Some journeys take you across regions. And others take you deep into yourself. KOAN by Lucio Pascua is a book that invites you to pack your mental and emotional bags and step into a world where the road is not just a path to somewhere else, it is the destination itself. In this blend of literary fiction, philosophical fantasy, and magical realism, travel isn’t marked by miles, but by moments of transformation.
KOAN is a story about moving between worlds, between states of being, and between different versions of the self. For example, the book’s multi-threaded story sends its characters on journeys as spiritual as they are physical. The Guardians, the Northern Tortoise, the Eastern Dragon, and their colleagues are not only protectors of cosmic order. They are wayfinders, guiding those willing to project beyond the known into landscapes of moral, mystical, and personal discovery.
These characters feel like they are joining a journey that spans not just kingdoms but lands of thought. Each step in KOAN is a meditation on balancing chaos and order, the cost of peace, and the relationship of fate and free will. It is a spiritual desire to travel at its richest, not the restless search for innovation but the thoughtful exploration of what it means to live with purpose.
The tone will resonate with fans of films that blend the fantastical with the philosophical. Like The Fall (2006), KOAN engages you in layered storytelling, where the journey is painted in metaphor and beauty as much as in plot. Like Samsara or Baraka, it moves fluidly between the intimate and the cosmic, suggesting that every personal moment has a place in a larger universal rhythm. And like The Fountain, it holds that spiritual exploration can be nonlinear, looping through lifetimes, realities, and perspectives.
KOAN lets its characters struggle with questions rather than rushing them toward answers. This pacing mirrors the rhythm of real-life spiritual travel, where progress is often measured not in reaching a destination, but in the depth of reflection along the way. And, as readers, we are encouraged to sit with discomfort, to listen to the silence between events, and to notice how small choices flow outward in surprising ways.
The book is not intense in a way that weighs you down. You will find threads of humour, mockery, and moments of human warmth through the narrative, reminding us that joy and silliness have their place even in the proudest spiritual journey. Here, strange perspectives shed light on the strange beauty of human life.
By the final chapters, KOAN leaves you with the sense that the journey never truly ends. The paths taken by its characters are open-ended, inviting you to imagine where they might lead next, or where your steps might take you if you choose to follow their example.
KOAN celebrates the art of wandering with intention in a world often obsessed with arriving. It’s a book for anyone who has ever felt the pull toward something bigger, stranger, and more beautiful than the road ahead could ever promise. This book is perfect for those who understand that sometimes, the greatest adventures are the ones that change the wanderer more than the environment, leading to a positive and mind-blowing transformation.
Read this book now. Head to Amazon to purchase your copy: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1968615466.