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Beyond Neanderthal
Synopsis:
There is an energy force in the world—known to the Ancients—that has largely escaped the interest of the modern day world. Why? There are allusions to this energy in the Chinese I-Ching, in the Hebrew Torah, in the Christian Bible, in the Hindu Sanskrit Ramayana and in the Muslim Holy Qur'an. Its force is strongest within the Earth's magnetic triangles.
Near one of these--the Bermuda Triangle--circumstances bring together four very different people. Patrick Gallagher is a mining engineer searching for a viable alternative to fossil fuels; Tara Geoffrey, an airline pilot on holidays in the Caribbean; Yehuda Rosenberg, a physicist preoccupied with ancient history; and Mehmet Kuhl, a minerals broker, a Sufi Muslim with an unusual past. Can they unravel the secrets of the Ancients that may also hold the answer to the future of civilization?
About the Author:
In 1987, Brian and his young family migrated from South Africa to Australia where he was employed in Citicorp’s Venture Capital division. He was expecting that Natural Gas would become the world’s next energy paradigm but, surprisingly, it was slow in coming. He then became conscious of the raw power of self-serving vested interests to trump what – from an ethical perspective – should have been society’s greater interests.
Eventually, in 2005, with encouragement from his long suffering wife, Denise, he decided to do something about what he was witnessing: Beyond Neanderthal was the result; The Last Finesse is the prequel.
The Last Finesse is Brian’s second factional novel. Both were written for the simultaneous entertainment and invigoration of the thinking element of society. It is a prequel to Beyond Neanderthal, which takes a visionary view of humanity’s future, provided we can sublimate our Neanderthal drive to entrench pecking orders in society. The Last Finesse is more “now” oriented. Together, these two books reflect a holistic, right brain/left brain view of the challenges faced by humanity; and how we might meet them. All our problems – including the mountain of debt that casts its shadow over the world’s wallowing economy – are soluble.
There is an energy force in the world—known to the Ancients—that has largely escaped the interest of the modern day world. Why? There are allusions to this energy in the Chinese I-Ching, in the Hebrew Torah, in the Christian Bible, in the Hindu Sanskrit Ramayana and in the Muslim Holy Qur'an. Its force is strongest within the Earth's magnetic triangles.
Near one of these--the Bermuda Triangle--circumstances bring together four very different people. Patrick Gallagher is a mining engineer searching for a viable alternative to fossil fuels; Tara Geoffrey, an airline pilot on holidays in the Caribbean; Yehuda Rosenberg, a physicist preoccupied with ancient history; and Mehmet Kuhl, a minerals broker, a Sufi Muslim with an unusual past. Can they unravel the secrets of the Ancients that may also hold the answer to the future of civilization?
About the Author:
In 1987, Brian and his young family migrated from South Africa to Australia where he was employed in Citicorp’s Venture Capital division. He was expecting that Natural Gas would become the world’s next energy paradigm but, surprisingly, it was slow in coming. He then became conscious of the raw power of self-serving vested interests to trump what – from an ethical perspective – should have been society’s greater interests.
Eventually, in 2005, with encouragement from his long suffering wife, Denise, he decided to do something about what he was witnessing: Beyond Neanderthal was the result; The Last Finesse is the prequel.
The Last Finesse is Brian’s second factional novel. Both were written for the simultaneous entertainment and invigoration of the thinking element of society. It is a prequel to Beyond Neanderthal, which takes a visionary view of humanity’s future, provided we can sublimate our Neanderthal drive to entrench pecking orders in society. The Last Finesse is more “now” oriented. Together, these two books reflect a holistic, right brain/left brain view of the challenges faced by humanity; and how we might meet them. All our problems – including the mountain of debt that casts its shadow over the world’s wallowing economy – are soluble.
448 pages, Paperback
First published June 19, 2008
About the author
Brian Bloom
3 books2 followersBorn in South Africa and now living in Australia, Brian Bloom was educated and trained in the disciplines of law, finance and manufacturing. With decades of coal-face experience spanning Africa, Australia, Latin America and the US, he came to understand that the global economic system – indeed all organised life on the planet – would eventually become dysfunctional if we humans did not adapt to sublimate our Neanderthal legacies of ego and testosterone. His entertaining and humorous novels have an underlying agenda: To stimulate sensible discussion about the future. Our starting point will be to harness universally ubiquitous energy.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 17, 2013
First, Beyond Neanderthal is a great title! Thematically the book touches on how as humans we know so much and can do so much, but we are still out of touch with some of the most important forces surrounding and impacting us. The idea that we are barely past our initial evolutionary stage is intriguing, and it’s a strength of the book that Bloom doesn’t overreach or disappear completely into mysticism but anchors his ideas in real science and human skills as well as exploring the nature of human interpretation of phenomena, including communication.
