The Fourth Awakening Chronicles Book I

The Fourth Awakening Chronicles #1

by Rod Pennington, Jeffery A. Martin

Pulitzer Prize winning reporter Penelope Drayton Spence has been hired by two of the world’s richest men to track down and interview enlightened people who may have arrived at the Fourth Awakening. The problem, as fast she can locate a potential candidate, they have a nasty habit of mysteriously vanishing. These “Chronicles” are written in the "Serial Novel" format Charles Dickens famously used for the “Pickwick Papers” and many of his later books. It is also the format magazines such as “The Saturday Evening Post” made popular not that long ago. THIS FOUR PART SERIES OF NOVELLAS WILL BE COMPLETED IN 2014. The goal of each Chronicle is to present an Enlightened “Archetype,” and explore its characteristics. While each Chronicle is a stand-alone episode that can be read independently, it is a part of a much larger and continuing story which is easier to understand and follow if it is read in sequential order. In “Chronicles I” we meet a professional gambler in Las Vegas, Daniel Wooten. He is a middle-aged, confirmed bachelor with no religious moorings. Wooten has never meditated, hasn’t been in a church in decades and hadn’t shown the slightest interest in his spiritual side until the moment he found himself enlightened. WHAT IS AN AWAKENING? An awakening occurs when something so profoundly changes the world that all of the old rules no longer apply. A powerful new order arrives, completely unexpected and without warning, and things are never the same again. The First Awakening occurred approximately 200,000 years ago when Homo sapiens emerged in East Africa, but it took another 150,000 years for things to begin to get interesting. The Second Awakening saw the emergence of spoken language, early shamans, and great myths being told around the campfire. For the first time, early humans became self-aware and while still considering themselves a part of nature, they understood they were now different. We became aware of our own mortality. We started to fear death and began to seek a deeper understanding of the cycle of life and how it applied to us. We started to develop increasingly complex rituals of burying our dead to prepare them for the afterlife we hoped existed. We began a desperate search for immortality in any form. The Third Awakening began around 3,000 years ago. It saw the rise of all modern religions, as well as science. Between 800 BC and 400 BC, there was a religious explosion. The key events in the Old Testament occurred, from which emerged Judeo/Christian beliefs. At the same time Taoism was being followed by Confucianism in China. The same was happening with Shintoism in Japan, and Hinduism and Buddhism in India, and later Islam. For the past 500 or so years, the political power of religion has waned while the power of science has flourished. With videos of Space Shuttles exploding on cable news, both sides politicizing environmental science to serve their personal agenda and “safe” nuclear power plants melting down, science is now in retreat. When the big ideas from the previous Awakening start to collapse, a new Awakening is on the horizon. The Fourth Awakening is just beginning. Exactly how it will manifest itself is still unclear. Are you ready? The original book in the series, "The Fourth Awakening", has been the #1 bestseller in its Kindle category for over 3 years in both the US & UK.

Genres: Science Fiction

83 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 13, 2012

About the author

Rod Pennington writes a mixed bag of suspense stories filled with quirky characters, rapid-fire dialogue and whiplash inducing plot shifts. With his off-beat sense of humor and original storylines that do not fit comfortably into any established genre, he has developed a hard-core group of fans.

In addition to fiction, Pennington has either sold or has had optioned seven screenplays and also writes regularly in national publications such as the Wall Street Journal.

You can reach Rod at AuthorRodPennington@Gmail.com

Books by Rod Pennington Available on Amazon.com

The Fourth Awakening Series:
A woman overcomes her mid-life crisis by going a vision quest with an enigmatic billionaire.
The Fourth Awakening
The Gathering Darkness
The Fourth Awakening Chronicles I
The Fourth Awakening Chronicles II
The Fourth Awakening Chronicles III
The Fourth Awakening Chronicles IV
El Cuarto Despertar (Spanish translation of The Fourth Awakening)

The Family Series
A dark comedy about a dysfunctional family of four of the world's best assassins.
Family Reunion (The First Charon Family Adventure)
Family Business (The Second Charon Family Adventure)
Family Secrets (The Third Charon Family Adventure)
Family Honor (The Fourth Charon Family Adventure)
Family Debt (The Fifth Charon Family Adventure)

Stand Alone Books
Indweller
"It is not often you stumble across a new and original character that immediately grabs your attention. This is the case with Gabriel Indweller. A Black ops veteran inadvertently forced into a state of total enlightenment by a botch government experiment, he is now like an Old Testament Archangel with a James Bond style license to kill."

What Ever Happened to Mr. MAJIC?
"Grace and Sunny are sisters but as different as night and day. When their mother dies they find out why. In searching for a lost manuscript and a lost father one of them finds a new way of looking at life."

Better Choices
"Despite dealing with the serious topics of divorce, complicated family relationships and death, this is a lighthearted and life-affirming story full of funny and interesting characters."

Reviews

[Walter Riker, Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed The Fourth Awakening Chronicles Book I as a follow up to The Gathering Darkness. I may have already said I do not read novels on a regular basis, however, like The Fourth Awakening and The Gathering Darkness, I could not put it down once started. Gratefully I was able to finish it quickly. I did enjoy the story with a few of its twists and turns. It is a pleasant read - as are all the other books - with a message embedded in the story. Can't wait to start the Chronicles Book II.

[KDinSC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, if short

This sequel to the first two books was good, but felt like it could have been longer. It also felt a little cliffhanger ish. Read the main 2 books first

[Rebecca Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally

Something for those "crazies" to find familiars. The numbers suggestions give cause for hope. Good story context. Good work. Thanks.

[debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The more I read the more I am delighted by the I AMness here

The synchronicity is so much fun! This feels like a ride with friends and I am delighted be be here!

[Luis A Quijano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good

It is a book that make you think and reflect about life. It was very interesting. I recommend it. Very good.

[Ed · Rating 2 out of 5]

"The Fourth Awakening Chronicles Book I" is the first part of a series of four short "Chronicles" in the "Fourth Awakening" series of books. The Chronicles are presented as novellas (really more like somewhat lengthy short stories) which together would make up a full book.

I liked the first two books in the series -- "The Fourth Awakening" and "The Gathering Darkness" -- but I can't say the same about the Chronicles, either separately or together. Supposedly, the purpose behind the Chronicles is to present different types of Enlightened people, but with a cobbled-together backstory about the vanishing of the people about to be or recently interviewed and the possibility of a "mole" in the organization, the result just seems forced. 2 stars.

[Drew Allen]

This is a novella that follows the characters in The Fourth Awakening and The Gathering Darkness.

Penelope Drayton Spence is interviewing people who have achieved the fourth awakening for a new book. The only problem is that these people are starting to disappear.

This looks like it will be the beginning of a third book in the Fourth Awakening series.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novella (Kindle Single?) follows Penelope as she seeks to learn more about enlightened folks around the world. Her first potential interview takes her to Las Vegas to meet our enlightened candidate who is no longer the self-promoting gambler he once was. An interesting idea to think about that even some of those who have become enlighten aren't all zen buddhists or even consciously seeking to be enlightened. I really enjoyed this and can hardly wait for the next!

[Colleen Fullhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love spiritual fiction!

When I am learning and being entertained at the same time I am in heaven! I need reminding of my spiritual practices.