R.E. Klein's modern moral fable begins with catastrophe: a massive wave engulfs Earth, washing away civilization and leaving only a few isolated mountaintops exposed for survivors to cling to. Just as the biblical flood was no ordinary disaster, so this wave is fraught with metaphysical meaning. Taking his cues from C.S. Lewis and Milton, Klein follows one survivor, Paul, on his physical and spiritual journey through the strangely altered post-wave world. Surfing the now-endless sea in search of friends and a future, Paul encounters good and evil in the form of fellow travelers, bizarre creatures, and freakish, Lovecraftian landscapes, but no sign of life as it was before the apocalypse. It's time for humanity to choose between the best and the worst of the pre-wave world. Paul's compatriot Hiram Bell sums it up:

Hear me, that precious wave of ours has scoured the planet clean to the lithosphere, rinsing away all the drift and drabble and nasty little headachy things that drive men mad. No more income tax, inflation, and nagging uncertainties. No more lawyers, social workers, and corporate executives. Hereafter people will live in a big way.

English literature majors will have a field day with this small, elegant book--references aplenty to tease out of the text. But fear not if you don't know Chaucer from Coleridge. This is a cracking good fantasy that is fun to read and provides food for thought--it begs rereading as soon as you've finished. --Therese Littleton