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The Nine Pillars of Happiness: The Suspense-Thriller for the New Millennium

The Nine Pillars of Happiness: The Suspense-Thriller for the New Millennium

List Price: $20.95
Your Price: $20.95
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE
Review: I'm not usually into deep stuff. I'm a 2nd dan Karate instructor (Okinawan) and go for the injustice and revenge type of story that martial artist films use a lot.

When my girlfriend suggested The Nine Pillars of Happiness, I thought, 'God! I'm going to hate this.' But guess what, I LOVED IT!

It's full of action, and stuff's happening all the time. There's heaps of really important messages, similar to the spiritual side of martial arts. I couldn't put the book down, and now can't stop telling everyone about it.

It's changed my life because it introduced me to the Enneagram - something I've never heard of before. Now I'm right into it, and my life seems so much calmer, happier. My girlfried and me hardly argue any more.

If someone had told me that The Nine Pillars of Happiness was such a terrific read AS WELL AS a life-changin experience, I would have cat-rolled into a defensive kata.

Fantastic! And thanks to the author. It must have taken years of research, and real guts to write it. If he's reading this review, I want you to know that your work has touched a lot of people. For God's sake, keep writing!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A SUSPENSE THRILLER YOU CAN'T FORGET
Review: Unbelievable. I don't read as much as I should, but after two of my friends urged me to get a copy of The Nine Pillars of Happiness (they wouldn't part with theirs)I just couldn't put it down. I mean, it's got it all, and it seems like it's talking to me.

The plot is really fast, with more twists than a mountain road. Snappy dialogue too. And beneath the story line, it's got messages the whole world needs to heed.

I like the way the author weaves the story to keep you off guard, and the way he keeps you guessing until the last page. You don't know what's going on until the end. The main character is Ben Amato, a New York reporter who gets sucked into a weird cult in Florence, Italy. He's looking for meaning, but they're looking for someone who can push their barrow to the world media to prepare us for . . . (I won't give it away.)

Before you know it, you're in the cult with him. They have all types of weird stuff goin on, and the only way Ben can get out alive is to pretend he doesn't know his A from his elbow.

The real value in the book is the way it makes the point that, while society has 'holy books' and the like, and while it will fight to the death to defend them, in real life they live as if the holy books don't even exist. (Like Karadic crossing himself in church while the worst atrocities since the Nazis were being carried out in Bosnia under his approval.)

The story also gives racism and drugs the boot, and warns us not to rush headlong into any technology or genetic engineering that will rob us of our humanity. But it's all told through some historical flashbacks of the way the cult came to be, and through what the characters do and say.

Some bits belong to a horror movie. But they're important to the story - to make the point that this is what happens to a community when it loses its sense of the inherent value of every human being.

I'm waffling on. But my friends and I can't stop talking about it. There's so much in this book, I don't know where to go to next.

Anyhow, The Nine Pillars of Happiness is thrilling, and a fantastic read. You feel you haven't wasted your time - like you've got something out of the book that you know will stay with you for life. I will be very disappointed if they don't make a major movie out of it.

If you like a book that's fast, suspenseful, original and challenging, 'The Nine Pillars of Happiness' has to be the best there is.


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