Book Evaluation: The Underlying Hand: Book 1 of “The Divine Chronicles,” by Roger P Koch

Combining components of drama, historical fiction and science fiction, The Underlying Hand is an original, fascinating novel that explores controversial subjects such as the origins of mankind, the Sons of God, Eden, and The Flood.

The story begins in the Nibiru Space Station 64,000 years before The Flood. Having escaped from close to annihilation, the Marduks are now in search of a solar technique and habitable planet that can sustain their existence. They must locate a new residence as soon as possible simply because they are being bombarded by cosmic radiation and many of their individuals are suffering from tumors and cancer. Luckily, scientists are operating on this to discover a remedy and do so early in the story, with the added advantage of close to immortality. Years pass and they lastly reach planet earth, a place related to their own in atmosphere and cellular life. They initial land in a valley filled with lush grasslands and berries, a valley they name Eden. When they recognize the creatures in this planet are technologically inferior, the Marduks take the arrogant assumption that they are superior in all aspects and they’ll be looked upon as gods. Most of them do not think about the possibility that maybe these primitive-looking, earthly creatures are far more advanced in other ways than their personal.

The Marduks are a technologically super-advanced society with a dictatorial monarchy. Their original lifespan of 12,000 years has been expanded to near infinite provided they take their radiation bath remedy. The king, Jova, has absolute, god-like power. His power is followed by a Council. The novel, nevertheless, is primarily told from the perspective of Nin, Jova’s daughter, who acts as a sort of observer to everything that is going on. By means of her dialogue with other characters and specially her conversations with her two brothers as well as with Uriel, the royal sage and mentor, the author raises a lot of essential issues such as: What is the spiritual cost of a super-advanced society? Is immortality worth pursuing? Is it the law of the universe for the stronger to dominate the weaker? Is there such a thing as a soul or consciousness?

As the Marduks begin colonizing earth, they experience a shift caused by the “eternal polarizer”-that is, God and religion. Jova’s two sons take opposing, conflicting views as they rule more than the earthly creatures, causing prosperity and harm to each their own race and mankind. Eventually, they must determine whether or not to sacrifice their identity and genetically mingle with mankind in order to survive and reach their ambitious aspirations.

Written with unique attention to detail, The Underlying Hand is an engrossing, fascinating read that will make you believe about our origins and wonder about the hierarchies of intelligent societies. Even though it has strong science fiction components, it reads far more like significant drama than a typical commercial page-turner. The author makes use of a lot of dialogue to relay data and advance the plot. The setting is skillfully crafted, making the space station and the planet of the Marduks alive with vivid images and detail. There is also a lot of intriguing description relating to biology and genetics. This isn’t a novel very easily forgotten and I’m certainly seeking forward to the subsequent installment in the chronicles. Proposed.

Book information:

Title: The Underlying Hand – Book One particular of the Divine Chronicles
Author: Roger P. Koch
Publisher: Xlibris
Publication date: November 2011
ISBN 10: Paperback 978-1-4653-0020-1
ISBN 13: Hardback 978-1-4653-0021-8
Number of pages: 330
Price: $ 29.99 Paperback $ 49.99 Hardback
Genre: Visionary Fiction