Master of Disaster: A Tale of Manifestation, Mayhem & Magic [Paperback]

Jan Longwell-Smiley (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 328 pages
• Publisher: Hampton Roads Publishing Company (September 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1571741054
• ISBN-13: 978-1571741059
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,966,409 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The next ILLUSIONS?, May 16, 2000

By 

Scott Smith - See all my reviews

This review is from: Master of Disaster: A Tale of Manifestation, Mayhem & Magic (Paperback)

It has been a long time since a book like this has come along! MASTER OF DISASTER has all the makings of being the next ILLUSIONS--the classic metaphysical novel by Richard Bach that came out in the late 70s. MASTER OF DISASTER offers something truly different from your standard metaphysical fare. It has been written for the intelligent, clear-minded spiritual seeker, and approaches metaphysical teachings in a humorous, pragmatic way. Readers who are otherwise turned off by anything "New Agey" (and that's a lot of people!) will find themselves irresistibly drawn to this novel. ILLUSIONS had such world-wide appeal because the message was simple and the story was unforgettable. MASTER OF DISASTER has the very same ability to touch the heart and soul of the masses.

Jan Longwell Smiley's clever, thought-provoking "Space-Time Principles" alone are worth the price of the book. (I even have some of them posted on my refrigerator!) And We-Be, the delightful dream-creature who teaches these Principles to Andrew Morgan, the main character, would certainly give Donald Shimoda (ILLUSIONS' "Reluctant Messiah") a run for his money! Fans of Jane Roberts and the Seth material will particularly enjoy this fictional work. The author clearly has a Sethian perspective on life, and has ingeniously woven it into her delightful story line. But one needn't be a Sethian in order to gain many profound insights from this book.

The only strike against MASTER OF DISASTER is its cover. Arguably the most unappealing cover ever created for a book (one that does absolutely nothing to convey the wonderful story inside), one wonders what was going through the illustrator's head when he was designing it--and the publisher's when he gave this gaudy cover the green light! The adage, "Don't judge a book by its cover," certainly applies here. If you fall into this trap, you will certainly be missing out on a rare example of fine visionary fiction.

With so many metaphysical books out there--fiction and nonfiction--that tend to preach the same tired, worn-out, dogmatic concepts that we in the New Age community have been hearing for years, MASTER OF DISASTER is a breath of fresh air. As We-Be points out, in Space-Time Principle Number 32, "IF YOU LOOK FOR SOMETHING LONG AND HARD ENOUGH, YOU'RE SURE TO EVENTUALLY FIND IT." If you've been looking for a book that makes you feel the way you did when you first read ILLUSIONS, you've found it!

Is MASTER OF DISASTER a philosophy book that reads like fiction, or a fictional work that reads like a philosophical treatise? No matter how you look at it, it has "bestseller" and "classic" written all over it. Beg, borrow, steal (or buy!) this book. You're gonna love it!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Richard Bach meets Tom Robbins!, September 19, 2000

By 

Michaela Johnson (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Master of Disaster: A Tale of Manifestation, Mayhem & Magic (Paperback)

Master of Disaster, a Tale of Manifestation, Mayhem, & Magic, is at the top of my list of all-time favorite metaphysical books. Imagine Tom Robbins writing a novel like Richard Bach's Illusions, but with PLOT. Our hero, Andrew Morgan, is the unwilling student of a course in "Space-Time Principles," handed to him on a silver platter by a "dream-creature" from the etheric realms. One of my favorite principles is this one: "Space-Time Principle Number 25: The manifestation of others into your life isn't a one-sided affair. The people you draw into your experience also draw you into theirs." The author has done a great job of distilling ancient truths and putting them in neat new package. I haven't read something with such clarity of thought since the Seth material. This book should be on every spiritual seeker's bookshelf!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightenment via "Space-Time Principles", September 19, 2000

By 

Holly Hilderth (Pasadena, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Master of Disaster: A Tale of Manifestation, Mayhem & Magic (Paperback)

In MASTER OF DISASTER, Jan Longwell-Smiley sets out to teach metaphysical principles, in the guise of fiction, through the humorous and sometimes preachy medium (no pun intended) of We-Be--a wise-cracking, cigarette-smoking, shape-shifting, female future self of the book's almost-hero, Andrew. Andrew's life has been a series of unsuccessful jobs, living hand to mouth, lost apartments, and borrowing from friends. He responds by trying to manifest his desires using all the visualization techniques he has been taught by his metaphysical teachers. So, why do things keep going from bad to worse? "What's it all about?" he asks. In answer, he begins a series of out-of-body communications with We-Be.

MASTER OF DISASTER is a fun, provocative read. We-Be teaches Andrew with a series of "Space-Time Principles" geared to explaining why and how he got into whatever trouble he is in. I particularly found interesting her discussion of how the manifestation process works.

"Space-Time Principle Number 16: It isn't that you get what you concentrate on so much as you end up where your energies are concentrated."

Meaning that you create constantly with your thoughts and energies. A few minutes of creative visualization is a drop in the ocean of all your combined thoughts and actions.

"Space-Time Principle Number 30: If you look at most negative aspects in your life closely, you'll realize that you didn't wish for them . . . you worried for them."

MASTER OF DISASTER will have you laughing, agreeing, disagreeing, and looking closely at all you have created in your life to figure out just how it got there.