He has powers that define the word miraculous. But when he used those powers to help others, he brought about a world of trouble.
Now Nathaniel lives a life of quiet obscurity, performing anonymous miracles. But, his anonymity has to end, because evil is coming to Middle Falls, Oregon, and threatens the people Nathaniel loves most.
It's going to take a reluctant messiah to put things right.
For the previous book I read in the series, I felt the writer wasn’t creating anything too new. However, this time around, the story felt more refreshing and different. It was interesting and I liked the links made to characters from the previous novels.
This was an enjoyable story from the beginning. Initially we focus on Nathaniel’s mother. We discover she is a time traveller but Inmon does not dwell on this for very long (to be expected, when the book is not named after her). As Nathaniel ages, the narrative shifts towards him and I appreciated this alternative opening to the story: it showed me from the beginning that this was going to be a bit different from the other books in the series.
Nathaniel is a lovable character, especially as more is revealed about him. I could not help but draw parallels with superhero stories and Marvel icons, particularly in the latter half of the novel. The story is less about time travel, but more about Nathaniel trying to live a “normal” life; to escape attention and not draw attention to his abilities. It is this factor that made the book feel like it was from a completely new series.
Yet, Inmon brings in characters from other novels which I found really clever. It was pleasing to see how other stories became connected and it has left me guessing which other people are going to feature later in the series. It felt like you were reading about a community and, whilst the characters feel isolated in themselves, you know this is not the case.
However, the final part of the story, Nathaniel’s interview and beyond, felt far too preachy for my liking. It felt as if the writer was trying to enforce some beliefs and the idea of spiritual guidance. It did not come across subtly, which made the final chapters far less enjoyable. The story had moved towards this final climax, but I felt that Inmon’s authorial influence was far too strong. I could not believe in Nathaniel’s words and thought it was more the author speaking through him. Whilst I appreciate the idea of healing the soul and making changes from within, Inmon came across too heavy and it lessened the overall impact that I imagine the writer was trying to achieve.
All of this aside, it was a good book and I read it over one day. I am keen to continue this series – I am glad I haven’t put it to one side – and my curiosity remains piqued as to what direction the series will take next. Are there more time travellers? And are there more powers to be revealed?
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This one was tougher to get through for me. It was good in its own way but I struggled to connect with it for awhile. Even then, I liked it but didn't love it.
It wasn't rushed or poorly executed but the spark or something wasn't there. I wanted to know more about Nathaniel's previous lives and how it translated into his life in this book. The "reset button" , so to speak, wasn't present here and it made it hard to sink into Nathaniel's story. The "growth" that other characters fought for, is absent here, only hinted at and I think that dragged the story down a lot.
my favorite parts:
Brutus... he was an adorable dog Some of the "lessons and advice" Nathaniel gave.. some of it did make me think. The friendships in here well done.
Maybe I was bit too cynical for this book too? *shrugs* I'm spiritual but not religious so it didn't offend me on that level.
For what was promised in one part of the summary... it seemed over too quickly for me and another connection hinted at that I would have loved to see explored instead of just told to us.
Aah well, sometimes you can't love every book in the series... I will continue with this maybe later in the month once I catch up on some of reads *crosses fingers*
Still recommend this series, I've had a lot of fun so far:).
This seems to be the least favorite of most readers and I truly don't understand it as the most wonderful thing about getting into a sci-fi series is witnessing the authors universe take shape and that is exactly what happened with Nathaniel's story. It was simply another layer to the endless onion that will be Middle Falls Time Travel.
I adored the mature understanding and perspective Nnathanial brought, it's a good addition to the series foundation.
My recommendation is that everyone go into each story with an open mind and see how it a small piece of the ever growing whole.
This is the 4th book in the series: Middle Falls Time Travel, and was slightly different than the previous three. The author’s note at the end helps to explain it as this story was something he had thought about for a very long while, since before he started writing novels.
The premise of each book in this series has an essential part, which is being called time travel: a character dies, then is reborn again as the same person, but at an earlier part of their life and they remember everything. I find this an interesting premise. What would someone do differently if they could change the trajectory of their life? The person always returns to a pivotal moment in their life.
In this book there the main character, Nathaniel Moon is born as a new person and changed. The first glimpse of this is when he talks to his mother while still in the womb. At age four he discovers he can heal people.
This book brought in more philosophy or spirituality than the previous three books. This was a fairly short book and the ending seemed to come abruptly, but after finishing I can see that it was a good stopping point.
So far I'm still intrigued about this time travel concept and will continue the series.
The grumpus23 (23-word commentary) Interesting concept. From childhood to adult, what would the life of someone with the power to heal be like in the world today?
Full Disclosure: This book was downloaded for free, and I agreed to write an honest review of it. I did pay for and read the first three novels in this time-travel series, enjoying them all, and rating them at 4 and 5 stars.
We were introduced to Middle Falls, Oregon in Inmon's The Unusual Second Life of Thomas Weaver, and Weaver (now a lawyer) plays a part in The Final Life of Nathaniel Moon, as does Carrie from the initial novel. This book is quite different than the first three works in the series though, since Nathaniel Moon is not only born knowing about past events, but he also isn't trying to correct any past mistakes made in previous lifetimes.
This book is less about time travel than it is an attempt to understand society, institutions, and the people dealing with personal and public problems. It is a stand-alone work, but it is fun to recognize characters from earlier works in the Middle Falls books.
It is well written, with a terrific plot, and great character development. I read it in a couple of days.
I rarely like or even listen to the author's notes at the end of a book, but this is one of the rare cases where I think it actually added to the story. This book felt a bit strange while I was reading it. It's different from the first three books in the series. The main character is able to perform various miracles, and I don't normally like it when a series suddenly adds another speculative element to an already established world (in this case where time travel is possible, but I wouldn't assume that miracles would be). But hearing the author's thought process, and how he tied in his own experience as a journalist with the journalist/news aspect of this story, it pointed out some interesting aspects to the story that I didn't pick up on when first reading.
I'm interesting in seeing if the international news story that takes place in this book is referenced or affects the story in the rest of the series. It seems like something way to big to ignore.
An interesting addition to the series. I like that it's different from the previous books. This was a case where the concepts were bigger than the main plot arc and that made the story come across as ill formed.
I'm a fan of this series, and the author. I was aware going into this that there would be a break from the first three books, and aside from the inclusion of Thomas Weaver, we'd move on to a new cast of characters. The strength of the last two books in particular, for Michael and especially Dominick, was the brilliant use of that reset button. Michael went back 87 times to almost cleanse himself of who he was through violence before finding Hartfield Academy, and Dominick made huge strides in a timeline before starting over, again and again.
What felt odd here, through Nathaniel, was aside from Violet (I give Shawn tremendous credit for mostly keeping all of the V names intact) resetting herself once and only losing a single day, there was very little use of that time travel plot device that I felt worked so well for this series. Nathaniel went through his life, normally, but with superhuman powers of healing. His past lives were part of the plot but were not accessible to the reader. At one point, between Joe and Andi and Violet and Nathaniel, I was wondering if there was anyone left who wasn't reliving a past life, or even if that was the point, that we all do it, based on the advice he gave to dying patients at the hospital. (I somehow can't see that, or else everyone everywhere is walking around not realizing everyone else is also reliving their lives?).
In short, this one was weird, and I suspect it was a side idea by Mr. Inmon wedged into this series. I didn't leave with an understanding of why Nathaniel was different, and didn't relate to the characters as well, especially given how oddly Nathaniel and Joe spoke, although given they both relived their lives that may be explainable in that they're old souls. That I didn't enjoy this one as much as the past two is also based on just how much I enjoyed those books, and not as commentary on this one.
I'm between 3-4 stars in my head, but am not ready to decide yet.
*Update*
I think 3 stars is appropriate but with a disclaimer. I generally look at ratings based on what the book sought to do and how successful it was. I feel that the standard the previous three books upheld wasn’t quite met here in that Nathaniel’s history wasn’t made clear to the reader, the time travel framing wasn’t put to tremendous effect, that his character was inaccessible based around his “condition” which wasn’t clear in origin and some preachiness in the ending. Also, it was a bit odd that a 30 year search that was well funded would fail and end as it did. I hoped for a bit more.
But to be clear, because I love this author and the style of these stories, I felt like the step down was a bit higher because it started off so high. I do recommend this book and wholeheartedly recommend this series.
I was riveted by Middle Falls books 1 & 2 (5 stars) and I liked Book 3 (4 stars) though not as much as the first two due to the repetition from Book 2.
As others have stated, Book 4 is very different, and I'm sad to say that I did not enjoy it. I've "read" all of these as audio books, and while Books 1-3 kept me up listening into the wee hours of the night, Book 4 had me dozing off after just a few minutes.
There are a few problems here. (1) There isn't much suspense, so I didn't feel particularly motivated to keep reading. (2) The main character, Nathaniel, does not seem to grow as a character. He's just always pretty perfect, and that's not interesting from a reader's perspective. (3) There is a bunch of New Agey philosophizing, along with the easy negative caricatures of Christians that, to me, seem to be lazy writing.
