KAYE TROUT'S BOOK REVIEWS 1

I specialize in reviewing Print-On-Demand (POD) published books for my website and Midwest Book Review. Please query for a review by email to hgunther234@hotmail.com.

Friday, October 06, 2006

WELCOME TO THE AHWAHNEE by R. E. Starr

Booklocker.com, Inc.
Genre: Science Fiction Supernatural Mystery
Rating: Exceptional
ISBN: 1591136075, $16.95, 312 pp.


Welcome to the Ahwahnee is one of the most interesting books I’ve read in sometime. About the story, well, I’d have to say . . . it’s about travel within a multiverse, as opposed to time travel within a universe. The concept of ‘time’ is a key factor, as is the ‘multiverse.’ It is a complex, intriguing mystery filled with historical facts, starting with WWII.

R. E. Starr is an intelligent, knowledgeable writer with an extraordinary imagination who has woven historical reality into this fictional novel with an artistic flare. All his characters come to life–ordinary people dealing with difficult and challenging events. The complexity of this novel could be compared to the Dan Brown’s The DaVinci Code. The story is well-written, well-edited and definitely a page turner.

Allow me to share several excerpts with you . . . from pages 184 and 185:

"Sabrina sat stunned. She had grown to believe Kurt visited another world when he melded his mind with another. She accepted the fact Natalia and Mika traveled through a portal defined by a painting. But this, this seems . . . what? She didn’t know. Impossible was the only word that came to mind. She turned towards Kurt.
‘It can’t be. Mr. Rhodes is saying fifty years has passed in the last week. It’s impossible
.’

"‘I’m . . .’ Kurt wasn’t sure how to respond. He dropped his eyes from her questioning stare. Sabrina’s words rang true to Kurt’s rational mind until he considered all of his seemingly impossible experiences. Her words then transformed themselves into a falsehood. No, the photo is telling the truth. The four men lived fifty years in the last few days. How, Kurt had no idea. ‘I’m afraid it’s only impossible if you assume the laws of our classic physics hold throughout the multiverse. They don’t. We’re dealing with laws we don’t understand.’. . .

"Melvin Rhodes chuckled. ‘Anyway. As I was saying, in your slice of the multiverse, time seems to pass second by second. In other slices, however, time can pass years or millenniums in one of your seconds, or it can pass seconds in one of your years or millenniums.’

"‘What are you saying?’

"‘I’m saying, to understand the riddle behind the paintings, forget time–it’s irrelevant. All slices of the multiverse exist at all times. When portal travelers move from one slice to another, they’re not altering time–they’re only changing their I position.’"

Even if you’re not a science fiction fan, the succinct presentation of historical facts and events will be of interest–illustrative of Starr’s extensive knowledge. For a POD published novel, Welcome to the Ahwahnee is an exceptional read, and you won’t be disappointed.

R. E. Starr is the author of three novels: Welcome of the Ahwahnee, Mounds and Retribution, which I reviewed in August 2006. He is a graduate of the University of Washington and lives with his wife, Doris, and their cats in Florida. He can be reached by email at
ron@quillandpen.com or his website, quillandpen.com.

Reviewed by Kaye Trout - October 6, 2006

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