Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
The apocalypse preoccupies our mind more than most other topics, and while some see it as the end of the world, there are those who take a somewhat different approach, and see it as a chance to rebuild. Stan I. S. Law explores this way of thinking in the third book of the Avatar Trilogy, titled Awakening: Event Horizon. The story of Anne, Peter and company continues as a drastic shift in the world occurs: a new ice age that kills over 90% of the Earth’s population and tears massive land chunks asunder. A new dawn awaits mankind, but what will the people to rise out of it look like?
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Onto New Beginnings with Stan I. S. Law
In realistic terms, the perfect society is something we’re extremely unlikely to create, even if given all the necessary time to do so. Human nature is conducive to selfishness and diverging agendas, and no matter how much we try to reconcile differences it seems we’ll never be short on new ones to divide ourselves over.
However, that’s certainly not going to stop us from trying, but right now we’re still at the stage where we’re sorely trying to define what a perfect society would be like, as even in fiction that goal has proven itself incredibly difficult to achieve. Stan I. S. Law takes a rather thought-provoking approach to the question of humanity’s societal evolution in his third book of the Avatar Trilogy, Awakening: Event Horizon .
Before addressing the story in this third book I’d just like to make this disclaimer that this isn’t one of those trilogies you can start at any point. If you haven’t read the first two books then you will be missing out on a colossal amount of character development and storylines that will arguably hinder your ability to enjoy Awakening: Event Horizon.
If you’re absolutely intent on only reading this one you can certainly do that and follow the story, but be warned that your understanding of the world and its people will be limited. Anyhow, we continue with Anne’s story, a musical prodigy who turned into a metaphysical genius with capable of astral projection and hyper-telepathy, and her husband Peter, a rational scientist and Nobel Prize contender.
As things looked like they might have a chance to settle down and normalize, the world gets thrown into a severe cataclysm: a new ice age. It decimates over 90% of the Earth’s population and wrecks giant land masses asunder and raises new ones, effectively reshaping the world as we know it. In this new dawn for mankind many of the ones who remain happen to have very special abilities… and so comes the question, will they be able to rebuild humanity, or perhaps more importantly, improve on it?
Ruminations on the Human Condition
I’ve said this before and I’ll surely say it again, but when it comes to Stan I. S. Law‘s books the first thing that stands out is the depth of the reflections and meditations found within. He uses the various characters as proxies for his own voice to discuss the many ideas that he’s obviously been deliberating on for a very long time. He profoundly explores the individual’s relation to God, death, the cosmos, energetic vibrations, as well as hypothetical scenarios of what perfection might look like for humanity.
We are spared no details from his view of the world, and for the most part it feels like he’s waging a debate with himself and urging the reader to join into the discussion, rather than pushing some sort of specific message or perspective. The characters he speaks through come from all walks of life and beliefs, from a rigorous astrophysicist to a modest and humble pope, so rest assured that he does try and explore every possible approach to any given question.
Of particular interest to me was the author’s perspective of what a perfect world would be like, a true Garden of Eden on Earth so to speak. He makes some very interesting propositions about what humans could truly be capable of if the world is indeed stratified into layers of reality with vibrational frequencies.
His idea of a society where we can overcome gravity, recover our ancient mythically-long lifespan, and have everyone read each other’s thoughts certainly begs for discussion and consideration. For instance, while some believe that universal telepathy would prevent people from lying as we would all know what others are thinking, it could also be argued that in such a world no one would think the truth anymore; the line between heaven and hell can be razor-thin sometimes.
A Strange Kind of Apocalypse
To move away from all the metaphysical stuff and such, I’d like to address the story itself which I believe is equally as interesting. When most authors write about the apocalypse, they generally stick to one sudden event that just wipes everything and nobody sees it coming.
In Awakening: Event Horizon Stan I. S. Law takes a different approach in this one, describing a slow type of apocalypse that takes a while to get rolling, and all the changes to the world and the people that come with it. Winter rains accumulate, and over the course of months it snows so much that people can’t leave their own homes. It feels like a very deliberate end of the world and witnessing the way in which it affects people is quite interesting, especially due to how well the characters have been developed at this point.
| PAGES | PUBLISHER | PUB. DATE | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 378 | Inhousepress | Aug. 18 2016 | 978-1987864106 |
Both Anne and Peter make for very relatable, realistic and believable protagonists, but the people surrounding them are no less interesting. Every one of them is easily distinguishable from each the other, with the author aptly highlighting the uniqueness in each human we come across. This isn’t really the kind of exhilarating story with plenty of twists and turns, but rather a thoughtful plot that is centered on the exploration of ideas and character development.
The Final Verdict
To bring this show to an end, Awakening: Event Horizon by Stan I. S. Law is without a doubt one of the most absorbing books I’ve read in recent memory, with the entire trilogy being an exercise in fascinating meditations. It’s a proper send-off that closes the story in a very satisfying way and leaves us with plenty of questions to mull over for approximately the rest of our lives. It’s a one-of-a-kind journey that I recommend to anyone who even has the smallest philosopher’s spark inside of them… it will surely turn it into a fire.
Stan I.S. Law
(Stanislaw Kapuscinski)
Stan I.S. Law is the pen name used by Stanislaw Kapuscinski when writing his fictional stories, which tremendously lean in the direction of philosophical science-fiction.
In the few years after his retirement from the job architect, he gave himself to literature completely and has graced us with many unique and remarkable novels that have the gift of touching us in ways none other can.
Amongst the many books he released are the Avatar and Winston trilogies, as well as Yeshua and Keys to Immortality. He was nominated for the CBC Literary Award and the first book in The Avatar trilogy was on the New York Times bestsellers list.
