Review of The Party Line

[Cornette R]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Party Line" by Dennis D. Gagnon.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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The Party Line by Dennis D. Gagnon is an autobiographical science fiction about the Author as a 17 year old boy who is deeply thoughtful for his age. While pondering on the nature of reality and his place in it, his consciousness enters a hidden realm known as the ethereal world made up of conversations between sentient beings. The author visits this ethereal world regularly partaking in these conversations only realising after an unfortunate accident that something small like a suggestion or physical injury in the ethereal world could amount to serious harm or death in the real world.

While testing a theory to better understand the ethereal realm the author unknowingly puts D. his best friend in direct danger of an avian-reptilian monster leading to D.’s unfortunate death and consequently to D.’s death in the real world too. Seeking to kill this evil monster he teams up with Percy, D.’s girlfriend as well as D.’s ghost and together they embark upon the ultimate battle of good against evil fought in the unconscious mind.

The book is written from the perspective of the author looking back upon his life as a young man telling the tale of his adventures with explanations of different philosophical ideas. The ethereal world, essentially a place in the unconscious mind of the author was described well which successfully paints a vivid picture for the reader. The questions and discussions between the author and the different sentient beings was interesting, sometimes funny as well as thought provoking, for example the discussion of the existence of God as well as the possibility of life after death. The author’s philosophical knowledge and methods used to explain complex theories is excellent.

The book was challenging to read and difficult to grasp some of the more complex philosophical theories and discussions. The story line is slow in forming, the beginning confusing and understanding the technical philosophical theories takes time and patience. I experienced moments where the book left me with more questions than answers as any good philosophical discussion should.

I would rate The Party Line 3 out of 4 stars. I strongly believe that if you are interested in philosophy and love intellectual theories you will find this book enjoyable to read. Readers looking for a light quick read will be frustrated by the lack of substance to the story and turned off or bored by reading the philosophy sections in the book. The book is professionally edited with no spelling errors.

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The Party Line
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