Circle Of Doors
Circle of Doors is a story of Ethan Grey’s that has Science, Religion, Conspiracies and Philosophy as its pillars buttressing the script in its place efficiently. Ethan Grey loses his wife Rachel and his daughter Allison in an accident and could not really ever come out of the depression caused by their deaths. Many a time he contemplates suicide to end the suffering, but he pushes through every day with a vague sense of hope towards life. But when Ethan finds a journal of a young woman named Sara from the future, he is petrified by the coincidences in his life. The journal narrated by Sara describes a cataclysmic event that could befall humanity if not interceded by someone who has the knowledge of all the events and forces that are connected to the very thing that could cause it if fallen into the wrong hands.
The script has been written in a very expressive way and it was almost as if the picture is running before our eyes. The understanding of the views and camera angles which are to be employed made it easy to picture the narration and have been pivotal in perceiving the writer’s vision. The story has been taken forward by the writer in a thrilling way by adding a bit of latent sexual tension between the main characters and switching the setting between the contemporary reality and Ethan’s imagination. The story moves forward at a very rapid pace and some things felt too fast, for example, it was uncomfortable how easily Alex convinces Ethan to take a trip to Kazakhstan. I would have liked more character development such as more background of Ethan’s personal character apart from the features he carries after he loses his family. It is hard to travel along the journey without being closer with the characters.
The very existence of Sara’s journal in his life makes Ethan doubt the difference between his fantasies and the reality which leads him to confess it to Alex, a friend of Rachel. The journal is something which seems to be from the future and has crucial information about the things that could lead to the decimation of mankind. Ethan shares this crazy thing with Alex in their initial meetings and she accepts everything as if she has already been acclimated to them. In search of a solution to their unending train of questions, they go on a trip to Kazakhstan. The discoveries they find there later lead to the Middle East and then into Europe. There is an action side to this plot and it adds thrills to an already fascinating story.
As they make their way into the core of the truth, the solution to save the mass destruction of humankind, Ethan confronts his religious beliefs and gets closer to the ideas that are inherent of his wife Rachel. He tries to make sense of everything that he dreams of and tries to accept himself better. The reliance of Alex and Ethan on each other grows as we delve into the narration. And as the story matures, Ethan finds himself at peace with the things that have happened in his life which have shattered his will to live. Occasional breaking into the story of young Ethan gives us some insights into his past life, but that does not significantly add to his character building as much as I would prefer.
Ranse Parker’s narration is lucid and easy to visualize. The opening ship scene makes a great beginning to a beautiful attention to detail narration. Circle of Doors makes us run along with Ethan and Alex around the world to find the power of souls. It is a thrilling fast narration and would be fantastic to see this become a movie.
CIRCLE OF DOORS is based on the novel that won two national awards for Visionary Fiction.
