Parallel Worlds - Nothing is as it seems

Book Title:  Parallel Worlds – Nothing is as it seems



 

Part of Series:  The Ringing Cedars

 

Author:  Heather Macauley Noëll

Available at:Smashwords 

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/29932

Print:  aspaceoflove.com

Audiobook:  aspaceoflove.com

Price:  Free at Smashwords

Number of words (approximately):  77 012

Star Rating (of five):  2

Summary:

This book is an explanation of the teachings of Anastasia, a mystic Russian woman.  It tells of a pair of young people who, trapped on a mountain at night, find themselves transported to another world and to different lives.  A series of fantastical events ensues as they move from one reality to another, linking events through different times, places and embodiments.

Extract:

- Matthew realized that Ammon had not intended for his thoughts to bring the world to the brink of destruction; he had been sure the Mother Goddess would reveal her secret as soon as She saw what he and the other priests were capable of. But over the millennia, Ammon’s image had taken on a life of its own.

Matthew saw how what had started as a seed of an idea planted by the priests – the simple notion that there is not enough for everyone, more is better, and people have no choice but to accept that ‘that is just the way it is’ – slowly snowballed over the years as people who were lost in their quests for more lost sight of the truth of how much they were loved.

The further people distanced themselves from the truth, the more fearful they became – they put their faith in doctors and religions instead of in themselves and nature’s divinely devised remedies and insights. They created seemingly necessary inventions, things they said they couldn’t live without, that polluted the natural beauty of the world and that needed resources which would someday disappear, adding immense fear over time and feeding ever more into the priests’ dream.

Most of all though, Man was made to worship money. He was shown that money was freedom, money could buy love, and money was power. And whether individual people loved or resented money itself, they believed in its supremacy; and because of that, they believed in their own powerlessness. -

Reviewer’s Comments:

·         Structure:  The book is quite difficult to read, jumping from scene to scene, often without logical connection, until the finale, which purports to bring it all together.  The writing is fair, although several times words are used not in their correct meaning.

·         Content:  The book contains sections of great writing and sections of fairly mediocre descriptions of events that remind one of a fantasy movie.

·         Reviewer’s recommendation:  If you’re into fantasy and feel-good movies, you’ll probably enjoy this book.  If you’re a hard-headed realist, there are sections, if you can force yourself to read that far, that might make you think that there really is an alternate reality.  I am pleased that I read it, but I would not keep it on my bookshelf.