Fiction
Title: Pollen and The Ring of Harmony
Author: Francis T. Perry Williams
Rating: Excellent!
Publisher: Emerald Book Co
Web Page: www.emeraldbookcompany.com
Reviewed by: John Lehman | View Bio

It is inevitable that we would finally get an environmentalist super hero. With my allergies I’m not sure I would have chosen “Pollen” as his name, but there’s no question that his message is important and how he delivers it is the unique character of this book. It is easy to envision it as a blockbuster movie with wondrous special effects. Pollen’s powerful ring can’t prevent damage but it can undo it. Here a valley devastated by a developer’s destruction of the dam is put whole again: “Rainbows of light surged from the ring, accompanied by a loud hum. The multicolored light made the valley glow as if it were downtown Las Vegas. And caught in the power of this invisible light was every last uninvited drop of water in the valley. At first it looked like it was raining, only this time from the ground to the sky.”

A warning must be given to humans: live in harmony with your environment or you will perish in your own pollution. There is a balance in nature they must learn to respect. As Pollen and Reb Brown (an old man he helps in the early chapters) work their way to Washington, Pollen puts this philosophy into practice by restoring homes burned by a fire, setting a bank robber on the correct path, making peace between a father and son (and the son and his ex wife), undoing the destruction of a tornado, saving an old woman from the cold, etc. It is these specifics that drive home the point, and in that way reminded me a little of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. They also make for more exciting reading.

I liked the chapter headings and the interaction between characters. The book is fast moving, very visual and has a breath-taking conclusion. We’ve become accustomed to superheroes with unusual powers so easily accept what this one has. I’m not sure the occasional illustrations add much, but I did like the way the author changed vantage points to keep the story fresh and the parallels between an aggressive TV reporter and her troublesome, high-IQ teenage daughter are delightful. The story benefits from the author’s TV acting, writing and directing experiences. There are some nice little ironies hiding in the shadows of the fast action plot (for example, the Cheney like Vice President). Will the warnings about the environment save us from destruction? If Pollen becomes part of the popular culture, they just might.