Imaginative and provocative, Alex Lucio’s science fiction story deftly explores the universal powers of destruction, destiny, and hope.

Twelve-thousand years ago, a primal entity outside of time and space appeared on Earth, in need of a vessel. Over millennia, it has worn countless faces and been studied and hunted by a handful of souls attuned to its frequency. Its very existence could undermine the faith of billions by rearranging humanity’s ideas of god, mortality and the boundaries of physics.

Giovanni, a researcher, was present when a doorway opened to this realm and witnessed the deadly force lying in wait. But in its shadow pulsed something benevolent and eternal. Now these two opposing forces square off for an epic cycle in the battle for the future of consciousness.

The lives of several characters — Giovanni, the haunted academic; Carlo the secret-keeping priest; Ady the bitter survivor of her father’s ambitions; Baloo the observant English bulldog with a divine secret, and Nick, the innocent bearer of an impossible weight — collide in a spiral of fate that could rewrite history. And if all the pieces align, humanity could reach toward an era of harmony and understanding

A hidden geometric language in the universe’s wavelengths, a cosmic wheel turning, and emotional dread with physical form are just a few enrapturing facets of this sprawling work, which melds theology, science, psychology, history, and existentialism. Seamlessly tying separate centuries, belief structures and storylines into a perplexing knot, this novel is a well-concocted, surprising drama.

The prose sometimes has a mechanical cadence, with short, choppy, repetitive syntax that resembles a dramatic social media post, rather than philosophically charged literature. There’s also a tendency to lean on characters’ internal monologue to propel the plot, along with other storytelling missteps that a careful edit could improve. But the slow-building layers of the unique plot provide an effective hook.

Further editing would sharpen this boundary-bending tale, but the story’s bones are bold, compelling and original.

Also available in paperback and ebook.