Catharasis (Legend of the Lemurians, Earth Keepers Chronicle 1) by Lada Ray
I love the cover. Gorgeous in its simplicity. Hop on board and lets go for a ride to Catharsis.
Earth Keepers have been watching our planet since time immemorial. The nine chosen ones were record keepers and decision makers, in charge of deciding Earth’s fate.
This is the beginning. To have a beginning, must there be an end?
Catharsis is a beautiful red planet inhabited with beautiful people of all ages. They had beautiful faces, beautiful bodies, beautiful homes, beautiful yards, beautiful stores, beautiful…., well, you get the drift. They were surrounded by beauty.
They even went so far as to eliminate pets, then animals of all kinds, because they created messes and that was totally unacceptable.
What would one sacrifice for beauty?
Everyone and everything was beautiful, except…….
The Uglies like simple clothing, going barefoot and smiling. The Catharsian’s saw the Uglies as diseased. Could ugly be contagious? All Uglies were locked up in Camp Ugly, surrounded by an electric fence and guarded 24/7.
They were allowed to marry, but only allowed to have one child. The Catharsian’s thought if they kept lowering the population, eventually the Uglies would disappear.
The Uglies focal point was the Gathering Square. Their most valuable possession, the Lemurian Mother Crystal, was located in the Temple of Mu, in the Square.
Surviving took everything they had. There was no time to protest or worry about being pretty.
Once a month, the Uglies were allowed to leave their prison to gather supplies, clothes and medicines. A small group of Runners went out to gather whatever they could carry on their bodies. They were heroes. Not all runners returned healthy and some didn’t return at all.
Catharsian beauty is on the outside. Uglies beauty is on the inside.
Then everything changed.
“The time of Karma is now.”
5 STARS – Would Buy It For Them (lol)
Awesome. Stretches my imagination to a point I could not get to on my own.
I love the cover. Beautiful and simple. The title fits the book. This is a short story, a history lesson, the beginning of the Earth Keeper Chronicles.
I love how Lada Ray takes historical events and twists them into a fantasy world.
One child. Sound familiar? Isn’t that going on today in China?
Surviving took everything the Uglies had. To me that rings true for the poor and middle class of today. We are kept so busy trying to survive, we don’t have time or are too afraid to protest. We might lose what we have.
“No Uglies Allowed” hung in stores and pharmacies. Sound familiar? Made me think of slavery. Not only were they not allowed in the stores, if people helped the Uglies, they would be penalized. Made me think of slavery.
To gather and be happy, singing from our souls under such terrible conditions, is what makes us human. We try to make the best of whatever we have.
The Runners going though trash and finding, perfectly good clothes and food made me think of the homeless on the streets today. Our trash is often their treasure.
So you see what I mean about Lada Ray’s ability to take history and twist it into a story that takes as into the fantasy world. It is only limited by her imagination.
Be sure to read about the author. She is as fascinating as her books.
I picked this book up on a recent Amazon free day. Thank you Lada Ray.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Living her life in the fast lane, Lada Ray, M.A., always wanted to write cool stories, which she’d been imagining in her head ever since she can remember. Instead, she listened to her well-meaning parents and started her life in a more traditional way (for her, that is). Born in Russia, she is a world traveler, linguist, financial consultant, Feng Shui Master, shaman, futurist, and metaphysics/spirituality researcher.
Lada holds a Master’s Degree in comparative linguistics (graduated summa cum laude,) is fluent in several languages and has traveled to twenty six countries in Europe, Asia, North and South America, as well as Africa. She had worked in Havana, Cuba as an interpreter for the Russian educational exchange delegations, including a couple of interviews with the man himself – Fidel Castro.
In the USA, she published articles in the Hartford Courant & taught Russian on cable TV. Then, something inexplicable possessed her to work as financial consultant for AIG and Smith Barney/Citigroup. But later, she came back to her senses and quit the corporate world to pursue her dreams. She studied Feng Shui in Hong Kong and Malaysia, and received her Feng Shui Master’s certification from the famed Asian author, Lilian Too (graduated first in class). For years, Lada operated an extensive feng shui website and blog – a hit with both local and worldwide fans – and authored over thirty articles on feng shui and spirituality. At the same time, she taught her proprietary feng shui courses and did public speaking.
A few years ago, Lada finally got her ultimate wish, and now she imagines her stories full-time in the bustling New York City and beautifully serene Catskill Mountains, NY, where she lives with her family and calico cat.
Lada Ray is the author of the Accidental Spy Adventure Series, including the Amazon & Kindle bestseller, GOLD TRAIN (Accidental Spy Russia Adventure), mystery/thriller STEPFORD USA (Accidental Spy Smalltown Adventure), and GOLD TRAIN (Accidental Spy Iraq Prequel). She is the creator of the new, top-rated metaphysical YA fantasy/thriller THE EARTH SHIFTER, and the EARTH KEEPERS CHRONICLES: ORIGINS (Catharsis, Lemurian Crystal, Atlantis).
Visit Lada’s innovative & cool author website: LadaRay.com
For posts about Russia & world, feng shui, spirituality, predictions read her popular blog: LadaRay.wordpress.com
Twitter: @LadaTweets
Youtube: Lada Ray Channel
To Purchase Lada Ray’s books on Amazon, simply click on the covers below.
To see my 5 STAR Review of Gold Train, go HERE.
To see my 5 STAR Review of Stepford USA, go HERE.
To see my 5 STAR Review of Green Desert, go HERE.
To see my 5 STAR Review of Earth Shifter, go HERE.
To see Earth Shifter videos, go HERE.
To see Lada Ray’s Tour Sales and Giveaway, go HERE.
To see The Earth Shifter “Virtual Tour” Interview, go HERE.
To see Lada Ray’s extension of the above interview, go HERE.
To see the Tour update, go HERE.
To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.
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Great review and another great book for my TBR list. Thanks, Sherry.
Any time Janna. Have a great weekend.
Thank you, Janna 🙂
Really interesting premise with the Camp Ugly and Uglies storyline. The thing that most captures my attention is the comment about the Catharsian’s beauty being on the outside and the Uglie’s beauty being on the inside. Profound. Thanks for the review, Sherry.
I loved that too. I thought it was very important the inside outside comment was included in the review. It stuck in my head and refused to be overlooked. LOL
Glad you liked the Camp Ugly concept, and the inner/outer beauty comparison in Catharsis, Taylor 🙂 Sherry’s reviews are so great that they unfailingly bring to light the most important in any book she reads.
Cheers!
Lada has a way of taking fiction and making it real. Another awesome review Sherry!
Thank you, Laura – so nice of you. 🙂
I agree with you Laura. As you can tell, I can really get into Lada’s books and love her writing.
Thank you for the beautiful review, Sherry. As usual, you are spot on. I’m so privileged to have readers like you. 🙂
Lada
Thank you Lada. Your books are a pleasure to read and review. I love getting lost in them. I look forward to the next one. ^_^