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The Way Things Seem
How much trouble would you go to for an inheritance? How much would it matter what your estranged and disliked step brother and family thought of you? How much would you allow the dead hand of your distant father to influence you? Would it matter how much money was involved? And what if in the end, nothing you thought important at the start mattered? What if everything you believed wasn’t the way it seemed. Not only in your personal world but the wider reality you thought you knew. Could you deal with that?
This is a stand alone story unrelated to my other books or series.
This is a stand alone story unrelated to my other books or series.
- GenresScience Fiction
270 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 11, 2018
21 people are currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
Mackey Chandler
70 books224 followersMackey (Mac') Chandler is retired to Rochester Michigan from a working life that spanned a large number of occupations. Mold maker, aerospace machinist, plumber, mechanic and dozen more as well as owning several businesses. This life experience and travel show in the depth and variety of his writing.
A life long time reader of Science Fiction, the authors at Baen's Bar and their evening chat room motivated him to try his own hand at writing. His first effort was a short story titled "Common Ground" which sold to the short-lived Jim Baen's Universe.
His personal favorite book is "The Mote in God's Eye" by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. Other favorite authors include Michael Z. Williamson and C.J.Cherryh.
A life long time reader of Science Fiction, the authors at Baen's Bar and their evening chat room motivated him to try his own hand at writing. His first effort was a short story titled "Common Ground" which sold to the short-lived Jim Baen's Universe.
His personal favorite book is "The Mote in God's Eye" by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. Other favorite authors include Michael Z. Williamson and C.J.Cherryh.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
November 19, 2018
I always loved Mackey Chandler books, this was something new... deeper
I love this author. He hit the top of my list since I found him a few years ago. He has two great series that I wait for with great expectations. So when I read another stand alone was comming I was a little disappointed. I want to be supportive but I crave more April or Family Law. However he keeps writing great books even if not the ones you want. this his third stand alone and best. Much deeper than his others. So if your a fan and you miss the April universe this is still a great read. If new give it a try. For the record Family Law is my Favorite book still.
I love this author. He hit the top of my list since I found him a few years ago. He has two great series that I wait for with great expectations. So when I read another stand alone was comming I was a little disappointed. I want to be supportive but I crave more April or Family Law. However he keeps writing great books even if not the ones you want. this his third stand alone and best. Much deeper than his others. So if your a fan and you miss the April universe this is still a great read. If new give it a try. For the record Family Law is my Favorite book still.
January 2, 2019
This is my REVISED review! It treats the work nicer, I believe.
I obtained this book through the Kindle Unlimited program.
David's father died, and left some strange codicils in his will. Fitting, since the family is strange, and, in David's case at least, estranged as well. His father's second marriage to a white woman, David's mother, was a disturbance in the force. Never expressed to David's father, since he held the power and control of the purse strings, the family found expression for their distaste in their contacts with David. His older half-brother gets ten million bucks, and David gets ten million bucks, BUT he also gets a chance to inherit the rest of his father's gargantuan fortune. To do that, however, he has to return to Ethiopia, and go on a spirit quest, with a guide he will meet later (actually expressed as a "take a walking pilgrimage with an elder versed in the traditions of our clans."
Chandler, Mackey. The Way Things Seem . Kindle Edition.
That's bizarre enough, but then it gets weird.
It doesn't HAPPEN now, but the transition from America to the out-country in Ethiopia is a good place to mention a personal discontinuity. After giving it a fair amount of thought, I conclude that it is the precision of his words, and the depth of detail that have me riveted to the story. David looks out of the window of his jet, and sees lightning, and I can see it as well. However, these are all environments which I have experienced, so it was not until David lands in Africa that I was REALLY struck by the immediacy and freshness of the descriptions. I spent a total of perhaps two hours on the African continent, in an airport in 1975, and that is the absolute extent of my experience there. Perhaps it is the craft with which Chandler writes, perhaps I experience a sub-clinical epileptic seizure when reading it, but the reality of David's experience is palpable to me.
That continues as he meets his guide, Bouh, who directs David to call him 'Uncle.' It continues as Bouh arranges, in stages, for David to transition from the clothing of a wealthy Westerner to that of a fellow countryman. And it is a part of the narrative as David and Bouh spend the first few days on the road, learning about each other. The only unusual event David encounters is that Uncle can throw a rock exceptionally well.
