Nirvana, Kevin Marley, Lulu.com, 2004
A Human Soul is watching the people of Earth from Heaven, knowing that he is about to be sent there to become human. He is born as Ray Sawol of Philadelphia.
Ray grows up in present-day America, about which the author has very little good to say. His parents get divorced, because of his father's infidelity. Ray is on a constant search for enlightenment, for that undefinable "it." The difference is that Ray, even as a youngster, remembers the primordial bliss before he was born. He tries to alter his consciousness to experience not just the physical world, but also the spiritual world with which he was familiar before birth.
He attends Temple University, becomes Dr. Ray Sawol, and stays at Temple as a faculty member in the Psychology Department. He marries Kristine, his college sweetheart, and they have a daughter. He is a relatively successful radio talk show host, talking about psychological matters, kind of like TV's Dr. Frazier Crane. One day, Ray goes on a rant about how people should wake up and there is a whole separate spiritual world out there, and becomes an ex-radio talk show host.
Kristine contracts, and dies from, breast cancer. While dealing with her death, Ray goes to an emotional, state of mind, sort of place called the Idea Factory. There, he spends time with Kristine's soul, and learns to transform his consciousness. When he returns, the world is, literally, at war. The Forces of Mechanization have invaded and are attempting to wipe out those who believe in the Human Soul, once and for all. This is a real war, with lots of blood and destruction. Ray takes the few Soul Soldiers (for lack of a better term) left to the Idea Factory, and shows them how to transform their consciousness and those of others.
This book takes a while to get going, but, by the end, it turns into a really good and thought-provoking story.
Showing posts with label marley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marley. Show all posts
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
The Maquisarde
The Maquisarde, Louise Marley, Ace Books, 2002
Ebriel Serique is living a life of luxury in late 21st century Paris. That is, until her husband and young daughter are murdered on the family yacht, supposedly by terrorists. It was in the Mediterranean, allegedly on the wrong side of the Line of Partition. Parts of the world have been ravaged by various biological plagues, so no chances are taken. The yacht is destroyed, and the bodies are cremated.
After another worldwide economic collapse, the International Cooperative Alliance (InCo) rules what has been called the "First World" (North America, Europe, Russia and Japan). The rest of the world is on the other side of the Line of Partition; no contact is permitted between them. Ebriel abandons her life of privilege and goes to InCo headquarters in Geneva to see General Glass, the InCo ruler. She is forced to publicly dig out the ID chip in her wrist, that all InCo citizens have, to get a chance to see General Glass, who treats her like an insect. She is sent to an isolated, but luxurious, prison, where she is sedated most of the time.
Ebriel's outburst is shown on the underground news nets, not on the official ones, and is noticed by a man named Ethan Fleck and a group called The Chain. Suffering from advanced multiple sclerosis, Fleck and others live on what was to be an orbiting hotel. They keep out of InCo's way by giving any inventions or bits of technology they develop. The Chain is a resistance group whose purpose is to pick up young people from the poor part of the world, bring them to the hotel, teach them things like proper hygiene and nutrition, then send them back home to teach others. Ebriel agrees to join the Chain for the express purpose of killing General Glass. Later, when she gets her chance to do it, she finds that she just can't pull the trigger.
James Bull is a Blackfoot Indian from Montana, and a loyal member of InCo security. He is part of the security detail the day that Ebriel almost kills General Glass. Knowing that she isn't a real terrorist, James does some digging in the InCo archives and finds that the official story concerning the deaths of Ebriel's husband and daughter has little to do with the truth. They fall in love and he saves her life, more than once.
This book is excellent. It's a tale of one person finding out what they are made of on the inside. It's interesting, and plausible, and really well done.
Ebriel Serique is living a life of luxury in late 21st century Paris. That is, until her husband and young daughter are murdered on the family yacht, supposedly by terrorists. It was in the Mediterranean, allegedly on the wrong side of the Line of Partition. Parts of the world have been ravaged by various biological plagues, so no chances are taken. The yacht is destroyed, and the bodies are cremated.
After another worldwide economic collapse, the International Cooperative Alliance (InCo) rules what has been called the "First World" (North America, Europe, Russia and Japan). The rest of the world is on the other side of the Line of Partition; no contact is permitted between them. Ebriel abandons her life of privilege and goes to InCo headquarters in Geneva to see General Glass, the InCo ruler. She is forced to publicly dig out the ID chip in her wrist, that all InCo citizens have, to get a chance to see General Glass, who treats her like an insect. She is sent to an isolated, but luxurious, prison, where she is sedated most of the time.
Ebriel's outburst is shown on the underground news nets, not on the official ones, and is noticed by a man named Ethan Fleck and a group called The Chain. Suffering from advanced multiple sclerosis, Fleck and others live on what was to be an orbiting hotel. They keep out of InCo's way by giving any inventions or bits of technology they develop. The Chain is a resistance group whose purpose is to pick up young people from the poor part of the world, bring them to the hotel, teach them things like proper hygiene and nutrition, then send them back home to teach others. Ebriel agrees to join the Chain for the express purpose of killing General Glass. Later, when she gets her chance to do it, she finds that she just can't pull the trigger.
James Bull is a Blackfoot Indian from Montana, and a loyal member of InCo security. He is part of the security detail the day that Ebriel almost kills General Glass. Knowing that she isn't a real terrorist, James does some digging in the InCo archives and finds that the official story concerning the deaths of Ebriel's husband and daughter has little to do with the truth. They fall in love and he saves her life, more than once.
This book is excellent. It's a tale of one person finding out what they are made of on the inside. It's interesting, and plausible, and really well done.
