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Mystical Force: Vol. 4
Mystical Force Volume 4: Many are 1, 1 is 0, by Craig Weidhuner, is the next installment in the series following a Taman Knight from the planet Thalia. An evil sorceress, Zolida, is trying to find an ancient scroll. Unfortunately, the scroll releases an omnipotent being named 0, whom she wants to control and use against her enemies.
The story begins with Zolida hiring a mercenary to steal the scroll. Shi-ria, a Taman Knight from the previous volume, tries to prevent Zolida from obtaining the scroll. Shi-ria does not know what power the scroll has but knows Zolida will use it to try and change the future for the worse. Zolida ends up with the scroll and releases 0 from its world. 0 is an almost God-like being that can change matter, time, and space. He becomes an important character and alters the reality that humans, mages, and demons know.
The writing in this book unveils a lot at a fast pace. There are many different characters involved in the plot, which gives the book depth. However, there is still minor individual character development. Nevertheless, the pace and tone of the book are well written and easy to read.
Although this is another installment in the series, this book focuses on a different character. The main characters from volume 3 were involved, but I don’t think you need to read the previous book to understand this one. I would’ve liked to see more depth in the characters between volumes and a better continuation of the plot overall. This volume reads as a stand-alone that could potentially have a sequel.
Mystical Force Volume 4: Many are 1, 1 is 0, by Craig Weidhuner, is a continuation that focuses on the evil mage Zolida. If you like action, adventure, magic, and triumph over evil, this book is for you.
Pages: 72 | ASIN : B09VY2KVRZ
This Divide In Our World
Mystical Force: Volume 2 Angels and Demons follows the story of a human and a demon that fall in love and must figure out how to survive in a world where their love is forbidden. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
There wasn’t so much a specific incident or event that inspired me, it was more the general idea of prejudice. I’ve always like works such as “Star Trek” or “X-men” which used aliens, mutants or other species as a metaphor for our relations with each other, be it race, gender or sexual orientation. It always amazes me that even in this day and age there still seems to be this divide in our world, this attitude of “our kind against their kind”. Many people are beginning to realize that we are all one, that race, religion, gender, sexual orientation ultimately don’t matter. Unfortunately there are still those out there who still see those who don’t conform to their rigid, dogmatic views on such matter as enemies. It’s especially hypocritical when religion preaches such intolerance. It’s amazing (and frankly sad) how much shame we as a society, have created around love, yet we have no problems with violence and hatred. As the character Jimomaru says in the book, “[People] claim to value freedom of speech yet when someone says something they don’t agree with, they’re quick to do everything they can to silence them! They claim to value the right to choose, yet are intolerant of those who make different choices than them!”
What were the morals you were trying to capture while creating your characters?
- That we are all one and that by teaching people to fear and hate those who are different we are essentially teaching people to fear and hate ourselves. We’re only giving others more reasons to fear and hate us.
- That we were given free will to use it, not to blindly follow the teachings of others. That’s the main thing about the series. You’ve got characters like Shi-ria, Mystic and Noonien who make their own choices in life, they decide for themselves what’s right and what’s wrong. By contrast you’ve got the Order of the Cross which teaches blind dogmatism, “This is the way God wants it! Don’t question it, just accept it!” This is essentially the inner conflict that Sister Rose has to deal with throughout the series. The Order continually tells her one thing while her heart, her conscience tells her something else.
Can you tell us where the next book goes and where we’ll see the characters in the next book?
Volume 3: The Kolri and the Koldar, was actually published before I found out about Literary Titan, so it’s already available. That one specifically focuses on Shi-ria and the Taman Knights. We get to see her home world of Thalia and learn more about the Taman Knights as well as their dark counterparts the Koldar Warriors. It shows more about Shi-ria’s religion and the contrast between it and Sister Rose’s. It’s like comparing Catholic nuns to Shaolin monks. Also, Volume 4: Many are 1, 1 is 0 has just recently come out. Which introduces a new character called 0 (Zero), a mad god with omnipotent powers who loves causing chaos for his own amusement.
