Publisher: Authorhouse

ISBN: 1-4208-6856-X

The following review was contributed by: Theresa Derwin: Click Here To Read Theresa's Reviews

Most books, or at least most good books, generally have a moral thread running through them. Some writers attempt to tackle prejudice, some writers consider the right to life, politics or religion, and a few just contemplate love and the human condition. Providing the writer doesn’t veer off into preaching the book can remain entertaining. Therein lies the problem with Onyalum (apart from the tongue-twisting title that is). Most readers abhor being force fed meditations on the meaning of life, which is exactly how the book kicks off. It takes a good 80 pages to move from poetic philosophising into actual story.

Thankfully, when it does, things start moving. Explaining the plot however, is rather tricky. On Earth, drug dealer Tyler dies and his spirit, essence or soul, call it what you will, goes off on a jaunt through the Universe where it merges with Adanni, an Onyalum. Onyalum are entities without corporeal form that also travel across the Universe, possessing bodies at the point of death and taking over the life and identity of the life form. Aggressive in nature, Onyalum are intent on wreaking destruction and war. As luck would have it, Tyler and his co-host Adanni, are thrown into the body of Admiral Ooslo, a military hero on an Alien world on the brink of destruction.

Once you get past the awkward premise and overlong beginning, you are introduced to Tyler’s internal struggle to control his co-host, his attempts to come to terms with the loss of his life on Earth, and his attempts to fake it as “The Admiral”. The truth is, the book doesn’t need the Onyalum slant to deliver a good story. The Admiral’s rejection of war and his attempts to woo back his wife after a life of ignoring her for the military, are meaty enough to maintain the book, as are the political intrigues and the exploration of Tyler’s addictions. Overt reminder’s of the Onyalum’s existence interfere on the narrative, yet in the context of the novel, are necessary. Nevertheless, this is still an enjoyable book, albeit cluttered to start with.