Review - Fugue in Ursa Major

Whenever young Jake breaks up with his latest girlfriend, which seems to be fairly regularly, he packs up his Jeep and heads off into the mountains for a little backpacking, stargazing and contemplation. On one such trip he meets Phaedrus, a much older man who lives a bit like a hermit, yet seems strangely connected to what’s going on in the world. He opens Jake’s eyes to the idea that the world is headed for some sort of cataclysm.

“Fugue in Ursa Major” is an engrossing speculative tale set more or less in the present day. At it’s core is a conspiracy, and like any conspiracy theory, there’s just enough real evidence to make the whole thing seem convincing. However, this isn’t some action-packed story that could be made into a Hollywood movie. If a movie were made true to this book, it would resemble My Dinner with Andre more than anything else. Much of the story consists of Jake’s chats with Phaedrus, or his own inner conversation with himself. That could make for a deadly boring novel, but in this case everything flows quite well. There are no long soliloquies or monologues that grind things to a halt.

Jake is a quite likable character, and one wonders if his views of relationships between guys and girls is typical of straight guys. But that’s just one of many things you might find yourself pondering as you make your way through the story. This is a book that’s very dense with ideas, without the ponderous nature that usually goes with that. It’s a story that you will probably want to share and discuss with friends.

“Fugue in Ursa Major” is available from Amazon.