Hello everyone!
Either way, I'm happy I picked it up from Booksirens.
Yep, we're back with Booksirens, baby, because who doesn't want to be able to pick up free electronic book copies? With the only caveat being deadlines by when you have to finish reading them - and most of these are at least two to three months which is TOTALLY doable - there really is virtually no reason why you shouldn't check it out either.
It's free, it's got an amazing plethora of books to choose from, and they keep on adding more features AND more books.
Tonight's pick was recommended to me in a random email I got, and I'm pretty happy I picked it up actually.
So without further ado, let's jump right into this one: The Emissary.
I'm going to see if I have anything whatsoever that could connect to this book in my repertoire, I do know I've read some that cover mostly the same topic, but I'm not sure if I actually reviewed them. In any case, tonight we are talking about Atlantis.
Yep, you read right.
Well to be fair, Rene DeFazio and Tamara Veitch actually call it Atitala, but if you're paying close attention you'll figure out it's Atlantis pretty much from the first page on, so I'm saving you the trouble and calling it out right here. It's about an ancient, advanced civilization about 13,000 years in the past who seems to be headed towards a decline and a natural disaster, which will leave only a few survivors.
Also it's an island in the middle of the ocean and gets swallowed up in a massive, massive earthquake/fire/volcano eruption/storm/wave.
You know how this goes. Plus Plato, who is believed to be the first to write about Atlantis, is name-dropped right at the very beginning, so there's that.
The story is split between three plotlines covering three (four at the end) characters in different incarnations, but I won't be jumping back and forth since it would be too complicated. I'll just make sure I get everything from the separate plotlines into one spot, then move on.
The most important one is probably the exposition bit in Atitala itself where we learn that the sun is a binary star and that it vaxes and wanes, which in turn causes humanity to decline and rise, depending on which part of the cycle they're in. At the point we clock into the story, they're pretty much at the peak and about to start tumbling down into the Dark Ages, so the Elders of Atitala begin preparations for just that, implying this has happened before.
Three youngsters however, Theron, Marcus and Helghul, want to somehow save Atitala and its people, and travel from Outer Earth to Inner Earth to see if the race there might give them sanctuary. This in itself is unimportant at the moment - we learn these beings are protecting a certain mineral/metal until the time humanity rises again - because nothing can be done to prevent the coming catastrophe. The important bit is that Helghul is established as a character who is already pretty greedy and arrogant, not that he identifies or even names those traits within himself, and he runs into Black Elder.
See, the Elders here are named after the colours of the rainbow - White being the leader - and then we have Yellow, Orange, Red, Blue, Green, and Grey, and then there's Black, who only appears when time of strife is near.
He offers his position to Helghul, but the price he pays is his empathy, and this changes him so profoundly that he becomes even more selfish and self-absorbed, alienating Theron and Marcus who, due to their experience underground, draw closer to each other and eventually, when they reach eighteen, become lovers and soulmates through the astral plane (soul travel is a thing here, once someone ascends that high to be able to do so).
Helghul, naturally, is beyond jealous and actually explodes into rage one time which induces a fight between him and Marcus during which Theron is also smacked across the face, but somehow is mad at Marcus for it, not the man who actually hit her - Helghul. There isn't time to dwell much on it though, because even as she and Marcus bond, Atitala begins experiencing unrest and seismic problems which accelerates the timeline because Emissaries have to be picked.
Emissaries here are chosen ones who will be reborn over and over again (with no memory of their past lives, only their task) to guide humanity back towards enlightenment through music, art, mathematics, etc. Both Theron and Marcus are chosen, but it isn't clear whether or not Helghul is - based on what we read, he isn't, yet as he stays with the other Emissaries, this implies we weren't shown the entire thing, or that he simply cheated the system and nobody bothered to check.
Besides, he has ulterior motives, as he hosts a blood thirsty, sacrilegious rite in which children are sacrificed to welcome some sort of Beast into himself, becoming Black Elder in full and ensuring he will remember his past lives through each incarnation. Marcus witnesses this beginning of the Adversaries and also takes some of the memory retaining potion to be able to stop Helghul, then is separated from Theron in the rush to the boats, after which he spends his eternal life searching for her.
