Jonah

Once upon a time, Earth, aka Gaia, was the female counterpart, in a man-and-wife pairing of worlds, of the utopian realm of Geshlama. Then evil archons broke their mystical bond, using ""webcoils"" of force to block the vortices connecting the worlds. Prophecy claims that the fairchildren of Geshlama, who live on love and light, can brighten Gaia's own light again and recreate the ancient marriage. But when the prophecy goes awry and Zion, a female fairchild, is trapped on Earth, human intervention is needed not only to save her, but also to defeat the encroaching darkness of the archons. The task of aiding the long-lost fairchild falls to lonely Jonah Quiller Mahoney, a businessman who gave up everything to move to isolated Apple Valley, somewhere northwest of the Grand Canyon, and raise his daughter, Coral Kay. Though Jonah promises Zion's people that he won't become romantically involved with Zion, he can't help himself. Unsurprisingly, his weakness turns out to be all part of the great plan. While Redfield (Ezekiel's Chariot; Summoned: Encounters with an Alien Intelligence) stuffs her latest New Age fantasy with out-of-body experiences, prophetic dreams, shape-shifters, telepathic aliens and Old Testament metaphor, she sometimes pokes fun at the esoteric dimension of the adventure. Such down-to-earth moments are refreshing amid the often chaotic mysticism. Readers untroubled by the otherworldly overload may enjoy the novel and its typically comforting New Age message: ""All live in the light of the Unisphere. Smile. Love shines everywhere."" (Apr.)