In choosing the title,“Ascending Spiral: Humanity’s Last Chance”, the author has made obvious his theme. It’s hard to know whether to call this book a work of fiction, a philosophical discourse, or an amalgam of personal beliefs. It is certainly not a trivial work, and its author clearly holds passionate views about the way we live, what happens when we die, and what lessons we will carry with us from lifetime to lifetime.
Rather than gather these views into a kind of memoir, Bob Rich devises several fictional characters, describing their lives. These people interact in a kind of network with others, returning as relatives, enemies, friends or lovers to work through unfinished business. This suggestion sits comfortably within my own belief system. The deja vue experience, or meeting of minds or hearts, is familiar to me, as to many others.
The lives through which one individual passes vary. Gender may change; even human form. A space creature or a walking plant are offered as possibilities for learning, but the humans seem more plausible. The Irishman Dermot O’Halloran’s path from violence and murder to transportation as a NSW convict is graphically depicted. We glimpse changes as he improves his life as a free man, but he is unable to overcome his violence and is killed.
His next incarnation is as Amelia Poole, a genteel young woman who is married off to Charles McQuade. Amelia is ignorant of the facts of life, and her shock is not eased by the brutal assault of her totally insensitive husband. She suffers his excesses for her entire married life and is only released when Mr McQuade dies after a long marriage of loveless emptiness. Amelia is the most convincing character in the cast. Her disgust is well conveyed, as is her friendship with local aboriginal women.
Following her death, and a further meeting with her spirit guide, she is reborn, this time as a Hungarian man, Pip Lipkin. By this time, I found the dislocation to yet another character was challenging. This character is introduced to us via episodic memories somewhat like diary notes. After many difficult experiences, Pip undergoes forms of regression, understands the root causes of his repressed nature, and comes to a belief that his message could save mankind from self-destruction. His grief at the selfish and immature assault on our planet is perfectly valid. All the issues we face at a global level are absolutely real. Fortunately, Pip does practise what he preaches, and his message offers hope of a kind. The reader of “Ascending Spiral” should not expect a conventional novel, although the work is presented through imagined characters as fiction. It’s hard to classify. One thing stands out. The author has thought deeply and cares for the planet and our possible ride towards self-destruction.
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Reincarnations and A Wake-Up Call for our Planet
Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2019
Verified purchaseReincarnation across time and space, including outer space, is a major theme in Ascending Spiral: Humanity’s Last Chance. So, too, is the belief that we should strive “to lead people from despair and helplessness to strength and love,” to make ourselves ever better. After all, as Bob Rich states, “hate only begets hate,” and we need “to learn the major lesson of forgiveness.”This soul-searching book is many things. It is part science fiction, part philosophy, part multi-life autobiography . . . well, you name it. To some readers it might appear to be a hodgepodge. To me it is richly unique, and some standard rules of reviewing simply don’t apply to it.Most of the narrative is a preparation for the latest incarnation of the author, herein identified as Pip. Pip grows up to become a Ph.D. in Psychology, a psychotherapist, and other things. Above all, he is a fighter for our planet, which may be doomed. Dr. Rich believes that our species is destroying the Earth’s environment and we must join together to save it before it is too late.Before this life, though, Pip was other people, as well as a member of at least two different alien species. Eons ago, he was a star-hopping Space Flower who lived for beauty but destroyed an entire planet. More recently, he was an Irish rebel named Dermot and Amelia, an Australian girl who married the wrong man. For me, these two characters are the most memorable besides Pip himself. And I followed them with particular interest, knowing they would eventually be reborn as the author.I have just two complaints concerning them. The author’s account of how Dermot knifed and killed each and every single Red Coat he faced seemed tedious and gratuitous after a while. I wish he had summarized a bit and captured the essence. As for Amelia, though she hated her depraved and despicable rapist-husband, I don’t see how she could have possibly taught him to be better. Such a monster simply couldn’t have been reached.That being said, I’ve never read a book quite like this one. It’s an adventure and a journey of self-discovery, both for the author and the reader.
Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2019
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