QUEST FOR GENESIS: A JOURNEY
OF DISCOVERY
David Gau-Ghan
iUniverse, March 2000
Reviewed by Joy Calderwood
Metaphysical, science fiction, environmental
When
Zakeera, Blue Star Commander, changes assignments, he doesn't pack up his
family and furnishings and drive out of town. He boards a jet that is due to
crash anyway, and is beamed off the jet to a flying saucer just before it
blows up -- presumed dead and ready for the next job. So when his assignment
is changed unexpectedly, before he has time for a farewell look at his wife
and children, he is really quite irritated.
Fortunately, you can never lose anyone permanently, from an incarnational
point of view. It isn’t long before he finds himself traveling with another
incarnation of his beloved wife. Zakeera must find and learn to use the energy
provided by Earth, which is powered by the Genesis crystal deep inside Earth
and is considered a valuable resource by non-terrestrials. As Zoe guides him
through the kingdom of Agharti, a system of tunnels and caves inside Earth’s
crust, they are frequently interrupted by Nazis and other bad guys. Using the
Genesis energy becomes a matter of life and death.
Zakeera is a standard superhero without much depth, but his intimate scenes
are written with understanding and a feeling that communicates itself to the
reader. Everything in this book is seen only through Zakeera’s eyes, so we
connect with his wife in moments when he understands her best. The author has
given her some very human moments. In an interval on Earth’s surface, Zakeera
meets an interesting couple of explorers, Gary and Kathleen, whose help in
finding the way back underground provides the author with the opportunity to
discuss the lost continents of Atlantis and Lemuria. Aside from these
characters, most are seen from the surface only, as in a comic book, and are
stereotypic.
Author
David Gau-Ghan is also a consultant technical writer, and he writes fiction
with a non-fiction writing style. He uses long sentences with involved,
precise phrasing, even in his dialogue. In fiction, the effect is stilted. I
felt the lack of a professional editor, who would have found it a rewarding
job to make QUEST FOR GENESIS say the same thing in fewer words -- although
that might have turned this 232 page e-book into a novella.
I
think this author has a genuine future in comic books, where his visuals would
be brightened and the text pared to the bone. This would throw the emphasis on
the strong points of QUEST FOR GENESIS, the adventure and the New Age
philosophy.
QUEST
FOR GENESIS irresistibly reminded me of James Redfield's THE CELESTINE
PROPHECY. They both have an adventure plot used as a display for the author's
New Age philosophy, and they spend a great deal of time on exposition of their
beliefs. Much of QUEST FOR GENESIS has the same storyboard feel as THE
CELESTINE PROPHECY. I prefer David Gau-Ghan’s writing, because his viewpoint
is more positive. I did have trouble with the way he occasionally leaps to
utopian conclusions with little groundwork. QUEST FOR GENESIS is the second
book in a series that began with THE BLUE STAR MILLENNIUM. Readers who choose
their reads for the metaphysical viewpoint will enjoy this book about
responsibility for building a better world.
July 2000 Review first
published on Romance Communications
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