Book Review: - Harbinger, by Jack Skillingstead

Harbinger, by Jack Skillingstead

By Toria Burrell, 9/23/12

First, I'm not typically a big reader of SF, but that is changing more as I discover masterpieces of literature in the SF genre, like this one! I'm a big fan of SF movies and TV series, but I'm coming at this book with a limited experience of SF books. (But I think the genre is becoming more fluid now anyway). Whether this book fits into the genre of SF neatly or not, it is without doubt, excellent literature.

Maybe excellent literature in the SF genre is still relatively rare? According to one of the accolades on the back cover of Harbinger: "In a day when too many SF novels are all about sizzle, with no steak underneath, Harbinger is that rarest of commodities - a character-based novel... daring to flirt with an edge of spirituality...."

It was this statement above all, that sold me on the book, before I bought it - and boy! I wasn't disappointed! I love the way Skillingstead does indeed "flirt with spirituality". He makes it very enticing - The main character, Ellis is a totally engaging, multi-dimensional, fully believable and lovable character. As he develops from moody innocent teenager to cynical, weary adult, his moments of trying to "believe" - in the concept called "Evolution Consciousness" - (essentially coming to terms with his immortality) - feel very good and emotionally satisfying. Skillingstead successfully combines the pursuit of "stone cold rationalism" with more than a healthy dose of mysticism.

Science fiction may seem atheist, rational, non-spiritual, even gloomy, at times, but the whole process of exploring the future, dreaming up new futuristic technology, machines, aliens, etc - is spiritual in itself... It is the process of exploring realms outside of the human. Which is what religions and spiritual practices do too.

Harbinger is an amazing story, full of adventure, suspense and thrilling action, (as well as a satisfying amount of romance and sensuality), that takes us way out into the far reaches of outer space and hundreds of years into the future. I enjoyed the detailed descriptions of the futuristic technologies, gadgets, planets, aliens and ideas. The writing is also full of down-to-earth wit, humor and raw emotion too, which keeps everything grounded in a strong sense of reality, even through mind-blowing time shifts, temporal time warps, parallel realities and anomalies... You end up reeling and clinging on to reality with your bare knuckles, just as Ellis does (for the most part).

Ultimately, it's a journey of discovery - of what Ellis is, what has happened to him - the mystery of his immortality, and why certain themes have appeared over and over again in his many life times. There is a strong sense of hope throughout the journey - hope that it is all worth it, and that life - his life - human life - does ultimately have purpose and meaning, despite the inevitable grief, suffering and hardship that we cannot avoid.

Skillingstead masterfully writes, at the end of Harbinger, "The collective unconscious of the human race senses its ultimate demise and attempts to rescue itself by producing, in as many individuals as possible, a higher consciousness that will transcend the human." This is a wonderful, philosophical statement, which sums up why we, as humans pursue faith, belief systems, religion or spirituality - in order to cope with grief, suffering and hardship .

Spirituality, psychology and philosophy are subjects that I have delved into a lot, with the purpose of studying the human psyche, and our need for spiritualism. Writing books of any kind, but especially SF, is one way to achieve that - to "transcend the human".

As humans, we struggle with this rationalism / mysticism paradox - We see our need for spiritualism as just that - a human need. Many of us look at ourselves being spiritual and laugh, thinking it's daft, or childish, or "bullshit". But, then, that part of us that doesn't come from the conscious chattering mind - our subconscious, or our soul, (or whatever you want to call it) - stands back with a calm demeanor and smiles knowingly - and says "It's OK to be skeptical. But it's all true really - you are just too small and puny to understand."

Even the most rational of us like to toy with the thought that there might be a higher consciousness out there - (always outside ourselves) that is larger than us - more complicated than us - that is far too vast and rich and mind-blowing for us to ever really grasp.

The more intelligent and inquiring we are, the more frustrating it is that we can't grasp this "higher consciousness", or this spirituality - we can't touch it - we can't control it, and god knows we all want to be in control! (Or maybe the more masculine side of us wants to be in control - whether we're male or female). Supposedly, the feminine side of our nature (in both males and females) is better at just "letting go" or bending to life's pain, rather than being so rigid.

And yet, even as intelligent as we are, part of us finds spirituality comforting - the idea that we can just give in, and have faith - like a child trusting its mother or father... We can ultimately stop struggling to understand, we can even stop struggling to survive - because we can rest back on faith - that "it will all be all right if we just let go."

Bereavement and loss throws everything into question, and this is what makes our brains produce spiritual thought processes - as a survival instinct. We make a shift in our thought processes and cling to spirituality, whether it comes to us naturally or not - as a way of coping with and living with the harsh reality of death. We discover that if we don't bend to life's pain, and we just remain rigidly rational, we inevitably snap, and either go mad or die.

This, for me, is what makes Harbinger and the main character Ellis so compelling - the whole theme of grief, bereavement and dying. And, imagining having to cope with grief over and over again, as an immortal being. Skillingstead makes immortality totally believable and real and tangible - and tragic. I loved how the book explores the whole idea of immortality - through Ellis - pushing it's implications to the limits - exploring what it might really be like, and how we as humans would cope (or not cope).

Ultimately - Skillingstead does not draw any conclusions (which is perfect) - He leaves us with the important philosophical questions - Is immortality better than death? Is death a final oblivion? Is there something else "out there"? Do we really want there to be something else? Is it healthier to cling to life or let go and embrace death? Are our souls worthy of transcending our mere human, finite bodies? Who gets to decide who is worthy to transcend beyond death / beyond the human? And, if we do transcend death or human limitations, is it a gift, or a punishment? A blessing or a curse?

The author tries to have it both ways: - rational and mystical...And I think it's possible to do so. It's a balance. Which is a nice thing - Like yin and yang, masculine and feminine, push and pull. Two opposing forces, two opposing view points. Paradoxically co-existing.