... combines adventure story with philosophical questions
SAN FRANCISCO, April 4, 2011 –The thrilling new novel Toward The Gleam by T.M. Doran opens between the two world wars, when on a hike in the English countryside, Professor John Hill takes refuge from a violent storm in a cave. There he nearly loses his life, but he also makes an astonishing discovery — an ancient manuscript housed in a cunningly crafted metal box.
Though a philologist by profession, Hill cannot identify the language used in the manuscript and the time period in which it is was made, but he knows enough to make an educated guess — that the book and its case are the fruits of a long-lost, but advanced civilization.
The translation of the manuscript and the search for its origins become a life-long quest for Hill. As he uncovers an epic that both enchants and inspires him, he tracks down scholars from Oxford to Paris who can give him clues. Along the way, he meets several intriguing characters, including a man keenly interested in obtaining artifacts from a long-lost civilization that he believes was the creation of a superior race, and will help him fulfill his ambition to rule other men. Concluding that Hill must have found something that may help him in this quest, but knowing not what it is and where it is hidden, he has Hill, his friends at Oxford, and his family shadowed and threatened until finally he and Hill face off in a final, climatic confrontation.
Toward the Gleam is a gripping story that features a giant pirate and slaver, a human chameleon on a perilous metaphysical journey, a mysterious hermit, and creatures both deadly and beautiful. Not merely an adventure story, this is also a novel that explores the consequences of the predominant ideas of the 20th Century.
Author T.M. Doran says of his book, “Although the twentieth century was littered with dehumanizing ideas that produced much misery, it was also a century that boasted counter-cultural 'giants' who did everything in their power to thwart these inhuman ideologies. These were hopeful, determined, and even joyful men and women. This is a story about these giants and their grand adventure to oppose that dark tide.”
Michael O’Brien, author of Father Elijah: An Apocalypse, has high praise for Toward the Gleam, “As this intriguing story unfolds, readers will be asked to reconsider what we thought we knew and loved so well. Flashes of recognition will occur as famous figures appear, identified only by their first names. As the plot develops, a vast landscape of drama emerges, reaching across time, probing the reasons behind the rise and fall of civilizations, our own and also another that we have considered to be myth—or fiction. The author’s whimsical sense is a fine one, though he does not show his hand too early on. His wisdom is fully evident throughout. This is a dark mystery tale, a gripping adventure, and in its own unique way a comedeia, plunging us into the war in the heavens and the wars for souls. Ingeniously inventive, it is startling, moving, horrifying at times, and ultimately consoling.”
“T.M. Doran’s wonderful mystery novel, Toward the Gleam, takes readers on a fantastic adventure with a man who in uncovering a manuscript from a long-lost civilization, sets out on a life-long quest to uncover its meaning and origins. In the process, he is confronted by remarkable creatures, unforeseen dangers and hidden realities. This is a book richly imaginative, intriguing and metaphysical, exploring many vexing questions of the modern era and enduring truths to be discovered in the process,” says David J. Theroux, founder and president of the C.S. Lewis Society of California.
Joseph Pearce, author of Tolkien: Man and Myth, says, “The works of Tolkien and Lewis continue to inspire new generations of writers, most of whom are not worthy to bask in the reflected glory of their mentors. T. M. Doran is a noble and notable exception. Toward the Gleam rises above the level of parody or pastiche to reach the heights that few writers have achieved. Although it basks in the reflected glory of The Lord of the Rings and conveys inklings of That Hideous Strength, it does not merely reflect the light that Tolkien and Lewis have shone; it refracts it in exciting new directions, toward the gleam of the glorious light that is the source of all great literature.”
• Toward the Gleam (Hardcover edition)
• Toward the Gleam (Electronic book edition)
About the Author:
T.M. Doran, formerly an Adjunct Professor at the University of the Detroit School of Engineering, has a Master of Science degree from Purdue University. This book is a culmination of 25 years of exploring the history and ideologies of the 20th century, along with a lifelong passion for the mystery genre. He has been a contributing writer for the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, USA Today, New York Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
To request a review copy or an interview with author T.M. Doran, please contact: Rose Trabbic, Publicist, Ignatius Press, (239)867-4180 or [email protected]
If Michael O'Brien says it's good, that's good enough for me. I've already purchased the ebook version.
Posted by: Sean Smith | Monday, April 11, 2011 at 06:54 PM