The Tempest In Glass

by Dirk Eichhorst

Ever since intelligence officer Marvin Fischer’s plea to spare his wife’s life was ignored by God, he fills the void with luxury living and no longer believes in the power of prayer. But when single-mother Rubi Valdez insists he pray for her safety, Marvin complies, resulting in a shocking accident. Haunted by guilt, Marvin is determined to understand why his prayers are met with disaster, and desperately seeks a way to reunite Rubi with her young son, Antonio.

World-renowned medium Amina Karimova senses perilous turbulence on the other side, and fears the spiritual world is caught in an unprecedented assault by some unknown power.

Led to Amina through a mysterious message, Marvin and Antonio embark with her on a dangerous quest through ancient ruins and mystical realms, where legendary spirits reveal unspeakable secrets altering the course of eternity. Tasked with the mission to reset the constancy of the spiritual realm, Marvin must let go of logic to revive his faith, or Rubi Valdez and millions like her will be lost forever.

478 pages, Paperback

First published February 23, 2022

About the author

Dirk Eichhorst is the founder and former president of Cumberland Media Ministries Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that specialized in producing promotional videos for Bible camps and other non-profits. He served as Production Manager for L. Plummer Communications in Southfield, Michigan, and as Media Director for The Holy Land Experience in Orlando, Florida. Dirk worked freelance for many years with West Coast Media, Inc. shooting business and broadcast.

Dirk has been a conference speaker on the topics of screenwriting and motion picture directing, served as Membership Chair of West Michigan Film Video Alliance, and is an Accolade Award recipient for Body Balancing by Tim Michaels.

Dirk’s work has taken him across America, to Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

Dirk completed classes in film production at Columbia College Chicago, holds a General Studies degree from Macomb Community College, an Associates degree in Counterterrorism and a BA in Intelligence Studies, both from American Public University with honors.

Dirk enjoys back-country camping with his son Tobias, weight training, model building, and hauling ass in his Ford Mustang.

Reviews

[Brenda Hasse · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing novel! I read the entire book in one day. Could not put it down. Eichhorst has woven a story that will keep you turning the novel's pages.

[Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

“It’s a mystery, Marvin,” said Deckland quietly. “A great mystery.”

We’ve all done it. We’ve whispered a silent prayer steeped in desperation and hope in the darkest hours of our lives. Marvin Fischer has done it, too. And like most of us, his prayer—that one important prayer—went unanswered.

This is what makes Marvin, the protagonist in Dirk Eichhorst fantasy novel, The Tempest In Glass , so easy to connect with. He is us at some point in our lives. He prayed, felt betrayed, and lost faith. And throughout this novel, he embarks on a journey to find the answer as to why God seems to ignore even the deepest, most faithful prayers in our hearts, especially those that concern the protection and healing of our loved ones.

Could it be that our faith is not enough? What is God trying to tell us when he leaves our prayers unanswered? Could it all really be a part of some grand plan, wherein God is the one true conductor? If everything is all up to God’s will, then what’s the point of praying?

Tough questions, that not even a clergyman could give Marvin a clear and definite answer. Like us, he is told to just have faith. Believe. God has a reason for everything he does—or doesn’t do.

But if you’ve just lost someone even after your most earnest, most desperate plea for divine intervention, these types of answers tend to get annoying real fast. Props to Marvin for being more mature about it than I can ever be.

To balance it all out, though, there’s also Antonio Valdez, the twelve-year-old son of the seemingly random woman who approached Marvin one fine morning and asked the faithless man to please, please pray for her safety. And, of course, this prayer—now reluctantly delivered—went unanswered as well.

But despite this, and in great contrast to Marvin, Antonio kept his faith, along with his natural curiosity, and unshakable belief in a heaven. He serves as a stark reminder that we, too, were once young and innocent and kept our eyes to the stars, before we grew up and became more aware of the darkness of night.

Together with the spirit medium, Amina Karimova, Marvin and Antonio journey together to different lands, both in this realm and on different planes of existence, in search for a world-renowned saint who may hold all the answers. Amina’s extensive knowledge of the cultures, myths and lore of various faiths also opened doors for other familiar cast of characters to join the fray and add more layers of mystic and intrigue to the entire story.

