Touch of a Lighter Hand (ePub)

Imagine if, through the practiced art ofmeditative touch, you discovered a moltenstream of psychic energyjust below thesurface of your hands. A mystical gateway toeveryone around you, that revealed theirdeepest beliefs, their most intimate secrets. Awindow into the future that reduced all time tothe eternal present moment. A source ofimmense power to healor to harm. Daniel Michaels develops mysticalabilities that are somehow connected to hishands. Drawn into a world where terrorismand love become inextricably linked, he isperiodically haunted by a recurring dream ofimminent danger. Does it speak of the past,the future, or the frightening figments of avivid imagination?In this riveting drama, author Costa Johnweaves the beauty of Africa, the tension ofMiddle East politics, the meaning of dreams,and the inspiring notion that a spiritualconnection binds us all, into a romantic,political thriller that keeps readers guessinguntil the last page.What People Are SayingTHE TOUCH OF A LIGHTER HANDCosta John 2005Costa Johns intricately woven tale touches on the nuances of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at a deeply human level. So often these clashes are reduced to bloody television coverage and statistics. In this story, the lives and intense passions of the key characters are inextricably connected. Within the grey areas of right and wrong, the righteous and the rebellious, is a world that Costa John describes with acute sensitivity and insight. His style of writing creates well drawn, rounded characters. Women play a powerful role in his novel. Too often in the genre of thriller, their role is victima mounting series of dead and mutilated bodies. If not dead, they are deadly. Whether tough and career minded, or siren and seducer, Johns female characters are also strong, flawed, irrational, passionate, fierce and caring. His principal character, Daniel Michaels, is an extraordinary man. His hands are imbued with energy that he describes as strangely able to project and receive life. His mystical power is latent but heightened by his increasing mastery of Aikido and the philosophy behind this martial art. But it extends beyond physical energy. He has paranormal abilities. His recurring dream grows on the reader and tugs at the edge of the sub-conscious. With mounting unease, as we track the time frame of the book, it leads us inexorably to a revelation, and a sense of dj vu. His soul mate, Liann Zellan, also has the power to heal. Evident from the first moment we meet them, they should and must be together. John keeps them tantalisingly apart, politically and emotionally. They are both attracted and troubled by each others standpoints. His Arabic blood, African heritage and American upbringing become a source of conflict as Liann struggles with a love she believes is at odds with her deep commitment to the Israeli cause. The plot takes the reader from Chicago to San Francisco, from the bush of Southern Africa to the Middle East. Here John masterfully personifies Middle Eastern conflict, where desires and goals seem tantalisingly congruent, but are more often at violent odds. The villains of Costa Johns thriller run the dark side from warring factions, feeding expediently off the conflict, to parasites who benefit from the richness of their hosts whatever side they may be on. For any South African reader, Michaels involvement in the Angolan war as a member of the South African Army in the 70s will resonate strongly. For American readers, this chapter in Africas history may evoke hauntingly similar memories of foreign conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq. But he also draws a vivid picture of African wildlife that reinforces the romance, the wonder, the sights, and the sounds of Africa. The plot races to a climax th