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HomeShop at BookSurgeReligionChristian LifeSpiritual GrowthSupernatural CSI: Dead People Make Excellent Witnesses |
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How to solve crimes from the Other Side Jul 10, 2010
By Chris Phillips
"Word Coach"
Franck's tale is speculative science fiction. He takes the premise that his sons survive him at his death in 2018. He leaves them a single clue. In a file on his computer, How to Talk to the Dead, he leaves this single word, "aya" to tell the whole message. From here the book centers on the adventures of Adam and Alex, his sons.
Some time passes, and his sons discover this cryptic message and begin to investigate. The key to their adventures is a tea, ayahuasca/ayahausca, concocted from a plant root and a specific type of tree bark. This is a Schedule 1 drug in the U.S. and thus illegal for use or possession. Since Franck is an attorney there are a lot of details discussing the legalities and laws. However, his sons begin a series of adventures into the afterlife through the visions and hallucinogenic experiences the drugs induced.
Adam and Alex have adventures with faeries, blippos, Owl Dad, and other creatures. They travel to places unique to the ethereal realm and places very familiar that seem to have counterparts and sometimes even connections with the world of reality. Obviously, things are different in the afterlife but also strangely the same. There are some pleasing juxtapositions which make this a very good read. For example, Alex weds a faery named Thumbellina, while in the real world he relates to an FBI agent named T. Bellina. There are pregnant faeries, building hearts, aya drinking people, and a certain notorious person to end it all up.
Franck has built an afterlife that is as real as an ethereal realm can be while still maintaining an unreal quality. He has applied his imagination to this other realm, to the plot and its attendant twists, and to the problems Alex and Adam encounter. There is a hanging tree that will not release those hung upon it except under certain conditions. When some tapes that are in the other realm are needed for evidence in the physical world a very unique solution is devised with the side-effect of making Adam a tape player of sorts.
Franck's writing style is dry and yet logical, as an attorney might write. There are inspirational moments but when it comes to legal situations the lawyer is writing about it. The plot motivation (his sons sitting down and talking to Owl Dad about what they should be doing, what to do about their mother and what is the meaning of life) is never fulfilled although the story line proceeds nicely and in a logical fashion. The characters are developed sufficiently to be unique and identifiable, although some could use a little more depth (the faeries seem to be single purposed and single minded, very 2 dimensional. The girl friends of the boys are not well developed either).
The book is a good read and well considered. All readers will find parts they enjoy and cherish. This is particularly of interest to those that think about the afterlife or about death.
3.5 Stars
Published by BookSurge, A Kit Media Co. Production, 1801 7th Street, Suite 150, Sacramento, CA 95811 ([...]) (SRP $[...]/Amazon $[...]) Reviewer received the book from the author.
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