Searching For Zen by Albert T. Franklin

A long-form allegory set in a magical version of our world, Searching For Zen: A Tale Of Divine Destiny by Albert T. Franklin is an original and passionate piece of spiritual fiction.

When a young boy in Britain is gifted with incredible powers from above, Earth receives its new Zendaria – a divine guide to lead humanity into an era of prosperity. Capable of secretly absorbing the life experiences of anyone he touches, manipulating physical matter and even controlling time, Zen is inconceivably powerful and impossibly wise, which is a lot to handle for anyone, let alone a child. Faced with an epic quest to prove his mettle and ever-present adversaries on all sides, this unlikely hero must gather strong allies to accompany him on the uncertain road of adventure.

There is a huge amount of heart behind this densely packed novel, and the events themselves are inventive and engaging, but the narrative could slow down for the reader to savor each moment. Whether he has twelve years of life experience or seven centuries’ worth, it would make the story far more enveloping if readers could get to know Zen as a person, not as an all-powerful but deeply enigmatic hero.

Given how much occurs in this book, it could be two or three times as long, which would lend adequate time to the wild story of Zen’s journey and evolution as a heroic healer, but as it stands, this is a creative and spiritually epic parable with a uniquely compelling central character.