Shadow Gate

This sprightly fantasy alternates between a world similar to 12th-century France but populated by elves and the New Age Psychic Research Center in Austin, Tex., poking gentle fun at both. The story revolves around the attempt of the elves to restore their long-lost queen Sybille and revive their fading magical powers. Two American women are respectively summoned into their universe in the belief that each is Sybille, but the elves are not the brightest, and they yank the wrong people. The strange encounters between the two worlds are irresistible: a hard-nosed Texas lawyer meets an angel; a real estate developer controlled by forces of darkness is opposed by blue-haired bridge ladies allied with a mad mix of street people, New Age crystal healers and a host of others. While the plot is weak, there are some wonderful scenes, such as a haughty elf-lord getting his consciousness raised by an angry American feminist and peasants convinced that two crumpled tissues are samples of faery weaving. Ball has written historical fiction under the name Catherine Lyndell ( A Bridge to the Sky ). This is her first fantasy novel. (Jan.)