cover image Valentine

Valentine

S. P. Somtow. Tor Books, $21.95 (373pp) ISBN 978-0-312-85145-3

An immortal vampire youth, a Christ figure, searches for salvation while those he has touched seek the meaning of their blighted lives in this eerie and horrific sequel to Vampire Junction . Timmy Valentine, the most recent manifestation of the vampire, was a rock star whose phenomenal flowering ended in his mysterious disappearance in Junction, Idaho. A contest to find a lookalike to star in a multimillion-dollar epic movie about Timmy results in the elevation of Angel Todd, an abused boy who alone can see Timmy in his purgatory. The forces of good and evil gather on the film set in burned-out Junction. Wicked psychic Simone Arleta, steeped in ancient witchcraft, abetted by fallen televangelist Damien Peters, has kept Timmy bound in another place, behind mirrors, aiming to harness his powers to overthrow the world and reestablish the dominion of ancient gods. Opposing Simone and Damien are half-Shoshone artist PJ Gallaghersic , who is gifted with a sacred vision, and the young Thai noblewoman Premchitra, whose grandfather vanished while hunting for Timmy in Junction. Somtow (the pseudonym of Thai writer Somtow Sucharitkul) constructs a clever (if sometimes stomach-turning) tale, expounding on the powers of light and darkness as they weave through the modern Hollywood and country towns. (Oct.)