Hy Brasil: Island of EternityAuthor: Robert Kearns Genre: Fiction - Mystery - General Date Published: June 19, 2019 ISBN-10: 1074166124 ISBN-13: 978-1074166120 BUY IT AT AMAZON.COM Click here to read a sample |
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Hy Brasil: Island of Eternity by Robert E Kearns is a historical fiction written in the style of classic descriptive literature. The unique prose and narrative style of language from a different era may be a challenge for contemporary readers. For example “the chilled refreshment which arrived in a plastic vessel of the nature that invariably occurs stacked alongside the office cooler. It agreed as a near-glacial delight, the peripheral clinging onto miniscule droplets which I surmised as condensation. Spillage did not impress as a constituent of Tiffanie’s disposition, is literary language uncommon in current day fiction. Hy Brasil gives a fantastic insight into Irish society and psyche, of both today and of the past. There’s a touch of James Joyce literary style in Kearns writing. The unconventional style and voice Kearns uses to write Hy Brasil does not make it an easy read, but nor was James Joyce's Ulysses, and that didn't make it a bad book. Kearns' book is very avant-garde. His use of unused words like Hibernia, (meaning Ireland) keeps you constantly trying to understand the strange way he expresses the story behind his novel. Part one is written as either a memoir or as an autobiography of the protagonist’s first ten years as a child growing up in Ireland. Told in the first person in the present time, he introduces the reader to his mysterious awakening and developing interest in Ireland’s history. His mental dialogue and philosophical meanderings flow with poetic grace. Part Two is a flashback hundreds of years into antiquity and referred to by legend and folktale as the island Hy Brasil. The island’s history is told in the third person by Olan. Here the reader learns of the early hunter-gatherer settlers of the island and of their rapid development of civilization. An inherited intelligence gene and the accelerated intelligence of the population led to a highly advanced society. Pending a catastrophic decimation by an asteroid, Orlan is determined to escape annihilation. Part Three returns to contemporary Ireland and the first person account of the storyteller as he discovers archaeological secrets relating to Hy Brasil that intrigue him. He becomes enamored with a co-worker, Tiffanie. She is drawn to him and his obsession with unraveling the historic secrets of Hy Brasil. In spite of, or because of, the rambling, excessive verbalization and highly descriptive, complex writing, the reader will become engrossed with the dark, mysterious gothic style and slower-paced plot. The mysteries between an ancient, mythical island (Ireland’s Atlantis) and present-day research develop the theme of continuance, remembrance, life, death, and romance. Readers who enjoy historical and mythical literary works will find Hy Brasil by Robert E Kearns entertaining and spellbinding. |
Author Robert E. Kearns comes from the Emerald Isle a country that has produced many famed writers like Bram Stoker, Thomas Kinsella, Oscar Wilde and Jonathan Swift to name just a few. He was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1971 and lived there until 1995 when he moved to Houston, Texas. He lived in Houston for the next nine years. Robert believes that the experience of living abroad made a huge contribution to his writing. It matured him as a person and provided him with a unique perspective on life in different parts of the world; thus aiding in his storytelling abilities. After returning to Dublin, Robert started his debut novel, Hy Brasil, in 2017.
Robert stated, ‘I wrote Hy Brasil, Island of Eternity after reading about it in a newspaper article a few years prior. It hit me straightaway that Hy Brasil would make a great subject matter to exercise the imagination. I set about jotting down the plot and then began tapping it out on the keyboard.’
The book is based in part on the mythical island of Hy Brasil, which is Ireland’s answer to Atlantis. It was said to have existed off Ireland’s west coast and appeared on the maps of medieval cartographers. Hy Brasil is a work of literature with plenty of mystery and suspense thrown in for good measure. It focuses on the subjects of Irish history versus its modern day equivalent and does so with the tools of Gothic fiction and high adventure.
Hy Brasil, Island of Eternity was released through Black Rose Writing in January of 2019.  It has been well received, with a respected reviewer saying: “Author Robert E. Kearns has created an effortless read that was easy to breeze through and escape into, thanks to his highly vivid descriptions, beautiful narrative voice, and dark, mysterious gothic stylings.â€
 Robert is now busy completing his second novel which is based in Texas. ‘I am unwilling to provide too much of an over view of this new work,  but I will say that my new book is a fictionalized story which revolves around my time in Houston and a person I met there who is a familiar name in Texas and beyond.’ ‘It’s one to watch out for,’ he says. ‘I already feel as though I’ve hit on something special. This is a story I’ve wanted to get down on paper for a while.  It is of course set in and around a City and State I have fond memories of; so far, it’s been a wonderful writing experience for me.’
Robert is a member of The Irish Writers Centre in Dublin’s Parnell Square and is also a contributor to the Inkslingers writing group which meets there every Saturday. When not writing, Robert loves to walk his dog (A Maltachon who answers to Chloe), which provides him as much exercise as it does for Chloe. Robert hopes to have his second novel completed in late 2019, so watch for the announcement.  You can connect with him at: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robertedkearns Twitter: https://twitter.com/RobertEKearns
