Gary Miller is a religion and philosophy college professor living a pretty average life. He hardly gets by on his meager salary, has a wife he doesn’t love and struggles with a sexual orientation that conflicts with his faith. But his life takes an interesting turn when Bob, his long-time friend and former colleague, introduces him to seven experiments. They are designed to help Gary manifest his wishes with the power of his mind. Skeptical at first, Gary takes on the challenge and goes through each experiment. As he progresses, his belief in this new discovery grows. It appears better days are ahead and he could finally get all he wants out of life. But how far will Gary go in using his newfound power to satisfy his longings?

Stephen Kanicki weaves an intriguing tale in The Seven Experiments. It’s been a while since I read a story with a healthy dose of eeriness like this one. It’s nothing too close to horror, but it’s just creepy enough to make your skin crawl. Set in present-day New York City, The Seven Experiments is a fictional novel that examines religious, pseudoscientific and metaphysical themes.

Kanicki’s interest in placing religious beliefs on the spot really jumps out. His main character Gary asks some difficult questions of the Christian faith. The book’s context adds a fascinating spin to many of these subjects. For example, Gary’s success at wishing things into reality leads him to question the need for prayers. He wonders if praying to an unseen God is anything more than a waste of time. Maybe we are inherently self-sufficient and can get whatever we want without any external interference. These are Gary’s thoughts.

Somehow, Kanicki was able to take a conservative college professor and transform him into a frightening maniac. I never saw that one coming (that’s the point of a good story, but Gary made quite the jump from super cool to super not-so-cool). Gary’s downward spiral is another suggestion that given the right opportunity and enough motive, we all are capable of much evil. And I couldn’t help but imagine if our strongest beliefs still exist because they’ve not faced real conflict. I mean, how deeply have you questioned your values? Or are they shallow platitudes just waiting to be uprooted by the slightest problem?

Kanicki does a great job of passing his message and keeping the reader engaged. However, a couple of characters were unsolved mysteries. I couldn’t really wrap my head around who they were or what their motives were. But that aside, you’d enjoy The Seven Experiments if you fancy spooky but thought-provoking stories.

Pages: 213 | ASIN: B07X4KM2CY