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4.0 out of 5 stars
The Return Of Heliobas, Jun 9 2009
In 1889, Marie Corelli published "Ardath: The Story of a Dead Self". It was her fourth novel and a sequel of sorts to her first book "A Romance of Two Worlds". Many of the weaknesses of her first three books are still evident in this one. There are the almost endless paragraphs which carry on for pages; the long speeches by characters voicing, quite often, the views of Corelli on society and religion; the characters who are flawlessly good, though admittedly there are fewer of them evident in this novel and very few of their opposites who are without some positive characteristics. As with her third novel, "Thelma: A Norwegian Princess", Corelli divides this novel into three books.
The novel opens with the book "Saint and Skeptic" which introduces us to the narrator and main character Theos Alwyn. A poet who has lost his muse, and suffers as so many of Corelli's characters do from a loss of faith. Alwyn has spent his life chasing fame and seeks, and finds in the very first chapter the renowned Heliobas, whom he believes can help him gain fame and fortune. The method he desires is the out-of-body experience detailed in Corelli's first book. Heliobas tries to correct Alwyn's opinion of himself (as a mesmerer) and address his lack of faith, but Alwyn is resolute, both in his beliefs as well as his demands of Heliobas. As a result Heliobas tries to refuse, but is surprised when Alwyn has such power within him to force it to happen. When Alwyn returns, he writes a poem in a trance like state before gaining full consciousness. Heliobas helps him to learn about what he experienced and what it means and to nurture Alwyn's new faith. However, even before Alwyn sets out to find the field of Ardath where his Angel has told him to come, his faith has started to fade to his long-time skepticism. By the time Alwyn gets to Ardath, he is very skeptical of all, including his fair Edris when he meets her in human form and his lack of faith drives her away. When he realizes what he has done, he falls to the ground among the flowers of Ardath.
The second section is "In Al-Kyris", and for me it is this section which elevates this work above Corelli's previous writings. Alwyn awakes in a field outside a great city, with very little of his memory available, though able to speak the language of those who live there. He is forced to enter the city, and there he becomes a great friend to Sah-luma, the greatest poet of Al-Kyris and one who saves his life from a crowd who is about to kill him for disrespecting their priestess. Through the course of this section, the largest of the book, the reader clues into Alwyn having been transported back in time around 7,000 years. He has a connection to Sah-luma, as he believes that Sah-luma's poems are his own, but then starts to question his own belief. The reader will often be ahead of the story, but that is not an issue because it is an enjoyable ride. Where Corelli hinted at fantasy in her previous works, this section it comes into full bloom, along with the occult and her Christian beliefs. This section also includes at the end another meeting between Alwyn and Edris, and this time it is a much more harmonious reunion. Alwyn's faith has been fully restored, he has become what he should have been, and no longer pursues fame and riches for he now has found something much more important.
The third section is "Poet and Angel", a much shorter section than the second one, it brings Alwyn back to his old world, and easily shows how he has changed through the reactions of his long time friend, Francis Villiers. Fame has come to Alwyn in his absence, but he is not interested in it, and when society tries to demand his attention, he sets it on its ear with his open declarations of faith. Well in evidence in this section are Corelli's beliefs, as she puts them into the words spoken by Alwyn, Villiers, and Heliobas, who turns up on his way to Mexico. There does not seem to be much purpose to this section of the book, other than to pontificate a bit, though there is a story-line about Alwyn not wanting to ask Edris to become mortal and share his life on Earth. So Alwyn is determined to perform as best he can in trying to enlighten people and liberate them from the confines of the organized religions while looking forward to his departure after his life is over. Once again the reader is well ahead of the story, and so it is no surprise how the book ends.
While the first book is about on par with her other writings, and the last book I could have done without, overall the meat of this novel is in the second book and because of that it is easy to rate this novel above the others she wrote previously. The strong fantasy and occult elements work well and it is easy to see why Marie Corelli considered this as one of her best works.
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