Through Ascending Spiral, Dr. Bob Rich takes on a refreshingly unique angle on novel writing. The book follows the emotional journeys of different characters (at least that’s what I thought initially) as they get confronted with situations in their life.

I initially struggled to comprehend the need for seemingly standalone stories and characters in the same book, but the final chapters wove everything together and left me both amazed and delighted at how the author got everything to fall in place; a truly admirable talent.

I have never read a book that made me experience so many emotions. In Ascending Spiral, Dr. Bob Rich struck the perfect balance between pace and portrayal; the story moves along swiftly, but not at the expense of describing the scenes and situations in sufficient detail so the reader could become immersed in it.

In fact, some of the scenes the non-human characters found themselves in were described so well, that one can only conclude that Dr. Bob Rich is an exceptionally imaginative writer, and/or that he was actually there when these stories played out. You’ll have to decide for yourself. ( )

This is an elegant story, a multilayered tale that traces the protagonist through a series of lives that connect a terrible sin from his distant past to the painful trials he endures to expiate those sins. Before he is Dr. Pip Lipkin, the central character takes the reader through the desperate adventures of Padraig and Dermot in old Ireland as they fight to protect their loved ones from brutal invaders; to the shores of Australia aboard a prison ship where convicts are doomed to be little more than property; to an isolated Outback ranch where gentle housewife Amelia suffers life-long torment at the hands of an abusive, violent husband. But life experiences drawn across a wide arc of human history, in different places, roles, and genders, are not enough. The being destined to become Pip also travels to a distant star system and planet, where he abandons gender (and humanity) altogether and battles to survive in predator-filled jungles as a sentient, ambulatory plant. This "unearthly" world is wondrous, strange, vividly rendered, and delightfully alien.

Pip's reincarnations are far from random. Each life is filled with teachers, many unwitting, and painful lessons to be learned. Each death leads to a careful examination of the merits, missteps, and regrets of the life just lived, so that his spirit can chart the course of his next incarnation based on the lessons still unlearned. These lives are rich stories unto themselves, but together they trace the "ascending spiral" of the protagonist's spiritual evolution: his atonement for past sins and progression toward a more enlightened state of consciousness. As Pip Lipkin, he knows he faces the final test of his existence as a "short-lived planet-dweller." This time, he will either perish with the self-destructive human race or help them achieve the societal balance that can avert disaster.

I found this to be a fascinating novel, melding historical fiction with science fiction, philosophy, and metaphysics. This is more than just entertainment: it is fiction with a message. The reader is left wondering how Pip's (and our own) tale will end. Will we achieve the wisdom Pip wins, at great cost, through centuries of pain and personal tragedy? Or, instead of that ascending spiral, will we spiral downward, repeating the same mistakes until our time runs out? Pip Lipkin is a compelling character, full of passion and despair and regret and, in spite of everything, hope. I wish there was a way to conjure him into reality, because we need him. But maybe the author intends us to realize that we each need to conjure a spark of Pip in our own lives, for the good of our species and our planet.

This book lingers in the mind long after the last line is read. That's the power of well-imagined fiction with a meaningful message. Read it, enjoy it, and consider joining Pip's team! ( )

I wasn’t sure this book would be in my comfort zone of mystery/suspense and contemporary fiction, but I decided to give it a try based on a recommendation and on the fascinating premise: The protagonist, Dr. Pip Lipkin is 12,000 years old. He has incarnated numerous times as a man and as a woman, also as other-worldly species. Now he's here on Earth to pay restitution for an ancient crime to save humanity from certain destruction.

This book also piqued my interest in its concept of Buddhist reincarnation, on what Buddhists call the wheel of life. As another reviewer said, This book is really a collection of stories tied together by the Buddhist idea of rebirth. I am a lay Buddhist, and that statement fascinates me. For his part, Pip only discovers in one of his own incarnations that he is a Buddhist. This occurs about 3/4 of the way through the book, as he says to himself: “That evening, I camped at the Uni. Library and read up on Buddhism. Mr.MacAndrew was right. Here was my philosophy in beautiful words.”

