BRILLIANT GODS, a five-volume cycle, begins with a non-fiction essay about Greek Polytheism, an ancient religion still valid today. Each of the other four books is a moral tale, focusing on a single god or goddess. THE STONES OF HERMES is the first of these fictions. September, 1786: Two French ships on an ambitious voyage of discovery drop anchor at a lonely outpost of the Spanish Empire. French sailors and scientists mingle with Spanish soldiers and priests. Some mingle with Indians. The French find largely what they have been trained to find. But First Officer Robert de Clonard discovers something more. Three surprising texts come into his possession--a mystical parable, an unknown Gospel, and a critique of Genesis. Clonard is fascinated by these texts. Each offers him a unique way of thinking about God. THE STONES OF HERMES is not a novel. The journey here is intellectual. By its end, no one will take monotheism for granted or polytheism for dead.