The Secret School: Preparation for Contact

Rating:
Summary: Preparing To Find Consolation
Review: This book was probably written more for Whitley Strieber than for his readers. The Secret School provides none of the horror of Communion, the contemplation of Transformation, or the awe of Breakthough. Instead, the Secret School focusses on Whitley Strieber putting his whole life into perspective. It is interesting to follow the chronicles of a man possessed by something, and tormented inside and out by the things that have been brought into his life. If you have read Strieber's previous alien-type books, The Secret School is a must just to complete the cycle. If you are looking for a place to start, start at the begining with Communion. Perhaps this book will bring closure to Whitley's public struggle with demons inside and out.

Rating:
Summary: The true nature of time and reality....
Review: This is the second time that I have felt compelled to read this book. It is an important, virtually unique, work. The nearest works to it that I can think of would be Phillip K. Dick's Exegesis and Harpur's Daimonic Reality. However, The Secret School is definately the best discussion of the true nature of time and reality that I have found. Streiber is correct about the nature and importance of Joy, opposed to happyness. True joy is a transcendent quality that places us in contact with the realm of the Divine. As for the prophecies contained in the book, after four years they seem more accurate than ever. Finally, even though this is a nonfiction work, the prose style is excellent- I kept being reminded of the magical atmosphere of Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine and Martian Chronicles.

Rating:
Summary: Strieber continues down a credibility destroying path.
Review: Whitley Strieber's fourth book examing the long reaching personal impact/influence that the 'Visitors' have had on him moves the author even farther away from the mainstream audience he jolted with his disturbing tale, Communion. The Secret School begins with his recalling mysterious lessons learned in childhood at a hidden location in the Olmos Basin of San Antonio, Texas. As the events progress, Strieber again paints himself as someone gifted with seeming paranormal abilities (i.e. time travel) and discernment (the book ends with numerous predictions, most of which have yet to come to pass in the six or so years - the time at which I am writing this - since The Secret School was first published). Once again I got the feeling that Strieber is less interested in understanding the Communion experience and more focused on becoming a mover and shaker in the New Age movement (his recent offering of two more 'teaching' books, The Path and The Key, appear to confirm this). Too bad, for the first portion of the book (featuring a child's dream trip to Mars and an attempt to join an amateur astronomy class) hint at a compelling story that would have touched a far broader audience if hidden behind the veil of fiction. As it reads now, the book is nothing but mildly interesting infotainment (i.e. information so sketchy and unverifiable that it is better to read it as simple entertainment). Strieber, as is usual for this sub-genre, keeps the paranormal research overly fuzzy. For example, in the Third Lesson, he mentions travelling through time. But when he digs for some corroborating evidence he only finds a '1945 story' about a woman who briefly appeared and then disappeared on forty-second street (page 55 of my mass market paperback edition), yet he neglects to reveal the exact calender date, nor the name of the periodical and the location of the article in it. He then follows this with more vague stories of "tracking down rumors" and "polling his group of friends" with no dates or information suitable for fact checking. It takes a lot more than second hand stories to convince the skeptics. Strieber also makes claims of being granted visions of a past life that was instrumental in getting the Roman Emperor Octavius to power (and thus saving the Empire from a far too early destruction). My is it not interesting that past lives are all filled with important derring do and intrigue? Not many past life regressions I have heard about ever detail, say, standing in a line at the bank waiting to make a deposit or some other simple errand. Mr. Strieber's pre-Communion books War Day and Nature's End both clearly showed that he wanted to push his fiction past moderately successful horror stories and into the realm of more awareness raising and/or influencing writing. Sadly The Secret School moves Strieber farther and farther away from being able to achieve those lofty goals. This outing is strictly for Dreamland fans only.