LIBRARY JOURNAL (STARRED) -- Mousy Eleanor, cautious
Corben, hedonistic Kendell, and bratty Stephanie are a top-flight string quartet
contracted by the enigmatic Meister Maranatha to perform at an isolated mansion
with very specific instructions. They are to be dressed by staff in specific
outfits, blindfolded, and must play their set perfectly from memory, terms of
which they all agree to since the offered payment is substantial. The
performance goes without a hitch, except that Corben's curiosity gets the better
of him, and as he peeks out from under the blindfold, he sees their sole
audience is a nude half-human, half-bird being. While the band continues to give
regular concerts in the venue, each musician becomes transformed in personality
or body, with Corben facing the worst ordeals because he saw the thing in the
audience. As our protagonists are drawn further and further into their own
phantasmagoric magical mystery tour, it becomes increasingly apparent that they
are fighting for their lives against an incomprehensible force whose desires are
as opaque as night.<br /><b>Verdict</b> Eisner nominee
Fawkes's (<i>Intersect</i>; <i>Gotham by Midnight</i>) latest work is an
overture of mythological imaginings, delicately rendered in impressionistic
watercolor that perfectly matches the esoteric tale of performance and magic.
Highly recommended.-Douglas Rednour, Georgia State Univ. Libs.,
Atlanta<br /><br /><br />