The Tempest In Glass is truly an enjoyable, thought-provoking read, with characters that are very easy to relate with on different levels. The settings are beautifully described, and the smorgasbord of myths and lore are seamlessly meshed together to offer a bizarre, yet fascinating answer to the ultimate question: What happens to all our unanswered prayers?

This novel has caught me at a time when I, too, am having the same kinds of questions, experiencing the same level of faithlessness and doubt as its embittered protagonist. So what it excelled at for me was really getting into the core of Marvin’s emotions, putting into words those familiar bouts of pain and resentment that chafed my own wounds raw. Ironically, it also felt quite healing.

The ending, however, was a bit of a letdown, which is the reason why this is only a four-star read for me. Don’t get me wrong, that ending was beautiful. But after the roller coaster of emotions I’ve gone through with Marvin, getting gradually convinced that perhaps having faith in God’s grand plan really is enough, that kind of ending just left me feeling frustrated.

It went against the story’s message about the true power and purpose of prayer and faith, and how some miracles are just not meant to happen. It is all well and good that Marvin found a way to turn things around for himself and Antonio, but where in the world am I supposed to find my own Tempest in Glass to break?

I just felt like it could’ve ended on a more realistic note.

But, maybe that’s just me.

I recommend this novel to anyone who likes their fantasy with a touch of real-world mysticism and mythology.

I received an advance reader's copy of this book to review from Reedsy Discovery. Thank you very much!

[Literary Reviewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Tempest In Glass by Dirk Eichhorst begins rather prosaically, Marvin is drinking his morning coffee and taking in his surroundings outside of a coffeehouse before he tackles the day. He then receives a text from an unknown person; which propels the story in unexpected and ethereal directions. Mystified by this text and who it came from, a woman named Ruby asks Marvin to pray for her. Confused, Marvin prays for her but what he does not expect is for her to get into a traffic accident and die. This startling sequence of events sends Marvin on a riveting supernatural quest for answers.

The author has written a creative and unpredictable story. The book explores a variety of topics from various types of religion, to death, the supernatural and loss. Marvin’s character is one that I disliked at first, because of his seemingly shallow nature, but I grew fond of his character by the end because of the interesting evolution he goes through as a character in this story. He seemed sad, lost, and materialistic in the beginning of this novel, but after his journey, readers can see that he is caring, kind, and has a new outlook on faith.

Amina’s character is one that I was immediately fond of. Her knowledge of almost every religion and her profound mediumship is deeply intriguing. Amina is intelligent, a natural beauty, and her character brought much needed depth to this surreal paranormal story. When she described things, she makes readers feel like they are in the story.

Eichhorst does a fantastic job of showing the reader rather than telling them what is happening. The author does this well with Marvin’s wife who had passed away years ago and Marvin is still grieving from his loss.

While I enjoyed the book, I felt like there is a lot of time spent describing people, places and scenarios. The ideas and scenes are fantastic and I think the story would benefit from being a bit more succinct. But if you are a reader who enjoys being immersed in a fully realized world, then author Dirk Eichhorst has a richly imagined world for you to inhabit. Besides that, there are many thought-provoking connections to religion, much of which I believe makes this book much more enticing and intellectually deeper for me.

The Tempest in Glass is a rare work of supernatural fiction that will entertain readers looking for a thoughtfully constructed story with a provocative character on a compelling journey that will consistently surprise you.

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eichhorst paints vivid pictures of the environs his characters inhibit. It's as if he's set dressing for a film and he as the director can see what's in front of him with HD clarity.

Marvin is such a well rounded character that I was enthralled to be on his adventure of self discovery with him. He has a monumental task ahead of him in his truth seeking, but he steps up to the challenge and fulfills his inner calling.

Prayer is such a powerful tool. Throughout this novel, characters interact with prayer and what it means to each of them. For some it's a comfort, while for others it's a struggle to believe the prayers will be heard and answered. This book is in no way preachy about religion or prayer. Instead it is a well woven character in itself, driving the story forward to a believable conclusion.