The Shadows of God (The Age of Unreason, Book 4)

Angels and demons alike watch and wait as the last warriors of old Europe invade the New World in this magnificent conclusion to the Age of Unreason alternate history series The alchemical catastrophe that Sir Isaac Newton inadvertently unleashed late in the seventeenth century has transformed Europe into a cold, dead wasteland in the eighteenth—much to the delight of the otherworldly malakim, who have set humanity at war with itself for the sin of dabbling in the arcane. The last inhabitable territory, the New World, is now the coveted prize of the surviving European warlords. From the West, Russian forces led by the Sun Boy, child of the powerful French sorceress Adrienne de Mornay de Montchevreuil, move relentlessly onward, leaving a trail of devastation in their wake. British troops in the East are equally merciless in their conquests. All that stands against them is a motley alliance of colonists, Native Americans, scientists, philosophers, displaced Europeans, and others led by Ben Franklin, now an alchemist of great repute, and Red Shoes, a Choctaw shaman with questionable motivations. But no matter who wins or loses, the manipulating angels and demons are always watching, and the malakim are determined to be the ultimate victors. In The Shadows of God, the Age of Unreason, Greg Keyes’s magnificent alternate history series, comes to a stunning and most satisfying conclusion. It is the final chapter in a colorful, exciting, richly detailed, and ingeniously imagined chronicle of life on a damaged Earth where magic and science are on equal planes and history’s icons inhabit a past that never was.

“INVENTIVE AND EXCITING, FILLED WITH CLEVER DETAILS AND HIGH ADVENTURE, this brings to a close a sequence that seems likely to establish Keyes as one of the more significant and original new fantasy writers to appear in recent years.”
–Science Fiction Chronicle

As the ruthless forces of Russia lay waste to the New World, English troops make landfall in the east, determined to reconquer the colonies. Trapped in between are the Native Americans, ex-slaves, and European refugees, led by Benjamin Franklin and the Choctaw shaman Red Shoes. But the balance of power rests with the French woman Adrienne de Montchevreuil, whose grasp of science is the equal of Franklin’s, whose magic may be stronger than the Choctaw, and whose shocking secret may call into question where her true allegiances lie. . . .

Mary Arnold - VOYA

The Age of Unreason, an alternate history series set during the eighteenth-century Age of Reason, concludes in dramatic fashion as the forces of good and evil collide in a war that meshes religion and science in a mysterious and powerful way. Again, consummate diplomat Benjamin Franklin takes on the delicate task of negotiating to avoid the total destruction of the world. A complex pastiche of American colonial history, Russian imperialism, shamanistic Native American lore, and European aristocracy in decline peoples the narrative with warlocks and fallen angels, Newtonian alchemists, and French philosophers. All centers on the Sun Boy and his army of supernatural beings, pitted against backwoods fighters and native mystics. Are there things man was not meant to know, and does humankind's never-ending quest for that forbidden knowledge mean constant chaos and upheaval? Part of the fun of the series is the chance to rewrite history, bringing together famous people whose meetings make for memorable scenes history as it might have been. Without the background from the first three books, Newton's Cannon (Del Rey, 1998/VOYA October 1998), A Calculus of Angels (1999), and Empire of Unreason (2000), readers will find themselves searching out explanations for the presence of the Malakim (fallen angels) and what lies behind such inventions as the aetherschreiber. The series is interesting for its novel conceptions and intricate weaving of history and fantasy. It is a good teen-adult crossover in the genre. VOYA CODES: 4Q 3P S A/YA (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Will appeal with pushing; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12; Adult and Young Adult). 2001, Del Rey, 311p,

SUMMARY: As the ruthless forces of Russia lay waste to the New World, English troops make landfall in the east, determined to reconquer the colonies. Trapped in between are the Native Americans, ex-slaves, and European refugees, led by Benjamin Franklin and the Choctaw shaman Red Shoes. But the balance of power rests with the French woman Adrienne de Montchevreuil, whose grasp of science is the equal of Franklin's, whose magic may be stronger than the Choctaw, and whose shocking secret may call into question where her true allegiances lie...'Inventive and exciting, filled with clever details and high adventure, this brings to a close a sequence that seems likely to establish Keyes as one of the more significant and original new fantasy writers to appear in recent years' - "Science Fiction Chronicle". 'Thrilling ...The book builds to a climactic confrontation to see who will reshape the universe' - "Publishers Weekly". "As the armies of the Malakim advance, led by a child of bright and burning power, Benjamin Franklin must summon all his ingenuity for the desperate attempt to preserve not just the freedom of his country, but its very existence. For behind the wars of humanity there are other wars, fought by aetheric beings of immense strength and conviction." "The Malakim may be angels ... or demons. All that's certain is that when the war in heaven is over, there won't be much - if anything - left of Earth." "As the ruthless forces of Russia lay waste to the New World, English troops make landfall in the east, determined to reconquer the colonies. Trapped in between lies a motley collection of Native Americans, ex-slaves, and refugees of the European catastrophe, led by Franklin and the Choctaw shaman Red Shoes. In that struggle, Red Shoes may prove his most potent ally ... and his most dangerous threat."--Jacket "The balance of power lies with Adrienne de Montchevreuil, whose grasp of science is the equal of Franklin's, and whose magic may be stronger even than that of the Choctaw. Only with her help can they hope to defeat the Sun Boy and his Malakim masters. But Adrienne has a shocking secret of her own, calling into question where her true allegiances may lie."--Cover.