You are correct Ken, touch is very important for healing and for so many other things. Children and adults benefit from human touch. As do animals.

Another question since I've just finished reading Mirage. I posted this in the reading thread, so forgive the redundancy!.....but at the end of the book, where the publisher places adverts for future stories, there was mention of an upcoming FPW book called DNA Wars. Was this renamed or am I missing another book?

I think this refers to Masque, as this is the other collaberation with MC & the name kinda fits the story

I think this refers to Masque, as this is the other collaberation with MC & the name kinda fits the story

I was hoping this was the case. I just started Deep as The Marrow....Masque is next in line to be read.

Thanks!

I thought I'd resurrect this thread and post a comment I'd written elsewhere on the board but couldn't find. I pulled it from my own files...


SPOILER ALERT FOR “THE HAUNTED AIR” AND “MIRAGE”

















I was struck by an interesting visual link between two FPW books.

In “The Haunted Air,” when Charles and Gia are trapped in the basement by the ghost of Tara Portman, they fall into a deep pit. As the dirt walls begin to crumble, Charlie gives Gia one of the “crosses” from the stones in the wall, and she uses it to create hand and foot holds in the dirt walls. As she does so, she comes across bones of children buried in the cellar. Fighting back her fear, Gia continues to dig and begins to rise toward the lip of the pit. Suddenly ghostly little hands emerge from the dirt walls and grab Gia and Charlie, preventing them from escaping. Using the “cross,” Gia slices her way through the hands that continue to multiply, until dozens of little hands are grasping her and it seems she will never get out alive.

In “Mirage,” Julie is in the volcano of Samantha’s mind. She is desperate to connect the severed ends of a bridge that traverses a lava flow and which is a critical connection between parts of Sam’s unconscious mind. After digging deep within herself and tapping newly discovered parts of her own emotional psyche, Julie sees a response from Sam. The response comes in the form of little hands on either end of the ruptured bridge, reaching out and caressing Julie. At first, the hands are those of a tiny child, but they begin to multiply and blossom into dozens of hands from every phase of Sam’s life, little girl through adulthood.

FPW is a physician, a man with healing hands. The laying on of hands is part of medical care, not in a mystical fashion but quite literally. Every physician must use his/her hands to examine the patient.

The imagery is unique and interesting, don’t you think?

Thanks for that wonderful analogy Maggers! I just finished Mirage and was struck with the imagery of all the hands of Sam grasping for Julie, as if each stage of Sam's life suffered and now drew upon Julie's good memories to help bring her back.

I was hoping this was the case. I just started Deep as The Marrow....Masque is next in line to be read.

Thanks!

Cobalt, I think you're gonna LOVE "Deep as the Marrow." It's my absolute favorite non-RJ book and has THE greatest heroine in all of fiction, IMHO. I love Poppy. I want more Poppy.

Cobalt, I think you're gonna LOVE "Deep as the Marrow." It's my absolute favorite non-RJ book and has THE greatest heroine in all of fiction, IMHO. I love Poppy. I want more Poppy.

I think I remember you mentioning Poppy in other reading threads. Thanks!

Thanks for that wonderful analogy Maggers! I just finished Mirage and was struck with the imagery of all the hands of Sam grasping for Julie, as if each stage of Sam's life suffered and now drew upon Julie's good memories to help bring her back.

Thanks, Cobalt. I've written lots of posts like that about other FPW works, but they've been lost over time. About 1.5 years ago many hundreds of threads and all their posts were lost when there was a board conversion of some sort. After that, I began saving my stuff elsewhere, so I'd have it to refer to. There was one, in particular, that I want to dig up....

I was struck by an interesting visual link between two FPW books.

SPOILER! Highlight to read it.

[COLOR="White"]Now that you got me started thinking about links, what about Dalt entering the mind of victims of "The Horrors" in HEALER, and Julie entering Sam's mind in MIRAGE? Many similarities there.
And of course, they're both great stories.[/COLOR]

Ken V.

Don't get out in Leeds much these days - too many kids to deal with these days.

Yes, I know what you mean. Having kids does kind of put a stop to regularly going out for a few beers!

SPOILER! Highlight to read it.

(spoiler text removed)

Ken V.

Ken, that's the coolest way to hide a spoiler! Love it.

-MarcC

SPOILER! Highlight to read it.

Ken V.

I agree, there are multiple parallels in many of FPW's works.