Michael Talbot (2) (1953–1992)

4.5 stars! This book was fantastic!

Set in the Victorian era, this story quietly kicks the crap out of the vampire novels of today. Beautifully written with an intriguing plot and unique characters, I can't say enough about how enjoyable this book was.

Doctor Gladstone, a scientist in London during the Victorian era, accidentally ran over a man who walked in front of his carriage. Due to this man's, (Niccolo's), resemblance to someone Doctor Gladstone once saw in a painting,(and due to his show more vague suspicions as to Niccolo's true nature), this stranger is invited into Gladstone's home. Before you know it, one of Dr. Gladstone's daughters, Camille, has been kidnapped and the adventure begins.

This is a vampire story, but these are not vampires you've read about before. Unlike Rice's or King's, these vamps have been around for millennia. What are their true motives, why have they kidnapped Camille, and what do they plan to do with her? You will have to read this to find out.

With pacing that at times is slow and at other times at breakneck speeds, this story captures the reader and drags them along. Even the slow paced periods were interesting, because the reader is constantly learning new facts, but is unsure as to where they fit into the big picture. Like a jigsaw puzzle with unusually shaped pieces. With fun train and carriage chases, crazy plot twists and flat out "Oh My God" moments, this novel was a real treat.

This is a book of quiet horror. If you are looking for lots of blood and gore, this tome is not for you. However, if you're looking for a literary piece with depth and meaning...look no further.(I would equate this work to the excellent literary horror of the 80's-such as Peter Straub's "Ghost Story", for example.) Well written, (with a vocabulary that forced me to use my Kindle dictionary quite a bit), this book delivers not only a quiet horror story, but also fodder for the mind. I found the concepts that were introduced fascinating and fun to think about. To what would you devote your life if you were immortal?

Lastly, I would avoid reading the introduction until you're finished with the book. I read it after I was finished and was very glad that I did so, because almost the entire plot is laid out there and I think it would have ruined my enjoyment of this tale.

Because I did find the pacing just a tad slow at a couple of points, I deducted half of one star. That is the only negative thing I have to say about this novel. Other than that, it comes with my highest recommendation to fans of dark fiction, gothic horror stories and quiet horror.

*I was provided a free copy of this book from Valancourt Books to honestly review and that is what I have done.* show less

This book was a huge disappointment to me, and a rare instance of a book I did not finish. It dates from 1991, so I expected it not to represent the latest thinking on the subject; but I'm afraid that I found it increasingly rejecting any sort of serious science from about a third of the way in.

The idea of the holographic universe - that what we experience as 'reality' is actually a consensual illusion that we construct on a minute-by-minute basis - is a controversial idea for which there show more continues to be evidence found and new interpretations offered. So far, so good. And the idea is sufficiently strange that it might indeed explain much that is currently unexplainable. Talbot starts off reasonably well, outlining the careers of David Bohm (a physicist) and Karl Pribram (a neurophysiologist) and their thinking on the question of the nature of physical reality. These first chapters are fairly sound (though it has to be said that an internet search does not turn up much on either scientist that could be considered controversial).

After which, Talbot begins to look at "the brain as hologram", taking as a starting point the fact that our senses are interpreted only within the brain and what we think of as an external reality is actually an internal construction. Again, so far, so good; and the arguments are backed up with what appears to be reasonable expositions of the work of published scientists.

But as the book progresses, the discussion veers further away from science and down the path of anecdote. Michael Talbot has written a number of works on psychic experiences, and he dips more and more into that territory than into verifiable or reasoned scientific discussion. Any further discussion on cosmological matters disappears and we concentrate entirely on psychology and (increasingly) parapsychology. When we got onto regression into past lives, auras and chakras, my patience began to give out. And from about half-way through the book, the style turned into pure Readers' Digest and Talbot began to cite his own psychic experiences. At which point, I gave up, exasperated.

The concept of the holographic universe is important and fascinating. This book should not be your entry point to discussion of the subject. show less

I know intellectually that quantum physics is the domain of some of the strangest phenomena imaginable. I know it may be possible to create a sub-atomic particle merely by searching for it, and that two particles separated by many miles can apparently influence each others behavior in ways that suggest either faster-than-light interaction or that the apparent separation between them is not real. I have read that space as we know it may be illusory, that time as a linear process may also be show more an illusion. All of these things fascinate me, and books like 'The Dancing Wu-Li Masters,' The Tao of Physics,' and 'The Holographic Universe' by Michael Talbot feed that fascination. These works are challenging, exciting and, by their extraordinary nature, suspect.

