The Long Man

"Max August, a point man for his platoon in Vietnam, discovered a different kind of war in 1980, a hidden war between the forces of freedom and bondage. Under the tutelage of legendary alchemist Cornelius Agrippa, he began to learn the use of real-world magick in the service of humanity, against those who would control us." "In 1985, Max stopped aging. He became "timeless," the Long Man, and began to live forever in the prime of his life. In the years since, he's worked on perfecting his skills so that he can stay alive to fight a war that never ends, because, like any warrior, he can be killed. Others have been killed - Agrippa, for one, and Max's wife for another - so he's worked on his magick, honed his combat skills, and studied every other discipline he could. He calls himself an alchemist with a gun, and he's not wrong." "This past Halloween, Max was summoned to protect Dr. Pamela Blackwell, a beautiful, savvy scientist at the Centers for Disease Control. Dr. Blackwell's research into neurotoxins could save millions of lives, but it has put her in the crosshairs of the FRC, a cabal determined to rule the world through any means possible: military action, economic manipulation, political chicanery ... and magick. They are utterly ruthless, and they have a deadly reason for keeping Pam's discovery from being made public." Max and Pam must travel together to Barbados and beyond to destroy Pam's assailants before they destroy her. On their journey, they uncover the reason she was targeted - a monstrous plot by men and women who will literally stop at nothing. Max will have to be more than just timeless to survive everything he'll face as he races to prevent a genocide ofuntold proportions. And Pam must master his real-world ways of magick if she's to have any chance of survival at all.

In The Point Man, DJ Max August was thrust into a hidden war between the forces of chaos and order, where he learned how to use magick and become Timeless.

More than twenty-five years later, Max is summoned by a friend to save Dr. Pamela Blackwell from a mysterious force that is using magick to kill her. Pam’s research could save the lives of countless millions, putting her in the crosshairs of the FRC, a cabal of powerbrokers intent on world domination.

From San Francisco to Barbados to the shores of Suriname, Max and Pam must fight off magick-wielding assassins and legions of zombies. Max may be powerful and Timeless, but he’s not indestructible. He’s going to have to keep his wits about him if he’s going to stop the FRC before they kill millions.

Supernatural enemies, dazzling magic, and romance abound in this page-turner from a longtime master of storytelling.

Publishers Weekly

An unintentionally absurd plot is all that stands out in this by-the-numbers magickal [sic] thriller, the sequel to 1981's The Point Man. Former DJ Max August, a near-immortal magician, loses both his mentor and his wife to the demon Aleksandra. Two decades later, an old friend brings him to the rescue of Dr. Pamela Blackwell, who has found a way to cure zombis. Her discovery may interfere with the nefarious supersecret Free Range Coalition, who of course want to take over the world. The plot is further muddled by such diverse elements as sarin gas, zombi rape used to torture a woman into revealing secrets (at Guantánamo Bay, no less) and a deaf-mute assassin who communicates via Speak & Spell. August and Blackwell dully run a clichéd gantlet of villains without seeming to notice the complete implausibility of their story. (Aug.)

STEVE ENGLEHART is best known for writing for such series as The Avengers, Captain America, and The Fantastic Four (for Marvel) and Batman and The Justice League of America (for DC), and for his novel The Point Man, the first Max August novel. He lives in northern California.