Gathering Wise

Trip, Book 1

By: M.K. Baker

Narrated by: M.K. Baker, Bella Iris Lamonte

At the dawn of time, young Perl awakes at the base of the ancient Bodhi tree, the only source of the last remaining life-giving fruits of wisdom. She's met by a mysterious deity named Ohm, who eases her reawakening before hastily setting her on a path into the unknown, tasked with choosing twelve primitive beings to receive the blessing of self-awareness, so they can join Perl in her newfound godhood and help lay the foundations of civilization.

©2019 M.K. Baker (P)2020 M.K. Baker

Beautiful, unique creation myth

This quirky short novel could appeal to middle-grade children and adults alike. Gathering Wise (Trip Fantastik, Book 1) is as much a creation myth as it is a classic quest story told using omniscient narration.
Gathering starts with Perl, a girl who, by her description, is closer to human than any of the other characters. She wakes to find a winged, golden-skinned woman – a goddess-like character named Ohm – who tells Perl about her place in the world. Perl is the first of the awakened or the Wise, an immortal being blessed with wisdom because she has eaten fruit from the Bodhi tree. It is very like Genesis, only without the fall – the Bodhi fruit isn’t forbidden.
Perl needs to give a Bodhi fruit to another 12 different creatures, creating a “gathering of the Wise”. This is the straightforward quest that shapes the rest of the story. There are some surprises along the way, but Perl and her friends’ journey isn’t cluttered with many subplots unrelated to the main objective. It’s quite soothing in its simplicity.
The first 6 Wise are selected quickly, though not always thoughtfully. Some steal the Bodhi fruit. Others are fed the fruit while trying to eat other characters. Immediately after ingesting it, they have a fit and become comatose for a day or so, before waking with no memory of their old life. The descriptions of these nonhuman characters and their environments are wonderfully creative. Some are humanoid like Endi, who is a fish-person, or Dehmun, a grey alien. Others are bipedal animals, quadrupeds, birds, reptiles, or combinations thereof.
Unawakened creatures can be intelligent, but they lack an innate command of the awakened language, Anshant. The Wise must establish civilisations, sharing their systems of time, language and measurement. This isn’t just exposition; the world-building is the story.
Gathering has an emotional clarity and open-heartedness that reminds me of Patricia A. McKillip’s The Forgotten Beasts of Eld (which is fresh in my mind because I read it last year). Perl and the others all start their awakened lives naive and filled with wonder at every new thing they see. It will be interesting to see where future books lead these characters. With time, they start to exhibit different personalities and talents. Sometimes these differences cause contention. Given their potential for accumulating power and knowledge, they could become dangerous in time.

Sometimes, colloquial terms like “jerk” or expressions like “you guys” feel a bit out of place in what is otherwise a timeless folktale. But they do convey the youth and energy of the characters.
I highly recommend the audiobook, which is excellently narrated by the author, who has a pleasant reading voice. He changes his delivery for each of the characters, so Dehmun and Rijus, for example, sound completely different. There are even some engaging sound effects. A second narrator, Bella Lamonte, reads only the lines of the female characters.
I am eager to see where this all leads in the sequel, Rejoining Kin, which is already available. The first book spans 50 years, and the next could well depict these characters marching through the ages. If you’re looking for something sincere, spiritual, and quite unlike the fantasy tropes prevalent in today’s market, Gathering Wise may be the refreshing change you need. I hope more readers awaken to it.

It’s was ok

I wanted to love it. Parts were cute and very interesting. I guess I’m not certain what the overall direction this is going. I think it would be a cool kids TV show. It’s a bit trippy. Baker did a great job narrating the story.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Gimmicky effects undercut the book

Interesting and ambitious ideas. I was very intrigued, but the constant use of gimmicky audio tricks made it nearly impossible to finish. I would rerecord entire book without the echoes and reverb. They completely undercut the book.

Slow and tiresome

Story was slow, predictable, and characters were not interesting. I think the author was trying to write an inspiring story, but failed. The story drags at times and whole mythos is garbled. Narration was tinny, sounded like it was done in a garage.


“I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.”