THE ALCHEMIST’S DOOR

Fantasy featuring several famous historical characters, from the author of Dark Cities Underground (1999), etc. Toward the end of the 16th century, English magician John Dee flees with his family from a demon he's inadvertently summoned. They head for Prague, where King Rudolph has gathered magicians and alchemists from far and wide in order to help him find the Philosopher's Stone. It's a propitious time, as a door between the real world and the mystical realm is swinging wide. Dee arranges an audience with Rudolph, but upsets the touchy monarch; worse, his assistant, Edward Kelley, double-crosses him and wins Rudolph's confidence. Still terrified of the demon—it seems to be growing stronger—Dee encounters Rabbi Judah Loew, a Kabbalist likewise out of favor with Rudolph. According to Loew, there are 36 righteous men upon whom the world depends; a 37th is supposed to protect the 36, who know nothing of their mystical roles and discover who they are only as they die. If the 36th man dies, the world will end; someone of evil intent might control that moment and remake the world to his own desire. Kelley persuades Rudolph that Loew and Dee know who the 36th man is; they refuse Rudolph's demands, get thrown into prison, and luckily escape. Dee helps Loew create a golem from clay to defend himself against Rudolph's soldiers; but as the demon grows more powerful, Rudolph banishes Dee from Prague. Sooner or later, though, the forces of good must confront the demon.

History veering towards legend, vigorously stirred with familiar fantasy ingredients, but insipid and unevocative for all that.