The Fourth Awakening

An interesting story about mankind. Very fun and full of action. Entertaining and well worth the time to read it.

I first heard about this book when I got an e-mail from Jeff about two weeks ago. My schedule is busy so new books usually go on my bedside table or there about's or sit on my computer till I create time to read them.This one was different. The cover spoke to me as did the reviews in the book. I had experienced the things this book was talking about. The fact that Jeff is part of my Reiki lineage also encouraged me to begin reading.I had no sooner began reading the first word in chapter one then I knew there was a message in it for me. For starters, the first word in chapter one is Nellie (Penelope's nickname). Nellie is my first name, Pauline is my middle name.By the end of chapter 1 I knew I had to have the paperback and I went to Amazon to order it. It turned out that it was already so popular that it was on back order. I ordered it and went back to reading the copy I had.For two nights in a row I read this book. Once till three AM and the second night till I finished it at 7AM the next morning.I am normally a very quick read. With this book I kept going back and rereading passages. Turning them over in my heart and mind. I was just at a loss for words and completely taken with the book.It moves at a breathtaking pace, revealing insight after insight and when you start recognizing parts of yourself as you read, you feel like yes, there are others having these awakening experience. I was sorry to finish the book and I'm waiting for the next one.It's a work of "fiction" but what Penelope experienced is happening to people everywhere. I speak to my friends, clients, and students about this. We have long and deep conversations about the nature of reality, about the synchronicity in each of our lives (like my name being the first word in chapter 1.About where we are going as as species, as humanity, as we evolve into what is next.We talk about the fact that the Mayan calender comes to an end in 2012. And that the earth is approaching, also in 2012, an alignment with the core of our Milky Way Galaxy. Something that only happens once every 26,000 years. Many traditions all over the world have spoken to these times of change, of evolution as we have this alignment with our Milky Way.What Jeff and Rod have written about in this book speaks to these times and the changes, the awakenings that are taking place,I see this in my work too, as a HeartMath (R) 1 On 1 Provider. I work from the Hearts core intelligence. It's a language of emotions, intention, coherence, caring, compassion, and global community, It's the language of the heart, which also comes in symbols, images, sensory memory, and images.Seeing Jeff and Rods book in print and contributing to this awakening, as so many other scholars,teachers and institutions are doing brings be great hope for a wonderful future for out planet and of global family.Read the book. It's a work of 'fiction' but more true that you can imagine.Blessings to all,Nellie MooreWysewomen LLC[...][...]

I was predisposed to like "The Fourth Awakening." I like thrillers, I don't mind the religion angle hinted at in the blurb, and as a journalist, the protagonist's career -- investigative reporter -- caught my interest. It's too bad the book didn't live up to its promise.Pennington's heroine, Penelope, is a woman adrift after her marriage ends and her children have left home. Years ago she was a hotshot investigative reporter, winning a Pulitzer for her work and then choosing family over her career. With no family life to speak of now, she's regretting that fact. When an old buddy from the Washington Post offers her a dangerous but potentially prize-winning story, she barely hesitates before jumping right in. The government has detained a billionaire, Michael Walker, for mysterious charges related to a project he was working on. Penelope interviews him and, in short order, has helped him break out of a high-security prison and gone on the run with him to his group's compound. Along the way, he tells her of his group's discovery of the coming Fourth Awakening, which will introduce a sea change to the way humanity lives. He wants Penelope to break the story of the awakening to the world. Of course, there are those who don't want that to happen.It sounds good. The supporting facts Pennington brings into play are convincing enough that suspension of disbelief wasn't difficult. Through Walker, he details the first three "awakenings" -- the emergence of homo sapiens, man's realization of mortality and the ascendance of science over religion -- that mankind has already experienced. Walker's group has found a way to speed individuals through the fourth awakening, which he explains as akin to reaching enlightenment. This aspect of the story is the strongest and, by extension, the most interesting. Pennington ties the historical details together much like Dan Brown did in the "Da Vinci Code" -- you know it's not true, but there's enough truth there to make the read enjoyable.If only I could have gotten past Penelope.She's a superjournalist. Pulitzer Prize-winner extraordinaire. "The best damned investigative reporter in the world," as she's toasted at the end. We hear it over and over again, but there's no evidence of it, anywhere, aside from the Pulitzer. This amazing story that she breaks was handed to her by an old friend -- well, actually, by Walker, as we later find out in a discussion between Penelope and Walker:"How did you know I was coming?""Because I needed you and I asked you to come.""You needed me and you asked me to come?""Yes."Aside from the initial effort it took her to get into the prison, she doesn't do anything to break the story. Walker and his group hand her everything she needs -- up to and including pre-written background articles on their work -- for her stories. Now, I'm a journalist myself, so I probably come at this from a different angle than the average reader, but it's ridiculous how much Penelope is praised and idolized and congratulated for sitting there and writing what she's told to write.Not to mention the way she lets Walker control her, even picking out her clothes on several occasions. What the?And then the story just ... ends. There's no dramatic confrontation with the bad guys (heck, I'm not even clear by the end of who the bad guys were), and the most-dramatic, most-foreshadowed arc culminated with Walker and Penelope dancing the tango in front of the rest of the supporting cast."The Fourth Awakening" was a quick, fun read, but I'm not rushing out to buy the sequel ("The Gathering Darkness"), and I doubt it's a book I'll pick up for a re-read.

