Author-Producer Reviews Metaphysical Fantasy

Title: Dark Innocence (The Star-Seer's Prophecy, Book 1)
Author: Rahima Warren
Author's Web site link: http://www.starseersprophecy.com/
Genre or category: Epic Fantasy/Metaphysical
ISBN-10: 0981627838
ISBN-13: 978-0981627830
Reviewed by Harris Smart originally for the bi-monthly e-zine called Contents (subudcontents.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/contents_issue4.pdf)


Dark Innocence is the story of a therapeutic journey cast in the form of a fantasy novel. It is the first volume in a trilogy The Star-seer’s Prophecy. Rahima Warren, a Subud member and psychotherapist writes, “Wishing to share what I have learned on my journey, I originally thought I might write a self-help book or a memoir. But what emerged – unplanned and in a creative, passionate torrent – was this fantasy trilogy.”

The true import of the book is summed up by a quotation at the beginning from Viktor Frankl, the concentration camp survivor, “What is to give light must endure burning”, because it is a narrative about the healing ordeal its hero, Kyr, must undertake in order to find his humanity after a life which has begun in the most hellish of circumstances.

Kyr has been born into world dominated by an all-powerful sorcerer, the Soul-Drinker, who has banished its rightful divine power, the Goddess, and turned it into a horror of suffering and evil.

The Soul-Drinker’s power is resisted by The Circle, a secret group who seek to overthrow the sorcerer. They are inspired by an ancient prophecy promising the arrival of an heroic Savior. Kyr is this unlikely source of redemption. Born and raised as a slave of the Soul-Drinker, subject to a life of cruelty and degradation, he manages to break free and to begin a process of becoming human within the wisdom and protection provided by The Circle.

As a fantasy narrative, this novel can take its place amongst Tolkien and the best of science fiction writers such as Ursula LeGuin.  It is a well-sustained, exciting and suspenseful narrative written in a lucid and powerful style. As one comment on the book says, “This riveting story is a call to awaken, to face the unfaceable and to find the heart of humanity.”

In his work with The Circle, Kyr undergoes a series of encounters and lessons which gradually lead him away from his life of addiction and savagery. He moves beyond the abuse he has suffered to repent of his wrong actions, to overcome guilt and shame, to put self-hatred behind him, to learn human qualities such as kindness, forgiveness, compassion, joy and love. At the end of this journey he is able to create a work of art and to resolve that his future journey is to bring to others the liberation he has himself experienced.

The author includes an Afterword in which she provides some questions and guidelines ‘To help in deepening your experience of the book and how it has affected you”. This book certainly invited me to reflect on my own journey and the extent to which I could relate to the process which is expressed through its symbols, metaphors, actions and characters. While Kyr’s situation is an extreme one, I feel that most people will find in the story a journey towards redemption which will touch on their own.

It should be stressed that this is a book which deals with adults themes and includes moments of violence and both the distortion and the beauty of sexuality, all pointing ultimately towards an outcome of human wholeness.

The ancient prophecy foretells that Kyr must undergo three hells and this first book of his inner journey is just the first. The remaining two books of the trilogy will tell of the others.

The final paragraph of the Afterword draws our attention to the fact that each individual journey of healing also contributes to the healing of the macrocosm. “Dark Innocence” takes place in a fictional society, and yet it may show us something about what we might heal, change and develop in our own society. For example, how might we devote more energy towards healing and forgiveness, and less towards punishment and vengeance? How could that change our society overall?”

About the reviewer:

Harris Smart:  BA(hons), MA, author of 7 books, fellow in Creative Writing at Stanford University; University lecturer, producer with Australian Broadcasting corporation; and of theatre events and music festivals. He is also Director of the Centre for Creative Ministries, bringing together art, spirituality, and healing and
curator of 7 art exhibitions (focus on art of spirituality or work of disadvantaged people)

Submitted by:

 

Beth Barany | Author, Speaker & Creative Consultant for Authors & Publishers

www.BethBarany.com

Oakland, CA 

510-333-7320

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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Compulsive Reader Reviews Aussie's Newest Novel

TITLE Ascending Spiral
AUTHOR Bob Rich
GENRE  Metaphysical fiction
ISBN 978-1-61599-186-0 (paper); 978-1-61599-187-7 (e)


Reviewed by Magdalena Ball for The Compulsive Reader and Bobbing Around

   Dr Pip Lipkin has lived for 12,000 years, in many lives, different sexes, and even different species and he's here for a reason. Dr Bob Rich's Ascending Spiral is a true genre-buster, incorporating elements of historical fiction, literary fiction, science fiction, and even a hint of nonfiction to create an entertaining novel with an important message.

