Goodreads' Author Group discussion

For years, Jonathan has been taught that too much knowledge acquired too soon does more harm than good. That's what the sacred texts teach. Jonathan knows the sacred texts and the tales of ancient times backward and forward. He has heard them his entire life, and they have shaped his perception of the world. But perception and reality are often very different.

Levels follows Jonathan as his formal primary education comes to an end. After a lifetime of learning by rote from the ancient texts and doing whatever his teachers tell him to do, Jonathan now has a chance to explore his world for himself and put the teachings he knows so well to the test. Jonathan leaves school and advances to the next level in his rigidly structured society. He is subjected to an orchestrated series of physical and mental challenges. To advance to the highest levels of his society and at last learn the true nature of the sheltered world in which he was raised, Jonathan must display courage, tolerance, and maturity.

As Jonathan and his classmates advance to their society's highest levels, they are gradually exposed to a surprisingly diverse group of people. They also begin to learn just how much has been kept from them during their lives. Only if Jonathan reaches his society's highest level will he be able to learn the truth about his world and the organization that controls it. Will Jonathan prove worthy of advancement? Or will he remain sheltered from the truth he desperately longs to learn?

Goodreads Author Group Members,

It should be noted that the novel Levels was commercially available from Aug. 9, 2011 through Dec. 31, 2016, the date on which the publisher declared bankruptcy and went out of business. A few commercial vendors still have used copies and units purchased on a contingency basis for sale. Since royalties were paid to me by the publisher at the time of the original transactions, no further royalties are warranted.

Although not a commercial success by industry standards, more units of Levels were purchased and, I presume, read or listened to than I ever dreamed would be, so I feel that the time, effort, and expenses expended upon writing and publishing the book were well worth it.

The final quarterly sales report issued by the publisher reveal that total units sold and royalties paid to me during the 5 years and 4 months of the book's commercial availability were as follows:
Aug. 9, 2011 through Dec. 31, 2017
Total Units Sold: 1,029 - Total Royalties Paid: $2,358.34
Paperback: 485 units (47.1%) - Royalties paid: $1,547.34
E-Book: 480 units (46.7%) - Royalties paid: $584.43
Audio Book on CD: 36 (3.5%) - Royalties paid: $134.17
Audio Book Downloads: 28 (2.7%) - Royalties paid: $92.40

Jim Vuksic

In response to those who have requested a more detailed description of what the novel Levels is about, I hope the following synopsis provides a satisfactory answer.

The world has been laid waste by countless wars, environmental disasters, and self-destructive behavior. A small band of survivors is determined to create and maintain a new social structure in which the misguided and evil practices of the past will not be permitted to exist.

Three hundred cycles (years) later, we join Jonathan and his cycle-mates as their formal primary education is about to come to an end. They will soon advance to the next social level, the first of many levels in which they will systemically be subjected to orchestrated mental and physical challenges and make new discoveries beyond anything they could have imagined.

In one level, death, an abstract concept, becomes a harsh reality. In another, they meet beings that physically resemble them in most ways, but not all. They are called females. It is the solemn duty of the females to teach Jonathan and his companions the sacred act of procreation.

In each subsequent level, Jonathan learns many lessons. Most are inspirational, all are shocking. Although everyone willingly follows the sacred teachings that promote fairness and equality within their social structure, Jonathan discovers that each inhabitant of the only world that he has ever known, or thought he knew, is unique and, therefore, different.

Not all inhabitants possess the same physical and mental capabilities. Some cannot see while others are missing an arm or a leg. There are those who prefer to avoid direct eye contact much of the time and speak in a slower more deliberate manner than most. There are some males and females who are attracted to and prefer physical intimacy only with members of their own gender.

As he advances from one social level to the next, Jonathan learns that perception and reality are often very different things. He also learns that being different does not make someone better or worse, it merely makes them different, and that is usually a good thing.

The greatest shock of all comes when Jonathan reaches the highest level. It is here that the truth about the world, the secrets it possesses, and the organization that controls it are revealed.

Levels made some readers angry and others laugh. There are those who expressed a wish that they could be part of such a society. Others vow that they would do what ever necessary so that such a world as portrayed in Levels can never become a reality. One thing for certain, Levels made every reader think and that is a good thing.

I am looking forward to receiving my copy, but unfortunately it will not arrive for another couple of weeks, so my review will be written in June.