So, I volunteered to be a blog stop on the book tour for Utopian Frontiers.  I can't tell you how many times I've said I'd read a book for a book tour and then deeply regretted my rash decision.  Because, let us just delicately say that some books I've reviewed have been, um, less than stellar.  I say yes because of the old pull that books have over me–the enticing thrill of cracking open a book, any book, to see what's inside.  Few things in life are better than that.  Which is why a bad book is such a disapointment.

I'm happy to say that Utopian Frontiers is different.  While it is written to espouse a point of view ("It's not what you know or who you know, it's what you believe" is the book's tag line), it is well written, and therein lies the difference.   So many books with a purpose may have a good story line but it often gets buried under bad writing.  And then, no matter how much I'm interested in the cause behind the book, I throw it across the room.  So it was a pleasant surprise to crack open Utopian Frontiers and not be blasted out of my seat by bad writing.

The suthor of the book is Drew Tapley, who is a British writer living in Toronto.  Since the book info notes that it was created based on a project by M.H. Parsons and J.P. Roach, I suspect it was a work-for-hire deal.  At any rate, Tapley did a good job.   He's well qualified–he's got a Master's in journalism and has written for tons of magazines and trade journals.  I hope he's really successful with this novel.

Here's a synopsis of the novel:

What if there was a secret city at work on finding answers to the survival of humanity? Technologies beyond your imagination; a city expanding, recruiting and evolving. There is no government, no money, no bosses, institutions, cars or roads; and age takes on new meaning. This "facility" is one big research product in and of itself, and nothing else quite ike it exists on this Earth.

This is the city that Erwin Sharp and his family are drawn into on the fringes of a national park. They fall headfirst down the rabbit hole into a world of space probes, cancer cures, and a core myth that defies belief. They soon realize that some doors are only meant to swing one way.

This is a parable of trust and hope–a flashing beacon of hope in a world hell-bent on destroying itself. It is ultimately a story of ambition, of owning up to life, showing up and trading up. In a story that is as controversial as it is reassuring, sometimes it is possible to find something you always hoped existed, and in finding it, you confront your own truth as much as that of the world you live in.

What is inside the mysterious Hall 8, and what does that have to do with Erwin? And how is water the mechanism of peace or destruction? Thick with adventure, revelations and twists, this story shows how what we accept is only that which we've been conditioned to accept, and why an ancient Mayan prophesy doesn't actually mean what you think.

Because this book was written to a certain cause, there's a non-profit that goes along with it.  Learn more about their work at the book's website.  Here's a little bit about them:  UTOPIAN FRONTIERS FOUNDATION is a non profit organization dedicated to developing multi-media works intended to educate and provoke meaningful discourse on global environmental concerns. Related themes explore the relationship between humankind and technology.

For information about Utopian Frontiers, the book, the organization or the music, visit the book's site here. To learn more about the book and to get your copy, visit the book's Amazon page.  Check it out, you guys.

PS.  Sorry for the wonkiness with the first paragraph starting a bit lower than it should, I can't get it to move up higher without deleting the image, and that causes me to pick up my laptop and throw it across the room, just like I do with bad books, only its way more dangerous–to the room and the laptop.