We know this era as one of hard-edged rationalism, linear thinking and cynicism. These traits are normal and easy to share because they are so prevalent, and because, really, no socially-engaged human wants to be regarded as a 'loon' (per another reviewer's dismissive remarks). So on one hand, my responsibility as a modern rational human is to dismiss the ideas of writers like Talbot, who take cutting edge physics as a point of departure and spin it into parallel universes, telepathic and clairvoyant explanations, and into all manner of strange and wonderful possibilities. Like other similar books, 'The Holographic Universe' suggests that mysticism and spirituality may provide useful metaphors for phenomena that scientific investigation is only beginning to sense the existence of . . . and will quite probably experience difficulty describing objectively. Predictably, these suggestions remain largely ignored by mainstream science. It is not comfortable or productive for a professional to publicly hold them.

But on the other hand, there is something both intriguing and intuitively truthful about the idea that mind may determine its reality. Talbot's observations about the way in which quantum particles appear to behave according to how the observer thinks about them certainly provokes some thought. Such 'quantum entanglement' has apparently been observed on the molecular level , as well. Is it possible that perception and creation are two sides of one coin? Are we so in charge of our world that it is exactly as we have judged? Perhaps our thinking is too 'hard' at times. Perhaps James Randi's skeptical challenge to 'prove it,' in fact insures the very outcome that he expects. I wonder.
There is in cosmology a kind of dividing line, which separates individuals by the way they choose to think about reality. Either 1) we populate a mechanistic universe in which consciousness has arisen out of the chaos of matter, or 2) the universe as we know it is a property of mind, and matter has arisen from consciousness. So . . . which of these is the fundamental property of reality? Unfortunately, it seems unprovable, one way or the other. As an adult, I have tended to oscillate back and forth on that question.

So, in order to accept the possibility of alternate dimensions, 'higher realms,' or the validity of near-death experiences, a rational thinker must make a decision to accept an argument which is based on circumstantial evidence. That kind of argument is the real stock-in-trade of 'The Holographic Universe,' if not most calls for acceptance of the numinous. Talbot cites volumes of near-death accounts in which the experiencer corroborates exact operating room procedures; countless telepathic and clairvoyant 'coincidences'; accounts of past-lives remembered under hypnosis in which buildings and geographical layouts are later supported by visits to actual locations. Investigating the sheer volume of notes and references Talbot cites causes that evidence to become weighty indeed. But is it sufficient?

Finally, one must decide for oneself. And continue the search. Good luck! show less

This book is a tour-de-force of information on the cutting edge of research in quantum physics, neurology, parapsychology, psychology, and new age spirituality. There is information on OBEs (Out of Body Experiences), NDEs (Near Death Experiences), miracles, psychic healing, remote viewing, telepathy, telekinesis, and more. This book is not mere speculation, it contains over a 1000 detailed footnotes to books, scientific journals, and even private correspondences with the various researchers. show more The author's thesis is in the title to the book. But the implications of his thesis are truly mind-blowing. I can not do it justice with a summary here.

On a personal note, it has taken me many many months to get through this book. It is not because the book is long, it is only 300 pages. It was not because the book is filled with impenetrable or arcane knowledge; for the most part, I was familiar with the material presented. I did find it annoying that the author's vocabulary exceeded my own, causing me to, far too frequently, to pause and ponder the meaning of some unfamiliar terms. While I was reading this, I took a "break" and read a 500 page SciFi novel, among several other books.

The reason I found this book so hard to get through is simply the fact that my mind was resisting the truth the author was exposing. I would read a chapter, figuratively shake my head, and put the book down so I could mentally process what the author was saying. When I temporarily recovered from having my worldview destroyed, I would pick the book back up and undergo the process again with the next chapter. My (ego) mind did not want to accept the author's view of reality, in spite of his encyclopedic breadth of knowledge and his well documented, decades worth of research to come to the conclusions that he has reached. This is an advanced book for the truth seeker. Well worth a read if you are ready for it. show less