Afterlife in the Sixth World
357072
This book is an excellent purchase for anyone looking to jump from the world of the 2060s to the 2070s. Red is an interesting character: conflictingly moral, and realistically human.

The conflict in the book is great shadowrun, with magic, tech, and prep all combining to make the score, but the real human observations about choice and belonging are what stuck with me the most after finishing this book.
2172464
An out-of-this-world society lives and breathes a wonderous utopia. Xandra and Arrosiah, lovers and workers of Karma are soon thrown into the end-of-days. Together they discover love eternal and probe the shadows of lifetimes lived.

A fantastic novel full of life, love, and excitement. Betrayed by the Gods is sure to leave its flavor long after the reader is finished.

I give it a thumbs up!
4793395
Suspense and reincarnation to book gets you thinking about the afterlife in ways that you may not have done before
231380
One of my favorite authors on life in the spirit world. This British professor is well respected in England for his research and the clarity of his writing. His explanation of the four  planes  of form and the three formless planes existing in the Spirit World is the best I have read in any book  dealing with this subject. He succinctly distinguished the difference among each plane based on his research. The extensive reference list of books used in the books is impressive. It is a wise investment for the reader who wants to understand the world in which he or she will live for eternity.
2824731
An excellent composite of lectures pertaining to the concept of reincarnation and why it must exist.  It explains reincarnation from a scientific as well as from a moral perspective and engages the Western mind to consider this major component of Vedanta philosophy as a valid concept.
121936
This novel is a journey of several eras and stories of characters transgression during a war of ancient magic, a war of good and evil, fought in the afterlife for the betterment of mankind's children. The irony is that the future they fought to protect children from becomes a world in which no one is safe. A great read, even with the abrupt ending.
2583102
Soul Continuum is the second book in an ambitious series that challenges the reader to contemplate several profound metaphysical questions. Well-written and with some great eureka moments, the novel is also pretty heavy with references to quantum physics, multiverse theory, time travel, respawning, and computer science.

Salem Ben has spent eons searching for the truth about the afterlife. He is the last of a civilization that rose from humanity to become omnipotent. His home is the soul consortium, a vast space station floating beyond the edge of the known universe, safe from the violence of the big crunch (the end of the universe) and the eventual big bang. The lives of every person who has ever lived is recorded and can be experienced directly in a simulator called the WOOM. Salem spends his time trying to learn about the afterlife, afraid to die, with only an AI named Qod to accompany him. Keitus Vieta, a mysterious specter threatened him and the consortium, creating anomalies in the soul archives, something that should be impossible.

An anomaly known as Jagannath has ripped through the fabric of space time and is now attempting to destroy the soul consortium. Salem Ben must rush once again through the archives, experiencing several lives to discover the source of the anomaly.

Overcoming the heavy science is by far the biggest issue with this book. It is essentially a mystery novel but as Salem learns more about the Jagannath, the explanations get more confusing. I could not figure it out until everything was revealed at the end. If you can follow the physics, Soul Continuum is a great metaphysical mystery. If not, it reads more like a series of short stories about life, death, and mysterious beings that seem able to break the laws of physics.

Taken as short stories, the prose is very strong and flows well, even as Salem inhabits four entirely different people from four entirely different eras. The author demonstrates impressive range and descriptive power. While the characters within each simulated life are compelling, the core protagonist Salem is not a particularly captivating character, more of a stoic rationalist. This makes for some pretty dry dialogue between him and Qod, but the topics of conversation are very fascinating. If the central conflict that linked all the stories together was a little clearer, this book would get 5 stars easily.

Imagine you knew the future, all they down to the atomic level. No imagine you cannot die. At the same time, you do not live or experience the physical universe, only simulations within the soul consortium. What would be the point of living? Salem's only real reason for still being alive is that he is terrified of death.

The novel ends with what feels like a short-term fix to a long-term problem. Since I didn't fully understand the science, I could be wrong here. If the series continues I am eager for the third novel.
3781443
I really liked this book. I find that lots of information it gives agrees with what I have read on the subject of afterlife, it makes a lot of sense and it's very comforting. Overall it makes a fascinating reading.
2356929
This review is for the Kindle edition ebook.

Exciting, fast-paced, end of the world as we know it.

What will your world be like after a nuclear war? Having survived the explosions and fallout, you will live out your life either in an underground shelter, a cave, or similar place where there is limited movement, limited people, and enough food. There will be few jobs, since there will be limited space. Educating the young will always be important, and could prevent another such war.

I found the concept of nuclear war afterlife very realistic. I was pleased the author found a way for people to exist in harmony, with limited numbers and facilities. The concept of an entire community existing to teach the younger generation was interesting. I find it interesting that the people of this story followed the leader so effectively, without really questioning him/her. On the other hand, reality in the world of today says most of us do follow the leader and accept what we are told.