In the novel we have four characters from different backgrounds (nationality as well as career-wise) who come for different reasons to the Dominican Republic and cross paths professionally and/or personally and come into contact with ideas of electromagnetic fields, their potential for new forms of harvestable energy, and their effects on us, which perhaps intersect with religious feeling and expression. There is a central love story between an accomplished female pilot from the US and an Australian mining specialist, which adds another layer to the plot but also allows thematic exploration of synergy, energy exchange, and how humans interpret each other. They interact with Yehuda and Mehmet who bring scholarly Jewish and Muslim perspectives to the interplay between the world, the energy that is made of and surrounds it, and how humans interact with it and each other. It’s interesting stuff, and there’s even an international banking angle on the side.
My favourite aspect of the novel was a flight through the Bermuda triangle that our intrepid pilot, Tara, makes with her new Aussie love interest. The electromagnetic forces come into play physically, and it’s an exciting set piece which also propels the reader into new thinking about the invisible aspects of the world as we know it, and is great fun if you have ever been interested in the Bermuda triangle itself.
I’m not sure it all comes together in the end, and the religious aspects seem to be a little tenuous at times, but overall it’s a very interesting, stimulating read.
In the novel we have four characters from different backgrounds (nationality as well as career-wise) who come for different reasons to the Dominican Republic and cross paths professionally and/or personally and come into contact with ideas of electromagnetic fields, their potential for new forms of harvestable energy, and their effects on us, which perhaps intersect with religious feeling and expression. There is a central love story between an accomplished female pilot from the US and an Australian mining specialist, which adds another layer to the plot but also allows thematic exploration of synergy, energy exchange, and how humans interpret each other. They interact with Yehuda and Mehmet who bring scholarly Jewish and Muslim perspectives to the interplay between the world, the energy that is made of and surrounds it, and how humans interact with it and each other. It’s interesting stuff, and there’s even an international banking angle on the side.
My favourite aspect of the novel was a flight through the Bermuda triangle that our intrepid pilot, Tara, makes with her new Aussie love interest. The electromagnetic forces come into play physically, and it’s an exciting set piece which also propels the reader into new thinking about the invisible aspects of the world as we know it, and is great fun if you have ever been interested in the Bermuda triangle itself.
I’m not sure it all comes together in the end, and the religious aspects seem to be a little tenuous at times, but overall it’s a very interesting, stimulating read.
October 28, 2013
I read Brian Bloom's second book, The Last Finesse, before reading this one. I have to admit I wish I would have read this one first. I loved The Last Finesse, and enjoyed this book equally.
I have always enjoyed stories around the Bermuda Triangle, for some reason it has always fascinated me. I like how Bloom brings together 4 very different people. Patrick, is my favorite character- He is a mining Engineer. Tara, Yehuda, and Mehmet are equally likable.
Beyond Neanderthal touches on aspects of our current life, Banking/Finance, Climate, renewable energy, and much more. This book, along with The Last Finesse will get you thinking about where human life is headed, and the things that can impact human life immediately.
I think that people would change how they treated the planet, each other and the future if they read both of these novels. I suggest everyone reading this review does!
5 stars!
I have always enjoyed stories around the Bermuda Triangle, for some reason it has always fascinated me. I like how Bloom brings together 4 very different people. Patrick, is my favorite character- He is a mining Engineer. Tara, Yehuda, and Mehmet are equally likable.
Beyond Neanderthal touches on aspects of our current life, Banking/Finance, Climate, renewable energy, and much more. This book, along with The Last Finesse will get you thinking about where human life is headed, and the things that can impact human life immediately.
I think that people would change how they treated the planet, each other and the future if they read both of these novels. I suggest everyone reading this review does!
5 stars!
October 26, 2013
I am by no means an academic and I generally shy away from a book that forces me to think and to understand things outside of my comfort zone. This book, however, is really mind blowing in it's ability to bring the reader into an intellectual world while allowing the reader to never feel outpaced or intellectually inferior.
You will be challenged and rewarded with an understanding of exactly how the global economy centers and thrives around energy. We get to follow some great thinkers from different backgrounds who represent different interests as the work of fiction shows us how the future may look.
I am really interested to read The Last Finesse which is Mr. Bloom's sophomore work. I understand that it takes these concepts further.
Anyone with an interest in our planet, how we treat it, and how we need to protect and conserve should read this book. I'm really glad I did.
You will be challenged and rewarded with an understanding of exactly how the global economy centers and thrives around energy. We get to follow some great thinkers from different backgrounds who represent different interests as the work of fiction shows us how the future may look.
I am really interested to read The Last Finesse which is Mr. Bloom's sophomore work. I understand that it takes these concepts further.
Anyone with an interest in our planet, how we treat it, and how we need to protect and conserve should read this book. I'm really glad I did.
April 28, 2019
This was a disappointment. I expected an interesting thriller, offering excitement probably more on the field of ideas than the arena of action, but any expectation of thrills in whichever form remained unfulfilled. The scenes that were somewhat interesting were the long discussions about science, religion and ancient mysteries, interspersed by cocktail parties, dinner dates and trips that were not or hardly relevant to the story, not to mention a love story that seemed to be written for teenagers and got way too much screentime. After about 250 pages I just couldn't bear it anymore. I had high hopes for this one but the lack of pace, the flat writing, the sometimes childlike dialogues and the love story turned me off.
November 28, 2013
‘It is a natural human trait that no one wishes to be seen as foolish.’
