The
Shadows of God
is the final book of J. Gregory Keyes’s “The Age of Unreason,” and,
as such, it ties together the varied strands of story which wound their
way through the previous novels. Unlike
the first two books, but much in the manner of the third, The Shadows
of God does not stand on its own, but relies heavily on knowledge of
the previous books to make sense. Unfortunately,
Keyes does not provide the necessary summation of those books.
When
The Shadows of God opens, Keyes follows several of his recurring
characters, the Indian shaman Red Shoes, Benjamin Franklin, the
Frenchwoman Adrienne, and General Oglethorpe.
He fails to make clear which characters are currently aligned with
which characters, although in the end, all of these characters will join
forces against the demonic forces of the malikim, who have been
growing more and more powerful and mysterious throughout the series.
The short chapters in The Shadows of God break up the
continuity of plot and characterization even as they provide the novel
with a feeling of urgency.
“The
Age of Reason” series has inundated the period of the Enlightenment with
the forces of the occult, constraining them through a system of magic akin
to the laws of physics. Keyes
handles his pseudoscience well, beginning to more fully explain the
rationale behind his world and the supernatural forces which govern it.
At the same time, the earthly battle becomes more convoluted, with
nearly all of the characters Keyes follows joining forces, leaving no
viewpoint into the enemy camp. This
has the effect of making the enemy an enigma even as the war’s endgame
is being playing out.
While
war has waged throughout the entire four novel series, it seems to take
centerstage throughout The Shadows of God, giving the book a more
martial feel than the previous novels.
However, Keyes does remain with his non-military viewpoint
characters who manage to bring their philosophical and supernatural
musings with them even when they are forces into combative situations.
Keyes
manages to bring his story to a conclusion, although many of is characters
are changed in ways which destroy many of their more endearing qualities. Nevertheless, the reader has grown to know these characters
and have levels of empathy with them.
What Keyes refuses to do, is allow his character to completely
ignore their pasts. Even as
Franklin discovers a positive link between himself and Adrienne, he
can’t help but allow his sense of betrayal and his need for vengeance
play a role in his dealings with her, even as they work to save the
universe.
The Shadows of God is not the most satisfying conclusion to the
series, but it does provide closure, explanations and a sense of hope
about the strange world in which occult forces and magic hold sway instead
of science and rationalism. “The
Age of Unreason” could have simply been a world-building experiment on
the part of the author, but instead Keyes has managed to suffuse his
intriguing world with characters and situations which are real given the
confines of the world he has proposed.
