The Karma Trail
Danny McCallan
(Guest Reviewer - Jennifer Bern)
2003 Publish America
ISBN: 1592865887

The terrorist group, Blue Phoenix have murdered Michael Savage's family in a botched car bombing.

Savage vows revenge & trails the killers to the village of ShawsTown where he becomes embroiled in a complex web of deceit, undercover surveillance & murder that start to threaten his sanity.

Beset by mystical visions, the words of an ancient spiritual text & memories of a time long past, can he eliminate the killers before they strike again, & before he loses his mind?

Guest Reviewer Jennifer Bern writes:

There are some books that have the power to touch you, to weave a story, create a character, impart a message or stimulate a train of thought that will stay with you long after you finish the last page. The Karma Trail by Irishman Danny McCallan is just such a book.

McCallan has written this story like a panther stalking prey. Not one word, one syllable is wasted. The Karma Trail covers a myriad of themes -- love, loneliness, rejection, insecurity, faith, death, forgiveness, angels, near death experiences & redemption -- all written in a masterly style. At times McCallan's writing is so poetic that it manages to touch your very soul, at others it is so raw & disturbing that it's like chalk being scraped down a blackboard --unsettling & chilling.

The Karma Trail storyline is straightforward enough. Imagine a landmass between Ireland & North America called Lacramendi, upon which 500 Irish immigrants had set up a colony 200 years ago while fleeing from the Irish famine. This colony is blessed by God & visited by an angel called Novrel who imparted wisdom & visions to the group's leader, who recorded the words in a mystical book called “The Shadrax Maga”. So revered was this leader that even today his followers hold his words sacred. & Michael Savage is just such a follower. When his wife & family are incinerated in a senseless car bombing by an extremist terrorist group, his life is destroyed. Then he must watch as his family's killers flee justice & take refuge in a place from which they cannot be extradited.

Intent on revenge Savage pursues them, the words & teachings of the Shadrax Maga ringing in his ears: that none may outrun their destiny, that none may escape the Karma Trail. Savage soon realizes that the peaceful code he has tried to follow since a boy must now be broken. What follows is an intelligent, penetrating & perceptive journey into the psyche of a truly tormented soul cloaked in an action-packed narrative.

McCallan's ability to portray the psychological angst & thinking processes of his grief-stricken protagonist is stunningly convincing & lifts, what in other hands, would be a routine thriller to the level of personal significance.

The Karma Trail is handled with flair, style & wit, full of unexpected twists, & it never flags. At some points the style is reminiscent of Faulkner or Hemingway in its brevity, clarity & poetic imagery. Some have called this book a “mystical parable”, others “poetic” & “riveting”. I found it simply remarkable.

McCallan's work remains largely unknown outside of Ireland, which I found surprising in light of our large US & UK Irish population & their love for the written & spoken word. Hopefully that will change because this raw & exciting talent deserves to be encouraged & nurtured.
(05/16/04)

Guest Reviewer - Jennifer Bern
2004©Jennifer Bern