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On The Table Read Magazine, “the best book magazine in the UK“, Parker J. Duncan’s final instalment of the Winds of The Immortals trilogy, Cellar Door Parallax, picks up 45 years after the end of the Zurvan reign.
Cellar Door Parallax
Cellar Door Parallax is the much anticipated third and final instalment of Parker J. Duncan’s Winds of the Immortals trilogy.
Set 45 years on from where book two left off with the end of the Zurvan reign, Cellar Door Parallax catches up with protagonists Melody and Michael in a world that, whilst environmentally and politically more stable, is starting to show the omnipresent characteristics of human behaviour that make Utopia an endless impossibility.
The Earth is a peaceful planet where solar panels cover the deserts and green pastures feed communities who have phased out currency in place of a local trade system. Michael and Melody are benevolent Sararan leaders who have assembled a democratically elected council in Geneva to regulate the less populated world, but a darkness grows in the west. Letters from Native American tribes find their way to the council describing a disturbing resonance near Shaktis sunken palace. With the Zurvan Order having signed a treaty of alliance years before, the royal Immortal couple is puzzled as to the origin of this mysterious demonic signal.
Meanwhile, Melody’s ambassador finds who she believes to be the reincarnation of Pavonis: a young adventurous girl from the Balkans named Devonia. All Melody wants is a pupil to teach, but Michael wants a son, and becomes increasingly weary from both his wife’s reluctance to bear children and his deteriorating mental state from engaging in shadow wars in Africa.
Between Michael’s perception of betrayal he feels from Melody, and his complex emotions regarding his forced indoctrination into the Zurvan Order almost a half century earlier, Michael seeks meaning at his mother’s grave where a former enemy befriends him there; a woman who knew him at his darkest hour, her web of seduction spun and waiting…
Breaking from previous conventions, Parker J. Duncan introduces an element of time travel, with this novel jumping forward twenty years in order for the author to share his full narrative, without the need for a fourth instalment.
An intriguing finale to a standout series, Cellar Door Parallax remains true to the author’s themes of environment, ecology and religious freedoms and works well as a standalone read. But, if sci-fi and magical realism is your thing, and you have the time, treat yourself and read all three.
Parker J. Duncan
Though the story starts in a utopia-like setting, the characters become increasingly weary of a new evil rising in Caldera, and their lack of defensive capabilities is highlighted by those who can for-see a great war coming.
The key ideas of this novel are how pacifism is a form of privilege and how peace is only temporary, how a world without justice is doomed, and how age and gender play very little into what makes a hero, as there are children who turn the tides of battles and a transgender assassin who is one of the most powerful humans in the series.
The book highlights the illusion of democracy in the wake of a benevolent dictatorship or loose oligarchy, and the political issues with religious freedom in a largely atheistic and pagan world. What makes Cellar Door Parallax unique to the other two books is the fact that a little over half way through the book, a chapter begins 20 years in the future from the date of the previous chapter, as the two previous books primarily took place in a single time period.
While I considered writing a fourth book to represent the multi-generational time scape, I felt the second half was much better as an extension of the first half and took the reader for an even wilder ride they wouldn’t expect. This second time period of book III represents less of the political and social side of my message, and more the philosophical and mythological messages which are present throughout the series, such as purpose, love, and the relationship between a father and his son.
-Parker J. Duncan
Parker was raised in the rugged mountains of Montana where he grew up hunting and hiking in the outdoors while developing a love for books and poetry at a young age. He won the Authors of the Flathead poetry competition in 2008 and was published in several local poetry publications.
As a budding writer and musician, Parker carried his passion to music school in Los Angeles where he studied bass guitar and connected with peers from all over the world. His friends in school offered several unique perspectives from their various locations on the globe, giving Parker a broader scope to challenge his beliefs and opinions.
After school, he began writing the epic Winds of the Immortals Trilogy while travelling and working as a forester through the vast lands of the North American west. Journeying through wilderness’s such as the Cascades, Alaska, the Rocky Mountains, and New Mexico and Arizona deserts inspired Parker to formulate his dystopian saga between both his long stints on the fire line, and off-season side quests as well.
His writing is influenced by mythology, folklore, epic poetry, stories of people facing adversity, modern and ancient military history, and multi-cultural perspectives.
In April 2022, Parker became a certified protection specialist after graduating with honours from Executive Security International in Grand Junction, Colorado.
Find more from Parker J. Duncan now:
Facebook: Parker Duncan
Instagram: parkerjduncan
Kindle: https://amzn.to/48jj0AH
Paperback: https://amzn.to/48sF100
Waterstones | Cranthorpe Millner
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