This concludes the Atitatal segment and we move into the one at Stone-in-Circle, which is a sacred place and where we meet our three protagonists again, this time in different guises: Marcus is Santaña, a High priestess leading her people, Helghul is Katari, a warmongering conqueror who defeats them, and Theron eventually becomes Inti, their child.
It's a bit like Egyptian mythology and Horus, Isis and Osiris really, but bottom line is this: both Helghul and Marcus recognize each other and know the other remembers, so Helghul makes sure there's a kid to inherit what he's building, then takes out the High Priestess' tongue and tosses her into prison, saying she died, trying to corrupt Inti to see whether an Emissary CAN actually be diverted from their divine purpose.
But of course this isn't quite the end of Marcus, and eventually through captivity he begins to carve into stones, as do other Emissaries, hearing some sort of call we don't understand yet, and worrying Helghul in his incarnation as Katari because he knows the meaning of the carved symbols, just not where they're coming from.
The guard at the prison eventually brings Inti to his mother, and he recognizes her, which leads to a confrontation with Katari during which Katari kills the High Priestess, but Inti kills Katari, taking his rightful place as High Priest and allowing Theron's soul to truly shine as he leads Stone-in-Circle into a new age of prosperity while the rest of the world continues to fall further into the Dark Ages.
Finally, the third plotline is in modern day, where Marcus is Quinn, a secretive blogger more often stoned than not, whose best friend is the reincarnation of the prison guard from Stone-in-Circle. Said incarnation actually brings his new girlfriend over - Eden - and she's the reincarnated Theron, who doesn't recognize Quinn but Theron and Marcus' souls recognize each other and rejoice in the meeting.
There's no sign of Helghul yet though, and Marcus knows the only times they were ever brought together was for important things, so what's about to happen now? He has no clue, and we as readers don't know either because this is where the book ends.
Dun, dun, dun!
The Emissary as a title is perhaps a little misleading in that it doesn't only talk about ONE, but multiple, however, I kind of like this take on Atlantis, though it isn't abundantly clear whether this has repeated itself over and over again, or if this is the first time, it kind of bounces back and forth in the text depending on who you're following. But overall, this is Atlantis, and it exists before the Bronze and Iron ages and the Dark Age, etc, and the citizens know that this is all coming, so they send out Emissaries to ensure that they can guide humanity back to the higher plane, to open up the consciousness, and to allow them to transcend.
Naturally, it won't be that easy, because there's got to be a bad guy who through some divine intervention and circumstances turns bad pretty much at the start of the book, and then it's a general battle of good and evil between the reincarnations, and the woman caught between them (yes, it's a sort of triangle).
It's not a standalone, so nothing gets resolved in this first book, in case anyone is looking for that kind of read, but we do get a decent set-up of the culture, the purpose of the Emissaries, and the struggle that one in particular, Marcus our protagonist (or Quinn in nowadays iteration) goes through. Because unlike the others sent out on their voyage, he is unique, like his arch nemesis, who used to be his best friend. And through it all he constantly searches for Theron, his soulmate, though doesn't always find her.
A lot of the book is exposition about what the Emissaries do, how they're stronger together, and how a Beast has taken over the nemesis so that, so it looks, he may be redeemed towards the end of the story, though truth be told I don't think that should be in the cards for him as even before the event which changes him irrevocably, he's already giving off some vibes that are against what his people believe.
Actually, the trio are fairly well-known representations, of the two best friends who essentially argue over a woman, one of whom knows great things are expected from him, accepts it, and expects it right back, and another who is humble and just wants to give. Then comes the female who seems to be flawlessly compassionate, and so very kind and giving she can't see the problem right in front of her nose, which is that the best friend they knew and loved is a possessive, jealous freak who has no more say in their lives, which of course leads to even more tragedy.
