Book announcement: Ariadne's Clew by J.P. Befumo

ISBN: 0-9767489-4-0
Publisher: Pleasant Mount Press
Publication Date: 8/05
Pages: 388
Format: Soft Cover
List Price: 14.95
Special: order from the publisher's site at:
http://www.pleasantmountpress.com/Books/Ariadne's_Clew/Ariadnes_Clew.htm and
we'll send you a signed copy for only $9.95 plus shipping.

Synopsis:
A mad cult leader and his followers await Armageddon at a mountain
stronghold. Society reels from the discovery that dinosaurs might have
succumbed to an AIDS-like infection. Government forces are jittery, and a
rogue reporter may learn more than she wants to know when she seeks out the
mysterious holy man known only as Corfuselas.

Is he merely another paranoid extremist, or does he indeed know something
about the government, something about the structure of reality, something
about the fate of humanity he can not be permitted to reveal? Is he indeed a
man, or something else entirely?

Through vivid imagery and believable characterization, Ariadne's Clew weaves
this timely and believable premise into a tense, character-driven
page-turner. As multiple plots converge, the reader's assumptions about good
and evil are explored and challenged.

Some reviews from Amazon.com: (Check out Amazon for additional reviews)

Reviewer: Frederick Davey (Atlanta, GA) -
This is overall a gripping novel, however, the aspect that really amazed me
is the way the author, who (judging by the portrait on the back cover) is
Caucasian, captured the sense of ethnic angst of Melanie, a young
African-American woman. As an African-American myself, I found it uplifting
to see someone so sensitive as to capture the experience of growing up as a
minority. There's a particularly touching scene in which Melanie reflects on
the conflicts she feels about growing up black, and for me, that alone
argued for a 5-star rating, although the overall story is of the highest
caliber.
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Reviewer: Angelo Parodi (Asheville, NC) -
Befumo is an absolute master of understatement. His characters are complex
and intriguing-they all seem like people you might easily encounter in your
own life, but who are thrust into the riptide of a society bent on
destruction. I was particularly bemused when I realized that the painting of
the mad-eyed prophet on the back cover was actually a portrait of the author
himself. Pretty intense dude, and his writing reflects it. It also confirmed
the feeling I got from reading the book that the author had modeled the
central character after himself-the emotions and reactions were just too
intense for the writer not to have been there himself. This made the book
even more captivating.

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Reviewer: Duncan Oblinger (San Diego) - See all my reviews
While this is obviously a work of fiction, it's clear that the author has
some strong feelings about various political issues. The thing I like about
it is that he manages to get his message across without beating the reader
over the head with it. Everything the characters say seems totally justified
and believable in terms of their literary development (which is quite
detailed-you definitely feel like you know them very quickly). This is the
third book I've read by J.P. Befumo (the first two, "Oranur Conspiracy" and
"The Space Between Time") are currently out of print-too bad), and I look
forward to seeing more of what he can do.

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