But then, Uncle Bouh lights a stick on fire with his mind, and the "unreal reality" fades into the background, and "what the heck is going on now" emerges.
I cannot tell you if the precise wording and attention to detail remain, because of the shock of the transition. Note: the shock doesn't come from a flamboyant exercise of singing and waving arms and pointing; it's simply a stick, catching on fire.
All of the intrusions of the Otherworld are similarly delivered, in a matter of fact presentation. David is introduced to the world of seeing and manipulating a reality that is sort of an overlay to ours. Bouh presents things David has never thought possible, and always in a routine fashion. And gradually, David learns what he can do, and what he can't. He discovers he won't be able to kill rabbits with rocks as easily as Bouh, but not because he lacks magical powers; it's just that he can't throw rocks well at all. He finds that he can see things that Bouh can't, because David understands radio waves and how electricity works, and Bouh doesn't.
And then, SO abruptly that there just HAS to be a yet-to-be-revealed plot point in there somewhere, , David has to flee Africa and return to the US. In the process, he discovers that certain others can detect his power over the Otherworld, and react violently to him because of it.
Then it gets more intense, with gangsters, bad cops, and Amish hexes.
A very few story lines get resolved; this HAS to be book one of at least five. If I thought this was a one-off, I'd give the story ONE star, for being such a tease, but the author has no history of such things. I want to find out what happens in Africa, how the Penn-Dutch hex woman figures into the story, and about five more things.
I haven't read the other reviews, but I'm going to that when I get a chance, mostly, because I want to see if anyone else remarked on the realism of the first part of the book. First, though, I had to revise this review, because the previous version suffered by being written under a self-imposed deadline.
I obtained this book through the Kindle Unlimited program.
David's father died, and left some strange codicils in his will. Fitting, since the family is strange, and, in David's case at least, estranged as well. His father's second marriage to a white woman, David's mother, was a disturbance in the force. Never expressed to David's father, since he held the power and control of the purse strings, the family found expression for their distaste in their contacts with David. His older half-brother gets ten million bucks, and David gets ten million bucks, BUT he also gets a chance to inherit the rest of his father's gargantuan fortune. To do that, however, he has to return to Ethiopia, and go on a spirit quest, with a guide he will meet later (actually expressed as a "take a walking pilgrimage with an elder versed in the traditions of our clans."
Chandler, Mackey. The Way Things Seem . Kindle Edition.
That's bizarre enough, but then it gets weird.
It doesn't HAPPEN now, but the transition from America to the out-country in Ethiopia is a good place to mention a personal discontinuity. After giving it a fair amount of thought, I conclude that it is the precision of his words, and the depth of detail that have me riveted to the story. David looks out of the window of his jet, and sees lightning, and I can see it as well. However, these are all environments which I have experienced, so it was not until David lands in Africa that I was REALLY struck by the immediacy and freshness of the descriptions. I spent a total of perhaps two hours on the African continent, in an airport in 1975, and that is the absolute extent of my experience there. Perhaps it is the craft with which Chandler writes, perhaps I experience a sub-clinical epileptic seizure when reading it, but the reality of David's experience is palpable to me.
That continues as he meets his guide, Bouh, who directs David to call him 'Uncle.' It continues as Bouh arranges, in stages, for David to transition from the clothing of a wealthy Westerner to that of a fellow countryman. And it is a part of the narrative as David and Bouh spend the first few days on the road, learning about each other. The only unusual event David encounters is that Uncle can throw a rock exceptionally well.
But then, Uncle Bouh lights a stick on fire with his mind, and the "unreal reality" fades into the background, and "what the heck is going on now" emerges.
I cannot tell you if the precise wording and attention to detail remain, because of the shock of the transition. Note: the shock doesn't come from a flamboyant exercise of singing and waving arms and pointing; it's simply a stick, catching on fire.
