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BLIND TRAVELER DOWN A DARK RIVER
by Robert P. Bennett
PublishAmerica, May 2005
205 pages
$19.95
ISBN: 1413769993


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

In the near future the visually challenged get to be more self-sufficient and self-confident with themselves with the advancement of modern technology. Douglas Abledon, still coping with his new-found impediment, manages to get around the city with a device called the Navigator.

This machine guides him around by assigning sounds to obstacles in front of a blind man's path. It takes a while to get used to this piece of technology but to Douglas it has been a lifesaver. It gives him the independence to do whatever he wants without the need of human assistance.

However, weird things have been happening in the last few days. Lately his Navigator has told him that he is at a place he knows that he is not and in the process he 'witnesses' a murder as it is happening from several miles away.

What the heck is going on? Douglas does not know and he takes the matter upon himself in trying to figure out why his machine is malfunctioning and find out everything he can in regard to the murder. He does not know who to trust given that his predicament is an unusual one. Now the question is, can he get anyone to believe him and help him? The police ignore the situation so it's up to Douglas to investigate a murder.

Robert P Bennett's BLIND TRAVELER DOWN A DARK RIVER provides a good original work and a valiant effort for a first novel. However, the book had a lot of missing elements which were needed to make the story line more convincing.

One thing that stuck out is the book's lack of editing inside the plot structure. Readers are bombarded with a logorrhea of dialogue from inside Abledon's head, which at times became redundant with its repetition of prior thoughts and events.

Second, it is not until further ahead in the book that the book has elements of science fiction. It's like time stood still until the author decides to specify that this book is a work of science fiction. Finally, it does not appear that the main character is self-employed, yet he appears to have too much time on his hands to conduct a personal investigation.

Once everything is all said and done the book's conclusion was anticlimactic, as every possible loose end inside the work has been taken care of in too convenient a manner. I had lots of problems with the way the book ended. Pick this book at your own risk.

Reviewed by Angel L. Soto, August 2005

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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