The Ajnir

by M.P. Gunderson

A truce between Simkada and Valyna on the planet of Urshan Dai remains fragile and tense. Travelers rarely venture beyond their homeland cities for fear of ostracization and safety. War breaks out shortly after an incursion of Valynan soldiers into Simkada's territory, shattering the delicate peace between the two cities. Against this tense political backdrop, Nadan, with his friends, Ranum and Naria, who are all part of an ancient mystical order called the ajnir, travel across the planet in a quest to unravel the riddles of a strange apparition known as a uriel. In a far away mystical city across the vast desert that encompasses most of Urshan Dai, the three companions learn a strange truth about the history of their planet.

256 pages, Paperback

First published August 20, 2012

About the author

Matthew (MP) Gunderson has worked at The Boston Globe, The Union Leader, and Wicked Local. He's also been a music reviewer, covering electronica, and written a sequel screenplay to The Lord of the Rings. He currently works as a freelance book editor (previously at Kirkus) and book reviewer for IndieReader. His first book, The Ajnir, a sci-fi/fantasy amalgamation, appeared in 2012 with Turning Stone Press, a subsidiary of Red Wheeler/Weiser. His newest foray into writing is Dream Electric, a book about an AR fantasy world that is actually a past-life recollection by the game's designer.

He graduated from Middlebury College in Classics in 1998.

Reviews

[Michael Mulvihill · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Ajnir by Matt Gunderson is an interesting fantasy novel, elements of eastern spirituality, philosophy, telepathy and alien civilization. If you like fantasy fiction mixed in with Eastern Spirituality and philosophy in a fully realized world of an alien planet than The Ajnir by Matt Gunderson might just be for you.

The Alien Planet of Urshan Dei

Full credit to author Gunderson must be rewarded for fully realizing the planet Urshan Dei. He creates a believable alien society that is relatively advanced but yet very similar to our own society. Ushan Dei is populated by two cities of people who despise each other and are saber rattling and upping the tension as we are introduced to the Simkada and The Valyna. This ethnic tension is so human, reminiscent of Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland, Serbs and Croats in Yugoslavia, Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda.

In this planet mingling with the enemy side can cause social ostracism and violation of ones person safety.
This planet is thus armed with human traits that none of us can deny existing in this our own world.

EXPLORATION OF THE MULTI FACETED SUBCONSCIOUS
Most interesting for me is the authors ability to describe the powerful force that is the unconscious mind showing an awareness of themes like telepathy, trance like states of deeper spiritual experiencing where questions of pressing nature may be answered, or mentally upsetting states can be ameliorated via intense trance.
These features are demonstrated in the main character, the grieving Nadan.
Nadan is suffering from bereavement and anxiety, herein it is narrated, 'suffering is evolution', and the solution I feel shows a subscription to a psychoanalytical belief of cure, "through memory comes freedom", implying that if the veil of repression is uplifted we are free.
There is an incredible amount of exploration into the unconscious mind and the collective unconscious mind. In The Ajnir we enter dream spaces, dream thoughts, The Ajnir depicts a character who relies on accessing the deeper parts of their mind to answer questions which can be burning inside.
Powers of a supernatural kind are regularly consulted to answer questions eg. the practice of consulting The Oracle.

Nadan for example consults the oracle about the death of his brother. The funeral is surreal, 'no one speaks of the unusual amount of trauma Nadans family has had to endure. But the ice is broken by Nadan who declares after consulting The Oracle that his brother was murdered by the Djinn (demon).
As you see there is plenty of things for a person with a cerebral, open mind, to dig themselves into and learn about.
The book also describes an energy which is interchanged through the universe.
In The Ajnir we have a fantasy world with advanced weaponry, technology, a spiritual world with deities, replete with superstitions, characters in trance like states, and gateways to other worlds.
There are exquisite descriptions of nature, of course the novel is entrenched in philosophical dialogue which requires a cerebral reader for a cerebral read but that is a good thing. Yes this good stuff well done to the author again for creating this world for us to enjoy. And good news guys for those who live spiritual fantasy books Gunderson plans to make The Ajnir a trilogy

[Angella Ricot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very captivating and invigorating—

The Ajnir is a very intelligent book. It captivates my interest and it stimulates my imagination. The plot, the setting, the characters are very original. The Alien Planet of Urshan Dei somewhat reminds me of Avatar. And the delicate tension that exists between Simkada and Valyna seems reminiscent of the cold war between the former Soviet Union and the United States which at any moment can explode. The story is also embedded with a spiritual theme and it seems to be inspired by Hinduism. I recommend The Ajnir by M. P. Gunderson to anyone looking for an exceptionally good fantasy book that would transport him/her to another world.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave this story six chapters to get going, and it failed to do so. The writing was good, in a technical sense, but the characters were lifeless and boring. The plot was hidden and didn't develop quickly enough to keep my interest.