The plot also didn't seem to hold together very well. Thomas Weaver makes something of a cameo, and I'm still not sure why Victoria/Vivian/Violet had to die the first time. I found the Creech element boring and contrived. Carrie comes in at the end, but it's not clear why. I suppose that will be explained in a future book. I hope it will.
I'm going to read more of this series, but I truly hope the books get back to what they do best--develop characters that I care about, and plots that make me want to keep reading/listening.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
If this had been the first book of this series that I had read, I would end it there. Thankfully, I'm reading them in order, and this was book 4. So I will continue on since the others were so much better.
Basically, Nathaniel Moon is Jesus. Christianity is sort of mocked towards the end of the book. Not sure what the purpose of this book was other than to introduce us to Veronica McAllister. I think one of the main things I have enjoyed about the other books is that the protagonists are flawed; they are imperfect and they learn and grow. The protagonist in this book (Nathaniel) has no flaws. He's "perfect" and wants to spread his wisdom. I just didn't care for him at all. At no point did I feel a connection with him. Glad to be done with this book and anxious to move on to The Emancipation of Veronica McAllister.
I am very stingy with my stars, yet on this occasion it's a definite 5-star from me. Not because it's some sort of literary masterpiece but because this book made me feel good.
I’ve read a few of the books in this series and thus far they all had the same basic premise. The lead character dies, then comes back to life at some point in their past, but with memories of their past life or in some instances lives as they can die multiple times and return multiple times. In all cases, the new lives are all restarts from the same point in their past. Probably needless to say, this basic premise has an almost endless potential for unique characters and possibilities for how they use their new lives. Some try to get things right that they didn’t get right the first time (or first three or four or five times). Others try to prevent something bad from happening to someone else the next time around. Given the number of successful romance books published that are built around one basic story, I’m confident Inmon could have done many more time travel stories without messing with his formula here. But he has.
This time around we have a character (actually we have two) who fit the basic premise, but the main character is different. Yes, he appears to be living another life (his last one according to the title) but there are some differences in him that make a big difference in the story, where it can go, and where it does go. The places it sends the reader’s thoughts are also a lot different than the prior stories, no longer wondering what you might do differently if you could “do it all over again” but also wondering about the concepts of good and selflessness as well as the difficulty of balancing your personal needs with those of others. Shawn Inmon’s books, especially those in this series, have a way of prompting thought which to me is one of the main reasons I read, to see and consider things from different points of view. If you feel the same, this book should hit the spot.
**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy. **
This was so much better than the previous book which was essentially a repeat of the second book. The first three books deal with people who get a chance to a “do over” of their life starting at random points in their life. Nathaniel is different because his isn’t a second chance. He remembers all of his previous lifetimes while in the womb, and he can talk to his mother. Warning: the next part might be hard to believe. Nathaniel can heal people. Also, at the end, he says things about organized religion that will offend some readers. Still, the author’s Middle Falls time travelers series is interesting and different. And, in his notes he mentions where his inspiration came from. I was pleased to see that I was right in recognizing one of them.
This book is a little different than the others in the series as Nathaniel is aware of his other lives and the recycling from the start. These books are such quick reads and interesting so I’ll keep reading.
The author described this as a "palate cleanser" between the main story lines, and it does feel like that.
It starts out like a punch in the stomach, but then calms down into a life portrait of a very Zen individual in a very strange situation. It explores the question of what makes a life worthwhile, and what responsibilities we have to ourselves and others.
This didn't grip me as strongly as #2--Michael Hollister's story--but was still a page-turner. Feel-good and thoughtful.
Meh .. The first three books were fantastic. This book was a bit unhinged and wandered around trying to find a story. I love this series so far but I do believe this book may be the weak link of the collection.
I thoroughly enjoyed this The forth book from Shawn Inmon. You have to love he character build and he characters themselves. I can usually tell where a story is heading but these continue to surprise me.
Not what I expected. I have read books 1, 2, 3 and 5 and expected this one to be along similar lines. Early in the story I wasn't sure if I even wanted to continue, as it was quite a departure from his other books. I'm very glad I continued, as this book quickly became engrossing and hard to put down. Actually, I think this is the best of the series so far for me (with The Redemption of Michael Hollister coming in second).
