Reality's Dawn

A Plethora of Courses in This Feast of a Novel

Reality's Dawn is a fantasy novel constructed of a series of linked stories and introduced with a framing story the events of which occur perhaps ten years later than the rest of the book. The linked novel is suitable for adults and most mature young adults. I put in the caveat, because violence occurs in many of the stories; however, the violence is necessary to the plot since the main character is a kind of healer. There is no foul language and only the most minimal sexual situations.


The author of the novel is a Christian. Many discussions amongst characters and circumstances in the stories involve faith, repentance, charity, service to God and to His creatures, and other Christian truths. A discerning reader can draw spiritual nourishment from virtually every story. On the other hand, it's possible that young readers may not always be cognizant of the spiritual nature of the struggles through which the characters are working, and will read the stories for the sake of the often exciting adventures.


Leaving aside the framing story, we follow a young man named Sisko from the time he is 15 and experiences a strange and life-altering events in the village steam house until he is about 20 years old. While in this mystical steam house, Sisko observes how its mysterious forces affect a number of people--in some cases seeming to provide "poetic justice" style fates for those who have spiritual failings while more occasionally magically helping those who are decent people but who need help of some sort.


Sisko stays longer in the building than most of the others, so he not only observes a lot but he also is moved to try warning some of the steam bathers of their danger. Evidently, his urge to help those around him is partially instrumental in the gift that the steam house gives him--a ring which permits him to heal others--as long as the healing is the will of God.


Sisko comes to realize that he is now "married to God" in some mystical way and that he now has a mission to perform, or a calling if you will. This gift/sacred responsibility ultimately nudges him out of the comfort zone of his family, away from his best friend, and out of his village after evil people attempt to put pressure on him by terrorizing his family.


Naïve and open-hearted at the beginning of the book, Sisko matures via the various exciting adventures and often painful trials he experiences. But the author doesn't take an easy and straight path, showing Sisko growing at the same pace over the years. The young man faces challenges that set him on his heels at times. Without giving away too much, I hope, we watch as Sisko begins to take his gift for granted and watch as he is warned, does a course correction or two, and yet still stumbles with remembering who he is and what his part is in God's great scheme of life.


I only wish there could have been more stories used to create this novel! (Oh, for more stories, see Mr. Copple's "Ethereal Worlds"!