This is an excellent fantasy novel. Set in small town in coastal California, the author mixes episodes in remote ages past, reincarnation, and modern high school politics in the striving for the Tellurian Crown. (Tellus, you may remember, is the proper name of planet Earth.) An island barely off the coast is progressively being destroyed by the earth forces of wind and waves, at the same time uncovering an ancient temple which may, - or may not, - hide secrets of the remote past including the Crown, if that really exists, or existed.The author weaves the events in present reality together with the world of fantasy into a seamless web. At times we question if the happenings in the novel are part of the present high school events, or being staged by the sinister forces from the past. I found it a very absorbing book. I recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy fiction.