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Mountain Time: and the Legend of La Société de la Frontière Ouverte
A series of life-altering events are set into motion when cosmic calling cards are sent from a small town library and a former resident is notified that she is overdue. Despite vowing never to return, she feels compelled to face a homecoming that will include traumatic memories as well as new challenges based on a cryptic legend.
After leaving the town of Mountaintop in the mid-1990's, Michelle Tonelli believed she was abandoning The Mountain for good but she decides to move back to her hometown with her husband and two young sons when career frustrations lead to an assessment of their lives in Seattle.
Michelle knows that she will have to confront the ghosts from her past but those trials and tribulations are placed on the back burner when she is led down a path that includes a mysterious crystal cave and a secret society. A challenging struggle ensues when Michelle confronts her role in the unbelievable events taking place while simultaneously staying grounded in her life as a wife, mother, and nurse.
After leaving the town of Mountaintop in the mid-1990's, Michelle Tonelli believed she was abandoning The Mountain for good but she decides to move back to her hometown with her husband and two young sons when career frustrations lead to an assessment of their lives in Seattle.
Michelle knows that she will have to confront the ghosts from her past but those trials and tribulations are placed on the back burner when she is led down a path that includes a mysterious crystal cave and a secret society. A challenging struggle ensues when Michelle confronts her role in the unbelievable events taking place while simultaneously staying grounded in her life as a wife, mother, and nurse.
334 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 29, 2016
Once again, William Graney creates an interesting plotline and takes the readers back to Mountaintop. Despite being a sequel of Mountaintop USA, Mountain Time stands strong and can be thoroughly enjoyed even if you haven’t flipped through the previous book. Personally, I had enjoyed the Mountaintop USA, and as I picked up Mountain Time I was expecting a relevant storyline.
Indeed, the resurgence of well-known characters was nothing less than a pleasure.
The story begins with Michelle Tanaka, an ER nurse in Seattle. In the first book, we had come across Michelle and Robbie’s whirlwind romance, their life in mountaintop and a tragedy that forced them to leave the hillside and settle down in the city. Now, they are parents of two beautiful boys living a steady city-life. But when Michelle receives an old copy of a book which had been taken from the mountaintop library her curiosity peaks and soon, we are back to the small town perched amongst the hills where the heart of the mystery lies.
I enjoyed how William had mentioned close emotional bonds of mountaintop with Robbie and Michelle with small flashbacks. For a new reader, it helps to easily correlate the link of the town with the characters. As they settle down in the hill-town, a series of events sets the story in motion.
In the mountaintop library Michelle comes across a book that mentions about a cave having crystals. Little digging and with help from friends, she goes to explore the caves but the findings in the cave is nothing like she had expected. The crystals seemed to hold the essence of her father. Magic? Science? I was intrigued to know what these crystals were. Apparently, the crystals trapped the essence of anyone who came near it and if a blood relative came then communication between the trapped essence and the person was possible. However, Mary, another character, was the only one who communicated with someone who was not a blood relative. Hence, the mystery of the crystals continued to grow.
An interesting character of the story is Olivia. William had always beautifully crafted his characters, and with Olivia the author leaves a hint of mystery. Though Olivia had settled down in mountaintop recently, but as she visited the caves, she too found a spirit in the crystals, Pierre Barteau, who had existed in 1930 and the story begins to take a drastic turn. As I read along, I discovered the existence of this secret society ‘La Société de la Frontière Ouverte’ who had been linked to the cave mystery.
I loved the way the story completely engrossed me- digging information about the secret society, curiosity about the crystals and amidst all that the daily incidents in the lives of the characters beautifully entwined the plotline. One of the most peculiar things about the caves was time; time was different in the cave. As the story revolved more details about the secret society, their ‘path of wisdom’ was brought to light. Pierre Barteau stood out as a very significant character.
It’s worth mentioning, that there had been certain mysteries surrounding Olivia’s character, her origin hadn’t been cleared in the book. A short story/chapter by William ‘Tupie’s Diner’ helps to reflect the character more prominently. Before her arrival in Mountain Top, Olivia was a waitress and a remarkable incident with a customer followed by a conversation about time travel enthused her to change her destiny. I really enjoyed a separate addition to the book, which itself is soulful and also adds prominence to the story.
