SNOWMAN

When Jack Hubbard enrolls in West Grove Community College, he’s assigned to Jim Rook’s remedial English class. Soon the California campus and student body, sweltering in a torrid June, are experiencing mighty strange goings-on: A water fountain freezes solid; a men’s room is coated with giant ice crystals; a classmate wearing Jack’s sweatshirt is frozen to a handrail and can be removed only minus his arms; the school pool completely freezes, trapping several in its depths and killing one. What’s behind the freaky weather? Spirit-sensitive Rook (Tooth and Claw, 1997, etc.) and his Tarot-reading cat (don't ask) concur that it’s a vengeful Inuit spirit who was promised Jack’s soul by his dad in exchange for leading him to safety from a crisis-strewn Alaska expedition, only to see the old man renege on the deal. Rook takes off for Alaska with both Hubbards, his cat, a magic mirror, and a supply of Snickers'just the equipment that will allow him eventually to confront the spirit demon in Dead Man’s Mansion, a northern folly built by a survivor of the Titanic, who may have made his own pact with the hood-shrouded, ice- spewing spirit. If you think Snickers will sustain you on a trek through the tundra, you'll undoubtedly think Rook is the most beloved teacher since Mr. Chips. A blend of jaunty dialogue, floridly chilling demises, and preposterous phenomena.