Rating: 
Summary: A work of genius worthy of six stars
Review: Avatar of Night convinces me its author is a genius of the highest caliber, for it is a work of sheer genius, unlike anything else out there. Tal Brooke is a brilliant virtuoso of the written word. Having read much of the world's great literature, I rank this with the best, for the excellence of its insightful treatment of the author's intriguing real-life spiritual journey to the East. This is fully satisfying fare aesthetically and spiritually. I enjoyed this book more than anything else I've ever read, for the extraordinarily high quality of its prose--absolutely delicious--and for the integrity evident in the author's committed search for ultimate truth. Brooke has an unparalleled gift for description. Hundreds of times he had me doubled over with delighted laughter at his beautifully done, exquisitely apt descriptive constructs. Time and again he hits the bull's eye, vividly evoking with uncanny precision the events, experiential states, and perceptions he recounts. The author is a giant of his generation for having produced this masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: The truth sometimes hurts, but it's still truth.
Review: Congratulations to the author, who courageously risks vilification and misunderstanding for the sake of the Truth. It isn't easy to be the one who says "...but the Emperor isn't wearing any clothes!" When a Christian says it about pseudogods and gurus (including those pseudogods Christians tend to create and worship), he will surely become a pariah in some circles. Thanks, Mr. Brooke, for telling your story. You are an honest man.
Rating:
Summary: An eye-opener to those seeking answers on Sai Baba
Review: I couldn't wait to read this book because I was really seeking answers on who Sai Baba is. As a former hindu, I really needed to know, because my parents continue to believe in him. He proclaims himself to be god, but Brooke's book reveals his true nature: the modern antichrist. "The Lord of the Air", also by Brooke, is an older version of this book, but the millenial edition has more pictures and makes the reading more interesting.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting story of one person's spiritual journey
Review: I enjoyed reading this book as much as several others ("Good Chances" by Howard Levin, and "Man of Miracles" by Howard Murphet) about Sai Baba. (Curiously enough, Mr. Brooke does not mention Howard Levin, though they lived at the ashram at the same time...) And I understand many of the misconceptions Mr. Brooke had regarding "enlightenment", as I also experienced them in the past. He was a young, spiritually immature man, fighting demons of his own, as he himself points out in the book. Given this, it is understandable that Mr. Brooke lapsed back into a fundamentalist mindset at the end. Still, I give him great credit and admiration for having the courage to pursue the path he was on. But to be honest, his idea of being the "#1" disciple was simply his own fantasy - Sai Baba says he has very few, if any, "true" disciples - i.e. people that continually practice his message of "Love All, Serve All" and "Help Ever, Hurt Never" (Mr. Brooke comes across as a bully and a "know-it-all" in the book - again no doubt due to his youth). What a shame Mr. Brooke's awakening to the idea that spiritual enlightment is a long journey that begins with "know thyself" - the job of the guru or spiritual teacher (e.g. Sai Baba) being to reveal our own inner self to us - was so painful. It's a lesson for us all...
Rating:
Summary: Great writing, great story
Review: I've read several books by Tal Brooke, including Avatar of Night, and can honestly say he is one of the most engaging writers I've read. His metaphors, his turns of phrase, even his choice of adjectives, will delight anyone who loves the English language and good writing. This skill he applies to telling true stories of high adventure of places he's been, things he's done, and people he's known. He is honest enough to describe his own shortcomings and failures with surgical detail, and he carries that honesty into his examination of larger than life figures - like Sai Baba - that he has known personally and up-close. Even if you've never heard of Sai Baba, the book gives a fascinating look into how so many westerners (including Brooke) went head over heels for Indian gurus, and lost all common sense in the process. I think this is a great book, but I doubt if people who believe Sai Baba is God will be very happy to see the inner workings of his enormous and powerful organization exposed. In a sense, Brooke is like the little boy who proclaimed that the Emperor has no clothes. He does this proclaiming with compelling skill, and I believe he's right in his announcement, even if the courtiers may not want to hear it. This is a good read.
Rating: 
Summary: Looking for more details?
Review: If you have enough patience for more details and Hinduism terminology you may consider the unabridged version which is
titled "Lord of the air".
See also my review of that book.
Rating: 
Summary: HORRIBLY WRITTEN!
Review: It amazes me that someone can actually find this book to be "exceptional" because Tal Brooke is a hippie! I think that this book is based on one of Tal Brooke's LSD trips. Tal....please do your research.......you are only embarassing yourself! To the rest of the readers, please read Sai Literature, you will quickly find that Tal's book is based purely on his LSD trips!
Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended, real-life adventure story with integrity
Review: It is not surprising that the first review of this book was overwhelmingly negative. Sai Baba, after all, has millions of disciples, and this book stands alone as the only comprehensive and credible, dissenting account of Baba's claims to be God. The story is cinematic. The narrative is evocative and immersive, and is begging to make the transition to feature film. The book, written by a child of the sixties, tells a tale common to the era - a search for spiritual truth - but an uncommon tale in that the author went on a road less traveled, journeying to India and ending up as an intimate disciple of the country's most popular and charismatic guru, whose devotees include members of the Indian government. But it is more serious than that. Baba is more than a guru. Baba claims to be God. The God. Your God and my God. That he can appear to back up this claim by performing dramatic miracles - materializing solid objects from thin air is one example - and having some undeniable level of revelatory knowledge into people's thoughts, makes him a very dangerous person if his claims are false. To call this book 'one-sided' is completely missing the point. The book, if anything, tells two sides of the story in its answering the question about Baba's divinity. The first half of the book is an account by an intimate disciple convinced of Baba's divinity. The second half recounts in great detail the gradual process of revelation of another side to Baba - a 'spiritual detective story', if you like - ultimately leading up to a powerful and dramatic conclusion. When people set themselves up with any kind of power over us, whether politicians or spiritual leaders, it is important that their lives and their beliefs that influence and affect us are transparent and open for examination. In other words: if God gave us minds, presumably he would want us to use them. The fact is that this book is the only chance that most worshipers of Baba around the world are going to get to hear an informed, alternative opinion of Baba's claims. And that the opinion is offered by one of the few people who can claim to have known him closely for two years requires them to pay attention. I first read this book ten years ago, when it was available in the West as 'Lord of the Air'. It is one of the few books that I have read many, many times - no small praise from an English graduate and journalist. The literary quality of the account, the intense and gripping story, the integrity of the investigation Brooke undertakes, and the personal suffering Brooke later underwent to get the text published in the West after the Indian government banned it, make this one of the few books that you absolutely have to read. Whether you have any interest in Baba, or just enjoy a good real-life adventure story, this book is highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A much needed testimony
Review: No doubt New Agers and followers of Eastern mysticism (especially Sai Baba devotees) will dismiss this book out of hand. However I wonder how many of them have the same experience of the Eastern path that Tal Brooke has? My only quibble is that I'd have liked to read more of what happened to Mr Brooke after he left India. Also some parts in the middle are slightly boring but then I guess they were necessary to give the reader a real "feel" of day to day life in an ashram. This book should be a real eye-opener to anyone who reads it with an open mind.
Rating:
Summary: A much needed testimony
Review: No doubt New Agers and followers of Eastern mysticism (especially Sai Baba devotees) will dismiss this book out of hand. However I wonder how many of them have the same experience of the Eastern path that Tal Brooke has? My only quibble is that I'd have liked to read more of what happened to Mr Brooke after he left India. Also some parts in the middle are slightly boring but then I guess they were necessary to give the reader a real "feel" of day to day life in an ashram. This book should be a real eye-opener to anyone who reads it with an open mind.
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