Customer Reviews

Breakthrough: The Next Step

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Communion" changed my whole belief system. It was a brilliant, contemplative and credible account of events that may or may not have happened. "Transformation" was interesting but mostly a rehash with a new perspective. This book is where Streiber finally lost me. If he hadn't written this book, I may still be totally convinced by him. When he started this Communion business he was seemed very believably sane, that's what made his story so chilling. I suppose it's possible that it's all true. It' more likely that Streiber is finally losing his mind, maybe the visitors drove him insane, maybe he's simply delusional, or maybe it was a ruse from the beginning. Whatever the case, when I finshed this book, I realized that he had written one book too many on the subject...I didn't buy the next one. but I will read "Communion" again...with a different view of Streiber...and see how it plays now.

From the start, this is an engaging book that captures the reader with an easy writing style and structure. That Strieber is an accomplished author, there is no doubt. This is the first book I have read on the subject of encounters that attempts to plumb the depths of 'why' rather than 'what' and in that respect it is very thought provoking. Strieber has made a commendable effort to present the visitor experience in a new and challenging light, although later in the book, new ideas and philosophies do pop into existence at an alarming rate and can be difficult to follow. On the whole I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to reconcile how the Visitors might fit into New Age thinking, but be warned, you'll have to concentrate hard on the last few chapters.

Communion told the story of a man confronted with the unkown and struggling to make sense of it. Transformation continued the interior dialogue begun in Communion and, while it helped Mr. Strieber clear up some of his own jumbled memories, it offered his readers no new insights or evidence. Breakthrough: The Next Step however attempts to do just that, but Mr. Strieber's days of being taken seriously ended with this highly subjective attempt to understand just what the Visitors are trying to accomplish with himself and other abductees. Strieber makes a sloppy (and some what disturbing) argument that he is some kind of Chosen One, being granted visions to help enlighten others. The author clearly is attempting to move past being a simple abductee and reinvent himself as a kind of New Age guru. Not helping are the giant spiders in his bedroom and the little bald guys playing piggy-back with him in his New York office. Sadly, despite all the promises of hard evidence he makes, he just trots out the same old tired conspiracy theories and foggy rumors that everyone else does, and offers no concrete sources to fact check quoted statements or theories. In the end, the book is more interesting for its insight into Mr. Strieber's character than for its examination of the abduction phenomena. Best left to the obsessively curious.

Breakthrough could be Whitley Strieber's non-fiction masterpiece. Breathtaking. I did not think he could top Transformation, but Strieber has indeed collected his thoughts on the subject of aliens, god, and death. Strieber does not give any answers, nor does he come to any definate conclusions about the whole ufo-phenomenon. However, he offers insightful theories of the what-ifs. Even if you do not believe, or do not want to believe, reading Breakthrough will definately make you think. It is about life and humanity more than it is about alien abduction. It is about valuing what is, and also what could be. Whitley Strieber has been through a lot since he first published Communion. It is not easy being in the spotlight of skeptics. But even if you are a skeptic, read Breakthrough and ask yourselves: Even if there is no such thing as a "visitor," how can I use the metaphor to make my life better? Indeed, whether it is from truth or from metaphor, there is a message.

Whitley keeps doing it. With each book, he's bringing me past the fog into an area where answers are that I have been searching for. Each time I think I got it, I try yet another one of his books. Lo and Behold. He did it again. I thought that I had to keep searching for the answers in different areas of the paranormal. But, no, he has them there in his books. Perhaps it is more relevant to other abductees. If you are looking for answers to things that have happened to you. You do need his books. You will find out that things you have experienced and don't want to tell anyone about are really common. He tells of other people's experiences. One of his books, "The Communion Letters," is of many people sending in their experiences to share with him. Enjoy!

The two stars is only for the interesting accounts of Strieber's encounters with aliens. However, his analysis of the encounters seemed insane. For example, he says that our fear of the aliens will lead to a greater communion. Huh? Strieber also says that the aliens want us to reach some sort of hyper-consciousness, whatever that is, he never said. He asserts this planet will soon be run into the ground by "exploding population", and that the aliens are here to save us from ourselves. But the Earth can stand another 14 billion people, and industrialized countries are starting to level out population-wise. And some of his descriptions seem weird, even delusional, like some growling, standing beast with a wand in its hand. The book also seems to have disturbing undertones, giving the aliens some sort of spiritual prowess (for no apparent reason), when they act evil. The aliens must have finally gotten to Strieber.

A fantastic sequel. This book continues the incredible saga of, not simply alien abduction, but spectacular communication with beings whose message is somewhat cryptical but powerful. One senses an undeniable awareness of our need to be connected to a universal oneness. The Visitors of Whitley's "Communion" are elusive, controlling, and frightening, yet Whitley's portrayal of their duality shows us a deeply concerned and caring race of beings trying to subtly change our world - one abduction at a time. If Communion wasn't incredible enough, this book is a MUST for your library

Whitley Strieber, in Breakthrough: The Next Step, has once more accomplished what he largely intended to do with his other non-ficiton books centering on the UFO/abduction phenomenon. He has faced his greatest foe, that being his fear of unknown elements within himself, and has been changed for the better because of it. Communion and Transformation, his previous bestsellers based on his encounters with alledged non-human beings, displays an evolving pattern of his personal growth in his life and beliefs. While talk of malevolent aliens abounds in popular UFO literature, Strieber addresses the issues on a first-person basis and looks beyond the panic and fear. He speaks of the mental and emotional challenges which have been thrust upon him by the beings he calls "the visitors." Further on into the book, he discusses people he has know who have claimed to have encountered an aspect of the paranormal, similar to his own. He concludes the book with thoughts of the intelligence communities involvement with UFOs and the paranoia which surrounds it. Whether you believe or not, these "agents of change" are teaching us more about ourselves.

Thank GOD Whitley is a writer! I read the reviews before reading "Breakthrough." I almost did not read it. The people that gave it a bad rating most likely have not read many books of one author. Too bad the rating stars only go up to 5. If you have had contact, you can certainly relate to any of his books, especially the ones after "Communion." Now that I have found out that reading the bad reviews, can not tell you that the book is bad, why read them? Too bad we do not take an IQ test before writing a review.

Whitley Strieber does it again, plain and simple. He is a master of words, flawlessly taking the reader through several more years of intense experiences with beings of unknown origins. For whatever reason, I've been slowly catching up on his work. Maybe I'm just at a point in my life when it's right for me to read it. Either way, this is one book that anyone interested in the expansion of the human consciousness or the exploration of the possibility of life elsewhere needs to read. Personally, I feel it is our fears, and our fears alone that label these beings as either good or evil. The reality of their existence is far more complicated than that.