Official Review: A Whisper from Eden by Phoenix
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Aithne
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Official Review: A Whisper from Eden by Phoenix
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "A Whisper from Eden" by Phoenix.]
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A Whisper from Eden is an unusual book in that it is immediately obvious it is a mix of history and fiction. The premise is that there is an alternate reality in Native American past where a tribe which often is caucasian, has blonde hair and speaks welsh has been founded in treaty with aliens rather than as a result of an early 'lost Welsh colony'.
The narrative follows young Clayton, a self-dubbed writer, who likes to visit the native american tribes, gain their perspective and write about it. He is not happy with the prevailing American colonist attitude that the natives are savages and wants to change their perspectives by publishing his documentation on the tribes. Unfortunately, his family isn't happy about his viewpoint. This results in Clayton taking a trip to discover and document the strange Mandan tribe of caucasion to dark copper skin.
Clayton's adventures encounter many moral and spiritual dilemmas, especially in terms of his religious beliefs, knowledge of fact versus magic and the very different culture of the Mandans. However, a love interest in the tribe keeps him within their life for a long period of time.
This story is both a coming of age for the boy Clayton and a coming of age for America and the Native Americans. They have a lot of prejudice to conquer and a whole spiritual realm to accept or deny.
The aliens which are in treaty with the Mandan people also impact upon the plot. They are in the midst of a battle with Sector Nine, a more malicious otherworldly influence which wants Earth to become chaotic enough to come under their power. The Lone Man and his compadres however, in support of the Mandan way of life, are promoting spirituality and cohesiveness with the Earth's protective God: Gaia. Many of Earth's people have their ears shut to the presence of spirits and Gaia, so the Lone Man's people work with the Mandan to help enlighten them.
The premise of the plot for A Whisper from Eden is certainly interesting and unique, a sci-fi historical fiction blend. However, I was originally more interested in the other, more factual, interpretation of the situation when it was outlined – that the lost welsh colony had become the mandan tribe rather than aliens interfering with events.
Having said that, the story is realistic in its own genre and a good read, for the most part. My own issue with the text is that the author is obviously not experienced at writing. They seem to be more of a historian than a writer. The narrative is often clunky and takes some getting used to. For example: “His mouth set. He nodded to himself. He was going to talk his father in to it. His Indian friends were important to him. Their welfare was important.” This narrative style is very short and blunt. Rather than being snappy and impactful, it is overused and this impacts upon the flow of the story; the story is often stopping and starting, dragging the reader from the visuality of the events to stumble over the sentence structure. The dialogue, in contrast, is often long and overexplanatory, unrealistic for common day to day conversations. I also found that the html format was very hard and unforgiving on the eyes so I do hope the author has other formats available for the reader as this book does deserve to be read.
To sum up, A Whisper from Eden is a captivating new, sci-fi take on the Native American and early American colonist life. Even a reader uninterested in sci-fi can enjoy the story for its obvious, in-depth historical research. I found myself learning far more about the Native American culture than I have ever had hope of finding generally online. I would say this is a good novel, only improved with better editing and sentence structure. The characters are solid, motivated individuals and their lives are worth learning about and listening to. Therefore I would rate this book a solid 3 out of 4 stars. It has its faults, but unfortunately most good books do.
***
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The narrative follows young Clayton, a self-dubbed writer, who likes to visit the native american tribes, gain their perspective and write about it. He is not happy with the prevailing American colonist attitude that the natives are savages and wants to change their perspectives by publishing his documentation on the tribes. Unfortunately, his family isn't happy about his viewpoint. This results in Clayton taking a trip to discover and document the strange Mandan tribe of caucasion to dark copper skin.
Clayton's adventures encounter many moral and spiritual dilemmas, especially in terms of his religious beliefs, knowledge of fact versus magic and the very different culture of the Mandans. However, a love interest in the tribe keeps him within their life for a long period of time.
This story is both a coming of age for the boy Clayton and a coming of age for America and the Native Americans. They have a lot of prejudice to conquer and a whole spiritual realm to accept or deny.
The aliens which are in treaty with the Mandan people also impact upon the plot. They are in the midst of a battle with Sector Nine, a more malicious otherworldly influence which wants Earth to become chaotic enough to come under their power. The Lone Man and his compadres however, in support of the Mandan way of life, are promoting spirituality and cohesiveness with the Earth's protective God: Gaia. Many of Earth's people have their ears shut to the presence of spirits and Gaia, so the Lone Man's people work with the Mandan to help enlighten them.
The premise of the plot for A Whisper from Eden is certainly interesting and unique, a sci-fi historical fiction blend. However, I was originally more interested in the other, more factual, interpretation of the situation when it was outlined – that the lost welsh colony had become the mandan tribe rather than aliens interfering with events.
Having said that, the story is realistic in its own genre and a good read, for the most part. My own issue with the text is that the author is obviously not experienced at writing. They seem to be more of a historian than a writer. The narrative is often clunky and takes some getting used to. For example: “His mouth set. He nodded to himself. He was going to talk his father in to it. His Indian friends were important to him. Their welfare was important.” This narrative style is very short and blunt. Rather than being snappy and impactful, it is overused and this impacts upon the flow of the story; the story is often stopping and starting, dragging the reader from the visuality of the events to stumble over the sentence structure. The dialogue, in contrast, is often long and overexplanatory, unrealistic for common day to day conversations. I also found that the html format was very hard and unforgiving on the eyes so I do hope the author has other formats available for the reader as this book does deserve to be read.
To sum up, A Whisper from Eden is a captivating new, sci-fi take on the Native American and early American colonist life. Even a reader uninterested in sci-fi can enjoy the story for its obvious, in-depth historical research. I found myself learning far more about the Native American culture than I have ever had hope of finding generally online. I would say this is a good novel, only improved with better editing and sentence structure. The characters are solid, motivated individuals and their lives are worth learning about and listening to. Therefore I would rate this book a solid 3 out of 4 stars. It has its faults, but unfortunately most good books do.
***
Buy "A Whisper from Eden" on Amazon
Buy "A Whisper from Eden" on Barnes and Noble
Latest Review: "Chains of Mist" by T.C. Metivier
