Third Book in Nebula Nominee's Cosmic Kalevala!
Based
on the myths and legends of the Finns, Emile Petaja spins an enthralling tale chronicling the fate of the last of the three genetic
reincarnations of their great hero-Gods of ancient times. In the distant future, Wayne Panu, captain of a battleship, undergoes terrible psychic trauma when he is forced to kill innocent alien children and then
sacrifice his best friend, all in the name of duty. When Wayne looks out a viewport and sees an ancient copper canoe floating in space, bearing a bearded elder of great psychic and physical strength, Wayne knows he
has suffered a mental breakdown. But the copper boat is real, and its
passenger is the greatest sorcerer of the past, the present and the
future, Wainomoinen. For behind the Terran-alien war is the
near-immortal hag-witch, Louhi, the vessel through which the Pahaliset,
cruel forces from another dimension scheme to conquer our own. To stop
them, Wayne will have to accompany Wainomoinen across time and space,
learn the secrets of the Vanhat (the ancient Finns), beguile Louhi,
craftiest of all the Star-Witches, trick her greatest trick from her,
and then allow himself to be totally consumed by the Pahaliset!
Author-editor-publisher Donald A. Wollheim wrote that "from the
Kalevala's mind-stunning material, Petaja has created a cycle of
novels - science fiction fantasy adventure of the highest
order - retelling in the eyes of modern scientific conjecture the great
worlds-shaking events that may be concealed by the folklore of an
ancient and mysterious people." Don't miss the earlier books in this
classic saga, The Legend of Lost Earth and The Star Mill.
