book review by Dana Taylor

Visionary fiction is on the rise–books that blend storytelling with elements of spirituality, not bound by the box of a particular religion. Though established faiths may be presented in these works, the authors are not restricted by dogmas. Creativity flows. These authors are finding their way. Writing of esoteric matters is tricky. It can become preachy, incomprehensible, weird or just plain boring. Incorporating it into a piece of fiction requires a crafty writer who understands how to weave the visionary into a plot line that keeps moving along.

The Anesthesia Game by Rea Nolan Martin successfully blends storytelling, character development, and visionary elements. Each chapter is told from a point of view of one of the main four characters, Sydney, Mitsy, Hannah, or Pandora. Teenage Sydney is the center of the story, gravely ill, but refusing to give into The Taker. Her mother, Mitsy, is becoming a living ghost, overwhelmed by her daughter’s illness. Her narcissistic Aunt Hannah is shamed into coming to help take care of the pair of them. Overseeing all this human angst, is the psychic, Pandora, Mitsy’s phone mentor.

Each character is focused, in their way, on Sydney overcoming her illness. In the process, they must face their personal foibles. The visionary elements begin a slow simmer through Pandora’s character. As the pace of the story picks up, so grows the heat of the multidimensional aspects. Reincarnation, astral projection, dreams, auras, the battle of light vs. darkness. Martin does an excellent job of weaving it all together in the midst of contemporary characters.

By using the various points of view, we get into the heads of all the main characters and come to care  about all of them. There are enough twists to keep turning the page to see what happens next until the big climatic ending.

If you’re tired of the same old genres and rehashed plot lines, give visionary fiction a chance. As more of us live beyond 3-D realities, visionary writing will find a wider audience. The Anesthesia Game by Rea Nolan Martin is an excellent place to start your visionary fiction experience.

Available as ebook and paperback at Amazon