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R E V I E W S
"I read Waking God. Then my computer crashed. I don't think those two events are connected...A fast moving story with thriller aspects, interspersed by serious religious discussions...there is real thinking here. A provocative novel, part thriller, part religion. It should make you think. A worthy novel." Read more in his June newsletter: http://www.hipiers.com/newsletter.html.
Piers Anthony, New York Times Bestselling Author and Nebula and Hugo Award Nominee
"A newborn baby girl's DNA holds the key to something important enough to change Humankind's future. Why is this infant, significantly named Mara, kidnapped and her parents assassinated on the day of her birth? Clearly someone has plans for this child, and just as clearly someone else doesn't want to see those plans carried out. Nor does a young professor of comparative religion want his passionate skepticism challenged in ways he can't begin to ignore - but someone also has plans for Andrew.
"Ancient prophecies coming to fulfillment. The end of days drawing near. Cataclysmic events working themselves out as if scripted. Fantastic beings appearing to Humans, and interacting with them, as one more speculative fiction tale utilizes the classic morality play format...no, wait a minute! That's where this book leaves other works in its apparent genre behind, because this is decidedly not a morality play.
"Authors Doe and Harris have done an impressive amount of research into ancient myths, manuscripts, and belief systems. They've used this research to spin a tale that kept this lifelong lover of speculative fiction turning pages far into the night. Their characters, even the fantastically non-Human ones, came to life and demanded that I care what happened next. Their plot held together, and the universe they created stayed consistent even as it also became progressively more complicated. I'll want to read the rest of this intriguing speculative fiction trilogy for sure!"
Nina M. Osier, Author of Sagarmatha and 2005 Eppie Award Winner
"Waking God is at once captivating, deeply thought provoking, and spiritually inspiring. On the surface, it can be read as an extremely entertaining suspense thriller, with an ever thickening plot and plentiful nerve-racking twists. As the story unfolds, however, it can also be absorbed and studied in awe, as one might treat a mystical and magical ancient scroll, discovered in some remote cave, deep within the mindscape of the Godhead. Brian Doe and Philip Harris have written a work of excellence, relevance, and substance, a literary effort that should and needs to be read by any and all who wonder in reverence at the miracle of creation, self, God, and the relationships between them."
Marvin D. Wilson, Author of I Romanced the Stone
"What if every Truth you had ever been told was really a mosaic of falsehoods? What if every religious institution that preached salvation was actually an agent of oppression?
"In Waking God, Andrew, a young, controversial professor of Comparative Religions is having strange dreams. He has spent his life studying and challenging conventional religious thought and is on the verge of formulating a unified theory that will help to explain the origin and variety of the world’s religions. The dreams bring messages that he finds difficult to interpret, but he thinks they may hold the key to finding the answers he seeks, and so he listens.
"Meanwhile, Mara, born in mystery, stolen from her hospital room, and raised in various parts of the world, has been ushered through her childhood by a mysterious but caring father-figure, who has been the only constant in her tumultuous upbringing. Now a young woman on her own, Mara is living and working in Boston, and is unaware that her destiny, the purpose for which she was placed on this earth is about to take her away to a different part of the globe, once again.
"As Andrew and Mara pursue their separate courses, their paths briefly converge at a séance. Andrew senses that he shares a special connection with Mara and during the ritual he has another dream that seems to confirm this, but when he awakens, she is gone. What he doesn’t know is that she has been taken.
"Then the pope is assassinated.
"As the world sinks into chaos and religious turmoil, Andrew receives a summons to Rome. There he meets the mysterious Mantrella, who claims standing as a supernatural being, a fallen angel, Lucifer no less. Mantrella schools Andrew in a new form of knowledge, one that places the seemingly contradictory problems with religion and existence in a startling new context. Even the skeptical Andrew finds it difficult to shake years of dogmatic thought. His waffle between belief and unbelief is made more difficult when Andrew is captured by Mantrella’s nemesis, the archangel Michael.
"As the two supernatural beings vie for control over Andrew and Mara the prospect of a war in the heavenly realms builds, the outcome of which will decide the fate of all humanity.
"Epic in scope, Waking God is a fast paced supernatural thriller that blazes across mystical locations and panoramic scenery. There is action and intrigue, yes, but there is also a challenge to the reader in this book. Waking God introduces a new way of interpreting reality. The book provides an alternative contextual understanding for mythical creatures like werewolves, vampires, angels and demons, as well as taking on the weighty issue of the nature and existence of God.
"The slower first half gives way to a quick second with the conclusion flung out before you’ve had a chance to learn enough about the main characters. But then, it’s only the first book in a trilogy. Andrew is more fully developed and believable, while Mara remains a mystery, cloaked in a mist of naiveté and unexplained motivations. She has almost no will of her own; she never takes control of her own destiny until the very end at which point you are left to question, why now?
"The prose, at times quite good, has a tendency to stumble into wordiness, and corny dialog. But the plot, pacing and challenging content gives this story enough legs to prevent the book from completely falling.
"Waking God has many good qualities that make it worth reading; you can expect a good story surrounded by an interesting philosophical paradigm that ventures into supernatural action and adventure. And this book also reminds us that there are other ways of looking at the world, and that perhaps we should take a moment and consider the alternatives."
Christopher Friesen, Book Pleasures.com
(http://www.bookpleasures.com/Lore2/idx/0/2139/article/Waking_God.html)
