Review of Ekstasis - The Return of the Sovereign Heart

That Reviewer · Post by **That Reviewer** » 17 Jan 2022, 10:12

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Ekstasis - The Return of the Sovereign Heart" by M.I.Dugast.]

4 out of 4 stars

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"Man is Divinity incarnated in a masculine body. Woman is Divinity incarnated in a female body. The Human body is God-made. One of the finest and most intricate vehicle through which one's soul can experience life, and recognize another in the same light, to unite in true Love." This quote by Master Ishwa, a spiritual leader in Ekstasis - The Return of the Sovereign Heart, sums up the book's essence.

Ericka was different right from childhood. She didn't act like other normal kids, made poor grades in school, heard voices in her head, and had another self — her camera self. It didn't help that her parents didn't have a close relationship with her to understand what was happening. A horrifying experience when she was fifteen made her discover her camera self, which became her haven but made her best friend distance herself. Having one bad relationship after another didn't help. When she finally got married and started having children, she thought she had found the true love for which she craved. But her quest to discover, explore, and develop her spirituality made her husband turn against her. What was wrong with her? As she tried her best to follow her spiritual guides to find her true love, events turned in a way that got even her spiritual guides worried.

M. I. Dugast does an exceptional job writing a book within a book. With the lives of the characters intricately interwoven, he still makes a whole lot of sense with it. There is so much revelation, power, and light embedded in it that anyone who reads it will be changed. It's the kind of fiction that makes you wonder if it's fiction because you can see yourself in it, it tugs at your heart, and you almost forget it's just a novel in your hand. But it's more than a novel. Have you ever wondered about who or what you are, whether there's more to you than the physical, how to find meaningful, heartfelt relationships, or just what to make of this planet of ours called earth? This is the book for you. Within its fictional walls are facts you can research and explore. In-depth, free-minded reading will open your eyes to them.

I didn't care so much about all the scientific data explorations the author outlined, but it served to lend a sort of mystical reality to the book. It looked like the book was about a whole lot of things, and I believe that any one of those things could stand out for any reader, depending on their desire. The book written within the main book had two endings that reflected the writer's life; that was a big wow for me. In the midst of it all, the author did an excellent job of bringing out one message — there is only love; love is all that is real, and it is far more than the mere emotion that many think it is. Love is a pulsating force field that can connect hearts, souls, and spirits, transcending beyond even death. How the author managed to write over a thousand pages of mystery, fantasy, and adventure and still minimized the errors was a feat I loved. So, I'd rate it 4 out of 4 stars. There wasn't anything I disliked.

Though it's a spiritual book, it's not religious in the sense of promoting one religion over another. Any mention of religion reflects the characters' path in discovering their spirituality. It's not centered on morality; if that's what you're looking for, you won't find it there. I recommend it to readers who love romance, mystery, and science fiction. Spiritualists can also gain some insight from it.

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Ekstasis - The Return of the Sovereign Heart
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Aisha Yakub · Post by **Aisha Yakub** » 19 Jan 2022, 01:38

Quite an insightful review, thank you. Writing a book within a book sounds appealing to me. I'm eager to know how it eventually turned out for Ericka.

QualityAndQuantity · Post by **QualityAndQuantity** » 19 Jan 2022, 15:04

The theme of the book seems really interesting to me. I haven't heard of a book with a twisted plot like this. Thanks for the well written review.

Amiczy Heaven · Post by **Amiczy Heaven** » 19 Jan 2022, 16:47

Closeness to your kids is always advisable. I think her childhood played a role somehow in her experiences as an adult. I’ll love to have a deeper knowledge about Ericka

Tania Chowdhury 1 · Post by **Tania Chowdhury 1** » 19 Jan 2022, 23:16

I think religion is part of our judgement process, with or without that it’s hard to come to a conclusion of being Spiritual also.
I liked the way you wrote that you didn’t care much of the “scientific data explorations” , agree to that, sometimes I feel lost in trying to do more research on the internet when I read such books…I think the best way is ignore the data exploration and concentrate on the story line. I look forward to read this next.

ChampagneSon · Post by **ChampagneSon** » 23 Jan 2022, 08:32

We are not responsible for our childhood traumas but we are responsible for healing from them as adults, I hope people learn that from an earlier age and religion, being spiritual is the best way to heal from childhood trauma. What a review, makes me want to immediately read the book. Thank you for the amazing review.

Walter R · Post by **Walter R** » 13 Feb 2022, 21:04

Have always found science fiction to be quite intriguing and able to stir my imagination. This book certainly seems to possess such quality. Will love to try it out.

NetMassimo · Post by **NetMassimo** » 16 Feb 2022, 16:48

This seems like the type of work that can only be limited by genre labels. You have to consider its core about love with a positive message. Reading such a long novel takes some commitment and the cover indicates that it's the first book of a trilogy, so I hope its sequels are great as well. Thank you for your great review!