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Nirvana Effect
A washed up missionary gets a second chance at his aspirations of a scientific career when he stumbles upon a jungle medicine that enhances mental and physical prowess. But the young native who discovered it has other, more devious schemes for the drug. What starts as simple research becomes a life or death struggle for power that reshapes the destiny of a primitive people and ultimately the fate of Earth.
336 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 28, 2012
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304 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 21, 2016
Thriller about a Jesuit scientist-priest who goes to study a primitive tribe. One of the members develops a drug from a local plant that gives extraordinary mental and physical enhancements. A struggle ensues between the tribe member, who has visions of power and conquest, and the priest, who realizes the implications if this drug should be discovered. Pretty good suspense and action as well as a love interest rediscovered from the past. Not quite a cliffhanger, but the story obviously continues and begs a sequel.
November 23, 2012
A jungle plant, discovered by a young native, enhances mental and physical functioning and begins to inspire visions of grandeur and delusion for the future of the tribe. A Jesuit missionary, serving the tribal community, must push the boundaries between religion and science and explore the ethical dilemma of using power to reshape the destiny of mankind.
Self-published work is always suspect in my book. It doesn't take a scientist to figure out what why this novel fails: Typos, general lack of proofreading, predictability of the storyline, lack of character development, and need for overall tightening of the plot.
Self-published work is always suspect in my book. It doesn't take a scientist to figure out what why this novel fails: Typos, general lack of proofreading, predictability of the storyline, lack of character development, and need for overall tightening of the plot.
August 19, 2021
Started out great, then went nowhere. Dialogue became tedious and boring.
February 5, 2013
Edward Styles witnesses a ritual held by the native Onge village he’s a missionary at. He discovers a drug that produces what he calls a “Nirvana Effect”. Edward wants to use it to better mankind but Manassa has other plans.
The struggle between the two was colossal. The drug gave the two of them a heightened intellectual advantage so it became a game of cat and mouse. Manassa was always two steps ahead of Edward. He was a god within his village but that wasn’t enough for him.
Edward reunited with his college sweetheart, Callista. He became motivated by his love for her when Manassa kidnapped her. With the unlikely help of Dr. James Seacrest, an ex-crook the two try to stop Manassa and get Callista back. It was Seacrest and Edward against the whole Onge village, but with the drug, anything was possible.
Callista Knowles and Edward had a college romance. Her reasons for not marrying him felt hollow and their reunion felt a little contrived. I didn’t feel much chemistry between them. I think this was the weakest part of the book.
The Onge people were very aggressive and primitive. It was all survival of the fittest. The chief of the clan attained his position by killing his predecessor. The Onge only allowed one white man in their village at a time. They refused modern technologies and medicines. Before Manassa’s rule they refused all Western medicines. Manassa was both good and bad for the Onge.
This Action-Adventure was an unexpected surprise. I didn’t think I’d care for it from the blurb but I was quickly drawn in. While not perfect, this was still a strong book. I liked the action and the Onge people were interesting. I’d be interested to see if there’s a follow-up.
*A free copy was provided by the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Review courtesy of The Akamai Reader.
The struggle between the two was colossal. The drug gave the two of them a heightened intellectual advantage so it became a game of cat and mouse. Manassa was always two steps ahead of Edward. He was a god within his village but that wasn’t enough for him.
Edward reunited with his college sweetheart, Callista. He became motivated by his love for her when Manassa kidnapped her. With the unlikely help of Dr. James Seacrest, an ex-crook the two try to stop Manassa and get Callista back. It was Seacrest and Edward against the whole Onge village, but with the drug, anything was possible.
Callista Knowles and Edward had a college romance. Her reasons for not marrying him felt hollow and their reunion felt a little contrived. I didn’t feel much chemistry between them. I think this was the weakest part of the book.
The Onge people were very aggressive and primitive. It was all survival of the fittest. The chief of the clan attained his position by killing his predecessor. The Onge only allowed one white man in their village at a time. They refused modern technologies and medicines. Before Manassa’s rule they refused all Western medicines. Manassa was both good and bad for the Onge.
This Action-Adventure was an unexpected surprise. I didn’t think I’d care for it from the blurb but I was quickly drawn in. While not perfect, this was still a strong book. I liked the action and the Onge people were interesting. I’d be interested to see if there’s a follow-up.
*A free copy was provided by the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Review courtesy of The Akamai Reader.
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February 3, 2013I knew going in, as most works dealing with indigenous or tribal peoples from an outsider's perspective, that the work can have aspects I find questionable and which I may be more focused on. Although the author clearly did have a certain story they wished to tell in a certain way, as the description relays, I found the "primitives" (as they repeatedly called them) to be very stereotypical, as well as the suggestions that most anything western was great, good, and beneficial.
It may not have been what the author intended at all, but in their attempt to build their plot: the primitives had to be morphed into caricatures. Especially to the extend they were throughout the whole book, I really feel Nirvana Effect would have been a more balanced, believable and memorable if the members of the Onge were treated as human beings. Just because a group of people or culture are not like one's own, doesn't necessarily make their way of life or them inferior to one's own.
I found the plotting of the story predictable, with the protagonist doing almost everything just as you expect: being forbidden to view a ceremony, but of course he dismisses this warning because he wants to see it anyway. Naturally, he gets in trouble. Repeatedly. Doubtless, some readers may see the Onge tribes as just primitives, exactly the way the author wrote them, so they won't be bothered by how they were portrayed, and they may like this book well enough. It wasn't one I found especially readable, but I think it's important readers give it a chance and make their own decision.
Originally posted at http://flyingwithredhaircrow.wordpres...
It may not have been what the author intended at all, but in their attempt to build their plot: the primitives had to be morphed into caricatures. Especially to the extend they were throughout the whole book, I really feel Nirvana Effect would have been a more balanced, believable and memorable if the members of the Onge were treated as human beings. Just because a group of people or culture are not like one's own, doesn't necessarily make their way of life or them inferior to one's own.
I found the plotting of the story predictable, with the protagonist doing almost everything just as you expect: being forbidden to view a ceremony, but of course he dismisses this warning because he wants to see it anyway. Naturally, he gets in trouble. Repeatedly. Doubtless, some readers may see the Onge tribes as just primitives, exactly the way the author wrote them, so they won't be bothered by how they were portrayed, and they may like this book well enough. It wasn't one I found especially readable, but I think it's important readers give it a chance and make their own decision.
Originally posted at http://flyingwithredhaircrow.wordpres...
February 7, 2015
The person on the cover seems not to be a character in the book. One good thing is that I learned a little about an indigenous culture that is new to me. Not from this book - I looked them up on Wikipedia and googled them. In reality there are far fewer of the Onge left on this planet than in the book. It keeps a fast pace. One of the other reviews said something about it being predictable, but aside from the main characters being alive at the end I wouldn't say that.
October 12, 2012
I. could. not. finish. it. Which is a shame since it was my pick for the monthly book club read.
Since I didn't finish the book, I cannot speak to the ending or if it redeemed itself. My guess is that it did not. Lots of editing errors, such as typos and extra words in sentences did not help to hold my focus. Oh well, on to the next one...
Since I didn't finish the book, I cannot speak to the ending or if it redeemed itself. My guess is that it did not. Lots of editing errors, such as typos and extra words in sentences did not help to hold my focus. Oh well, on to the next one...
July 26, 2012
I liked the story. The ending was set up for a sequel. Does anyone know it it has one? I hate it when the bad guys get away.
May 31, 2015
Loved it!!!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews