Returning to America from a post-World War II Europe, Colin MacLaren finds a changed nation confronted by occult forces that threaten to control the minds of all and embarks on an epic, fifty-year battle as Leader of the Light against the powers of Darkness. 50,000 first printing. Fifteen years after the end of World War II, Colin McLaren, occult warrior in service to the Light, realizes that the dark powers he fought in Europe have resurfaced in an America lulled into complacency by delusions of peace. Veteran fantasy author Bradley (Gravelight, LJ 9/15/97) employs the cultural and political history of America since 1960 as a powerful metaphor for the constant interplay of good and evil. Despite occasional lapses in continuity, this 20th-century Gothic fantasy stands as a tour de force of occult fiction. Recommended for most fantasy collections. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. Bradley's latest concerns the last half century of the life of Colin McLaren, champion of goodness and character in Ghostlight (1995), Witchlight (1996), and Gravelight (1997). That means it is a panorama beginning at the end of World War II and encompassing occult battles in California, New York, and Washington, D.C., all of which overflow with agents of evil. Very competently written, sometimes a trifle slow, and with its many arcane duels eventually seeming repetitious, Heartlight demands that one accept the literary occult convention that has it that manifestations of evil in the everyday world are the results of disturbances on the spiritual plane that corrupt material persons. It will help prospective readers to be at least moderate nostalgia buffs, because Heartlight also amounts to a tour of the last half century of American history--to its credit, one conducted by an excellent guide. Bradley's large fandom will be pleased, and readers new to occult-influenced historical fantasy will find Heartlight a good introduction to the subgenre. Roland Green