All of the intrusions of the Otherworld are similarly delivered, in a matter of fact presentation. David is introduced to the world of seeing and manipulating a reality that is sort of an overlay to ours. Bouh presents things David has never thought possible, and always in a routine fashion. And gradually, David learns what he can do, and what he can't. He discovers he won't be able to kill rabbits with rocks as easily as Bouh, but not because he lacks magical powers; it's just that he can't throw rocks well at all. He finds that he can see things that Bouh can't, because David understands radio waves and how electricity works, and Bouh doesn't.
And then, SO abruptly that there just HAS to be a yet-to-be-revealed plot point in there somewhere, , David has to flee Africa and return to the US. In the process, he discovers that certain others can detect his power over the Otherworld, and react violently to him because of it.
Then it gets more intense, with gangsters, bad cops, and Amish hexes.
A very few story lines get resolved; this HAS to be book one of at least five. If I thought this was a one-off, I'd give the story ONE star, for being such a tease, but the author has no history of such things. I want to find out what happens in Africa, how the Penn-Dutch hex woman figures into the story, and about five more things.
I haven't read the other reviews, but I'm going to that when I get a chance, mostly, because I want to see if anyone else remarked on the realism of the first part of the book. First, though, I had to revise this review, because the previous version suffered by being written under a self-imposed deadline.
November 26, 2018
Once in a Great While.....
...... you encounter a novel so entertaining that you HATE to finish reading it.
This was one such novel. The protagonist was interesting, the premise was intriguing, and I would not mind a bit if there were sequels. Thought provoking encounters with matters ranging from monstrous extradimensional creatures, to homemade Pennsylvania Dutch hex signs, to the attempted study of the effects of a particular plant from rural Ethiopia kept me reading to the end, even as I regretted reaching it.
...... you encounter a novel so entertaining that you HATE to finish reading it.
This was one such novel. The protagonist was interesting, the premise was intriguing, and I would not mind a bit if there were sequels. Thought provoking encounters with matters ranging from monstrous extradimensional creatures, to homemade Pennsylvania Dutch hex signs, to the attempted study of the effects of a particular plant from rural Ethiopia kept me reading to the end, even as I regretted reaching it.
November 17, 2018
Science of Real Magic
This story of a younger brother heir who is tasked by his multi millionaire father to make a pilgrimage to Africa to learn from a medicine man to get his inheritance is awesome story. It's kind of like Carlos Castanada. Makes me want to find the wizards weed myself. The MC is convinced there is no such thing as magic, just science we don't understand yet.
I love April, but would rather another few books from this story first.
This story of a younger brother heir who is tasked by his multi millionaire father to make a pilgrimage to Africa to learn from a medicine man to get his inheritance is awesome story. It's kind of like Carlos Castanada. Makes me want to find the wizards weed myself. The MC is convinced there is no such thing as magic, just science we don't understand yet.
I love April, but would rather another few books from this story first.
December 5, 2018
Ignore the cover, this is not new age woo-woo
If you really like magical realism with Exotic Other Cultures mined for pseudo-spirituality, this book will seriously disappoint. It's fantasy, but very science-fictional fantasy with a capable hero facing ever-escalating and increasingly weird odds. The world-building and magic system are pretty interesting too. I'll definitely be getting the next book in the series.
If you really like magical realism with Exotic Other Cultures mined for pseudo-spirituality, this book will seriously disappoint. It's fantasy, but very science-fictional fantasy with a capable hero facing ever-escalating and increasingly weird odds. The world-building and magic system are pretty interesting too. I'll definitely be getting the next book in the series.
December 29, 2018
Knew it was good by the sixth page and only got better.
Had the book for a month or so, but was put off by the title and cover as I am a SciF I fanatic and neither of those seemed appropriate for the genre. Because I loved the "April" Series I finally decided to read a chapter so I could get it off my download list.
I got hooked fast and hard...read it in two settings and cannot wait for the next in the series. Loved the book!!
Had the book for a month or so, but was put off by the title and cover as I am a SciF I fanatic and neither of those seemed appropriate for the genre. Because I loved the "April" Series I finally decided to read a chapter so I could get it off my download list.
I got hooked fast and hard...read it in two settings and cannot wait for the next in the series. Loved the book!!
November 15, 2018
Another great story line by Mackey!
I don't know what story he will write after the one he has start but whatever he writes. I will buy.
Pro: Very different story idea.
Con: Many typos, etc. He is already taking corrections, put I wish he had someone to do them so he can keep writing.
