mass market paperback, 273 pages
English language
Published July 12, 1979 by Del Rey.
Asmodeus Mogart was not a bad fellow, as demons go. Having gotten in trouble back in the home office, he had been assigned to duty on Earth. There he toiled, doing the kinds of things demons do and turning into something of a drunk.
Then a rogue asteroid threatened to crash into Earth and destroy all life on the planet -- demons included! There had to be a better way.
Mac Walters and Jill McCullough, holding a private wake for their world in a Reno bar, were more than startled when a strange-looking little drunk told them they could save the world.
All they had to do was enter five alternate universes and steal a demon-guarded jewel in each. Clearly, the man was crazy.
But they had nothing better to do than go along with the gag. Then they each found themselves, naked and alone, on a hostile alien world!
I'm a sucker for framed tales, as well as for morrality in my fiction. This book contains plenty of both. It's thoughtful, yet easy to read, with an interesting[return]and fun plot and characters. The message, on power and society, is a powerful one. The point it makes isn't new, and I'm sure it's been made many times[return]before in fiction, but this is still an original take and worth the read.
