Book 2, Alexandria - in the Sword of Agrippa series, is excellent. This is a series you must read from the beginning, and unfortunately, in doing so, you will be hooked and will be prison-bound as you wait until the author comes out with the next in this series.
Alexandria carries on with the theme from Book 1, and we find ourselves in ancient Egypt, with Cleopatra, Caesar and Agrippa - the young Roman who is introduced to an amazing world of antiquity and paranormal reality by his newfound love - a quasi-slave and yet half-sister to Cleopatra herself. The story switches to the near future, in our own contemporary times, where a group of scientists are developing a new source of energy and who, as a result of their research, have tripped across and opened a door into the human mind, or soul, revealing that dreams are, in part, a construct of experiences and past-lives we have lived. The characters are interwoven, between ancient Egypt and the contemporary, near-future, Earth. It is a fascinating interplay between past and present, showing, all-too-realistically that past-lives are quite possibly more about reality and truth than paranormal assertions. The descriptive language about ancient Egypt not only brings to life this amazing culture, but it suggests that man was far more spiritual and developed in "ancient" times than modern authorities seem to grant. The dialogue between the contemporary scientists, as they consider not only the technological aspects of their research, but the moral inequities of reading people's dreams, presents an interesting insight into what we might have to face when technology eventually catches up with this concept. All in all, a five star read, highly entertaining, and as we said, a mystery-sandwich that holds the reader captive until the next book.
Review by International Writers Inspiring Change
About Greg Ness
I’m a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who loves books. I’ve helped to start more than eight tech companies and writing became a kind of therapy. I figured out that for moments at a time I could create my own world and personal moments of incredible tranquility intermixed with the stresses of creating startups in the thrilling, often crazy tech world. I have an amazing family who helped me to manage the hubbubs of victories and defeats in compressed time cycles, yet writing also helped me to stay centered.
What prompted you to become a writer?
In 2005 I started having strange dreams set in the days of the Roman Empire. I ignored them initially. Then they started disrupting my sleep. I was advised by a friend to try hypnosis and writing. So I did.
What do your readers like about your writing?
I think the mix of future and past by way of events intermixed with dream sequences gives Antioch a surreal, spiritual quality that resounds with some. Then there is the notion that we are all connected, across time and place, and yet can have very different perspectives on what needs to be done to make the world a better place, while others seem to appreciate the sense of being inside the room where technologists banter about tech over hash browns.
Is there a message weaved into your writing?
Yes. We are all connected by forces we don’t completely understand but are as real as any scientifically proven fact. This gives room for a healthy spiritual balance in a world too concerned with objective measurability and matter. Certainty it is the enemy of knowledge.
How do you inspire others with and through your writing?
In my humble opinion, readers feel a connection to something greater than the noisy media. Something profound. I find that very rewarding.
Tell us about your most recent book and why you wrote it.
Antioch is about my own spiritual quest as much as it is about the future and past. I’m very interested in the frontiers of science and where they might lead us. I’m also concerned about the backlash against science or at least the rejection of science that doesn’t favor a particular industry or traditionally accepted viewpoint. Do I believe all things labeled science? No. But I trust in the scientific method as a baseline for dialogue about complex issues that are often oversimplified so they can spread faster. I want Antioch to be a kind of reality check on what Hoffer called “The True Believer.”
