Thomas Maltman's words hold promise that mature, skilled, and evocative novelists exist...read these words from the final pages of his soon to be published novel, The Land...
Not a day passes when I don't think of that winter. A season of omens and miracles, the winter when birds fell from the sky and an old woman laid her hands on the crown of my head and healed my pain with a touch. For a time I walked with Angels. for a time, I was haunted by demons. I no longer see them, the hole closing up in my skull, the cracked places healing over. I no longer see angels or demons, but I know they are there.
Years back, Tom taught English at Silver Lake College. If he hadn't wandered in here one day, I doubt I would have discovered his books, Night Birds, Little Wolves, and now this new one. None have disappointed. Symbolism, mythology, history, and moody story-telling become entwined in each of his books, along with hypnotic syntax.
This newest novel could have been "ripped from the headlines" so to speak. We have a computer geek tangling with a white supremacist group using an alternative religion to hide behind. The first person narrative takes us into the mind of a college student determined to learn the fate of his illicit lover. That investigation leads him into dangerous territory, where readers, and even the protagonist, at times, cannot separate reality from twisted manipulation.
This is a book to be read slowly, savored...a book stocked with symbols to be pondered, interpreted, and puzzle pieced together.
I am happy for Tom's success. It's always nice when good things happen to fine folks. While you're waiting for this one to pop, go back and catch up on his first two novels. We will be hearing much more from this guy; I don't want you to miss out.
Thanks for stopping by.
Stay safe. Stay healthy. Stay happy.
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