Anomaly
While
the novel presents many interesting ideas, I found elements of the story too
slow to unfold. I was frustrated that Kyle took so long to get into Alice’s
journal, and to start getting to know Sophia. As well, the story is very evenly paced
with too much ‘telling’ and daily routine stuff that makes it somewhat banal
reading. Bringing in more of both Arhl and Sophia would have helped perk things
along, as well as more varied sentence length, etc.
My thanks to author, Caitlin, for a reading copy via Bostick
Communications for the purpose of an unbiased review. You will find her at
these internet links:
The Soul
Prophecies
By: Caitlin Lynagh
Publish Date: January 27, 2016
by Troubador
by Troubador
Genre: Paranormal Fantasy, Romance, Mystical, Science
Fiction
Pages: 264 PDF
Source: Bostick Communications/Author Publicist
After Kyle loses
his childhood sweetheart, Alice Lynam, he spends two years trying to bury his
past and move on with his life.
On his
twenty-first birthday, he receives Alice's notebook and discovers that two
pages are missing. Kyle is forced to revisit his past and realises that perhaps
his life isn’t as coincidental as it seems.
*********************************
I
was drawn to Anomaly because of the everything-is-connected theme portrayed
through Kyle’s attachment to his sweetheart, Alice, even after her death, and the
hint that there is something bigger at play here. Out of the box ideas always
get my mind churning.
Right
away we meet Kyle, Alice, Sophia, Ahrl of the Thirteen, and Kyle’s sister, Hailey,
the main characters, some of whom are from different dimensions but are
interconnected so the reader needs to pay attention. Sophia acts as a sort of living
connector between alien watcher, Ahrl of the Thirteen, the deceased Alice, and
living Kyle. Much of the time we are with Kyle as he very slowly works his way
through his deeply heartfelt loss of Alice.
The
time/space themes presented are intriguing. One such is that even after death,
we are all still connected in some way that the living don’t comprehend. I
liked reading Alice’s POV as she hovered around Kyle from the afterlife. It
seemed too bad that he wasn’t aware of her at the beginning. The novel also suggests that there
are non-earth beings involved in these processes.
Another
interesting concept (pg 163) is that something which is not possible to a
person at this present moment (because of current conditions) may become
possible at a future time. Also, the concept is presented that there are
physical possibilities available right now (one could leave their house and go
to the grocery store), but there are also imaginary possibilities (teleport to
Paris). All these possibilities are interconnected and affected by decisions
made by us every moment of every day. It made me wonder if we could somehow access
all of these possibilities from the now.
While
the novel presents many interesting ideas, I found elements of the story too
slow to unfold. I was frustrated that Kyle took so long to get into Alice’s
journal, and to start getting to know Sophia. As well, the story is very evenly paced
with too much ‘telling’ and daily routine stuff that makes it somewhat banal
reading. Bringing in more of both Arhl and Sophia would have helped perk things
along, as well as more varied sentence length, etc.
Fav
quote pg 25:
“Hailey
shrugged. She wanted to be a writer and the best way she could learn to write
was by reading other authors’ books and to practise. Tank smiled and massaged
his right shin.”
4.0
stars for interesting space/time concepts and overall well put together story for a debut
effort. I feel the writing just needs tweaking to keep the reader avidly engaged
throughout.
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