As if great character development and plot weren't enough, the author covers the human condition and plausible metaphysicality which one could not put down. A great read!

Another fantastic book by Rod Pennington. The story revolves around a journalist and the intriguing twists in the plot, together with the well crafted suspense, kept me reading the book deep through the night and into early hours of the day. If you love political scandal thrillers, you will absolutely love this book.Like many best sellers, I particularly liked the fact that the author starts each chapter in this book with famous or interesting quotes from various sources, which only adds to the sense of drama and mystique. This book has everything. The well written easy to follow plot tantalises the reader with every turn of the page. At times you feel as if you are running with the imagination of the author but then suddenly find unexpected event/plot line that only grabs yours/reader's interest even further. A great mystery thriller.I highly recommend this brilliant and well written novel. Purchase it, read it and you will not regret it.

I found this book when looking up noted titles on an Amazon Kindle list. I determined that, if it's a bestseller, it must be worth a go. After downloading it, I picked it up casually and then found that I couldn't put it down. The book is the proverbial page-turner. This is a superbly written psychological thriller with nods to science fiction, mysticism and religion. I have been thinking about the messages in the book long after I read it. Though not one to like effusive book reviews, I can highly recommend this title. I have also now read  A Family Reunion (The First Charon Family Adventure)  and  Family Business (The Second Charon Family Adventure)  which are books by one of the authors (Pennington) and they are just as well crafted as Fourth Awakening, hitting at a different genre but still appealing to a clever reader. A Family Reunion (The First Charon Family Adventure)Family Business (The Second Charon Family Adventure)

I'm not usually a huge fan of new age thrillers but from the very beginning of this novel I was hooked! What initially appears to be a fairly simple thriller quickly becomes a tale of so many twists and turns that it almost makes you dizzy. Literary drama at its best, well written with a hint of plausibility thrown in for good measure. It takes the idea of conspiracy theories to a whole new level and leaves the reader considering exactly what the governments of the world are attempting to keep from us!I thought it was certainly comparable with Dan Brown's Di Vinci Code and to be honest I found it more enjoyable and far more addictive. I find it quite hard to believe that such a great book is so amazingly cheap!

Right from the start the book sucks you into a world of intrigue and mystery, I couldn't get enough of the first 1/3rd of the book. It then starts to slow a little before picking back up in the last 1/3rd.I thought the characters were great and loved the main characters 'Spence' and 'Michael Walker' whom I saw being played by Sandra Bullock and 'John Malkovich', in my minds eye.I have not given it 5 stars as it was a little too perfect and a little contrived at times, however overall a great way to spend time, and get the old brain cells working for a change.This would be a great movie it was fleshed out a little more.Already bought the second instalment and looking forward to reading it.