by Michael B. Koep
August 12th 2013
by Will Dreamly Arts
Paperback, 416 pages
Psychologist Loche Newirth becomes hunted when he sees a painting that opens a window onto the afterlife. An ancient order of men seeking to control the art pursue him across the world through centuries, into madness and beyond. The first part of Michael B. Koep's The Newirth Mythology-The Invasion of Heaven is mystery, adventure, myth, betrayal, murder and madness.
Psychologist Loche Newirth wonders if it was his fall: the fifty foot drop from the rocky cliff to the icy water below. Is this why he has been hallucinating? Or is it because one of his clients is dead, or his mentor has gone mad or that his wife is leaving him? He can't bring himself to believe what he has been seeing. Insane things like a massive, searching eye. He sees it in the water below the cliff. He sees it in mirrors, on walls: a massive, crystal blue iris and fathomless pupil there in the center of his life, looking at him.
To find the answer, Loche pens the recent events of his life into a book and leaves the work behind for his mentor, Doctor Marcus Reardon, to interpret. As Reardon reads, he plunges into the harrowing depths of Loche's reality: his loss of a client, the discovery of an unknown past, an ancient conflict over possession of the human condition, the awesome reality of the gods walking among us, and the crimes of humanity invading the hope that lies beyond the grave.
And along the way, Loche tells of unforgettable characters: the torn and manic housewife that teeters on the edge of sanity, and the depressed, swashbuckling swordsman that believes he is over six hundred years old, the stoned and prolific painter and his perilous work he must keep secret, and the beautiful business woman that abandons her life's work for a love she never expected.
Hmmm, not even sure where to start this review. Not doing a synopsis because I am unsure whether or not I can articulate the storyline well enough to even understand it myself!
I feel like Alice in Wonderland when she fell down the rabbit hole. Either someone was feeding me magic mushrooms as I read or the author was doing some "tripping" on his own when writing. You must pay close attention to the story. "What seems real could be false and what is false could be real". (That's my quote..ha). I thought I had it figured out then the story snuck in some other tidbits that had me questioning my entire opinion.
A psychologist dealing with the death of a "client" could, himself, be delusional, suicidal or just dealing with a really freaky reality. Finding himself front and center in a ploy to gain control of the "Heavens" he must find a way to come to terms with his so called "talent" (that he swears he doesn't have). Is that the real story? Or is he playing a masterful real life chess game to uncover the murderer of his client? GEEZ...I'm still confusing myself.
To read this you must want to just go along for the ride and try to keep the facts straight as written. You also need a lot of wine or something to allow your mind free reign with the story. Believe it for a while, then decide it's all a "dream-like sequence" but be prepared for an ending that still really doesn't answer any questions you might entertain.
I couldn't decide whether to give this 2 stars or 5 stars. The writing was really impressive but the author had to be ADD! I can't understand how he kept his own storyline straight! You will either LOVE this or not even finish because you HATE it. I don't think there will be any in-between.. I am settling for
3.5 "watcher" sheep!
Jeanie G
website-FB
By the age of 12, Michael B. Koep had written a complex,
Tolkienesque fantasy with its own number system, language and runic alphabet. He continues that tradition with his fiction debut. Koep has been called an Inland Northwest "Renaissance Man.” An avid world traveler, educator, accomplished visual artist, and a touring rock musician, Michael’s spirit is imbued in the arts. He is a co-founder of a North Idaho fencing consortium, but he is best known as a drummer and lyricist for progressive rock group KITE , as well as the percussionist for the variety power trio The RUB. He is a winner of a Costello Poetry Prize. He lives in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho with his wife and son.
No comments:
Post a Comment