We spend most of our time in Atlantis, and then in a different location, Stone-in-Circle (interpret that as you will) with the reincarnations and the flip on genders, and just how evil the nemesis can get (answer: pretty evil).
All in all there's a lot of very philosophical takes in this one and a lot of spiritual discussions back and forth about astral planes and higher awareness, and the setting up of the board for a fight of good vs evil.
I generally liked it, as it's an engaging story - I read it in one afternoon - but I will say that it occasionally needs to be a little tighter in editing because the transitions between who's thinking are muddled and you have to pay attention so you don't accidentally think it's Willow Man when it's Herghul instead. I liked the set up, even though I have a lot of questions left and I think maybe even just a smidge of resolution would have been good, but mostly I think the trio of characters we follow are icons we've read before in literature, so for now I'm reserving judgement. This could go just about either way, though I'm hopeful we'll be surprised. It'd be easy to say there's redemption coming, but it's been done so many times before. And with the caricature of him being so dark and evil, it'd be interesting to see a different take entirely.
Also Theron NEEDS to wake up and face the music: if someone wallops you while you're with another guy, you can be as compassionate as you like and you can pity it, but you don't tolerate it and look for excuses. That does not a strong female make.
Overall though, a solid read, and I'll be looking into the sequel soon!
Naturally, it won't be that easy, because there's got to be a bad guy who through some divine intervention and circumstances turns bad pretty much at the start of the book, and then it's a general battle of good and evil between the reincarnations, and the woman caught between them (yes, it's a sort of triangle).
It's not a standalone, so nothing gets resolved in this first book, in case anyone is looking for that kind of read, but we do get a decent set-up of the culture, the purpose of the Emissaries, and the struggle that one in particular, Marcus our protagonist (or Quinn in nowadays iteration) goes through. Because unlike the others sent out on their voyage, he is unique, like his arch nemesis, who used to be his best friend. And through it all he constantly searches for Theron, his soulmate, though doesn't always find her.
A lot of the book is exposition about what the Emissaries do, how they're stronger together, and how a Beast has taken over the nemesis so that, so it looks, he may be redeemed towards the end of the story, though truth be told I don't think that should be in the cards for him as even before the event which changes him irrevocably, he's already giving off some vibes that are against what his people believe.
Actually, the trio are fairly well-known representations, of the two best friends who essentially argue over a woman, one of whom knows great things are expected from him, accepts it, and expects it right back, and another who is humble and just wants to give. Then comes the female who seems to be flawlessly compassionate, and so very kind and giving she can't see the problem right in front of her nose, which is that the best friend they knew and loved is a possessive, jealous freak who has no more say in their lives, which of course leads to even more tragedy.
We spend most of our time in Atlantis, and then in a different location, Stone-in-Circle (interpret that as you will) with the reincarnations and the flip on genders, and just how evil the nemesis can get (answer: pretty evil).
All in all there's a lot of very philosophical takes in this one and a lot of spiritual discussions back and forth about astral planes and higher awareness, and the setting up of the board for a fight of good vs evil.
I generally liked it, as it's an engaging story - I read it in one afternoon - but I will say that it occasionally needs to be a little tighter in editing because the transitions between who's thinking are muddled and you have to pay attention so you don't accidentally think it's Willow Man when it's Herghul instead. I liked the set up, even though I have a lot of questions left and I think maybe even just a smidge of resolution would have been good, but mostly I think the trio of characters we follow are icons we've read before in literature, so for now I'm reserving judgement. This could go just about either way, though I'm hopeful we'll be surprised. It'd be easy to say there's redemption coming, but it's been done so many times before. And with the caricature of him being so dark and evil, it'd be interesting to see a different take entirely.
Also Theron NEEDS to wake up and face the music: if someone wallops you while you're with another guy, you can be as compassionate as you like and you can pity it, but you don't tolerate it and look for excuses. That does not a strong female make.
Overall though, a solid read, and I'll be looking into the sequel soon!
xx
*images not mine
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