THE ARK: BENEATH

Ark: Beneath John Heldon

Can you relive your past in the present with the help of some interesting ghosts? What would happen if you came face to face with the members of a basketball team, long gone in body but not in spirit as you take a journey back in time and relive the games played in the old gym where you watched so many games called The Ark. Entering the gym, the door unlocked what our narrator encounters would shake the inner core of many but not John. Chance encounters happen when you least expect them too. Meeting a man named Calvin, talking about writing and finding his way to his old campus sends him on a dream trip that would change more than just his life in the present but those he encounters in the past. Some people retire and move away to a retirement village. Some decide that this is their chance to change their lives and start a whole new career. Imagine wanting to be a writer, an author and still maintain your love and passion to help out your alma mater’s men’s basketball program. Sunnyside College is a small college in Delaware. Driving home close to this campus is where we find our narrator as I stated. Getting inside the Ark, or old gym he hears a voice. Thinking he might be hearing things he never expects to see the person whose voice it is in person. Slick Johnson one of the team members, in ghostly form, faces him front and home court. But, when Slick relates an incident that happened in 2008 you begin to realize that he is no ordinary ghost and what happens next will definitely give you much pause for thought as a whole team of ghosts that played in this old gym are not only alive in the past but the present too. But, this team has a past and it almost won the championship over forty years ago. The other school was much larger. Relating that he and his teammates play there all the time and even when live games are played they continue to play in the gym even passing through the live players creates an interesting story for this reviewer. This is the setting for Book Four but in book five these men are revived and much more alerts John, Calvin and Ben the security guard at the Ark that the world is not what it seems and the line between good and evil is about to be defined. Just who is behind the voices that they hear and who wants John to know that the Earth is in trouble and there is nothing he can do about it if he and the other two cannot open the portal and find the right key.

Reenter the Ark along with John and Calvin as they are drawn into a mystery that goes back over 100 years to an Indian Tribe called the Nemicole who disappeared. As he unravels the mystery he encounters a guard at the Ark named Ben who at first demands that he leaves and then decides to join his team and recounts how the tribe lived off the earth, dealt with keeping the earth balanced and a story told to him by his great grandmother long gone. But, things spiral in many directions as the basketball team comes alive again, the Ark sends John messages and a voice within his head controls his every move. Although his wife understands his drive she does not participate in his nightly jaunts and although he employs the help of others what happens within the Ark will surprise readers. Listen to Ben as he relates the story about what happened over 100 years ago, how the Nemacole disappeared, how his Great Grandfather disappeared and how the others would find the true meaning of the Ark. John and Calvin are drawn to it and the ghost or phantom basketball players emerge once again. As Ben learns that his family is now the guardian of the Ark and the spirit’s power to affect change can happen at any time. But, something happens that changes it all as they make their way down to the swimming pool, hear another voice that links both good and this one Evil as the voice explains that the portal will never be opened by them and the author shares that they need to “ see where that portal in the floor leads to knowing that there are ghosts or spirits there. A cold blast of air envelops John it’s as if something is reaching out and speaking to him. But, the noise and the low hum emanated from the Ark will surprise the three men and the meaning and significance you just won’t believe.

On page 116 hear the voice of Evil challenging humans to stop what this voice has in mind for the world and telling them if they don’t stop it Earth will be doomed. At the bottom of the page the Evil spirit explains his feelings and that humans have done to create a world that is doomed to failure and how we made a mess of things. Looking at the world today, thinking about the news and the horrors that have befalling those in many foreign countries and right here on our own soil the Evil spirit just might be speaking the truth in more ways than one. Imagine John realizing the harsh reality that what this spirit might be saying might be true and that he has not imagined it at all. But, what will they do now and will they find the key to the portal and open it? What is the fate of humankind and the Earth? A simple date: July 13 will be set for a game to be played and the players are quite unique. The end result will change things for not only John but for you the reader too. A voice is heard telling them to gather at the Ark on this date to find their newfound peace? Is that true? An ending that will draw you closer to the truth, take them beneath the surface to find out whether they can open the portal, the voice of the mysterious Lady will be heard and the ending will leave you wondering what is next for our trio.

As the players emerge, they play a game they won’t forget but when the ghosts alight and then disappear you won’t believe the end result or what happens next. The Power of The Ark Will draw you in and hopefully someday you too will experience how to find your own inner peace and maybe someday everyone will learn to coexist and get along instead of hearing what we have heard on the news and hopefully will never hear again.

The author brings up issues of family trust, loyalties, understanding, hope, fear, creating a better world and just plain living life to your happiest fullest. Understand the ways of the Nemacole and what they tried to teach everyone about the Earth. Enter the Ark and take you own journey into the past and find your own present.

Fran Lewis: Just Reviews/ MJ Magazine