But that’s getting ahead of things. From the beginning of the story I was hooked. It starts in modern times with Pip, a doctor and a psychologist in this incarnation, relating a story of a female patient who’d been a victim of a crime. She is suicidal and can’t talk to him for more than a few minutes before breaking down in tears. He calms her down by having her focus on ordinary things: sights and sounds and smells, of experiencing each moment for itself. From there he relates, through emails from other patients, how he has the ability to heal, to help people from the depths of their despair. He reveals that he is a visitor from another galaxy and that he is 12,000 years old. He is here because Earth is his favorite place in the universe. As he says at this point, “where else do you see the entire economy of a species designed to destroy the life support system of their planet? For an Historian of Horror, that’s delicious.” After that he launches into his many-faceted story of past lives, starting with his earliest recollection of living on Earth, on an island near Ireland. His name then is Padraig and the time is 805 AD, and he begins by telling of the first time he saw his dark-haired, blue-eyed love with an elfin face and the name of Sheilagh.

Long accounts of more past lives follow: Dermot in 1784, where he meets his life’s love for the second time, this one with golden hair and a terrible temper. Next he is Amelia, a woman now, starting with her first memory of being a suckling baby in 1830. Then he is in another world, in 1910, and he is an eight-footed walking, talking plant. And finally he is back to being Pip, in Australia in 1966, seeing his love for the third time. Her name is Jacinta and they finally marry.

The book ends – well, I won’t give that away. Suffice it to say there is a message there of hope and love, of creating a better society that lives in beauty, as the Navahos would say.

I give this book five stars for its originality, its message of hope and it just plain, good writing. ( )

A Book to Heal the Soul

It's not very often that you read a book that can speak directly to your heart but you can find them. And it's a rarity when you find one that can speak straight to your soul, which is what this book does. It's like an old friend coming to speak to you. A friend who makes you feel warm, protected and loved. It's a one in a million story (or in this case stories) that makes you recognise that this life is more than just a life - it's a life made up of many lives and many lessons: there is a reason...a purpose for us being here, today, yesterday and tomorrow. We're here to learn and appreciate what this life has to give for a greater purpose - not just to live, but to experience, feel and be.

The first couple of pages of 'Ascending Spiral' made me feel like crying. THE FIRST PAGES! I couldn't believe it. Never has a book made me want to cry at the very beginning of the book. But it did. Mainly because it spoke about a little girl who felt lost, worthless and unloved. It was part of my teenage life he (Pip/ Bob Rich) spoke of. Although mine didn't make me want to die or feel so badly that I really didn't cope because I had friends, a small group of friends but enough to help me through the "popular crowd's" teasing and constant cruelness. Pip's words to Maria were so beautiful and precious that I couldn't help but feel lighter just thinking about them. He helped her through a tough time in her life, made her feel special and taught her that there are no mistakes in life, but lessons, opportunity's that help us grow into the person we want to be. And if we fail, we fail...but it is also a success because we learned and we survived.
That's what this book is mostly about - learning and surviving the best way we possibly can. Dermot was my favourite character/life experience I liked reading about. He was a survivor. He suffered such terrible tragedy's that you can almost understand why he turned out the way he did - I do say almost because in this life (my life) I would never go down the same path at the end and find it confusing and shocking that he would do something so horrible to someone who least deserved it. But in his mind everyone was at fault. His situation was bad, he lost his whole family, was made into an example on a convict boat that could have destroyed him, became a slave, could've had freedom but was blackmailed into staying and in the end he was trapped. he was helpless and kept suffering throughout his life. He was an injured animal, one who had been beaten too many times. He held in all the resentment, anger and frustration at being in a life that wronged him so much that he finally exploded and the way it came out was a terrible action. He suffered again because of it...his soul suffered. But when you look back on everything that had happened you couldn't say what he did was wrong. Part of his family and his soon to be wife was murdered, other family members imprisoned. He fought back because there was nothing else he could do.

