Shirley Johnson/Senior Reviewer
The Kabalyon Key
by: Charles Westbrook
ISBN#978-0962655418
Right from the beginning of this book mysteries begin to layer themselves, characters working in darkness, uncovering facts that you as the reader register in your mind wondering what road you are about to travel. You are taken around the world, into different lands and cultures, people and events as the story moves along through time to bring to you present day America and a man and woman, Winston and Susan, who are about to take on a quest for answers that will be world shattering. As you read each chapter you are given more information and your mind tries to piece together the morsels set before you. What can it mean and how does this information lead to the problem and the solution of a world-wide computer virus that could cause global destruction? Susan and Winston must find the answer.
The characters that you will encounter are often dark, mysterious and threatening. Their secrets hidden, begging you to uncover them, yet carefully shadowed and kept from detection until our author sheds the light upon them. What a ride. What a read.
I truly cannot begin to write a short review of what this book is about. It covers the pursuit of God. His Glory, the quest to know of man's soul, man's eternal destiny, the battle for control of man and nations, the history and beliefs of our forefathers and our nation, and a plan for the future well hidden, just to name a few topics. All of these and more are tightly wrapped up within this story. Amazing.
This book is not one that you will read through quickly, you simply must give yourself time to savor each page and let your mind digest what you have read. Our author, Charles Westbrook, has truly given some historical facts that are well worth your attention, along with illustrations. My hat off to him, what an amazing author he is. A true religious mystery, one that will keep you up night after night until you read the final page. Truly a work of art, a book that if reread I am sure will bring more to light than was previously seen. Very well done, a true masterpiece of writing ability. Recommended.
August 19, 2009: The Kabalyon key is a fascinating, and worthy, end-of-summer read. While short on hyper-drama, the book is rife with wonderful morsels of arcane historical reference; enough to tease any history buff into submission. Westwood's style, though quirky enough, paints impeccable visuals and tactiles along the way to. where-ever and everywhere else, and back; from the top of Devil's Tower to the center of the Earth, there is no place Westwood's gritty and persistent characters won't go to get to secrets unknown. For any student that needs a kick-start back into the knowledge stream (fall classes) The Kabalyon Key proves to be a well studied mind-opener. Non-academics may struggle a bit. a brainy book from a brainy guy, I would presume. Meanwhile, the main characters in The Kabalyon Key are well portrayed, while the lesser players are appropriately a bit more cartoon-ish The book's only weakness, for some, will be the author's seeming pre-occupation with ancient mythology, religious symbolism and government subversion; all the stuff I liked. The Kabalyon Key, though occasionally rambling, is the conspiracy-theorists' crème de la crème with a salty taste and an Earthy bite. My geo-mystery pick of the year. If you are looking for a drag-through, don't bother. If you're looking for a deeper read, plan to spend a few thought-provoking evenings with The Kabalyon Key and juke up on your world history a little in the process.
Reader Rating:
Five Stars See Detailed Ratings
August 13, 2009: This is a very detailed story that cannot be read in a couple of days due to the amount of material it covers. The dialog gets wordy in the middle chapters due to detailed explanations. This is a good book for learning history without being overwhelmed by facts. The dialog between the characters nicely weaves the history into the quest presented in the story. The book takes us to real places using real history and science as guidelines. I enjoyed it and found it to be a real learning experience, which had me referencing the internet as I went along.
When a reader is on his own quest of discovery, the story helps him find common relationships between the various subjects and get a more thorough picture of the whole.
The chapter on the cosmology of Jerusalem makes a good read for those who want to discover the lost grail legends . or the history of Jerusalem. And those interested in obtaining a more complete understanding of the significance of the Temple Mount and the old adage "as above so below" would find this book very worthwhile.
The chapter on the Vatican offered a unique tour of the architectural design of Rome as a religious symbol and place of pilgrimage.
The story also touches on social issues, as well as, legal issues concerning the First Amendment and the separation of church and state. It leaves you questioning the rights of any organization, which artistically shapes a city to its own design and the rights of the individual citizen who cannot.
The characters are well-developed with moral teaching sprinkled throughout the interplay between characters, especially the relations between Winston and Billy. Although the start of the novel begins with some action, much of the story is an investigation into arcane history by various characters, who might best be referred to as teachers, who teach on multiple subjects of understanding associated with the symbolic meaning of Washington related to astronomy, geography, philosophy, sociology, and mythology. It is about revealing relationships and common themes, which forces us to ponder ideas that may not have ever occured to us.
The story points to engineers and architects as being the creators of Washington, not just Freemasonry. The conspiracy aspect of the plot is not necessarily anti-freemasonry, but is not pro-masonry either. It does point to a hidden power, a big brother or globalism, and to the group actually in control, but it allows the reader to decide for himself who that power may be.
All in all, a good book, which should serve as a good alternate read to "The Lost Symbol" as it clears up some of the questionable history found in the Dan Brown novels.
The Kabalyon Key
ISBN 978-0-9626554-1-8
Illustrated Edition / 454 pages / 112 maps and illustrations / journal-size book 6.6 X 9.6 / The word count is equal to two traditional novels.
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