Amazon.com (ISBN 0441003680, Paperback)

William Bogart Ingersol (Bogey) is a cynical, unsentimental Wall Street insider whose major preoccupation is making deals and adding to his substantial wealth--or it was, before he found himself transported to the Fair Lands, trapped in a dog's body, and of interest to both sides in a war between Good and Evil. Bogey figures his priority is to get back home, get back into human form, and get on with his life: "When I have a problem, there's only one question I ask--how do I solve it? Goodness doesn't enter into it, unless there's some PR angle you need to watch." He needs to figure out who is likeliest to win and get him out of this mess. As he continues dealing with both sides, however, he begins having second thoughts.

This is an unabashed morality play in the form of a novel. It works because Jerry Jay Carroll makes Bogey such a recognizable modern Everyman, and because the representatives of Good and Evil are real characters, not just cutouts. Bogey's running internal commentary on the straightforward, Tolkienesque fantasy setting and characters surrounding him, and on his former life, also helps keep things from getting too preachy. --Nona Vero