Light Passers Chronicles - BOOK 2
OtherLight: The Quest Continues
Light Passers Chronicles - BOOK 2
Read our review by Barbara Bartels, a Maine Press Association award winning critic and editor. Barbara holds a Master’s degree in Literature from Middlebury College.
Summary
Tick, Tock...
The world is in trouble. In late January 2023 the Doomsday Clock moved to 90 seconds to midnight. "Never is the Doomsday Clock's 76-year history have we been so close to global catastrophe," CNN reported. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists pushed the clock forward largely because of the ongoing war in Ukraine, but the war is onl one of many man-made threats to our existence that influence the clock's movements. For those who worry the world is edging closer to catastrophe, author Bruce Campelia has an antidote: HOPE. Hope in youth. Hope in a light shared by all religions, all people. Hope in Passing The Light. Campelia chronicles his fictional hopes in the first two books of The Light Passers Chronicles, "Quest of the Chosen: The Journey Begins" and "OtherLight: The Quest Continues". This series features morally courageous teenagers from different cultures and religious backgrounds. They seek - and get - assistance and direct interference from a divine or alien superpower to successfully divert doomsday for humanity.
Ordinary Kids as Superheroes
The first book, Quest of the Chosen: The Journey Begins, is a strong formulaic version of quest literature. Part Wizard of Oz and part The Alchemist, it's also a bildungroman times four, as young people from diverse cultural backgrounds undertake the classic hero's journey. The four main characters include Morningstar, a Lakota Sioux of the Badlands of South Dakota; Kai Li, a Buddhist of Kowloon, Hong Kong; Liyah, a Muslim of Beit Lahia, Gaza Strip; and Zack, and African American Christian of Detroit, Michigan. Whooshed away from ordinary lives to an extraordinary and mysterious land, the teens encouter lessons in cooperation and self-discovery on a trek. They are guided by outdoor-education principles in extreme character-challenging situations, and by a mysterious other, a creature, who gifts them with super powers and introduces them to universal light. It's all set in a brace new world that curiously resembles the backwoods of Vermont and New Hampshire. Hah! Familiar territory for New England hikers.
Find The Light, Pass It On
This second book in the series, OtherLight: The Quest Continues, demands even more bravery - from both the author and questers - and the story is far more complex. The otherworldly becomes oh-so-worldly in the new setting: Old Jerusalem and Palestine, a geographical nexus of three of hte world's major religions. The detailed world here hints at lots of travel and research. Campelia could make a great tour guide - right behind Esty, a young Jewish woman who has this role in OtherLight. The setting is not just well researched, it's bold. The choice of Jerusalem and Palestine, places fraught with conflict, puts this book on an edge where readers looking for confirmation of their opinions and biases may not find it. Propelling the plot is Liyah's personal need to find her brother, Khalib, who has disappeared and may be in danger. She calls on her three friends and fellow lightbearers, and - whoosh! - they are transported into the Middle East to help her. Once they discover a much larger, world-threatening plot.
Along with this expanding plot, the number of characters grows exponentially. The many sides of the Isreal/Palestine political and religious spectrum are represented. Campelia has also relied on his engineering education to research and describe technical matters related to very small drones that play a role in the clashes that culminate in a spectacular scene involving falcons, explosions, and tumbling walls. Along the way, the four teens leak some of their secrets and pick up new allies. New lightbearers from different sides of the conflict are gifted with talismans of their own. Like his characters, Campelia, the author, has taken on - and met - a significant challenge. His chronicles are cautiously hopeful books.
Tick, Tock...
The world is in trouble. In late January 2023 the Doomsday Clock moved to 90 seconds to midnight. "Never is the Doomsday Clock's 76-year history have we been so close to global catastrophe," CNN reported. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists pushed the clock forward largely because of the ongoing war in Ukraine, but the war is onl one of many man-made threats to our existence that influence the clock's movements. For those who worry the world is edging closer to catastrophe, author Bruce Campelia has an antidote: HOPE. Hope in youth. Hope in a light shared by all religions, all people. Hope in Passing The Light. Campelia chronicles his fictional hopes in the first two books of The Light Passers Chronicles, "Quest of the Chosen: The Journey Begins" and "OtherLight: The Quest Continues". This series features morally courageous teenagers from different cultures and religious backgrounds. They seek - and get - assistance and direct interference from a divine or alien superpower to successfully divert doomsday for humanity.