Hollywood is knocking and they want to make your book into a TV series. Who do you cast as the leads?
To be perfectly honest I’ve never really given it much thought. Personally I’ve always wanted to do it as an animated adaption, in a Japanese anime style. I know that many people in America (and my country Canada) are still stuck in this idea that animation = children’s program, thus many would insist that Mystical Force is inappropriate for children, no matter how many times you tell them it’s not targeted for kids. I’ve always been concerned about letting the Hollywood studio system get their hands on my work. It’s the same old story, “We love your series, but we feel the only way to make it a hit is to change everything about it.” The last thing I want is a bunch of suits changing Mystical Force to the point where the only thing the TV series and the books have in common are the title. As far as who should play the main characters, I’ve never really thought about, “Oh [celebrity X] would be perfect for Shi-ria. Oh [actress Y] would make a great Sister Rose.” Maybe I’m the exception instead of the rule, but I watch movies and TV shows because I’m a fan of the work itself, not because it stars [insert celebrity name here].
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While out on a date, Tokijin and Valerie Rose are
ambushed by a demon from Tokijin’s past: Jimomaru,
an old friend turned enemy, one who hates humans as
much as the Order of the Cross hates his kind, and he’s
determined to show Tokijin why humans and demons
can never live in peace. Meanwhile, Mystic, Noonien and
Shi-ria run into a sorceress named Aanjay, Noonien’s ex-fiance, who also harbours a deep grudge against humanity. Together, Aanjay and Jimomaru mean to show Tokijin why humans are the ones that should be hated and destroyed, by whatever means necessary.
Now, in order to save Tokijin, Sister Rose must team up with Mystic, Noonien and Shi-ria before it’s too late, before Aanjay and Jimomaru escalate the anger, hatred, fear and violence, and before Valerie looses Tokijin forever . . .
A World Free From Prejudice And Intolerance
Mystical Force: Vol. 1 Stranger in a Strange Land follows three groups that are all battling for the good of the Earth in their own way and with their own view of good vs evil. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The origin of the series actually revolves around a character who will be introduced later in the series, the “chosen one” I’ve hinted at. I wish I could explain more about this but that would be giving away spoilers. For now I’ll simply say, there were many different inspirations for the story. The main question was ‘how did the character of Shi-ria end up on Earth?’ I came up with various ideas, but none of them seemed to work. When I hit upon the idea of Scarlet Knightwalker having seen the future and trying to prevent Shi-ria from coming, only to have Zolida ensure “destiny will be fulfilled”, suddenly all the pieces seemed to fall into place. One of the themes I’ve always been fascinated by is the idea of ‘fate vs free will’ and how people seem to believe they’re polar opposites; a belief that I do not share. Fate is simply life/the universe/God (call it whatever you like) providing the circumstances to enable us to live the life we choose. The question is whether you make that choice consciously or unconsciously. In a way, Mystical Force is the story of conformity vs individuality. Our heroes are the type who think for themselves and make their own decisions based on their own knowledge, instinct and intuition. By contrast, the Order of the Cross consists of the type who blindly follow their religious dogmatism without question. We see this conflict represented through the character of Sister Rose, who loves Tokijin and (in her heart) knows he’s not evil but is constantly being told that he’s a servant of the devil, simply because the Church says so. As is often the case in reality, which do you choose? Do you listen to your higher self and know the truth? Or do you blindly follow what others say and live your life in ignorance, assuming the events of your life (be it good or bad) to just be random chance?
I enjoyed that this story takes place on Earth with characters from other worlds being brought here. Why choose this place and time for the setting of the story?
It seemed appropriate as we seem to be on the cusp of evolving right now from our old fear based society to one of love. When you look back through history, the issues of prejudice, racism, sexism, religious intolerance and so on, you see that many people today are beginning to realize that our current way of thinking (politics, religion, economics) do not serve us and aren’t taking us where we, as a collective society, say we want to go. While some of us embrace this shift in consciousness, others still surrender to fear and desperately try to fight progress; or worse, actively try to force society to regress to a more primitive stage of development. By having the series introduce characters from more evolved societies interacting with the characters on present day Earth, it shows the audience that change isn’t something to be feared but to be embraced. Like Star Trek it shows that we can make the world a better place. A world free from prejudice and intolerance. Where the goal in life isn’t to make the most money, but to make the most of living for everyone.
What was your favorite character to write for and why?
That isn’t a fair question. It’s like asking a parent “which child is your favorite and why?” But if I must choose, I would say it’s Shi-ria, with Mystic being a close second. I think they’re both great examples of what we can be as a people. Both are strong and wise beyond their years. They’re the type of characters you don’t want to mess with but at the same time they also have the compassion and wisdom to know when to stand and fight and when not to. Sometimes it takes more strength to put down a weapon than to pick it up. Sometimes it takes more courage to stop a fight then to start one. There are some out there who don’t agree with those statements, who think compassion is weakness and refusing to fight is cowardice. The truly wise know that we are all one, that by hurting another you’re actually hurting yourself. To quote the Beatles song Within you, without you: “When you see beyond yourself then you may find peace of mind is waiting there.”
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
Since Mystical Force is a series, I’m currently working on the next volume. When I first published Mystical Force, I wasn’t aware of Literary Titan. Thus volumes 2 (Angels and Demons) & 3 (The Kolri and the Koldar) were already out before I discovered Literary Titan. That’s why I did the review for volume 1. Otherwise it would be like asking you to review a TV series when you haven’t seen the pilot episode. Without the introduction, without context, it makes the story much harder to follow. I guess reviews for those books are next on our to do list! I’m currently working on volume 4 (Many are 1, 1 is 0). It should be out sometime in the spring.
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When Shi-ria graduated from apprentice to Taman Knight her master foresaw she was destined for something no other Taman Knight had done. She had no idea what he meant until a sorceress named Zolida brought her to a strange, remote, backwards planet called Earth.
There, Shi-ria meets a witch named Mystic, her husband, Noonien, a demon named Tokijin and a nun called Sister Rose (who happens to be secretly dating Tokijin). Together they get drawn into a tangled web of criminal smugglers, vengeful spirits and Sister Rose’s fellow members of the Order of the Cross, who wish to exterminate these ‘devils’ for their ‘ungodly’ powers.
As if this wasn’t enough, a rival sorceress named Scarlet Knightwalker is adamant that this unlikely team not meet, just as much as Zolida insists they must. Now they must find the answer as to why Zolida insists their meeting was predestined, and more importantly, why Knightwalker is determined to fight fate. Answers that could change the course of the future, but for better or worse?
Mystical Force – Book Trailer
All beings radiate a life force, but some have an additional Mystical Force – a force that grants them special gifts, be it magical essence, demonic aura or spiritual power. While some consider these people to be gifted, there are others who feel these powers are unnatural. Mystical Force is a fantasy series, dealing with themes of prejudice and racism.
(Vol.1 Stranger in a Strange Land):
Shi-ria is brought to Earth by a sorceress named Zolida as part of a prophecy. There she meets Mystic, Noonien, Tokijin and Rose and must save a bunch of kidnapped demons from smugglers while the Order wants to destroy them. Meanwhile another sorceress named Scarlet Knightwalker wants to prevent this to ensure a dark future doesn’t come true.
(Vol.2 Angels and Demons):
Sister Rose and Tokijin are attacked by another demon (Jimomaru) and his sorceress ally (Aanjay) as revenge for them being persecuted by humans. Shi-ria, Mystic and Noonien are needed to help when Tokijin is placed under a spell and forced to attack Sister Rose.
(Vol.3 The Kolri and the Koldar):
Shi-ria, along with police detective Shinjo are transported back to Shi-ria’s planet, Thalia. Now Shi-ria must return Shinjo to Earth, while at the same time a dark cult (the Koldar Warriors) learn about this and want this power to magically teleport to any planet across the galaxy so they can spread their dark theocracy and destroy all “infidels”.
LITERARY TITAN 