Customer Reviews

Dream Maker: A Mystical Tale

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This is a deceptive book, it reads like a historical fantasy but it's actually a study of ancient Greek and Roman mysticism. Its pages describe "communion", a meditation practice that includes Agape, a powerful healing technique.

The novel starts innocently enough with a depressed man in modern-day Berkeley, looking for answers. He has a series of dreams that show him another dimension. In his wakeful life, Martin's life is falling apart, but he also finds a stranger, Mojo, who is what he's not: peaceful and whole. Mojo seems to be working in conjunction with Martin's dreams to point him to a pilgrimage, of all places, Hawaii.

Guided by his dream Images, Martin makes his way to a hidden beach where he meets a Kahuna. This man takes Martin on an astral trip to ancient Britain, a world in chaos with the Roman Empire collapsing and invaders and bandits taking over. In the middle of all this Martin encounters a powerful mystic, Maria Lerna, whose job seems to heal the world so that it may survive. Martin soon learns that he is witnessing a past life, and he learns what he neglected to get that time: the true meaning of life.

It's a fun read that makes you think. I learned a lot and am grateful for this book. It also has that feeling of truth to it. I wonder if it really happened?

Dream Maker: A Mystical Tale is a historical novel, following the journey of a troubled man in the modern day who revisits his past life in 464 AD Britain. His ancient journey and struggle against violent invaders and lawlessness leads him through chaos in search of the cause of his dejection and a quest for meaning and dedication. Written with a sharp eye for historical accuracy as well as a detailed recounting of useful meditation techniques, Dream Maker is both an invigorating story and a gift that opens one's mind to new ways of thinking about both little problems and the world around one.

"Martin told the Kahuna he was ready. He was tired and he wanted the cave. The Kahuna obliged with a warm smile. This time he simply looked at Martin, straight into his eyes. Martin felt himself go. First there was the sense of intense motion, again like an explosion that was happening all around him, and then he was in the dark tunnel with the light at the end. He spiraled rapidly, with a force capable of tearing him apart. He closed his eyes until he felt everything stop." -From the book

Set in both present time and 464 AD, Dream Maker is a mystical tale by Grigor Fedan that follows the personal journey of Martin Devon-a meandering fellow who has just lost an important contract for his company. Hostilities brew at home as Jenny, his angry and critical wife, repeatedly confronts Martin-or ignores him altogether. Martin never seems to say the right thing, and his own anger issues boil to the surface.

A routine visit to the bank leads Martin on a journey of intense introspection-which includes an impromptu trip to a secret island in Hawaii and a magical voyage courtesy of a mysterious Kahuna.

Exploring questions such as "Why am I here?", "What is the meaning of my life?", "Why do certain things happen to me?", and "Why do I do what I do?" Fedan weaves historical accuracy with metaphysical themes like past lives, meditation, intention, and energetic co-mingling.

The majority of Dream Maker takes place in the 5th century, where Saxons, Caledonians, and other "barbarians" pillage colonies once ruled by Rome. The Kahuna instructs Martin that he's to be a detached observer, and warns him against involvement, because important soul lessons are at stake.

In the fields and forests of lawless Britannia, Martin witnesses brutal ambushes, political plotting, and warfare. Martin also dwells in a Seeker Colony imbedded deep within the lush woods, and learns how a community of shared goods and services live in harmony. He participates in ancient energetic healing techniques, visits the royal courtyard, and witnesses potential threats from the citadel.

While history buffs will enjoy this novel-especially those interested in military and Arthurian lore-I was more intrigued by the portrayal of metaphysical disciplines such as "agape". This energetic co-mingling, also known as "communion", occurs when the sender envelops the recipient with his or her energy field in order to heal, pacify, and communicate intent.

As Martin observes and interacts with mystics like Maria Lerna, Nicolaus, Eldyn, Mowan, and those in the Seeker Colony-as well as royals King Joannes, Queen Martigena, and their two sons-he begins to understand that not everything is as black and white as he thought it to be. Through practicing meditation and agape, Martin learns to ground himself and retain objectivity. In the process, he discovers how past lives affect individuals in the present, and that each person has played both "evil" and "divine" roles in the grand play of life.