Referring to Brian Bloom as an author seems grossly insufficient. Yes, he has written this hefty book and has been able to shadow fact with solid fictional drapery, creating credible characters to serve up his viewpoint of the current situation in the world today. But it seems Bloom is more a seer, an investigative mind who has studied the development of the chaos that faces us in the survival of our civilization as we are stepping on it, places the ecological trauma in perspective and then becomes a prophet of hope. So how to classify him? Just read the book and make up your own mind.
Bloom is a South African born transplant to Australia, a man whose beginnings were in the corporate world: big business and corporate greed he understands. But at the same time he was busying himself as a strategic adviser to emerging high growth businesses, he was also becoming aware of ecology questions and the accompanying fears of where we are headed if we refuse to acknowledge the heeds for alternative power – away from Peak Oil. Or as he states in his books Epilogue, ‘Some will argue, with compelling logic, that the end of the current epoch of human existence is not only in sight, it is imminent…. It is my view that to compare what is coming down the turnpike with the 1930s “Depression” is facile. The economic, social and ecological environments are not comparable. As my novels attempt to demonstrate, the news is not all bad. Once a problem is understood and defined, it can be addressed. We have both the technological expertise and strength of character to address our problems. The challenge revolves around organization and in rearranging our hierarchy of values.’ He then asks, ‘When will a society-wide understanding finally dawn that the manner in which humanity has organized its affairs to date is no longer sustainable? What will emerge to take its place?’
BEYOND NEANDERTHAL, written in the language of a mystery thriller novel that enhances its suspense and credibility, blends the wisdom of the ancients - the Chinese I-Chin, in the Hebrew Torah, in the Christian Bible, in the Hindu Sanskrit Ramayana and in the Muslim Holy Qur'an – to address the Electromagnetic technology concept known for centuries. To carry this discussion into a compelling story he has created four characters - Patrick Gallagher, a mining engineer obsessed with finding a viable alternative to fossil fuels; Tara Geoffrey, an airline pilot who happens to be in the location of the action - the Caribbean, Yehuda Rosenberg, a physicist immersed in ancient history; and Mehmet Kuhl, a minerals broker – who ?by accident? coalesce in the zone of the Bermuda Triangle. It is though their interactions and dialogue that the novel surfaces the philosophical questions Bloom seeks to address. Ancient civilizations, stock markets, alternative energies, the real relevance of gold all are part of the energy of this book. Bloom is no ‘conspiracy theorist’ but seems to have found a common thread everything in our spectrum of knowledge. The answers to our ecological future feel palpably close.
Grady Harp
Referring to Brian Bloom as an author seems grossly insufficient. Yes, he has written this hefty book and has been able to shadow fact with solid fictional drapery, creating credible characters to serve up his viewpoint of the current situation in the world today. But it seems Bloom is more a seer, an investigative mind who has studied the development of the chaos that faces us in the survival of our civilization as we are stepping on it, places the ecological trauma in perspective and then becomes a prophet of hope. So how to classify him? Just read the book and make up your own mind.
Bloom is a South African born transplant to Australia, a man whose beginnings were in the corporate world: big business and corporate greed he understands. But at the same time he was busying himself as a strategic adviser to emerging high growth businesses, he was also becoming aware of ecology questions and the accompanying fears of where we are headed if we refuse to acknowledge the heeds for alternative power – away from Peak Oil. Or as he states in his books Epilogue, ‘Some will argue, with compelling logic, that the end of the current epoch of human existence is not only in sight, it is imminent…. It is my view that to compare what is coming down the turnpike with the 1930s “Depression” is facile. The economic, social and ecological environments are not comparable. As my novels attempt to demonstrate, the news is not all bad. Once a problem is understood and defined, it can be addressed. We have both the technological expertise and strength of character to address our problems. The challenge revolves around organization and in rearranging our hierarchy of values.’ He then asks, ‘When will a society-wide understanding finally dawn that the manner in which humanity has organized its affairs to date is no longer sustainable? What will emerge to take its place?’
BEYOND NEANDERTHAL, written in the language of a mystery thriller novel that enhances its suspense and credibility, blends the wisdom of the ancients - the Chinese I-Chin, in the Hebrew Torah, in the Christian Bible, in the Hindu Sanskrit Ramayana and in the Muslim Holy Qur'an – to address the Electromagnetic technology concept known for centuries. To carry this discussion into a compelling story he has created four characters - Patrick Gallagher, a mining engineer obsessed with finding a viable alternative to fossil fuels; Tara Geoffrey, an airline pilot who happens to be in the location of the action - the Caribbean, Yehuda Rosenberg, a physicist immersed in ancient history; and Mehmet Kuhl, a minerals broker – who ?by accident? coalesce in the zone of the Bermuda Triangle. It is though their interactions and dialogue that the novel surfaces the philosophical questions Bloom seeks to address. Ancient civilizations, stock markets, alternative energies, the real relevance of gold all are part of the energy of this book. Bloom is no ‘conspiracy theorist’ but seems to have found a common thread everything in our spectrum of knowledge. The answers to our ecological future feel palpably close.
Grady Harp
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews