The Tribe
- A magical visionary novel by Michael Conneely
BOOK REVIEW
- by Pauline Stephenson of The Book Case, Hebden Bridge
Well-known local astrologer and tantric counsellor Michael Conneely has now branched out as a novelist. His two new novels, which are on sale at The Book Case, put into fictional form some of his immense knowledge of more spiritual ways of being. Michael and his wife Janet spent five years on a social anthropological field study of rituals and meditations, to identify how individuals in the modern west are using new forms of spirituality to understand their personal identity.
'The Tribe' is a book which explores the conflict between two totally opposing belief systems in the aftermath of the destruction of most of humanity during the 'Terrorist Wars'. The one system believes in the survival of the fittest and is reminiscent of all totalitarian regimes which have risen and fallen through the centuries. A reader will find echoes of Roman conquest and Nazi supremacy in the actions of the new rulers who prey on the farming communities. There is also a totally neglected underclass of mutants and outcasts battling for survival in the ruins of the great cities of England. Set against this ruthless ideology is the Tribe who have managed to retain and develop the best of the many spiritual and ethical practices which were both traditional and New Age at the time of the catastrophe. Although the Tribe is very small and has some members who are unable to live up to its ideals nevertheless it does manage to spread its wisdom and collaborative ideas under the developing spiritual leadership of the books main character Liam.
Michael Conneely is clearly very knowledgeable about shamanism, eastern religions and American Indian traditions and uses this knowledge to good effect as he develops his theme of the necessity of spiritual practices if mankind is to have any future other than a totally brutal one.
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