   Beautifully researched, the book opens in present day, but quickly moves back to 805-806 AD, where the first person protagonist is named Padraig, and he is fighting a Viking attack. The book then moves into the life of Dermot, an Irishman dealing with the campaign of repression conducted by the English against the Irish during this period. Dermot's section is the longest, taking the reader through full scale war, vigilantism, transportation to Australia as a convict, slavery, life on a squat as a free man, and the committing of a terrible crime. Dermot's act has repercussions that take him into the next chapter of his existence, as Amelia, a woman who has to experience the consequences of Dermot's crime again and again. When Amelia dies, our protagonist experiences something completely different -- a life that is free of gender and hate -- focused solely on survival and the support of the species. The next life jumps to 10,000 BCE, where, as a giant space flower, the protagonist commits a thoughtless but devastating crime, the likes of which forms the basis for the atonement and multiple births throughout the novel. The final section belongs to Pip, bringing us back to the start.

   Pip is the most evolved being and the development from Padraig to Pip is the ascending spiral that the title refers to. Along the way he learns (and teaches us) about the meaninglessness and pain of war, about greed and violence, about the folly of our desperation for happiness over wisdom, about the beauty and delicacy of our planet, and about the power of love and forgiveness to change these cycles. The themes of the book are Buddhist, showing us the Samsara or "the cycle of birth and death" and the lessons we all need to learn in order to evolve ourselves and to save our rapidly dying world. Though the ultimate purpose of the book does appear to be didactic -- global warming and impending environmental catastrophe are generally accepted within the mainstream scientific community as proven fact -- and the parallels between Dr Lipkin and the author's own studies are probably the subject of at least a few fascinating interviews, the story reads well as fiction, creating each world entirely so that the reader becomes engrossed in the historical time and place along with the protagonist. The overall message is delivered with subtlety and sophistication, and the descriptions are particularly powerful, especially in Dermot's section where we move from war-torn Ireland to NSW (New South Wales, AU). The long, painful journey by boat is evocative, as this example from Dermot's time in solitary confinement shows:

Water constantly seeped through the timbers of the ship. I had no way of measuring time, except that every now and then two men came, one carrying a lantern, the other a bit of food. Four extra soldiers came the first time, and the doctor carrying clothes. They allowed me to dress before shackling me to the chain again. On every second or third occasion, they also had an Irishman along, who brought an empty bucket and took away the one I'd filled. I did have company: rats scurrying around. At first, I was concerned they might bite me, but this didn't happen and after a while I ignored them.

   The space flower descriptions were also well done -- adding a fun sci-fi twist to the story and showing Rich's scientific bent:

The fifth planet was unique in my experience. It twinkled everywhere with low-energy emissions over a wide band of wavelengths. That was pretty to look at, but utterly baffling. I couldn't think of any natural phenomenon that'd account for this kind of radiation, and it clearly had a water-oxygen sheath. I'd heard of small, primitive, unintelligent life forms on planetary surfaces, but of course they were not in a deadly corrosive environment like this planet's .(94)

   Through each section there are a number of important threads that link the novel together, including the recurring cycle of racism and prejudice in all of its forms, of uncontrolled hunger and its ability to damage, and of the healing power of sympathy, connection and perception. All of these threads come together through a series of stories that are historically engaging and powerful, at times whimsical, and above all, meticulously presented. Ascending Spiral is a book that will take the reader to many different places and times, showing, ultimately, that our differences and divisions, even at their most devastating, are less important than our similarities. This is an important and timely novel full of wisdom and insight.

More About the Reviewer:
Magdalena Ball is the  owns the review Web site The Compulsive Reader and has her own radio show. Hers was the first advance review of Ascending Spiral.




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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.