Ordinary Kids as Superheroes
The first book, Quest of the Chosen: The Journey Begins, is a strong formulaic version of quest literature. Part Wizard of Oz and part The Alchemist, it's also a bildungroman times four, as young people from diverse cultural backgrounds undertake the classic hero's journey. The four main characters include Morningstar, a Lakota Sioux of the Badlands of South Dakota; Kai Li, a Buddhist of Kowloon, Hong Kong; Liyah, a Muslim of Beit Lahia, Gaza Strip; and Zack, and African American Christian of Detroit, Michigan. Whooshed away from ordinary lives to an extraordinary and mysterious land, the teens encouter lessons in cooperation and self-discovery on a trek. They are guided by outdoor-education principles in extreme character-challenging situations, and by a mysterious other, a creature, who gifts them with super powers and introduces them to universal light. It's all set in a brace new world that curiously resembles the backwoods of Vermont and New Hampshire. Hah! Familiar territory for New England hikers.
Find The Light, Pass It On
This second book in the series, OtherLight: The Quest Continues, demands even more bravery - from both the author and questers - and the story is far more complex. The otherworldly becomes oh-so-worldly in the new setting: Old Jerusalem and Palestine, a geographical nexus of three of hte world's major religions. The detailed world here hints at lots of travel and research. Campelia could make a great tour guide - right behind Esty, a young Jewish woman who has this role in OtherLight. The setting is not just well researched, it's bold. The choice of Jerusalem and Palestine, places fraught with conflict, puts this book on an edge where readers looking for confirmation of their opinions and biases may not find it. Propelling the plot is Liyah's personal need to find her brother, Khalib, who has disappeared and may be in danger. She calls on her three friends and fellow lightbearers, and - whoosh! - they are transported into the Middle East to help her. Once they discover a much larger, world-threatening plot.
Along with this expanding plot, the number of characters grows exponentially. The many sides of the Isreal/Palestine political and religious spectrum are represented. Campelia has also relied on his engineering education to research and describe technical matters related to very small drones that play a role in the clashes that culminate in a spectacular scene involving falcons, explosions, and tumbling walls. Along the way, the four teens leak some of their secrets and pick up new allies. New lightbearers from different sides of the conflict are gifted with talismans of their own. Like his characters, Campelia, the author, has taken on - and met - a significant challenge. His chronicles are cautiously hopeful books.
Unexpected Treat!
"Having read and enjoyed the initial volume in this series I was not quite sure what to expect in the next installment. Whatever expectations I had were exceeded. In the opening pages the author provides a roster of people and places. This was my first hint of the depth and complexity of what was to follow. It was a pleasure to read a story that was both a thriller and a tutorial on the Middle East. There are many threads in the story and I kept wondering how they could all come together in the end. The last few chapters were particularly fast paced, surprising and ultimately satisfying. I can't imagine where the journey can possibly go in the third volume but I have no doubt that this author is up to the task." - Walt A.
"Having read and enjoyed the initial volume in this series I was not quite sure what to expect in the next installment. Whatever expectations I had were exceeded. In the opening pages the author provides a roster of people and places. This was my first hint of the depth and complexity of what was to follow. It was a pleasure to read a story that was both a thriller and a tutorial on the Middle East. There are many threads in the story and I kept wondering how they could all come together in the end. The last few chapters were particularly fast paced, surprising and ultimately satisfying. I can't imagine where the journey can possibly go in the third volume but I have no doubt that this author is up to the task." - Walt A.
A compelling adventure in a rich and fascinating setting.
"The books main characters are kids who work together to try and find their friend's brother and quite an adventure ensues. All this amidst the history-filled lands of Palestine/Israel and their wonderful historic sites. It is a tale, rich with people who make this area with all its complexity, their home ." - Diane R.
"The books main characters are kids who work together to try and find their friend's brother and quite an adventure ensues. All this amidst the history-filled lands of Palestine/Israel and their wonderful historic sites. It is a tale, rich with people who make this area with all its complexity, their home ." - Diane R.