William has effectively fabricated a mystery that connects the past with the present. From indulgence with American tribes to a secret society, the concept is unique and style of writing is simple yet elegant. The book is fast-paced with necessary insight into the characters, and the author succeeds to keep the readers on the edge till the very last page. Indeed, I thoroughly enjoyed Mountain Time and would highly recommend the book for an engaging read.
Indeed, the resurgence of well-known characters was nothing less than a pleasure.
The story begins with Michelle Tanaka, an ER nurse in Seattle. In the first book, we had come across Michelle and Robbie’s whirlwind romance, their life in mountaintop and a tragedy that forced them to leave the hillside and settle down in the city. Now, they are parents of two beautiful boys living a steady city-life. But when Michelle receives an old copy of a book which had been taken from the mountaintop library her curiosity peaks and soon, we are back to the small town perched amongst the hills where the heart of the mystery lies.
I enjoyed how William had mentioned close emotional bonds of mountaintop with Robbie and Michelle with small flashbacks. For a new reader, it helps to easily correlate the link of the town with the characters. As they settle down in the hill-town, a series of events sets the story in motion.
In the mountaintop library Michelle comes across a book that mentions about a cave having crystals. Little digging and with help from friends, she goes to explore the caves but the findings in the cave is nothing like she had expected. The crystals seemed to hold the essence of her father. Magic? Science? I was intrigued to know what these crystals were. Apparently, the crystals trapped the essence of anyone who came near it and if a blood relative came then communication between the trapped essence and the person was possible. However, Mary, another character, was the only one who communicated with someone who was not a blood relative. Hence, the mystery of the crystals continued to grow.
An interesting character of the story is Olivia. William had always beautifully crafted his characters, and with Olivia the author leaves a hint of mystery. Though Olivia had settled down in mountaintop recently, but as she visited the caves, she too found a spirit in the crystals, Pierre Barteau, who had existed in 1930 and the story begins to take a drastic turn. As I read along, I discovered the existence of this secret society ‘La Société de la Frontière Ouverte’ who had been linked to the cave mystery.
I loved the way the story completely engrossed me- digging information about the secret society, curiosity about the crystals and amidst all that the daily incidents in the lives of the characters beautifully entwined the plotline. One of the most peculiar things about the caves was time; time was different in the cave. As the story revolved more details about the secret society, their ‘path of wisdom’ was brought to light. Pierre Barteau stood out as a very significant character.
It’s worth mentioning, that there had been certain mysteries surrounding Olivia’s character, her origin hadn’t been cleared in the book. A short story/chapter by William ‘Tupie’s Diner’ helps to reflect the character more prominently. Before her arrival in Mountain Top, Olivia was a waitress and a remarkable incident with a customer followed by a conversation about time travel enthused her to change her destiny. I really enjoyed a separate addition to the book, which itself is soulful and also adds prominence to the story.
William has effectively fabricated a mystery that connects the past with the present. From indulgence with American tribes to a secret society, the concept is unique and style of writing is simple yet elegant. The book is fast-paced with necessary insight into the characters, and the author succeeds to keep the readers on the edge till the very last page. Indeed, I thoroughly enjoyed Mountain Time and would highly recommend the book for an engaging read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 29, 2016
Mystery in a mountain setting, what more can you ask for in a novel? How about beautiful scene setting, wonderful character development, and an interesting plot that draws you in and takes you on a journey.
We start our journey with Michelle, a nurse in Seattle who feels compelled to return to her former home in Mountaintop. She promised herself that she would never go back there, so it is no surprise that old demons must be faced. Perhaps as a way to avoid facing these past traumas, Michelle gets caught up in an intriguing mystery, involving a magical cave covered in crystals, and a secret society. It would be hard to say any more without giving away plot spoilers, so you will have to find out for yourself where the mystery takes Michelle. It really is worth finding out.
We start our journey with Michelle, a nurse in Seattle who feels compelled to return to her former home in Mountaintop. She promised herself that she would never go back there, so it is no surprise that old demons must be faced. Perhaps as a way to avoid facing these past traumas, Michelle gets caught up in an intriguing mystery, involving a magical cave covered in crystals, and a secret society. It would be hard to say any more without giving away plot spoilers, so you will have to find out for yourself where the mystery takes Michelle. It really is worth finding out.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews