Cryptogram: ... Because The Past Is Never Past

by Michael Tobert

Two Men and a Woman. 800 Years. It isn't over when it's over.

It is 2050 in a cold town in northern Europe. The war has ended but the streets are still dangerous. Three lovers, Stephen, Suzanna and Rokas, live under the shadow of the gun-king Porphyrian, but are driven by their common history and unfinished business during an earlier age of darkness, the Cathar Inquisition of the 13th century.

And between the dystopian worlds of the 13th and 21st centuries? ... Other times and other places, stories and sideways glances. Because the past is never past. Lives loop. The direction of travel is circular. What do we bring with us when we arrive? What is progress? What is death?"

231 pages, Paperback

First published December 12, 2014

About the author

Michael Tobert’s books have been either literary, historical or humorous (or a combination of all three). Frequently overlapping these categories, has been his deep interest in India.

Before he started writing, Michael went to Oxford University, started a publishing company of sorts and later studied the great Indian epic, the Mahabharata, at the University of Edinburgh.

He lives in Scotland where he and his wife have built a Montessori nursery school at the bottom of their garden. While she nurtures the children, he scythes the nettles and whispers encouragement to the wild flowers.

His website is the place for more details: www.michaeltobertbooks.com

Reviews

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 3 out of 5]

The setting is unusual - the Carcassonne limestone area of Kate Mosse's Labyrinth fame. The main characters are first shown to us in a future which is dark, violent and gloomy. They work in a bar or in a factory which turns out guns, including handbag-size one-shot guns. Walking at night isn't safe even for groups. All the businesses are owned by the faceless Porphryrian. We get told up front that one of the side characters will die by his own hand by the end of the tale. This does turn you off getting invested in any character.

Then we tumble back to the good old days, when the Inquisition was intent on finding sin, fornication and blasphemy in every village. Just to make sure, they question a local girl with the same name as one of the characters from the future tale. Torture is an option that is always on the table.

The author is intent on showing that reincarnation may exist and if it does, could echoes from a past life affect a future life? I found the general atmosphere too oppressive and unpleasant in both times for me to enjoy the tale, and I thought the use of present tense didn't flow too well. I could have done without the conceit of short prose pieces inserted as though they had been written by a future character. I wanted to get on with the story.

Other readers may well give a higher rating. If you want to continue exploring reincarnation, try The Years Of Rice And Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's a novel that makes you think - about life, love, the future and the past. At the centre of the book is a love triangle, between Stephen, Susanna and the strange giant of a man Rokas. Their tangled relationship takes place in a dystopian world in Northern Europe in the near future. One of the most impressive things about the book is the author's ability to make this near future believable. But there are other times and places here too - the protagonists appear to have a previous connection during the time of the Cathar heresy; meanwhile strange fragments intersperse the narrative set in other time periods. The book's ending - in an unexpected New World - gives major pause for thought. Highly recommended.

[Nicole Leigh West · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a haunting, mysterious and captivating read. I was hooked from the first sentence and emotionally invested in the 3 main characters as original and beautifully portrayed strangers who quickly become intimate. Twists, turns and adventures mix with insights for the soul and with all that, it's easy to forget that the writing is brilliant as the story grips you until the end.