Frodo Lyle Stuart is looking forward to his sabbatical, hoping to unearth evidence that will add new lustre to his reputation as a first-rate archaeologist. But Lyle's Uncle Henry, abbot of a nearby monastery, has other plans, recruiting him to track down a stolen artifact-a manuscript of unimaginable antiquity his uncle believes is the source for the greatest work of literary imagination in the 20th century.

Reluctantly, Lyle puts his ambitions aside to undertake what might be a wild goose chase-or something more perilous. As he tracks the manuscript across Europe, he is unwittingly entangled in the deadly scheme of an adversary who will do anything to satisfy his ambitions.

In The Lucifer Ego, the prehistoric manuscript at the heart of Toward the Gleam still excites deadly passions and stirs up dark forces as old as time itself.

Inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, C.S. Lewis's Narnia stories, the Inklings, G.K. Chesterton and other great spirits of the 20th century, Toward the Gleam and its sequel, The Lucifer Ego, are packed with suspense, mystery, and big questions.

Once again, Doran drops us in the middle of a mystery and barrels off, daring us to come along. As with "Toward the Gleam," the mystery provides the scaffolding for heady explorations of substantive ideas--a thinking person's adventure quest. Dare we follow? How can we resist?

-A.K. Abeille, playwright, screenwriter, theatrical director