Through this book you learn that every action has a ripple effect. It doesn't just affect you or your family but it effects everyone that it comes in contact with. And when you look back on Dermot's life you realise why everything is happening. The English had been bullied by their own people (as I'm sure many countries and societies have) - their own kings and queens ruled over them year after year, dictating how they should feel, act and think. If they acted any differently to what was expected of them they were punished for it - be it jail, maimed or killed. So they were victims: left powerless by the people that should have protected them. So those people through generations became bitter, resentful and angry. And those that came into a certain power (the army's, etc) followed orders and took all those negative emotions out on whoever they were to hurt. They got their revenge, just on the wrong people. And in turn Dermot got his revenge on those people. You can see how one person's wrong doing creates another ones and it just keeps going and going until people are hurt or worse. If one were to forgive then they would either be trampled over or were forgiven themselves. In Dermot's case, he had no choice. If he forgave the English he would only have become a slave himself (which he ultimately did anyway) or killed. There was no middle ground. There was no forgiveness or compassion from the other side. Once anger is involved, everything goes out the window. So Dermot stood and fought for what he believed in - to free his people from such a grievous act. No one would have been free if he didn't do anything. So in a way he helped those people to find hope, at the cost to himself.

Amelia's story had me on the edge of my seat. Her husband horrified me. I was along for the ride (emotionally) for this story because I was terrified for her children having such an abusive father. Her story was tragic in a different way to Dermot's but it had a beautiful ending in a way because she got to live out her life in the end and see her children grow and have their own children. But in the meantime she had a lot of hardship and loss. But she SURVIVED and she lived.

The two other stories about the space flower and the walking flowers didn't appeal to me as much. They were short and the story's were good, but the hardships and emotional connection wasn't there for me as much.

And finally with Pip's life I had to have a little chuckle to myself when my name "Liana" turned up in the story. It's not every day you read your own name in a book - especially when it's as rare as mine! But I loved Pip's journey - his success at reaching peace within himself and finding that "living" this life and experiencing everything that was to be learned is what life is about, not just the material things as most live for - the house, the car, the other objects we consider to be considered to be important that most people rate above all else. This life is about LIVING it, ENJOYING it but most all experiencing it.

This book just makes you rethink about your own life, the situation your in and everything that you have learned up until now. It (most importantly) also makes you ask yourself "what is your purpose for living?" It has helped me appreciate what had been given to me and not take things for granted anymore. I want to enjoy my life now and not bicker about the silly little things because this life is an important one, for my soul and for my family.

If you are of spiritual mind (as I have been my entire life, growing up with the knowledge of past lives, spiritual beings, compassion, lessons, etc) or have often wondered what is is you're doing here, I suggest to read this book as it is the perfect way of gaining more knowledge of your situation and learning to love the life that you're living.

Review is found at: http://magikbookreviews.tumblr.com/post/80663640879/ascending-spiral-bob-rich ( )

Bob Rich’s remarkable novel is a valiant, vivid, at times brilliant attempt to solve the puzzle of the human animal. Consisting of gripping, interconnected narratives of the many lives of Pip Lipkin, the novel retells, in a most original way, the myth of Original Sin and the possibility of redemption. We humans have a broad streak of greed, malice, and willful destruction within us. “Humanity is a toddler” we are told, and our two dominant words are NO! and Mine! Nietzsche recognized this and called it the Will to Power, present in all life forms, all of us striving to grow by devouring the Other—only in the case of human beings, the Other is planet Earth. The lesson of the novel/primer/metaphor/parable is that we alone, among the interconnected species that make up the living surface of this ball of energy that is Earth, are capable of recognizing the final and horrific result of No! and Mine! We alone can curb our primitive impulses and learn to love unselfishly. Unlike Nietzsche, Bob is an optimist. He shouts a warning: We must and can act to halt the destruction of our Earth. Pip/Bob is a very old soul who has learned to heal with love, to build rather than devour. But what to do about the exploitative and destructive youngsters, “toddler souls” like Bob’s Vikings, his English in Ireland and Australia, his Mr. McQuade, our own entrepreneurs? Teach love. Give, not Gimme. Bravo, Bob! May you draw many readers, and may they join the healing effort! ( )