Taylor, G.P. Wormwood.

TAYLOR, G.P. Wormwood. Penguin, Putnam. 256p. c2004. 0-399-24257-0. $17.99. S

Taylor's newest novel takes readers back to the 19th-century London of Shadowmancer where fantasy and fact intertwine, creating a dark world where both angels and demons lurk among the shadows. Dr. Sabian Blake supplements his scientific studies with the lore he finds in the Nemorensis, an ancient volume of prophecy and sorcery. A strange handwritten entry predicts the comet that speeds toward London, defying natural law and unleashing madness and panic; and Blake struggles with his desire to immortalize his name for discovering the comet and his moral conscious that urges him to warn Londoners of the impending danger, foreshadowed by a skyquake that turned night into day. His young housemaid Agetta, whose innocence is in question, is drawn into a conspiracy with a secret society led by a mysterious woman of many names. A sip of an intoxicating liquid and a symbol burned into her hand compel Agetta to steal the Nemorensis. However, she rescues a fallen angel who, in turn, protects her from the dark powers that seek the volume's magic in order to begin a new world order.

Taylor's writing is sensuous and spellbinding, drawing readers into a place where masked dark angels battle over human souls and immortality.

S--Recommended for senior high school students.

Michele Winship, Asst. Prof., Capital Univ., Columbus, OH