrible foes. (2) On the eve of Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, Sandford Blank and Roxanne Bonaventure investigate brutal murders eerily like the earlier Torso Murders that defeated Sandford. They find links to Arthurian enthusiasts and an archaeological expedition to Glastonbury Tor. (3) As the twentieth century ends, visions of a glass tower drive Alice Fell to run away from home. Saved from spectral hounds by a retired spy (he says), she embarks on a wild hunt for the key to her visions. Behind everything is the far-future organization Omega, whose agents try to decipher the past. Roberson bedecks all three strands with a spectacular collection of secrets, murky underworld organizations, and everything from time travel to magical swords. In the dizzying conclusion, time lines converge in a satisfying reimagining of a very old story.
— Regina Schroeder

Labels: reviews