She's a witch who runs a small but prestigious consulting agency. He's a werewolf who makes his living as an engineer. Similarities to Nick and Nora Charles are, perhaps, not entirely accidental. Anderson's humorous stories about Ginny and Steve Matuchek, set in an alternate contemporary America where most technology is based on magic, first began appearing in the 1950s and were novelized as Operation Chaos in 1971. In his latest novel (after Starfarers), Anderson continues the saga in a tale that features light-hearted cloak-and-dagger suspense, ingenious adaptations of magic to the routine of daily life, and an attempt to send magically endowed spacecraft, including a souped-up broomstick, to the moon under the auspices of NASA (the National Astral Spellcraft Administration). Anderson deals playfully with a number of different magical and religious traditions, centering on Zuni, Chinese and Norse lore. He also introduces a variety of eccentric human and supernatural charactersAincluding Bob Shining Knife, a skilled FBI agent who conducts his investigations in full Apache regalia; Fjalar, a dwarf who is supernaturally skilled at forging both iron and passports; a magical sword named Fotherwick-Botts that won't stop running off at the mouth; and Alger Sneep, an agent of the IRS (Inquisition for Revenue Securement), who attempts to derail the Matucheks' moon flight by quite literally putting them through the audit from hell. The humor can be arch at times, and Anderson's tendency toward thinly veiled libertarian political satire won't work for all readers, but in general this is an enjoyable tale by a veteran writer who knows exactly what he's doing. (Aug.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Belated and iffy sequel novel to a collection of linked stories, Operation Chaos (1971). The previous volume was set in an alternate world where the Industrial Revolution inhibited magic, so the surviving supernatural Beings spelled themselves to sleep. Later, a method was found to release the goetic forces'' (strong magic) and permit a grand Awakening. Now, Project Selene is ready to send a spaceshipa giant horse boosted by four broomsticks!to the moon. But the launch proves a spectacular failure, thanks to certain inimical supernatural influences. So the National Astral Spellcraft Administration calls in consultant witch Ginny Graylock and her werewolf/engineer husband Steve Matuchek. The two diagnose interference from the Trickster, Coyote, and other powers, possibly Chinese. Despite hassles from the IRS, Ginny and Steve receive authorization to proceed with Project Luna, their own smaller, quieter method of reaching the moon, since only there can they find out who's trying to destroy the space program, and why. Ginny will be assisted by her precocious 13-year-old daughter, Valeria, her familiar, Edgar the raven, and various friendly American Indian shamans. Steve flies off to England to find a powerful antique talking swordit now calls itself Fotherwick-Bottsalong with the sword's smith, the massive, uninhibited, hammer-wielding dwarf, Fjalar. Anderson's not particularly comfortable with his material: a glum, effortful outing, too seldom vitalized by humor or imagination. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.