Verdict: A gripping thriller that explores the psychological angle of the protagonists’ life, backing it with an ingenious plot.
Rating: 3.5/5

Available at: Any leading bookstore
Publisher: Grey Oak
Price: 225 INR

An adventure thriller, Ronald Malfi’s “The Canyon of Souls” gets off to a rocky start with a slow beginning that moves at a snail’s pace. However, once the book picks up, the reader is plunged head first into a truly daring adventure.

The book traces the life of a sculptor, Tim Overleigh, carefully etching out a person in blood and flesh, making the readers swim about into the icy cold truths of his life. Tim Overleigh starts off as a depressed broken man, devoid of a will to experience life. Owing to the visuals provided by the expert author’s words, the reader steps into Tim’s shoes and gets a glimpse of the unavoidable imagery of his depression.

But a reader who sticks through the depression is well awarded, for ahead lies the excitement of a chance for redemption. Invited by his late wife’s friend Andrew, a daredevil in spirit, for a spiritual yet dangerous trek into the Canyon of Souls, a lost Tim begins to find his path once again.

The Canyon of Souls is a hidden mystic Tibetan valley that forms a sacred gateway between the mortal world and the world of spirits. A sight shielded from the human eye for centuries, the protagonist undertakes an arduous journey with Andrew and a camping group consisting of Andrew’s friends. Or so he thinks, till the truth begins unravelling and the only ones there to hear it are the formidable mountains and the inhospitable terrain.

As ugly secrets rear their head, Tim finds himself trapped in with a physical monster while being forced to face his psychological demons too. The nightmare builds up, twisting and turning, wrecking havoc across the brilliant page turner, as the reader surfaces to grasp breaths before letting the words knot his stomach again. Hope seems a fragile light, timidly hidden between the author’s crafty play at emotions. The story is ridden with subtleties, that expertly convey much more than just the superfluous narration.

The author manages to blur the line between illusion and reality, morphing the reader into Tim as he/she precariously clings to the edge of the real world. Two stories climax simultaneously, entwining into one, creating a sense of urgency which is only subdued when the hungry reader has devoured and savoured the last paragraph of the delicious thriller.