Mr. Inmon sure can tell a story. I liked his writing style and the characters, which were very well drawn and likable (well, except for you know who... ;-). His special gift was handled believably and calmly by his mother (until the necessity for the big reveal... of course) and gave the reader quite a bit to ponder. I have always had an open mind regarding all the possibilities 'out there' that we don't have a clue about, including reincarnation. I am glad I read this book and glad that Mr. Inmon took a different road this time. Can't wait to see what he comes up with in later books.
In my opinion, this book earned 5 stars. It is a highly enjoyable story based on an intriguing premise. Characters are believable while still having some mystery about them. When reading the series I became familiar with Middle Falls from many different viewpoints. My only complaint is that it ended too soon!💜
What a sweet story of love and forgiveness. It's full of philosophy and speculation and ideas that forego religion - things of which I am not fond. Still, it falls into line with the series without really being about time travel. The goodness of the main character is what really stands out.
Adam Verner is fantastic in his audiobook performance.
I read the first three books of this series. I loved them and would give them 5 stars. I'm only giving this one star because it wasn't much of a time travel and strayed from the story line. Very disappointed in this one. I hope the next one goes back to time travel or I won't be continuing on in the series.
I can't wait for the next book! This is quite possibly the best series I've read. I highly recommend reading the first three even though this one does stand alone. Well done Shawn!
The story was decently crafted, but the dialog came across to me as stilted. The arc of the series has been quite good but this one is not the apex. Nevertheless I enjoyed the read.
Another home run from Shawn Inmon. The story is amazing. I love how he weaves bits of wisdom into the story and makes the characters deep enough to really enjoy. I highly recommend the entire series and anything else he writes.
Excellent story about how a messiah-like character would be treated today and the lengths people would go to to attack and save said messiah. I love the reboot Inmon uses. Love the whole Middle Falls series and can't wait for more!
Nathaniel Moon is different than the rest of us. Not because he’s better. Nor because he can do quasi-instant healing of even the sickest of people. It’s not about how other people’s judgments and bullying have absolutely no effect on him, either. No, Nathaniel Moon is different than the rest of us because he’s exactly like the rest of us EXCEPT he remembers more of who he is and what we’re all capable of.
Therein lies the beauty of the story.
Staying hidden becomes the modus operand for Nathaniel and his mother, Violet, when 4 year old Nathaniel innocently heals a man crushed by the weight of a forklift accident in front of witnesses. Next comes the awkward request for a healing miracle for Violet’s boss’s son. From there, the zealous ego-centric desire of others to share young Nathaniel with their version of the Christian world is ignited. So Violet and Nathaniel go on the run. No child of hers will be out on display and used by others without their consent. No. Way.
Even though other soul traveling characters are present in the story, this one is different because we don’t see Nathaniel’s before life and then do-over journey like in the other books of the series. Rather, we start with Nathaniel in the womb and move forward from there.
It’s a good read, nonetheless. The author presents principles of healing nicely in story form. He illustrates beautifully the sheer hubris of some Christians who presume—with zealous disregard for any idea of others having a sovereign choice in their own lives—to know what God wants for them. Plus, you walk away with an idea of what’s possible for us all when we move through our lives with a slightly different headset, one that aligns with the highest within us.
If you’re already involved in the spiritual healing arts, this story is right in your wheelhouse. For others, it gives you an idea of what’s possible if you’re willing to let go of your limiting ideas and return to your most authentic state of being.
I've really been enjoying this Middle Falls Time Travel series. I read the first set of three, then switched to some other books for a bit, and came back and read the second set of three. This is the first of those, and felt a little different.
The first chapter features Vivian Hanrahan - a young girl in a cult-like commune. She dies, and her "reset" is just a day before (whereas the three+ featured to this point all went back much further). She changes things so that on her second life, she does not die.
Chapter two features Nathaniel ... who is on a multiple life, but this is unlike any featured to this point. After a long and happy life, he is "reborn", with a consciousness (although not full memory of past lives) even at the fetal stage. Given the unusual aspect of that, it's really not a surprise when he's a special child, with a "healing" gift. The blurb calls him a Messiah, and there is a "christ" like feel to much of the interaction, although Nathaniel doesn't promote God/religion at all, and at one point he says "I see dangers in all organized religion."
There are several integral people and parts -- the introduction of Jon (whose voice did NOT match in the audio version, being 11-years old, he sounded 50, it does reveal he DID have previous lives, as so many of the characters seem to here), Andi (sob), Cyrus (grrrrr). We do get a special appearance by Thomas Weaver, and an introduction of Veronica McAllister (who is featured in the next book in the series).
As addressed in previous books, the should one change events ... here, there's a little more focus on should Nathaniel heal - he CAN, but is that what is wanted, what is best. It is thought provoking.