The best books of contemporary visionary fiction

The Midnight Library is a book of Literary and Visionary Fiction that uses relatable characters faced with profound spiritual dilemmas.

The author explores the space between life and death as I have often imagined the Last Judgment to be; i.e., not a condemnation of one’s life against absolute values, but a review with options. What if I had done this instead of that—the exploration of alternate realities and the lessons they would render, or not.

All of this overseen, not by an angry, finger-pointing God, but by a version of ourselves. In this case that version is a librarian who invites the protagonist to explore, even live out other choices in parallel time and space.

As in my stories, Haig uses a sampler of spiritual law in alignment with what we now know about quantum possibility. We live many lives! We are present on many planes in many dimensions!

Haig’s library is a version of the Theosophic Akashic Record, where all is recorded, understood, and sometimes even malleable. By taking this journey with a relatable contemporary heroine, the author provides us with a vehicle to take the journey ourselves. 

This book began like a narrative poem with a constant, urgent refrain from a soul born and lost in infancy then later in childhood and again in young adulthood.

A soul born and lost, over and over, until finally, she manages to push her way into this world and survive. A soul with a mission from beyond whose urgency is immediate and critical. A mission that simply could not wait for another time, because without it, time itself was at risk.

For me, Life After Life is a book of significant genius. It represents Deus ex Machina—the hand of God—as a legitimate character, punching his way into our world, incarnate, by way of a willing human soul. The Christ story, if you will, with a host of modern updates.

This resonated with me, because I know there are souls in every generation who pepper the earth unrecognized, prepared to do anything it takes to move humanity forward.

After decades, this story stays with me as if I’d just read it. It’s the story of the best of us.

Anthony Doerr’s masterpiece follows three sets of characters in three different time periods in three different settings.

The common thread is a book they are all reading—the ancient story of Aethon, a boy who wishes to become a bird and fly. It is a visionary tale as much about the desperation of confinement as it is about metamorphosis. About growing wings and rising above the mundane into the quixotic.

The visionary elements in this book include the timelessness of story and the awakening (and indomitability) of the higher spirit. It illustrates that, were it not for layers upon layers of archaic belief systems and their implicit binding deceits, we would all see beyond the horizon. We would all be free as birds.

To step past the restricted area is an individual decision as wildly courageous as it is shockingly simple. Paradigm shifts are always that way. Heart over mind, especially the collective mind. A vehicle navigated by the collective mind will never grow wings. The collective mind travels laterally along well-worn pavement, its vision obscured by the overgrowth of irrelevancy. Only visionaries take risks.

Even though this tale is long and complex with each of its three separate stories braided intricately throughout (best to jot character notes), it is so very worth its powerful, ingenious, and revelatory conclusion.

This is a timeless visionary tale of the power of otherness.

Its hero, Moojie Littleman, struggles through life with physical handicaps that pale in comparison to the social handicaps of the grownups who are supposed to be caring for him. His is a hero’s journey about light and love, the power to heal, and the moral convictions that are only revealed in solitude.

Young Moojie, a disappointment even to himself, must look beyond his life circumstances for the answers he seeks. He must be open to new friends, new dimensions, and new possibilities. He must learn to employ his otherness as a tool, not only of survival, but of abundance.

The lyrical prose and unique voice of this tale enhance the strong character and storylines that are sure to inspire generations of young adults and older readers alike. Author, Robin Gregory, is an exceptional storyteller in the classical style of a bygone era. This is a literary and spiritual gem of a tale.

Okay, you got me. This is not a book of fiction, although cynics may disagree. It’s a book of quantum possibility based on hard science and evolved visionary theory.

Like all of my stories, Biocentrism places consciousness at the center of its premise, presenting an important new human/world/cosmic view of well, everything. Like its author, Robert Lanza, I believe that consciousness is the essential fabric of mind, soul, and matter. Everything arises from it. Nothing is conceived without it.

The characters in my stories are always guided toward the higher aspects of their awareness in order to create new realities. Waking up to the understanding of a consciousness-centric existence changes not only us, but everything we know. Everything we thought we knew. And most importantly, forms the basis of everything we do from this point forward.

Biocentrism, as well as Lanza’s other books, provide a scientific foundation for what was previously considered mystical, philosophical, religious, or even magical abstraction. Luckily for us, as complex as it sounds, it’s delivered in highly readable language and relatable form.