Reviewed by Charles Remington for Readers' Favorite

Quinn is an emissary. Born in ancient Atitala, sometimes known as Atlantis, more than thirteen thousand years ago, he carries the memory of the countless lives he has lived through the darkest period in Earth’s history. That knowledge, along with the loss of the love of his life, weighs heavily on him. To remember all one’s past lives is not a gift - it is a burden. But today, in Seattle of all places, to his surprise and great joy, his soulmate is delivered to his apartment by his best friend. There are some snags, however. Nate, the best friend, has declared he is in love with her, and Eden, which is her name in this incarnation, has no past life memory, so Quinn is a stranger to her. Thus commences The Emerald Tablet, the second book in The One Great Year series by Tamara Veitch and Rene DeFazio, a far-reaching narrative which will take you on an incredible journey through our planet’s history.

The sweeping storyline will take you to the last days of Atitala, the pinnacle of the previous twenty-six-thousand-year cycle and its destruction as the new age begins. Three characters, interlaced like ‘the cords of a whip’, carry the narrative through ancient Greece and Egypt and the Mongolian Steppes, right through to the Second World War and on to the present day. Carefully researched historical detail brings fantastic clarity to the past lives of the characters and the times in which they live, bringing the carefully structured plot to a truly breath-taking finale.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Emerald Tablet, particularly the handling of historical characters like Plato and Aristotle, and the careful construction of the places and times, with lucid depictions of life on the Mongolian plains and the streets of Paris during the Second World War. The well-written narrative moves along at a brisk pace, introducing many original, thought-provoking concepts and ideas along the way. As with book one in the series, which I also enjoyed, I was again prompted to look up several historical events and was happy to find them accurately reported. A good few New Age ideas and concepts are also woven into the storyline. Crystal Children, also known as Indigo Children, was another subject I was prompted to look up. Tamara Veitch and Rene DeFazio have produced an exciting adventure story which also manages to incorporate many historical facts along with some astounding New Age ideas. An excellent second installment to what I believe will be a very successful series. I do not hesitate to recommend this book.