If the goal of this story is to provide an alternative to normal life in the event of attack, this book provides that nicely. If the goal is entertainment, it also provides that.

Readers of science fiction looking for "end of the world" books will enjoy this story. I am looking forward to the sequel to this story.

Many thanks to the author for support special needs children.  From the Amazon description: "All the proceeds from the sale of The After/Life will be donated to an orphanage for children with special needs located in Gyumri town of Armenia. It is a singular institution in the country with over 150 children with disabilities under constant care and attention of professional and dedicated staff."
473380
Heart transplant recipient Arthur Feldman serves as a frame narrator, sharing an otherworldly story he maintains was experienced by his organ donor, Rodwell Richards.  The story begins with Rodwell's shooting, then shifts to a surreal alternate reality as Rodwell's consciousness leaves his body.  Instead of going to Heaven, Purgatory, or Hell, Rodwell finds himself in a strange world--reborn, as it were, into a new life in a universe enigmatically connected to Earth.  His experiences are interrupted by intermittent breaks back into "reality" in the form of nightmares--visions and sensations of being in a hospital room, barely clinging to life, the voice of his wife desperately trying to come to terms with his comatose condition.  Over time, Rodwell becomes increasingly involved and connected with this new world, until the new life replaces the old, suggesting that there is no afterlife, but rather jumps from one universe to the next.

Another Space in Time is a refreshing and provocative look at our world and the world beyond, speculating existence, purpose, and God in thoughtful and meaningful ways.  At times, Bunning's style seemed similar to that of Olaf Stapledon, one of my favorite speculative fiction authors.  I recommend this book to fans of `50s pulp sci-fi and readers who enjoy a literary edge to their science fiction.
1804106
This book and characters are addictive. The topic of the afterlife is a great mystery to many people. This author portrays not one area in the afterlife but layer upon layer of physical presence in different times of the earth. These experiences change your perspective of what is valuable and important to you. Each layer goes deeper and deeper traveling basically as one who has died from the present earth and follows the light of their soul until the flame goes out. The mystery is never solved.
There is an underlying battle between good and evil; LOVE and hate; sacrifice and greed.
You will really love this book!
2553476
Judaism is notoriously vague regarding beliefs in the afterlife and what happens upon death. Some Jews, in various times and places, have believed in a heaven and hell, immortality of the soul, and resurrection of the dead. Others have believed that death is final and permanent. Many have used the concept of Olam Ha-ba, or the World to Come, as a metaphor, while others have held out hope for its existence. Author Dara Horn, who has infused each of her novels with rich Jewish context and subtext, does so again in ETERNAL LIFE as she explores the finality of death, the meaning of life, the power of love, and the worth of family.

In ancient Israel, bristling under Roman occupation, two young lovers make a vow that renders them seemingly immortal for the next 2,000 years. Rachel Azaria is the incredibly smart daughter of a Jerusalem scribe. Her literacy and desire for learning make her almost undesirable as a wife. Still, she has caught the eye of Elazar, a Temple priest. Their secret meetings result in a pregnancy right around the time that Rachels parents accept the proposal of a timid scholar named Zakkai. When Yochanan is born, Zakkai believes him to be his son, though Rachel and Elazar know the truth.

Early on, Yochanan displays the same passion and fierce intelligence of his parents, but a serious illness brings him to the brink of death. In order to save their child, Rachel and Elazar take a vow that, unbeknownst to them at the time, will grant them immortality. Eternal life turns out to be a burden and not a gift as the two are doomed to watch every spouse they marry and every child they have die. Over the centuries, Rachel and Elazar live lifetimes together and lifetimes apart, and find no way to escape the conditions of the vow they made to save Yochanan.

In the 21st century, Rachel is surrounded by a loving and frustrating family. Her 52-year-old son, Rocky, has moved back home and seems to be pursuing yet another shady scheme. While his new girlfriend, Meirav, is engaging, Rachel worries that she is not who she seems and that Rocky is in trouble. Rachel is also worried about Rockys daughter, Hannah. A genetic researcher, Hannah has discovered that Rachels DNA is that of an 18-year-old and wants to study her grandmother scientifically. Rachel hopes Hannah will provide her with the means to finally die.

Horn does a lovely job of rooting Rachel in the past, illustrating her movement through time, and describing her worries and desires in the present. Elazar is a more enigmatic character, but his love for Rachel is undeniable. Rachel is symbolic of Jews in the past 2,000 years as she travels from Jerusalem, through the Middle and Near East, to Europe and then the US in her various lifetimes, witnessing the worst horrors and best accomplishments of her community experience. She is also a singular character, understanding the world and her relationships through the amazing prism of her immortality.

ETERNAL LIFE combines elements of Jewish history and folktale with speculative fiction, which, as unlikely as it seems, results in an absorbing and thought-provoking look at living, dying, and love of all kinds.

Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman
548476
A very thought-provoking take on what happens after we die, I would recommend this to almost anyone willing to suspend disbelief about a religious afterlife.

When fifteen-year-old Liz is killed in a hit and run accident, she finds out that the afterlife is just like life on Earth; you can have a job, get a drivers license even get married. Death really is just another stage of life, with one major hitch you age backwards until you are a baby again.
1482865
I have read the first two books of this series and will review each one  seperately.
This book is important because it reveals the experience of  traveling into the "percieved" afterlife using Robert Monroe's  "Lifeline" model and technology. I feel that the author nicely  describes his experieces, the technology and the transformations that arise  as the consequenses of these experiences. Mr. Moen, through his  experiences, shows the doorway is open for everyone to explore other  dimensions. The question of whether it is "real" or not can only  be answered by the participant and should be asked after each and every  experience.
"Lifelines" was created as a research system to  explore the possiblility of an afterlife and to gather information about  departed people. The information obtained from the "departed  soul" would then be independantly varified for accuracy. If we could  not prove that an afterlife existed we at least would prove that ESP  existed by gathering information about unknown people. Experiences and  results varied according to the skills and beliefs of the participants. But  the personal transformation and healing that occured within the  participants, were far more important than whether it was real or imagined.  That transformation was probably the true reason the program came into  being:-)
If you have questions about death and the afterlife, then read  this book with an open mind and an open heart, and see what it does for  you.
4022436
This fifth episode of the Magical Egypt series, a symbolist tour of ancient Egypt, gets down to the heart of the matter as far as the ancient Egyptians are concerned - their strong belief in an afterlife.  This belief basically fueled everything the ancient Egyptians did, particularly in terms of the monuments they left us.  Host John Anthony West takes us into the New Kingdom tomb of Tuthmosis III, which houses the complete text of the Amduat on its walls.  The Amduat is basically a guidebook to the Afterlife, containing all the knowledge a dead pharaoh would need in order to ascend to godhood.  There were twelve hours (stages) in one's progression through the Afterlife, and many spells and secrets were required to pass all the way through to the ultimate goal.  West basically walks us through each stage, giving his interpretation of the funerary text on the walls themselves.

Focusing particularly on one depiction, in which the risen sun of the higher consciousness appears, West argues that the location of the risen sun corresponds with that of the Third Eye in a human being.  I find this to be a questionable extrapolation, but it does at least make some degree of sense.  It also leads the viewer into a new phase of the discussion, one centering on the pineal gland in the brain.  Little understood by modern scientists, the gland has long been associated with mystical states of consciousness (the third eye, the sixth chakra); Descartes called it "the seat of the soul."  According to the research of Robert Strassman, a molecule called DMT, which is associated with the pineal gland, may actually provide a doorway for transfer of the spirit out of the body.  DMT is an hallucinogen that may be released by the pineal gland during times of extreme stress, and experiments have shown that individuals with abnormally high levels of DMT experience alternate states of consciousness, including experiences of an afterlife, and encounter both helpful and malevolent beings therein.  Since few things are as stressful as a person's dying moments, it makes sense to conclude that DMT would be released in abundance at such a time, thereby conceivably bringing about a separation of body and soul in the individual.

From here, we get into a discussion on lucid dreams and how they might relate to all of this seemingly disparate information.  Lon Milo Duquette, a most entertaining interview subject, discusses how a person with a strong mind can condition himself to recognize and take control of his dreams.  Such lucid dreams, he suggests, are not unlike visions associated with near-death experiences, which begs the question: what if you could somehow maintain your consciousness through the death experience?  Such a state of continuous, higher-level consciousness would conceivably allow you to effectively cheat death.  Perhaps all of the spells and secrets that the pharaohs needed to learn in order to ascend to the gods after death served to train their minds to achieve just such a state of continuous consciousness.

John Anthony West, throughout his research, has done what most modern scholars do not do - examine the issues from an ancient Egyptian point of view.  Rather than dismiss Egyptian funerary texts as the products of wild superstition, he leaves open the possibility that this ancient culture might have known what it was talking about.  His What if? approach to Egyptology makes him unpopular with many of his fellow academics but provides him - and now us - with a fresh, sometimes illuminating, and always fascinating window on ancient history.
3249102
Characters are well-drawn and evolve throughout the book and the plot is unique, as far as I know, and certainly one that will stay with you awhile. What would happen if people were absolutely sure there was an afterlife in which they would be reunited with loved ones? Could we wait? Would we? I gave it only four stars because I felt it dragged somewhat in the middle, but other than that, it is five stars for sure. I will be reading this author's other books.
487769
Captivating and original, this book takes the reader on an exploration of the afterlife like none other.  Be prepared to re-assess everything you thought about life, death, and what comes afterward.  It will keep me thinking about it and it's premise forever, and with a peace of mind that I never had before.