Friday, August 17, 2012
The Glass Harmonica
The Glass Harmonica, Louise Marley, Ace Books, 2000
In 1761 London, Eilish Eam is a ten-year-old Irish orphan who plays the glass harmonica (sound is produced by moving the fingers around the rims of glasses filled with varying amounts of water) for a few coins on the street until, one day, she is "discovered" by Benjamin Franklin. He brings her to live with him (and his maid, cook, and black male slave) because he has invented a sort of mechanical glass harmonica and wants Eilish to be his resident virtuoso. She certainly grows to enjoy high society, but Eilish never forgets where she came from, and is troubled by occasional visions of a young woman near her age.
Erin Rushton is a virtuoso on the glass harmonica in 2018 Seattle. It's a time of America as theme park; a certain neighborhood must, by law, look as if time stopped in the 1950s, including clothing, another must look like the 1930s, etc. Undesirables, like the homeless, are pushed out of sight into permanent tent cities.
Charlie, Erin's twin brother, has spent most of his life unable to walk. The only way to counteract a neurological condition when he was little was to give him an engineered virus which had the side effect of forcing him into a wheelchair. Erin watches as doctor after doctor fails to restore use of Charlie's legs. She is less than impressed at Gene Berrick, a neurophysiologist who came from a tent city, who tries sound plus small bits of electricity, to force Charlie's brain to make new neural pathways to his legs. Charlie is very impatient, and tries a huge "dose" of the treatment, on his own, with disastrous side effects. Erin's attitude changes, when, in desperation, she consults Gene with the fear that she's losing her mind. Erin has been troubled by random visions of a young woman near her age. Did I forget to mention the reputation the glass harmonica has for driving insane those who listen to it?
I think I liked the near future society building a little bit more than the story. The story is not bad by any means, with more than a bit of historical fact included, and is well worth reading. I guess I liked the vision of America less than twenty years from now just a little bit more.
In 1761 London, Eilish Eam is a ten-year-old Irish orphan who plays the glass harmonica (sound is produced by moving the fingers around the rims of glasses filled with varying amounts of water) for a few coins on the street until, one day, she is "discovered" by Benjamin Franklin. He brings her to live with him (and his maid, cook, and black male slave) because he has invented a sort of mechanical glass harmonica and wants Eilish to be his resident virtuoso. She certainly grows to enjoy high society, but Eilish never forgets where she came from, and is troubled by occasional visions of a young woman near her age.
Erin Rushton is a virtuoso on the glass harmonica in 2018 Seattle. It's a time of America as theme park; a certain neighborhood must, by law, look as if time stopped in the 1950s, including clothing, another must look like the 1930s, etc. Undesirables, like the homeless, are pushed out of sight into permanent tent cities.
Charlie, Erin's twin brother, has spent most of his life unable to walk. The only way to counteract a neurological condition when he was little was to give him an engineered virus which had the side effect of forcing him into a wheelchair. Erin watches as doctor after doctor fails to restore use of Charlie's legs. She is less than impressed at Gene Berrick, a neurophysiologist who came from a tent city, who tries sound plus small bits of electricity, to force Charlie's brain to make new neural pathways to his legs. Charlie is very impatient, and tries a huge "dose" of the treatment, on his own, with disastrous side effects. Erin's attitude changes, when, in desperation, she consults Gene with the fear that she's losing her mind. Erin has been troubled by random visions of a young woman near her age. Did I forget to mention the reputation the glass harmonica has for driving insane those who listen to it?
I think I liked the near future society building a little bit more than the story. The story is not bad by any means, with more than a bit of historical fact included, and is well worth reading. I guess I liked the vision of America less than twenty years from now just a little bit more.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
The Terrorists of Irustan
The Terrorists of Irustan, Louise Marley, Ace Books, 1999
For women, life on the planet of Irustan is very restricted. They must remain veiled at all times and have no place in public life. Their only role is as a healer and mendicant. Zahra IbSada, in addition to being wife of the Chief Director of the planet, sees the joy in the women she treats, but she sees plenty of pain, too. Zahra has no choice but to send a wife back to the husband who brutally beat her, until he succeeds in killing her. She sees a prostitute suffering at the hands of her employer.
The twelve-year-old daughter of Zahra's best friend, Kalen, is to be married to a man whose two previous wives died under mysterious circumstances. Kalen begs Zahra for help until she reluctantly agrees to do something medical, and untraceable, about it. Later, a man known to be very rough with prostitutes gets the same treatment.
Zahra's small act of rebellion threatens to change the lives of not just everyone around her, but all the women on the planet.
Marley does a very good job with the characters in this book. It's an interesting, thought-provoking story, and far above average.
For women, life on the planet of Irustan is very restricted. They must remain veiled at all times and have no place in public life. Their only role is as a healer and mendicant. Zahra IbSada, in addition to being wife of the Chief Director of the planet, sees the joy in the women she treats, but she sees plenty of pain, too. Zahra has no choice but to send a wife back to the husband who brutally beat her, until he succeeds in killing her. She sees a prostitute suffering at the hands of her employer.
The twelve-year-old daughter of Zahra's best friend, Kalen, is to be married to a man whose two previous wives died under mysterious circumstances. Kalen begs Zahra for help until she reluctantly agrees to do something medical, and untraceable, about it. Later, a man known to be very rough with prostitutes gets the same treatment.
Zahra's small act of rebellion threatens to change the lives of not just everyone around her, but all the women on the planet.
Marley does a very good job with the characters in this book. It's an interesting, thought-provoking story, and far above average.
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