"Heaven and Earth in Tumult" is an expansive novel spanning centuries of warfare, settlement, struggle and prosperity in Southern Vietnam. Events in the modern-day lives of teachers, soldiers, farmers and businessmen can be traced back to the warriors, court officials, monks and mythic figures that preceded them on idyllic Dao Island. On the periphery of bombing runs, raids and murders, magic lurks in a spiritual world that exists in tandem with the physical world. The power that leaks in from that alternate plane influences the fates of past and present people as their paths continually cross and merge, literally shaping the world around them. The novel explores how the destinies of individuals and lands are inexorably linked and prone to change in fantastic ways."

Paul Christiansen