Stafford Betty, Ph.D.
The Imprisoned
Splendor
Kiran is a gifted but self-absorbed college professor who grew up in Mumbai. Now working at a leading California university as a professional philosopher, he lives in a marriage of convenience to Lisa, an American, but this comes to an abrupt end on a visit home to India when he dies in a plane crash.
Kiran watches annihilation advance toward him, then the moment of death. To his amazement he finds he's still alive--more alive than ever. Under the guidance of his grandparents, he gradually gets used to his ethereal body and the strange laws, landscapes, cities, and fellow inhabitants of Eidos, a spirit world. But he's not at home there; he's not ready to enjoy it. He undergoes Judgment (but not by a deity) by reliving the events of his selfish life from the point of view of his victims--his students, his fellow workers, above all the women who loved him. Eventually he seeks out Shalini, who committed suicide after he rejected her in favor of her rival, Lisa.
Kiran, facing heavy odds, is assigned the task of rescuing Shalini from her self-made hell in the Shadowlands. Will he succeed--and if he does, what then? He can't stay where he is. He must move ahead into diviner worlds or "repeat the grade." And what about Shalini? Where will her passion for Kiran take her next?
This the first book of Stafford’s Afterlife Trilogy.
Reviews
"The amount of research considered in the writing of this novel is apparent from the very beginning. Each character is carefully developed and the plot flows seamlessly with exquisite imagery. The world described is one that captures even the most skeptical soul and the Author does not hold back to the uglier parts of the afterlife. As a lifelong Christian, I was a bit hesitant to read this book, but going in with an open mind allowed me to appreciate the wealth of knowledge there is available to what can never really be understood until 1st hand experience."
~ bronz85 on Amazon.com
One won't find a better writer than Stafford Betty. Reading a novel can be threefold, the writer the words and the reader equal story told. As much as I love to read, it didn't feel as if I was making the effort, the story simply poured over me as if it were something that had happened to someone I knew. I agree with the reviewer who didn't want it to end because there is nothing else like it, that I know of.
~ jillabilla on Amazon.com
"Wonderful book- so much information on the metaphysical and the Afterlife. The characters were so believable and you could identify with them and their human weaknesses. There was much to digest and absorb - so much to really think about. This book is a keeper and highly recommended! AAA+++."
~ Lorrayne R. Salvin on Amazon.com
The Imprisoned Splendor is unlike anything I have ever read before. It follows a man, Kiran, who dies and enters into the first step of Eidos; which is heaven. He learns a lot from what type of person he was on earth and the choices that he made. The book also has the main character going thru Judgment, which I thought was well done. He also faces Shadow lands, which is like Purgatory to help a friend and try to make up for what he did wrong on Earth. This was a very quick read, but I do like the plot of the story and found myself not wanting to put it down. I like books like this that ponder the unknown.
~ Laura from Goodreads