Book Review
Copyright (c) 1994, Thomas Van Hook
All rights reserved



The Adept by Katherine Kurtz and Deborah Turner Harris
Ace Books March 1991   Copyright 1991   ISBN 0-441-00343-5
Pages:  323

I have never found myself endeared to the genre of
Mystery/Suspense-Thriller novels.  I felt tortured by the slow, plodding
pace designed to absorb the reader in the plot.  Being that I am not a
very patient reader, I continually found myself bored to tears at times
waiting for the characters to develop.  That's why I found myself
groaning when I first started The Adept by Katherine Kurtz and Deborah
Turner Harris.  "Another slow-moving Mystery novel," I said to myself,
"What a fun time it is going to be getting through this one."  I was in
for a pleasant surprise halfway through the novel.

The story starts by working on the main characters Sir Adam Sinclair and
Peregrine Lovat.  Sinclair is a Psychologist, nobleman and a scholar,
who is deeply involved with Cabalistic Magick.  This is, of course,
hidden from his friends who never would suspect him of such behavior.
Peregrine Lovat is an up and coming artist who can see a person's aura,
past lives AND future.  It is the last aspect of his "gift" that he just
can't come to grips with.  The two characters meet when Lovat is
painting a portrait of Sinclair's neighbor, Lady Laura Kintoul, who
suspects that Lovat is about to commit suicide.  Sinclair correctly
surmises what Lovat's problem is and after a crisis arises for Lovat,
sets out to help him control his "gift."  This covers the first half of
the novel, which I consider to be one-fourth too much.  The plot slows
to a virtual claw while Sinclair shows Lovat time and again how to
control his gift in various manners.

In the meantime, a Black Lodge of Magicians has set up "shop" in
Scotland.  They make their presence known by stealing a famed "Wizard's"
sword and then desecrating the grave of the infamous Scottish wizard,
Michael Scot.  Sinclair is enlisted to help solve the crime due to his
Occult knowledge by one of his friends (one that knows of his ties to
the Occult).  The remainder of the novel deals with how Sinclair and
Lovat discover the Black Lodge's intent for the stolen items and their
efforts to stop them in carrying out their plot.

Reading this novel is much akin to climbing a hill.  You will make slow
progress at first, but after reaching the apex and starting down the
other side of the hill, the pace will pick up dramatically.  I couldn't
bring myself to set this book down once I started the second half of it.
However, the first half really killed my liking for the novel as a
whole.

My rating on a scale of one to ten:  6

