Miguel Traveler: The Man from Texas – by Daniel McFatter. ISBN 978-1-5323-6614-7. Published by Brave Mission Publishing, 2016. The reviewer received the book from the author as an e-book in pdf format.

Review by Chris Phillips

Miguel wakes up floating in a solution and being hugged and cared for by “Mama”. There is a lot going on around him and all of a sudden he is pulled from a large tank of liquid into the arms of Alice, the Woman in Black. This is the surprise start.

The story is told from Miguel’s perspective, at all times. It is unusual for a first-person book to hold the interest of most readers, but this is one of the few that is very well written. There are 3 sections, each one preceded by a poem which, however, becomes important to the story. Almost from the beginning there is action, excitement, and so many seemingly mundane encounters, but it turns out they really aren’t.

“Man is himself the Great Work, a puzzle to be opened, explored and finally resolved.” This quote is almost integral to a good in-depth analysis of the book. This is a book that requires some reflection after reading it due to the depth it presents.

Miguel shifts perspective from the dystopian future where “Man Diminished” to the time of his previous life in the early 2000s, Part 2, “Once upon a time on Farm Road 216.” Much has changed in the long time (undefined but suggested as 250 years in the future from Miguel’s life when he disappeared in 2012). And Miguel must discover it, face it and find his own place. It is not until the very last moment that the plot reaches its climax and Miguel’s purpose in life is found and fulfilled.

Although Miguel is the main character and the narrator, there are many people who enter the narrative. Most of them fit well into the current events of today, especially the ones from the previous life, however, there are so many new types of creatures, people, and other entities in the future that it sometimes leads to confusion, which gradually leads to a greater understanding of what Miguel thinks of himself and other humans. The first life is a collection of memories that he recalls slowly at first but become vividly clear and integral to the plot and Miguel’s self-discovery in the future world.

With simulators, enhanced humans, diseased humans, and entities that look like humans but have abilities far beyond normal human abilities, the book covers a lot of ground and also reveals, very gradually, that humans are at the core of the situation, the problems, and the solutions. .

The characters are well enough developed for each other’s purpose in the story. The plot is unrelenting and yet very reasonable looking back through the book. It is well developed and carried out with some finesse. The writing is usually consistent and apparently Miguel’s memory is very detailed about how the first life is transmitted and those situations. There are some difficult passages based on dialect and some in Spanish, however these too are discernible with a little thought.

This book can be recommended to any reader. There is some adult language, adult situations that don’t involve sex, and a lot of extreme violence. Those would be precautions for younger readers. Those who like post-apocalyptic stories will enjoy this. Those who like psychologically and sociologically based drama will definitely enjoy this.

highly recommended

5 stars.