Altered Selves

by Christopher Hawke

A 21st century fable about what it means to have a soul, Altered Selves follows the quest of twin brothers through reality-bending evil, into the heart of the impossible. Separated by death, the brothers reclaim their lives and discover the true meaning of forgiveness.

Genres: Fiction

Audible Audio

First published September 23, 2013

About the author

Christopher Hawke has helped thousands of writers from all over the world hone their craft and get noticed. His domestic and international workshops have been featured in numerous publications, including the Sun Sentinel in South Florida, where he has led weekly critique groups for over a decade.

Mr. Hawke’s writing is represented by The Evan Marshall Agency, and his book The Craft of Writing hit #1 and maintained a Top 10 status on Amazon for years.

Besides co-running CommunityAuthors.com, an author services company, he works one-on-one with a select group of writers from various countries as a writing coach. His client roster includes well-known names, in addition to aspiring authors.

His other titles include Unnatural Truth, a highly acclaimed psychological thriller and Altered Selves, a redemptive dystopian novel.

Reviews

[Tatiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is unlike any other book I’ve read, and I’ve read a lot of books. I appreciate Christopher Hawke’s unique voice and depth. Altered Selves questions God’s existence in an imaginative way.

[Gina Pucci · Rating 4 out of 5]

James is a guilt-ridden drug addict haunted by memories of the twin brother he accidentally killed when they were eight. Ever since then, his life has been a slow downward spiral of rehab and lost jobs. Several worlds away, Andrew is also suffering; he can't remember who he was before his life took on a tortuous pattern of abuse at the hands of two brutish captors. James and Andrew are brought together through a series of events that neither ever believed possible. What they then discover about each other will test both their commitment to good and their capacity for forgiveness.

Altered Selves is a Christian spiritual novel disguised as a science fiction action story. At only 172 pages, it is a very fast read, but the story lingers in the mind long after the book is finished. It explores several complex philosophical questions, such as the nature of the soul, evil, and forgiveness, using vivid imagery and metaphor. The author imagines a fascinating alternate-reality world that is much more than a simple setting for the story. Instead, the multiple planes of existence through which the characters travel are an important part of the author's way of conveying his message. However, although the novel broaches a lot of interesting questions and ideas, I felt that they were not very fully developed. The prose is very spare and the dialog terse; events in the plot seem to follow one after the other without much time for the consequences to play out. I would have liked to see more time spent on the relationship between James and Andrew, especially.

Anyone who enjoys deep, thought-provoking, spiritually oriented stories would enjoy this book. It is not a novel for those just looking for traditional entertainment, but provides a lot of material for futher thought and discussion.

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

[Kristine Bennett · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book through GoodReads.

I am very torn about this book - there are some very well written passages, but the overall story just did not grab me, and I caught myself skimming to try to get to something - I am not sure what. When I would force myself to slow down and actually read the words, I found some beauty there. I think, perhaps, I just never got very attached to the characters, and maybe there was some depth lacking?

[Jenna Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but at times I found myself losing track of which brother the narrative was currently from, and some of the complexities of the soul seemed quite strange to me.

[Elaine Plourde · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must say this was a very unusual book but I really enjoyed it. If you like fantasy this book should be added to your book list.

[Bill Pye · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hard to follow

Somebody’s idea of being a poor mans william Blake or rewriting Paradise Lost, playing with Dante whatever rather boring better luck next time