The Complete Astral Traveller by Christopher Nichols
For Timothy Pratt, pessimist-existentialist and self-appointed chronicler of the Human Condition, there are the big questions. Is it wise or even ethical to blow one’s dwindling resources on paying the rent when they could be invested in a philosophically improving lunch? Can the date of the coming of the next salary cheque be known? Perhaps not even the angels in Heaven have the answer to that one… What part does God play in all of this and is there a God anyway? Then there are the truly fundamental ones, such as Can Life really get worse? Is the answer to be found within Life itself, or must one first step outside the confines of our ontological paddock and consider it while unfettered by Space and Time and whatever other dimensions enclose us? And ‘What is the nature of the shadowy force looming over our lives and binding us to its soulless rhythm?’ Perhaps if we knew the answer, we would understand the meaning of Life, if indeed it has a meaning…
Timothy Pratt, visionary and reluctant philanthropist, feels entrusted with a mission to find answers. Answers that might not save his fellow human beings from their parlous condition, but might at least make them aware of it. The grail at the end of any such quest is only attainable, if at all, by undertaking a journey that begins in this life and does not end in the next. These are the travels of one who has ventured through Life, the Afterlife and across the broad sweep of existence, delving into realms both Temporal and Astral in search of truth.
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I hope you'll read it, whether or not you decide to review it. It is available in certain bookshops and online, eg. from Amazon (www.amazon.co.uk and www.amazon.com) and Powells (www.powells.com). Search on my full name (Christopher Nichols), or title (The Complete Astral Traveller) or ISBN (1904762034).
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Literature Out of Africa - South African Author Hits The Big Time In UK With Debut Novel. South Africa has proved to be a fertile ground for new literary talent in recent times, spurred on by the successes of Nobel Prize winner J.M. Coetzee and Booker Prize listed Damon Galgut. Now it is the turn of Johannesburg-born Christopher Nichols to bring his first offering to market. For Nichols, who began his studies at South Africa's Rhodes University in English, then shelved them to take a Computer Science degree, this novel represents both the completion of unfinished business and a new beginning in literature. If it is partly autobiographic, then this only goes to reinforce Coetzee's own belief that writing and autobiography are inextricably related. In a panoramic sweep across existence, 'The Complete Astral Traveller' casts a penetrating light on the state of the human condition, posing deep questions about contemporary values and offering a stark vision of the nature of our reality. To what dark gods has society sold its collective soul? Indeed, is there a God? What life, whether better or worse, awaits beyond the threshold of Life itself?
In The Complete Astral Traveller, Timothy Pratt feels impelled, like an unwilling messiah, to find answers to the fundamental questions of Life. He is no natural philanthropist. Answers might prove the redemption of his fellow human beings from their parlous plight. Perhaps. But it's probably too late. At least if he has made them aware of it, he will have achieved something. Stung by the barbs of outrageous fortune, he sets out to distil his pessismistic philosophy in the course of a journey that begins with a Vision and ends in an Apocalypse. His quest leads him through Life and the Afterlife, delving into realms Temporal and Astral, in search of truth. Shifting between waking and dream, conscious and unconscious, reality and imagination, one passes through a number of states of being, the boundaries of which become ever more blurred. Even the short vignettes in which God is allowed a part to play only serve to focus doubt on his very existence. This book is a challenge, a thought-provoking wake-up call to reassess the value set that modern living encourages. It will appeal to all with a whimsical turn of mind, who love ideas and thrive on refreshing, original insights. Not least, it is the work of a brilliant imagination and a rare picture of a strange and unconventional mind. Christopher Nichols has produced something truly original, presented with dry wit, compelling dialogue and a readable, accessible style. The Complete Astral Traveller questions commonly held beliefs about Life and religion with a tongue-in-cheek cynicism that holds nothing sacred.