The Kundalini Equation

by Steven Barnes

Adam Ludlum has always been an underachiever. Then, as his father lays dying and his girlfriend gives him one final chance to shape up, Adam determines to take control of his life. He pursues a path, through yoga, martial arts and the teachings of a mysterious Eastern mystic known only as Savagi, to immense strength and power.

While early changes in Adam's fitness and physical strength seem positive, as his abilities grow Adam finds himself unable to control his anger or his reactions. He has gained superhuman powers -- and become a fugitive from the law as well as the focus of a sinister cult. Stepping back from the precipice of killings and uncontrollable violence seems impossible, as Adam's friends and two Los Angeles police detectives seek to halt the destruction that Adam has unleashed.

A fast-paced, moving and powerful novel. A thriller that leaves one questioning the boundaries of the natural and supernatural.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Thriller, Urban Fantasy

348 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1986

About the author

Steven Barnes (born March 1, 1952, Los Angeles, California) is an African American science fiction writer, lecturer, creative consultant, and human performance technician. He has written several episodes of The Outer Limits and Baywatch, as well as the Stargate SG-1 episode "Brief Candle" and the Andromeda episode "The Sum of its Parts". Barnes' first published piece of fiction, the novelette The Locusts (1979), written with Larry Niven, and was a Hugo Award nominee.

Reviews

[Marvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dr Jekyll? The Incredible Hulk? Hannibal Lecter? Thor with a bad migraine? Adam Ludlum joins the pantheon of pissed off anti-heroes you do not want to mess with. At first he doesn't seem like much. Obese, nerdy, a failure in everything he does, and he is in the middle of losing his hot girl friend. How he ever got the hot girl friend in the first place is a mystery this book never answers. But he is about to change everything when he messes with powers no man should know.

"Don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."



Wrong out-of-control monster. But you get the idea.

Stephen Barnes' second solo novel is a lot of fun if often a little intense and slightly disorganized. Those who have only read his collaborations with Larry Niven will be impressed with his ability to weave a coherent plot out of simple ideas. The author combines martial arts, eastern mysticism, and some modern psychology into a good tale about the inner beast in us. This is a nice summer read . It may not leave you with much to think about later but you will enjoy the ride.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finally had a chance to re-read this book after 25 years (it really isn't easy to find). It is a true favorite of mine and might even manage to get into the rotation of books that I read on a yearly basis (the others being Shadowland by Straub and Armor by Steakley).

IF you can find a copy of this long out of print book, I strongly recommend it.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nerdy Adam Ludlum, needing to lose weight to keep his girlfriend, stumbles on the secret of the ultimate power which is the basis of all martial arts. A secret which gives him power which gets beyond his control...
This was my second reading of this 1986 book, a book I thoroughly enjoyed. Author Steven Barnes is a student of martial arts and brings his knowledge of that to the story...I'll have to look into more of his work.

[Randy Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm sorry this book it was very good up until the main character degraded down into a basic serial killer. I really wasn't interested in reading books about Serial killer cannibals. It's too bad that this book is based on a stupid premise. I could barely continued reading this once I found out that the whole book is based on the premise that at the core of every individual, at the root of ourself is only pure evil and the desire to consume another's brain.

Now I will admit that I did stop reading this book when the main character started killing people so I'm not sure how the author ends the book, but if you're interested in reading how a normal person can slowly go insane and become a serial killer by following a mystic path go ahead and read this book may be the author found someway to come up with a happy ending. My guess would be the main character probably dies at the end.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very different and quite enjoyable contemporary Jeckle and Hyde. An excessively overweight, aging man, overwhelmed by various factors in his life, uses an ancient and ultimately destructive yoga practice to initially slim down and to recreate his life into a positive effort rather than a crushing defeat, but his practice ends up transforming him and taking him over as is by demonic possession. Barnes has a talent for descriptive narrative and I very much enjoyed the protagonists inner journey. Barnes' love for martial arts also reflects my own and his narrative of Adam's inner demon taking over and exponentially super charging his previous martial arts practice was, speaking for myself, just among the best I ever read.

[David Drake · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as a child and remembered some of the concepts so I read it again to get a different perspective. It's great. A little simplistic, but very good. Definitely worth a read.

[Denman G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a guy's guy's book. I am not the target audience for the book. Barnes probably put a lot of himself into the character, and he probably had a lot of fun doing it. The book is entertaining. The protagonist is sympathetic, the pacing is good, and the internal movie screen never flickers. If you are looking for a book about a guy finding his internal power and having some sob moments, internal revelations, and head trips along the way, then this is your book.

[Engie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, it was ok. Not my cup of tea but decent writing.

[Kwesi Brookins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure how I feel about this reading. I started this book twice before and finally finished it on this third attempt. The storyline of what I guess I would call a mystical martial arts young man conquering his inadequacies and lack of confidence, and then coming into his own...and then beyond...did not excite. I almost gave up on the book again about halfway through since it mostly dealt with this angst. While the characters and tension was being setup earlier in the book, it was relatively uninteresting and overwhelmed by the main character's story. And then, when the action picked up and the "whys" and "hows" of the story began to make sense, the bigger picture never came together for me and the resolution was unsatisfying, particularly in a way that would help me care about either the characters or the story as a whole.

[Lyle Mccollough · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this when it first was published. Reread it recently when I found a copy at the thrift store. Steven Barnes was a go to back in the day when you didn't have a lot real martial artist writing sci fi. The story is fast as is typical of Barnes and the characters are decently written. The metamorphosis of the main character is handled well. The science (?) Is made somewhat believable and the ending is exciting. If you like martial arts and eastern spiritual traditions you may like this(or hate it) .

[Stroctoperry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is why white dudes shouldn't get into mysticism. Who knows when they might accidentally stumble upon an evil One Punch Man protocol and nearly destroy California? Bad news.

I wasn't sure I was into it until I realized that the main character... isn't. He's more like a developing situation that other, more sympathetic people have to deal with.

So, in short - check in with your friends if it looks like they are getting into something dumb before they become everyone's problem.

[Madlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book took my on an out of America experience- Adam is incredible at times when it comes to him controlling his own life destiny.

[Al Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book, several good ideas well told.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book

Take physical Fitness to its darkest extreme is the there here. Action scenes are wonderful and Barnes is a great writer

[Rebecca Amodeo]

This is the third book I've read from Barnes. (To be precise, it's the first one I've listened to as an audiobook after reading two others in print.) I felt relatively uninterested in the main character and am not sure I would have finished it if I hadn't started it on a long drive. Once the book focused more on the seconday characters (maybe 2/3 through), I became much more engaged.

[D.K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steven Barnes knowledge of fitness and martial arts are highlighted in this story. Adam Ludlum was obese and never committed himself to anything for very long, not unless he became responsible for his dying father. Adam promises to make changes in his life with his weight, his career and his lover. In desperation, he does something he would never have considered in the past. He visits a temple of a cult, where the leader convinces Adam to read material on improving mind and body.

In a short time, Adam’s body becomes more fit and he’s stronger than he has ever been in his life. Even his relationship with his lover grew. But what Adam thought was a victory for him, quickly turned into horror. Obsessed with improving his mind and body, Adams taps into a supernatural power that is slowly taking control of him.

Well-written, great characters, good pacing and a dramatic climax are all highlighted in this larger-than-life story.

[Tony Hinde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in the early 1980s, this book seems like the last gasp of the spiritual science fiction spawned by the flower-children of the sixties.

Barnes creates mystical logic as if he was breastfed eastern religious tracts as a baby. I doubt the book could have held a reader's attention half so well, without this earnest and seemingly sincere persuasion.

The protagonist is a sympathetic loser, whose transformation borrows from a long tradition of super-men. What makes this journey different is that Adam seems to be taking a darker route... less ubermensch than Ungeistmensch.

Few overt moral judgments are imposed on Adam's path. So at one point, the reader is quite willing to support the rising anti-hero... reveling in his newly found power and violence. This may say more about male power-fantasies than the author. Regardless, I enjoyed it all, especially the ending.

[astaliegurec · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read Steven Barnes' "The Kundalini Equation" darn near 30 years ago. I loved it then and love it now. It's also one of the few books from my youth that have weathered the intervening decades well. About the only thing that didn't handle the changes well is the computer the protagonist uses (ah, I remember the good old days). Anyway, the writing, world, characters, and plot are all excellent. The book is very intense, metaphysical (especially for a science fiction book), and interesting to read. I rate it at an Excellent 5 stars out of 5 and highly recommend it.

[Phil Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to stop. I looked at when this was written, and of course it was the 90s. Only during that period could something like this have made it. Just the whole pseudo-mystical eastern religion stuff that I would have gobbled up like candy when i was a teenager, is just too simplistic and painful to read as an adult. I bet i would have loved this book had i read it 20 years ago. Now, i don't care about Adam, i don't care about his special journey down some yoga-type road that also makes him an incredible martial artist and blah blah blah.

[Daniel Christensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was exposed to Steven Barnes through his association with Scott Sonnon’s Circular Strength Training Community – movement oriented blend of bodyweight training, Club bells, martial arts, and a bit of (sometimes wanky) sports psychology.



I wanted to read this book for years before I got it on Kindle.



It starts out a bit slow, and feels a bit over-written in places, but turns into quick a good (pulpy) page turner.



Fits in the martial arts-sci fi-thriller genre. Somehow reminiscent of Neal Stephenson's Cobweb, but not really.

[Bryan457 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very overweight computer nerd finds what he thinks is a super effective diet program based in some ancient eastern religious practices. He uses a powerful combination of yogic breath work, visualization, martial arts and diet, recreating a mind/body technology that evolves him from human to super-human.

This is an absolutely riveting book. I could not put it down.

[Joseph Meister · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can not say enough about this book.
The characters are well written.
The story is very original and it draws you in.
I do not want to give anything away, but it does a great job of telling Adams journey from standard lazy man to something much greater.

I have read it a couple of times and definitely recommend it to everyone.

[Ade Oluyemisi · Rating 5 out of 5]

An example of what can happen if you are not guided or misguided on your spiritual sojourn

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to caveat my rating because I read this when I was 17! I thought it was mind-boggling then, but haven't re-read it, so I don't know how it would hold up.

[Aaron Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was decently written, but it felt forced to me, and never managed to capture me or to suspend my disbelief.

[Terri Light · Rating 4 out of 5]

This read like the novelization of a comic in the vein of Watchmen. I found it action-packed and interesting if a little melodramatic.

[Frank Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a well written and very detailed.

[Alan Mendozian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thee first time I read this book I would've rated it a 5. After rereading it I realized the writing wasn't that great but the story is still awesome!