König's Fire

Car salesman turned speculative-fiction writer Schooley (The Dark Man) burrows deep into the heart of Sascha König, called Nebuchadnezzar because he was an incinerator operator for the Nazis who could make flames so hot no evidence was left of the bodies of Jews who were incinerated in his oven. In the forest of Romania where the Nazis have set up a furnace in an old mine, König is haunted by the face of a gypsy girl he did not save while a force beyond his control closes in on him and his fellow executioners. Schooley's style is introspective, philosophical, and a bit overwrought, but that can be overlooked as the new author develops an über-fantasy historical niche of Christian fiction. He provides a gold mine for readers who enjoy the blend of paranormal fantasy with one man's desperate search for meaning and self-sacrifice. (Oct.)