I don't know what story he will write after the one he has start but whatever he writes. I will buy.
Pro: Very different story idea.
Con: Many typos, etc. He is already taking corrections, put I wish he had someone to do them so he can keep writing.
November 21, 2018
Great book.
I have read Mr Chandler's other works. This is his best if not overall then certainly in a long time.
A modern day look at magic from a somewhat scientific point of view. This book rocks it out of the park. Hopefully the sequel which is set up fairly well compares favorably to the high bar set by the original.
I have read Mr Chandler's other works. This is his best if not overall then certainly in a long time.
A modern day look at magic from a somewhat scientific point of view. This book rocks it out of the park. Hopefully the sequel which is set up fairly well compares favorably to the high bar set by the original.
November 22, 2018
Doesn't end
It's a very good book, and Mr Chandler is an entertaining story teller. But the story just stops with no ending. Loose ends aren't tied up, plot threads aren't resolved, and nobody lives happily ever after. One hopes Mr Chandler intends to write a sequel where some of those ending-type of things are done.
It's a very good book, and Mr Chandler is an entertaining story teller. But the story just stops with no ending. Loose ends aren't tied up, plot threads aren't resolved, and nobody lives happily ever after. One hopes Mr Chandler intends to write a sequel where some of those ending-type of things are done.
December 10, 2018
Would Uncle consider me for a walk?
I read 78% of this last night, giving up a little after 3 a.m. Thank you for this, I don't understand some of the details, but this is a good book. I'm going to buy it to join my Mackey Chandler collection. I also hope it is not a stand alone book.
I read 78% of this last night, giving up a little after 3 a.m. Thank you for this, I don't understand some of the details, but this is a good book. I'm going to buy it to join my Mackey Chandler collection. I also hope it is not a stand alone book.
December 7, 2018
Pretty good read.
Not flashy, but this author doesn't really do lots of booms. It is, however, a very good start on a new universe. (Multiverse?)
Good characterization and a fair plot with lots of hooks for a series, though he doesn't say so...
Not flashy, but this author doesn't really do lots of booms. It is, however, a very good start on a new universe. (Multiverse?)
Good characterization and a fair plot with lots of hooks for a series, though he doesn't say so...
July 26, 2020
I was greatly reminded of the Wizard Engineer series and was ready with a 4 or even 5 star rating ... but it just finished! Ended! without going anywhere!
unless I missed some subtlety I felt things just stopped, which is sad because the exploration of these forces was great fun. ,
unless I missed some subtlety I felt things just stopped, which is sad because the exploration of these forces was great fun. ,
November 18, 2018
Very good
This is a fun change of pace from Mr. Chandler. It has the makings of a very interesting series, so I hope it doesn’t stay a one off.
This is a fun change of pace from Mr. Chandler. It has the makings of a very interesting series, so I hope it doesn’t stay a one off.
November 19, 2018
Mackey does it again!
Super good story, and yet another universe or three to play in. I love the characters, especially “Uncle”.
Get writing Chandler!
Super good story, and yet another universe or three to play in. I love the characters, especially “Uncle”.
Get writing Chandler!
November 20, 2018
Very nice. Something between Newton's Cannon by J Gregory Keyes and Zaliterr's Epigraphy. But with Chandler's usual dystopian view of near-future US, slightly muted in this case.
December 26, 2018
Another good read from Mr Chandler
A departure from his previous space opera series and very enjoyable. Good characters. When I read a book in 3 sittings you know it's good
A departure from his previous space opera series and very enjoyable. Good characters. When I read a book in 3 sittings you know it's good
January 20, 2019
Soo good!
This book was great, very interesting, I couldn't put it down its now 4:18 am and I have no regrets.
This book was great, very interesting, I couldn't put it down its now 4:18 am and I have no regrets.
May 18, 2019
Awesome!
December 29, 2021
Science fiction but on the strange side. Not related to any of the author’s other books, but it’s clear that a sequel is planned. I’m not sure it’s worth rereading as often as I reread his April series, but I’ll definitely read the sequel.
Update: this book appears to be out of print now, so I guess it won’t have any sequel.
Update: this book appears to be out of print now, so I guess it won’t have any sequel.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews