Title: So A Muki: Receiving Prophecy
Author: S.L. Bergen
Publisher: Westwood Book Publishing, LLC
ISBN: 978-1643614212
Pages: 422
Genre: Science Fiction/Religion
Reviewed by: Carl Conrad

Read Book Review

In a sequel to her first book in this series, Land of the Butterflies, author S.L. Bergen continues her enchanting tale of the Mukis (pronounced Muckys) as they send several “cultural judges” to Earth to make a decision about whether the Earth should be permitted to continue its population growth or if it should be obliterated because it doesn’t measure up to the standard that God, as judged by the Mukis, has established for continuation.

In So A Muki: Receiving Prophecy, an earthling, who goes by the names Littl’un, Little Smiler, and eventually Tara, is romantically infatuated with David, one of the Mukis although he is five years older than she is, she is only thirteen when they first meet, and she yearns to become a Muki with David’s help. He carefully teaches her the ways of the Muki, who are guided by a Godly female figure called Jarrock, who cultivates belief in God through a yearning which created life.

The amazing thing about this book is the depth to which it explores relationships and belief in God in a fairytale kind of atmosphere. Putting forth such ideas as the “voice of life” which is an undeniable instinct to survive, the “lines of infinity” on which our lives exist, and “Deplukador” which pushes the dynamics of life: change, growth, and discovery, the author has explained many of the most important components which gives us reasons to exist. Tara even struggled to accept the notion that slavery – to God and God’s will – was the route to incredible freedom, only to eventually find how satisfying this admonition was.

At first there was a strong feeling by the committee evaluating Earth that the planet would have to be destroyed because it was “not as God would have it.” But the persistence and continued quest to convince the committee otherwise demonstrated a greater love for and commitment to the ways of the Muki that allowed it to prevail.

Creating a soft, thoughtful, magical world of yearnings and dedication toward God, author S.L. Bergen carefully guides the reader through personal discoveries that examine the difficulties of overcoming barriers between cultures, beliefs, and goals in life. Certainly Tara, in exquisite and often heart-wrenching detail, finds this as she strives to become a Muki, finally receiving the prophecy she thought she wanted, although only at perhaps too severe a cost.

In concluding chapters that are as emotionally evocative and as grippingly compassionate as any this reviewer has ever read, the journey of Tara to becoming a Muki is completed, and her new journey – to the “Land of the Butterflies” in an upcoming third volume of this trilogy – is revealed. The books should definitely be read in consecutive order to appreciate the evolution of the story and the characters, although there are short summaries in the second book to help understand essential points from the first.