"A remarkable time travel tale of love, loss, and redemption"
Dominick blamed himself for the death of his wife,
Isabella, and their unborn child at the hands of her crazy,
jealous, brother Rychard. He hadn't been there for her when
Rychard had taken her life, nor had he stood vigil with her
while her soul waited to be reclaimed. Dom had sworn never
to love again and although the Great One had allowed him to
be born over and over again, throughout the succeeding
millennium, Dom stubbornly stuck to his guns. Oh he'd
trifled with any number of women, causing them to fall in
love with him, and leaving Enzo and Ilia (the Great One's
left and right hands)to clean up the mess. When his soul was between lives, he preferred to be called
Domitien, or one of his other names, burying the memory of
that first time so deep he could no longer recall it. The
Great One however, was not yet ready to give up on Domitien
and decided to take another tack. Instead of Dom being
reborn as he had been in the past, he would be allowed to
occupy a grown body, one which bore his visage and whose
spirit was due to be recalled. This was necessary because
the woman he was destined to love already existed in
this time as did the other, the third in their never ending
conflict. More importantly Dom would be allowed to retain
all the memories of his past lives. Domitien had overheard Enzo and Ilia discussing the Great
One's plans to send him back again. Knowing this to be his
last chance to find love, he becomes determined to succeed.
Laris was a newly modified soul they all had high hopes
for. Dom decides to gain and edge by peaking into the
scrying ball at this woman in order to discover who she
might have been in his past. He sends her a variety of
passionate memories hoping for a response that will divulge
her true identity. Laris finds these dreams disturbing and
yet she is inexplicably drawn to her dream lover. Laris Thiessen doesn't need her sleep disturbed at this
critical time in her life. She is an accomplished Opera
Singer and is pinning all her career hopes on her audition
in San Franscisco. But the dreams stir up odd memories of
her own, and when her dream man appears at her hotel in the
flesh and filled with need, her soul can not help but reach
out to him once more. Rychard's current incarnation is as
mad as ever and determined to destroy any happiness they
might find together, sending them into Death's shadow, and
through portals to Dom's various short and empty lives.
Both know there is a lesson to be learned from the past but
while Dom fears that the horrors of each of his failures
will repel Laris, they only evoke her compassion for him.
It is clear that her love for him is unconditional, has
always been, would always be. There was no question that
she deserved his love, but to in order to love another he
must learn to love himself. Will he succeed before it is
too late? The concept of reincarnation is a fascinating one. I've
always wondered why a soul would not be allowed to benefit
from past experiences. It never seemed quite fair. I mean
if you learned a lesson in a past life then why shouldn't
you be permitted to apply it in the next life. Perhaps
these memories are part of the subconscious, that sense of
déjà vu, or perhaps what we call our conscience. We will
probably never know. This tale paints a vivid picture of
what it would be like to relive all of our past joys and
pain. The best we can hope for is to release the pain and
hold onto the joy with all of our might, and if in fact we
only get one chance, don't waste it, make the best of it.
Ms. Jackson has penned a remarkable and unique tale of a
true love that stands the test of time, and conquers all
demons. An excellent read. Copyright © 2002
Reviewed by Leslie Tramposch
Posted September 10, 2002
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