Paradigm Lost

Jamari is expected to be a powerful shaman, but in order to achieve this expectation he needs to learn the necessary skills to be a successful member of Elk Creek Tribe community, so he begins his Manhood Rites training regime that comes with challenges and trials to help him grow stronger and become the man he needs to be.  He takes on a journey across Oregon to obtain salt for the tribe.  Not only will this travel test him physically, but also test his emotional and spiritual limitations.  The people he meets along the way help with this trial, sometimes good and sometimes bad.  This is a journey where he will learn new things about his tribe, the world around him, and himself. Once he returns home, he will no longer Jamari a man, but Jamari Shaman one of the strongest and respected spiritual leaders of his clan.
 
A story when the main character goes out on a journey of self-awareness, whether that is his intention or not, always seems to have a lot of depth and profoundness to them.  “Paradigm Lost” is no different.  As readers progress through the novel they begin to feel a change within themselves, even just for a moment.  ”Paradigm Lost” is the second book in the Elk Creek tribe series, but readers don’t need to read the first book to understand what is happening in this one.  All the important information like the Manhood Rites are touched upon early in the novel and are explained very clearly.  It is incredibly easy to relate to Jamari and feel a sense of kinship with him.  Readers will find themselves getting attached to him from the beginning of the novel all the way to the end. It should be noted his novel has a strong focus on homosexual relationships, although it is not so much an erotic aspect of the novel as it is about admiring the beauty and joy of love and sex with those you want to share with regardless of gender, and the boundaries that come along with it. It is not an overpowering element, in fact it adds a different quality to the novel than if the relationships were primarily heterosexual, but it is an aspect readers should take into account when preparing to read this book.  That being said, “Paradigm Lost” is a great novel that explores various aspects of life and learning how to be the person you are meant to be, whomever that is.  There is not an outright central antagonist, but Jamari is seen to be at odds with himself at times.  Many readers may feel as if an antagonist is needed to make a compelling book, but it is not always the case and Rowe proves just that point in his novel.
 
This tale was beautifully crafted and interesting to read.  I would suggest it to those who enjoy a good self-aware novel, romance, adventure, but would caution
those who are opposed to certain topics to go into this novel with the understanding that “conventional” ideas are not addressed in this story. 

"'I trust all of you,' he said carefully. 'Even if I don’t feel like I have whatever it takes right now.'"
This stand-alone sequel to Paradigm Lost: Jamari and the Manhood Rites sees the young Jamari grow into adulthood both by our standards and by the standards of the Elk Creek Tribe. With the manhood rites before him, Jamari is anxious but excited, ready to fulfill his role in his community. After a seemingly harmless observation while on an outing to a neighboring village, and then another when mentoring other young men, it becomes apparent to the tribal leadership that Jamari may have a gift in the shamanic capacity. Unsure of how this change will affect his plans for the future, Jamari has a big decision to make whether or not to continue his studies in a more spiritual capacity. The decision he makes could have long-term repercussions for not only him but all of his people.
In true coming-of-age fashion, Jamari’s choice to pursue the shamanistic path or carry on in a more “normal” way coincides with his own physical and emotional blossoming. The author correctly states in the introduction to the book that while this book is better supplemented by the preceding story, it is not required reading. The world of this story is entirely self-contained and makes perfect sense without any background, allowing the audience to decide if they want to go deeper into the lore surrounding these characters and their environs. By mixing tribal mysticism and post-apocalyptic backdrops, the end result is a world that will captivate readers with its deciding of what stays the same and what changes. Though written in a young adult style, there is definitely a strong element of sexuality in this story. