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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