{Review} The Journey by Dan O'Brien

ASIN #: B005MEND1M

File Size: 173 KB

Page Count: 95

Copyright: September 10, 2011

Publisher: The Dan O'Brien Project; 2nd Edition

Book Summary:

(Taken from Amazon)

The Frozen Man. The Translucent Man. The Burning Man. The Wicker Man. The guide known only as the Crossroads, together these are the signposts and totems of the world that the being called the Lonely inhabits. Seeking out the meaning of his journey, the Lonely is a being consumed by philosophical inquiry and adventure.

Filled with exotic places and age-old questions, The Journey is a book that seeks to merge the fantastical and real. Join the Lonely as he seeks out answers to his own existence and perhaps the meaning for us all.

CJ's Review:

The Journey starts with Th'bid, a man or not a man, that either dies or doesn't die and travels in his mind or not in his mind to find the meaning of life, or death, or neither, or both.

Confusing? Yeah, join the freaking club.

Evidently, our author, Mr. O'Brien, likes to make sure that you don't have a damn clue as to what you're reading, let alone understanding. Through the course of reading this book, I felt my sanity slipping ever so slowly away. I'm not sure if this was intentional by the author or not, but it worked ... or didn't work.

Just as an overview: From what I gather, this dude dies and goes on a trip in the "afterlife" or "purgatory." He has no idea what his name is and has no idea where he is going. He travels through time or space or a galaxy or ... who the hell knows. He visits five beings (get a load of these names): the Frozen Man, the Burning Man, the Wicker Man, the Translucent Man, and the Keeper. The whole book centers on his quest to find the meaning of who he is and what he is there for.

I won't spoil the ending for you, but, needless to say, I was lost for almost the entire book. I think Mr. O'Brien is far more intellectual than I am. I had no idea what I was supposed to learn from the book. Congrats Dan, this was a real winner. Only for smart people, anyone out there with a 150 IQ or better, let me know if you want to read this. Then, maybe, you can put it in redneck terms I can understand.

Note for future books, O'Brien ... try to make it so hillbillies can understand your work. You might reach a broader audience that way.


*A physical copy of the book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.