Review: Message from a Hidden Past by Jos Rogiers

Message from a Hidden Past
written by Jos Rogiers
published by Jos Rogiers

find it here: (affiliate links) Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Book Depository, Goodreads

Why did I pick this book: I was asked by the author to review this book. (I received a copy of this book for review purposes.)

Did I enjoy this book: The short answer is: no, I didn’t really enjoy this book.  However, I feel I’d be doing a disservice to the author (and you) if I said this book was anything less than wonderful.  Rogiers writes beautifully, and he’s put so much time, effort, and research into the book I feel bad mentioning that I secretly skipped around based on how interesting the chapter titles sounded.

You know the bit at the end of the Lord of the Rings books where you learn about the excess history (most famously Arwen’s Story) Tolkein didn’t have time to smash into his masterpiece?  Yeah.  This is like that, only without the masterpiece.  It’s lovely.  It’s interesting.  But it reads like a history book, and let’s face it – the only people who actually read the end bits of Tolkein’s tale do so because the initial story incites a deep-seeded obsession with Middle Earth.  This book channels LOTR in that it has all the historical components, but it’s sadly lacking anything personal enough to trigger a LOTR-style obsession.  Ultimately, I’m not sure if Rogiers was attempting to provide an alternate explanation for the evolution of mankind or if he simply wanted to create his own version of Middle Earth.

Would I recommend it: If you liked history class and also spend some quality time watching SyFy, you’ll probably enjoy this book.

Will I read it again: Nope.  But honestly, it’s personal preference rather than structural and/or grammatical error that makes me say as much.

About the book – from Goodreads: More than 3,200 years ago, a learned dwarf was pricked with the Sleeping Thorn and fell into a deep slumber in a secret cave somewhere on Earth. When he finally awoke, towards the end of 2009 or in the early part of 2010, he started to carry out the task he was charged with by his king: to reveal the truth about a hidden chapter of our past, that misunderstood period of our history when the so-called “gods” held sway over the world. He wrote an amazing book about this subject, a book that throws a completely new light on world history and human existence: Message from a Hidden Past.

According to the author, the gods were neither supernatural beings nor products of the human imagination, let alone extraterrestrials. He describes them as hominids of flesh and blood, belonging to the further evolved species of Homo supersapiens. They were smarter, taller, and much more beautiful than humans. They were the true founders of civilization. The book explains their origins, describes their culture, and pictures the land in which they lived. Most revealing, it relates how the gods became involved with humans and the disastrous consequences of that fateful interaction.

The dwarf recounts the story of a great world war that took place at the end of the Bronze Age and of an epic calamity that finally extinguished the Era of the Gods. Despite their physical destruction, the lore and images of the gods lived on in human poetry, song, and myth. The book’s last chapters deal with what remains of them today, and discuss ancient prophecies that foretell their return at an uncertain date in the future.