Title: Pyramids of Meridian
Author: Sam Arnold
Publisher: ‎BookBaby
ISBN: 979-8350900590
Pages: 426
Genre: Sci-Fiction
Reviewed by: Ephantus M.

Hollywood Book Reviews

Author Sam Arnold’s Pyramids of Meridian is a creative apocalyptic novel that contends with the existence of a veritable afterlife in a distinctive space opera setting. The read follows well-hewn characters who strive to respond to the worry of what free will means when one is dead.

In the company of his superior officer Stallworth, Michael Rene Gostani, a soldier in Vietnam imagines a new world – a planet wrapped in octagon arcologies, sequestered from a hostile setting and dependent on antimatter energies. His outlook regarding life and destiny is deeply introspective and marveling. Getting to one knee, removing his backpack, and hoping to jot a quick inspired note, he is stopped in his tracks by a sharp pain in his right eardrum. There is a flick of sound – a loud, sharp pop, followed by a brief ringing. Stallworth’s exclamations, shouts, and orders fill the atmosphere, right before a glass shatter of adrenaline punctures Michael’s chest as he drops to the ground, tumbling on his M16. In a split second, a detonation three feet in front of him bursts, rupturing his body into three different portions. All his eyes see is a white pathway forming.

A spectacular exhibition of ideation and elegance by Arnold brings readers to the afterlife: “light is all that exists, no space for the physical.” His well-developed characters, Michael, Nathan, and Kelly, will compel you to drop a tear here or there, as they find themselves in a world way beyond home, and as they try to imagine what their funeral back home will probably be like. Encouraged to forget their past, and enter the great city of Meridian where they will find purpose, they are soon to learn that the locale combines Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory into itself.

Pyramids of Meridian is a story enmeshed in a twisty thriller that peels back the Universe to see what lies beneath. It’s a captivating read in which Arnold employs all his storytelling gifts to craft a noodle bender of the first order. Short chapters and insistent prose drive the narrative forward at a good pace, and detailed world-building and the specificity of Arnold’s characterization of the great unknown, combine to create a compelling narrative.

This is a read that will pull up your overall impression of space opera, owing to its great premise, interesting ideas, decent characterization, and excellent execution. For those who may want an ultimate escapistic novel to a world away from the usual, this one’s for you!