Fiction/Spiritual
The Master’s Quest: An end to terrorism
Merrilyn Richardson
Outskirts Press, Inc.
2007
ISBN-1-59800-992-3
Soft cover
291 pages
Shortly after the death of her husband, Stephanie watches the attacks of September 11th unfold on a morning news program with the same shock and fear all Americans experienced that day. In The Master’s Quest: An End to Terrorism, author Merrilyn Richardson takes the wealthy widow on a spiritual journey through history with the assistance of a charming, handsome stranger who magically appears as Stephanie agonizes over the loss of her husband and the thousands who died on 9/11.
The visitor appears unannounced while Stephanie sits in the garden of her spacious property. She is confused and shattered over the terrorist attacks and also struggling with guilty feelings regarding her husband’s murder. The man, whom Stephanie calls H. S. (“Handsome Stranger”), does not identify himself upfront, but instead jumps immediately into a discussion about the reasons for the attacks and the beliefs of the suicide boomers that justify they’re actions. With the wave of a hand, H. S. reveals movie scenes of historical figures such as Thomas Jefferson, Mohammed, Moses, and Jesus that hang in the air before his astonished host. Stephanie learns the influences that impacted each man’s fate, such as Mohammed’s desire to create an alternative religion that was not fragmented like Christianity and Judaism, and the initiation process that Jesus endured in Egypt before transforming into Christ.
This story is filled with historical references that reveal the development of Islam and Christianity over the years, including the blood spilled on all sides by followers of each religion represented: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Stephanie asks the same questions so many in the U.S. and around the world wish to have answers to: Why do Muslim’s hate Americans? What is our purpose? There are many interesting revelations in the book in route to the answers such as Mohammed’s made-up visions that he used to influence followers and the notion that Jesus did not die on the cross.
Richardson challenges many long-held beliefs about the aforementioned religious leaders and completes the book with the simple suggestion that “Tribulations are normal features of physical life.” The Master’s Quest: An End to Terrorism is a bit overdonewith research occasionally interrupting the tempo of the story; but in its entirety, the book adds value to individual perspective and encourages the search for spiritual fulfillment from the inside out. By presenting this highly-charged issue in a fictional format, Richardson is able to offer various viewpoints (including her own which rings out very clearly throughout the text) without the rigidity and harshness that the same subject matter would inevitably invite as a non-fiction piece.
Melissa Levine
For Independent Professional Book ReviewersCopyright 2007 M. B. Levine
Reviewer for IP Book Reviewers www.bookreviewers.org
Blog: Woman Free, A Novel http://womanfreeanovel.blogspot.com
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