Reviewer Dr. Wesley Britton: Dr. Britton is the author of four non-fiction books on espionage in literature and the media. Starting in fall 2015, his new six-book science fiction series, The Beta-Earth Chronicles, debuted via BearManor Media.
In 2018, Britton self-published the seventh book in the Chronicles, Alpha Tales 2044, a collection of short stories, many of which first appeared at a number of online venues.
For seven years, he was co-host of online radio’s Dave White Presents where he contributed interviews with a host of entertainment insiders. Before his retirement in 2016, Dr. Britton taught English at Harrisburg Area Community College. Learn more about Dr. Britton at his WEBSITE
Author: Dr. Kanchan Joshi
Publisher: Kanchan Joshi (August 24, 2017)
ISBN-10: 069293314X
ISBN-13: 978-0692933145
Author: Dr. Kanchan Joshi
Publisher: Kanchan Joshi (August 24, 2017)
ISBN-10: 069293314X
ISBN-13: 978-0692933145
The structure of the book
is built on two parallel, alternating stories that take place
thousands of years apart. One occurs In ancient India where we
meet Hanuman, a noted warrior and mystic living in the forests.
The setting is full of many mythological and fantasy elements.
While there are many humans running about, there are also very
intelligent ape-like creatures and their greatest enemy, the demons
of a nearby region ruled by the evil Raven. There are all manner of
strange, anachronistic weapons including radiation-bearing arrows and
missiles as well as powerful flying machines and a monstrous giant
robot-like killing machine.
But this world also has warriors using powerful bows and arrows, wooden chariots, and primitive maces. There are important mystical teachers, or “yogis,” who teach wisdom to Hanuman and others in the orbit of powerful, noble king-in-exile, Ram. He’s seeking his wife who was kidnapped by Raven. In this world, the forces of good gain superhuman power through meditation which leads to an awareness of what is beyond a person’s body and self including an understanding of how we fit into, well, everything.
Alternating with this saga is the modern tale of theoretical physicist Krish, a brilliant mathematician living in California. Trying to seek out the workings of life and the universe using advanced mathematical formulas, he inexplicably hallucinates vivid images of existence beyond his physical self very like what the ancient yogis experienced. Why? He doesn’t know.
Told with a very different style from the tales of Hanuman, the author’s seemingly more grounded, more realistic odyssey of Krish has an intriguing flow with some puzzling plot holes. In the beginning, Krish discovers something he calls Quantum Communication which uses particle streams that can’t be hacked. Very quickly, the military shows interest in Krish’s unproven theories. At the same time, agents of unknown countries or organizations start trying to kill Krish. The FBI assigns protection for the scientist, but apparently not for very long. After his first bodyguard is killed on a plane, we don’t see any signs anyone is watching over Krish even if he did turn over his research to the Department of Defense. By himself, he travels home to India seeking out the lost notes of an important Indian mathematician. Any reader of spy novels will tell you this is ideal territory for more assassination attempts. Or at Krish’s wedding. And who was behind two terrible nuclear bombings in the U.S., over both California and New York? We’re never told. The adventures of Hanuman and Krish are brought together in the end, and I suspect most readers will have picked up on the clues to the ultimate resolutions long before the final reveals.
I have to admit, the use of intense meditation to be the key to gaining overwhelming cosmic awareness sounds better than I suspect it would really work in the real world. I say that as someone who has practiced various kinds of meditation for decades. Still, I am no authority on what meditation technique would make someone a Yogi and/or guru who could transform countless lives.