Review – Rooms

The cryptic letter was from his great-uncle Archie, a man he had never met and knew little about, other than he made a lot of money and never married. When he asked his dad about him as a teenager, he was told great-uncle Archie was “odd, a man to stay away from.”

Today, Micah Taylor was a young entrepreneurial tycoon, owner of RimSoft, a software company in Seattle that had struck a “software gold rush” in less than six years. He stared at the letter on his desk and couldn’t help picking it up to read—again. The words hadn’t changed; they still conveyed the same message. His great-uncle had built a 9,000 square foot home for him in Canon Beach, Oregon. Even though his uncle died many years ago, the letter said the home had been built in the past five months and had been designed especially for Micah. The envelope the letter came in contained a house key and directions.

Although Micah was more-than-curious and a bit puzzled he decided his dad was right, even though he was still estranged from him and felt he wasn’t right about most things. Great-uncle Archie must be a first-class “whacko,” like he said! He decided to check the house out—if it was even there—and put it on the market for sale.

Thus begins an imaginative tale of suspense, secrecy and bizarre happenings, almost like a spiritual Alice in Wonderland. Where supernatural doors appear in hallways and alcoves that link to different aspects of Micah’s early life and personality—that painful place—the one he refuses to think about.

Then there are the twenty-five letters from great-uncle Archie Micah must read on a weekly schedule his uncle designed. Then there was Rick, the mechanic Micah felt drawn to in Canon Beach. How could Rick know so much about Micah and why was he so drawn to him? Then there was the puzzling problem of his car gaining sixteen thousand miles overnight on the odometer. What was that all about?

So many strange happenings, from the unusual incomplete painting that’s added to with each supernatural event Micah experiences, to the chunks of Micah’s life that change or disappear as if they had never been. To say nothing about the voice in the inky black room where Micah is most comfortable, an experience that makes him wonder if he’s losing his mind.

Until he meets Sarah in the ice cream shop at Canon Beach, so different from Julie, his business partner and almost girl-friend and gains entry to the “brilliant” room.

Join Micah on this haunting journey of mysterious self-discovery, of heart truth, forgiveness and healing, a journey that will make you laugh and make you cry, a journey you will never forget.

Rubart’s debut work is an unforgettable mystery wrapped in spiritual suspense. Reading it reminded me of several of my favorite authors, particularly The Listener, by Taylor Caldwell. (If you like Rooms, consider The Listener), Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, William P Young’s The Shack, minus the biblical controversy and even Ted Dekker.

Rubart’s debut work is a winner. His writing blessed me and I’m sure it will bless other readers. Alton Gansky wrote, “The universe of readers is richer because of this debut novel.” I agree, and look forward to his January 2011 release, Book of Days.