3 out of 4 stars
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The McTavish Regressions by McTavish & Buret provides a historical fiction twist on the psycho-therapeutic procedure known as Past Life Regression. Past Life Regression practitioners believe that a person’s inexplicable fetish or desire stems from an experience in one of his past lives. Dr. Wallace McTavish, a Past Life Regression specialist, meets his new patient, Laura. Born with a physical disability, Laura spent her entire life stuck in a wheelchair. Thus, she could not fathom why she strongly feels she is supposed to be a dancer. She will not consider other options. She has to be a dancer or none at all. Through hypnotism, Dr. McTavish then opens the deepest recesses of Laura’s mind, leading her to unravel the secrets of her past life as a member of the Romani tribe caught in the Spanish Inquisition in 1592.
The McTavish Regressions is bound to entertain fans of historical fiction and psychological studies. The book does not delve too deep into psychological terms and technicalities, making the fundamentals of Past Life Regression understandable even to those who haven’t heard of it before. Please do note that the book includes a few scenes depicting violence, although nothing too disturbing.
The premise of this book is indeed very alluring for its clever combination of fiction, psychology, and history. The author also evidently researched some important details regarding the Romani culture, including their dances and their Italian language.
In addition, the character of Dr. McTavish invites intrigue. Readers will be compelled to analyze his theories regarding Past Life Regression. However, the other main character Dr. Genevieve ‘Vivi’ Buret doesn’t seem to fit into the story yet. To complete her thesis in Criminology, Vivi sought the help of Dr. McTavish. The two intellectuals reached a consensus that Past Life Regression may aid in understanding the mental states of criminals, especially those who committed heinous crimes. This discussion was left unexplored in the book. To be fair, The McTavish Regressions is the first installment in an intended series. Perhaps Vivi and the connection between criminals and Past Life Regression will play bigger roles in later books.
As much as I like the plot and Dr. McTavish's character, I find the book fell short in transporting readers into different times and places in history due to lack of descriptions. Past lives of the characters lead readers to places like London and Las Vegas, but the lack of descriptions didn’t make me feel like I was reading about these places. Moreover, the book is rather short with only 87 pages. More details and scenes could have been included or expounded. Instead, readers were allowed only one of Laura’s past lives. The book also failed to give a proper resolution to Laura’s condition. I understand that it is vital to leave cliffhangers for readers to look forward to the succeeding books. However, I think it would have been better to end Laura’s case in this book and then introduce a different case in the next.
I observed a few typos and some sentences that need reconstruction. The portion of the book focusing on Dr. McTavish’s past lives also used a font style that was hardly readable.
Overall, I give The McTavish Regressions 3 out of 4 stars for its promising premise that is bound to appeal to a wide range of readers. Nonetheless, the book is too short, and more scenes and detailed descriptions could have been added.
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The McTavish Regressions
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