JOURNEY THROUGH THE MIRROR

The unexciting middle installment in the author’s Rising World trilogy.

The Great Disruption of 2027 tilted the Earth’s axis by 4 degrees, unleashing massive death and destruction. In 2030, the survivors must deal with aftereffects such as widespread illness and earthquakes that lack epicenters. Can humanity make a comeback? “The Rising is over,” a character states. “Now we must see if the wager on mankind was well placed….Even the simple act of loving someone is risky.” Key to the Earth’s recovery are the Chronicles of Satraya and learning how to “unearth the secret of free energy.” Bad People will kill to control the Chronicles, which dispense such wisdom as “Mind is Mind.” Pyramids will generate electricity, a fact known to the ancient Egyptians. Exactly how the ancients used that power is not obvious, but no matter. Much is made of the real-life Nicola Tesla’s experiments with electricity, which helps cover the story’s flapdoodle with a veneer of science. For example, there are three kinds of resonances mentioned that turn out to be real, like the Schumann resonance—is the Earth out of tune? The characters are straightforward with the notable exception(s) of doctors Josef and Rosa, mixed-gender twins conjoined at the head. They have one superhigh-IQ brain between them and routinely finish each other’s sentences. They might be the worst character concept inflicted on innocent readers in many a yarn, but kudos to the author for daring to try. In the end, though, it’s an imaginative book with elements of science fiction, futurism and fantasy. The pace and storytelling are good, and the author makes effective use of Edvard Munch’s famous painting The Scream. The ending sets up the series finale, with more foul deeds afoot.

Worth a try for fans of the genre, but start with Book 1, Journey into the Flame.