Dream Maker is an engaging novel with thought-provoking ideas peppered throughout. For example, one character says "Brutality is a cornerstone of creation". But regardless of whether you agree with Fedan's spiritual views (and I admit to taking issue with a few), you'll be taken on an interesting journey with plenty of food-for-thought moments. In fact, Dream Maker played a pivotal role in my husband's exploration of reincarnation. Up until then, he really didn't consider the viability of past lives. After reading this novel, however, he was primed to read books such as Journey of Souls and Destiny of Souls by Dr. Michael Newton which examines case histories of past life regressions.

I'm not a fan of history, military or otherwise, but Fedan paints a vivid picture of life in Arthurian Britannia. I was kept guessing until the end, and didn't realize the parallel with Arthurian legend until Maria Lerna plunged a sword through a rock. The proliferation of punctuation errors was somewhat distracting, and I'm surprised the publisher allowed Dream Maker to be released with such sloppy editing. Be that as it may, if you can ignore details such as capitalized words in mid-sentence and commas following semi-colons, this novel is a well-written addition to the genre of mystical fiction. You'll likely develop new ways of looking at your life, the world, and other people, and in my opinion, that's a worthy result of any creative endeavor.

I'm a King Arthur's fan, and also a fair student of history.
I was impressed by Dream Maker's accurate historical content and interesting facts and thesis I'd never heard before; It's obvious that Ambrosious is King Arthur, the year, circumstances and geography is all there; The legendary elements are enticing...the sword in the stone, Maria Lerna's magic (Marli= Merlin) put it in believable context.... a word of mystical powers.
What's unique is the Roman setting but it makes sense since the Romans had hust left after 400 years.
Also now I see King Arthur as a sort of savior, a mythical figure whose role is far more critical than I thought.
If anything the novel is too short; Grigor Fedan seems to know his history; I wish he had gone deeper into it.
Frankly I am not much of a fan of the new agey things like reincarnation, meditation, astral travel.

This book is one of a growing number in a relatively new genre that I call the "New Age historical novel." Unlike the usual historical novel, this genre also includes such esoteric elements as ESP, spiritual healing, astral travel, reincarnation, etc.

As the story opens in the 21st century, Martin's life is in crisis. Business deals are falling through, his marriage is on the rocks, and he is deeply depressed. Through a series of "concidental" events, he meets a Hawaiian kahuna, who teaches him how to meditate and get in touch with a past life in fifth-century Brittania. The kahuna tells Martin to remain detached and simply observe the events, without getting involved in this past world. Presumably, this was so he would not change history, but it made the early part of the book rather boring, because all he did was watch events and then go back to the kahuna for a lecture on what it all meant. Fortunately, as the story progress, Martin finds that he cannot simply stand by and do nothing. He becomes an active part of the timeline, and the plot gets more interesting.

Whether or not he changes history is unclear, but he does grow personally from the experience. We do not learn until the end of the book which of the past-life characters has reincarnated as Martin in this life -- and was I surprised!

I found this to be a good read, although I strongly disagree with the New Age "you create your own reality" philosophy. I actually groaned when the kahuna told Martin that he had "manifested" the thugs on the beach because of his own energy or whatever. Sorry, folks, I just don't buy it. At that point, I decided that the only way for me to relate to this book without getting annoyed with the philosophy was to see it as a sort of "alternate universe" science fiction. I could then allow myself to enter its worldview for the duration, even if it was alien to my own way of thinking. Viewed in that light, it was an interesting tale.

My head is still spinning after reading this book. It was hard to put it down!
The author's Teachers in past lives are resonate with my own inner knowings and what I've learned from a lifetime of searching. It felt like I was there, sharing in the love and joy of fellowship between Kindred Spirits. Perhaps fictionalized, but as the author says, if it has an effect then it's REAL. And this was very real for me. As another reviewer said, I too am looking at the world differently and with a little more awareness after reading the book. It's one thing to intellectualize these metaphysical ideas, and it's another thing to FEEL them. My gratitude to Grigor Fedan for putting it into words.