Review: Sky Parlor by Stephen C. Perkins

A mind-bending thrill of a novel, Sky Parlor by author Stephen C. Perkins has set an impressive new bar in the historical science fiction niche. Tracing the age-old battle between Artemis and Apollonia, and its different manifestations throughout human history (and future), the novel delivers an action-packed escape pod from reality, while also challenging readers to examine some new philosophical ideas about what it means to be human.

Like pawns in an infinitely complex board game of the gods, this wildly creative novel suggests that human beings return to this world in future lives, playing out new roles in an eternal struggle they can scarcely conceive. Whether they were whispering war into the ears of men during the Civil War, or driving the destruction of Sky Parlor in Perkins’ far-flung imagination, the two primordial titans vie for control of life in myriad forms.

Readers are taken through these epic struggles of history, making this a unique piece of historical fiction not based solely in a single period of the past, but also including the narrative from a fictional future. For example, the overlaying of mythology on the Civil War gives that massive struggle a more supernatural edge, a perspective never seen before by this reviewer. By combining elements of the occult with harder questions concerning eternal life and liberation of the mind, what begins as an unusual sci-fi history thriller morphs into an existential manifesto, touching on fundamental principles of religion, societal dogma, and free will.

Regardless of your religious affiliation or beliefs, this story will give you pause regarding what you know about karma and reincarnation. The idea that we could someday access past lives, achieving some sort of divine “leveling up,” is a foundational tenet on which the novel rests. The delicate handling of this potentially controversial theme is a testament to the author’s skilled pen.

By couching such fascinating questions into a time-traveling mystery that blends genres so effortlessly, Perkins has delivered a mystical and entrancing book that will appeal to a wide range of readers. If you are willing to have your head spun around a few times and re-attached with new questions about your purpose in life, this is an excellent summer read. The character development and richness of historical detail lends immediate authenticity to the story, despite the devoutly unusual premise. For those readers looking for an enthralling adventure story, Sky Parlor delivers in futuristic fashion, but for people seeking a deeper realm of high fiction, the implications and subject matter that shape the plot also make for excellent philosophical fodder.

As with Perkins’ other work, the editing work is clean and the sentence structure is uniquely varied. Some of the descriptions drag on without contributing much new material, but the occasional tangent is understandable in a novel covering so much ground. Maintaining a complicated plot across multiple timelines is a challenge, but one that is overcome here, with a smooth flow to the story that readers will be eager and fortunate to follow. For a novel covering a lot of genres – science fiction, time travel, historical fiction, as well as visionary fiction – the story is clear and gripping from the start.