Viaticum @PatrickMorgan89 @PhasePubLLC #addictiveread @absltmom

My review

This was certainly a very interesting and thought provoking read. You know when a story seems to come at you from nowhere? This is the one that hit me in so many right places and had me finishing it in two sittings.

Now that hopefully, I have you interested, the book’s title is Viaticum by Patrick Morgan. It is one of those stories that seem to have all the pieces fit together and then they don’t. The gist of the story is that Ethan Birch has lost his job, in a company that he and his best college buddy founded with some financial support from his wife’s wealthy father. His termination comes as a shock and as Ethan sits in a lonely bar trying to shut out the pain, he meets a mysterious duo where one of the men inquires if he is in need of a job. Manna from heaven right? but Ethan is hesitant as this seems something that could be a ruse. He is handed a business card in black with the word Olympus printed upon it. Ethan tucks it away and comes home to inform his wife of his sad situation. She then tells Ethan she is pregnant. Forced into a corner, Ethan calls the number listed but receives no answer but a full mailbox. Desperate, he seeks out the company and his journey begins.

It’s an awesome company where offices that seemed to have descended from a wild earthly dream. The floor is covered with grass and everywhere he looks waterfalls down the walls. What has he stumbled into? He meets the wife of the owner and “interviews” with her and is hired on the spot. It is truly a bizarre setup but Ethan has everything he could possibly desire. What has he fallen into but a dream come true?

However, all dreams are not those we wish to have. Some can turn into nightmares and as Ethan progresses into the oddities of the company, he becomes entrenched in something that seems somewhat otherworldly, somewhat sinister with an aura of mystery and deceit. Ethan is invited, or more exactly commanded, to a dessert retreat along with fellow workers, where things spiral out of control and what is real seems to blend with unreality. Ethan has gotten himself into a quagmire of something he has no control over. Will he stay with Olympus and its very odd, very mystical, very strange owner, or will he quit the “perfect” job?

Hold onto your hats fellow readers as his one will bend your thoughts into hundreds of pieces as you try to solve the allure and mystery of the Odyssey. Truly it was a very otherworldly journey.

My thanks to the author, Patrick Morgan, who was able to fill two days with the wanderings and wondering of this story……and that ending?

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 from me!

and here’s the author:

Patrick Morgan is a novelist, playwright, and poet. A graduate of the University of Southern California with a degree in theater, Patrick has always enjoyed telling stories in one form or another.

After having spent a long and memorable stint in Los Angeles, Patrick currently resides in Austin with his dog Cider.

His two great loves are the ocean and the New England Patriots. He’s also partial to Nacho Cheese Doritos dipped in cold Tostitos Salsa Con Queso (don’t knock it till you’ve tried it).