Every now and then people ask what my favorite book is and I can never say, but for now, at least until I find another one, I can say that David Mitchie's The Magician of Lhasa is it. I first came across fellow Australian, David Mitchie's writing with his book The Dalai Lama's Cat, but this book is more dramatic than that and has more of a story in terms of plot. The Magician of Lhasa is the kind of metaphysical fiction that I really enjoy. The metaphysics enlighten the character's situation and provide points of wisdom for contemplation that further the plot, and this is what metaphysical fiction should do. Some works that use the metaphysical fiction handle fail to have much of a plot; they're more a delving into some metaphysical construct than a strong story with the kind of dramatic elements that a good story requires; such books are dull, but not this one. Anyone writing metaphysical fiction should read this and take note. Mitchie is a master of the genre. The Magician of … [Read more...]
‘Shadowline Drift’ by Alexes Razevich: unusual and compelling.
Here's another of my metaphysical fiction reviews. It's a metaphysical thriller, which is probably how you'd describe World Within Worlds as well. ‘Shadowline Drift’ by Alexes Razevich is an unusual story with compelling metaphysics and rich, beautifully written descriptions. It’s the story of Jake, a man only three and a half feet tall, who has been sent to the Amazon to negotiate with the chief of a lost tribe for access to a mineral that could end world hunger—or so he thinks. What he finds is a world vastly different to the one he knows and a chief who is much more than he seems at first glance. The chief seems at first a trickster, then a magician, then perhaps a demon and finally an accidental traveller between universes. Jake comes to wonder what is real and what isn’t and questions his sanity many times before the story concludes. After gaining access to the mineral, he discovers that it isn’t the God-send he thought it would be. Although not poisonous to animals, it is to … [Read more...]
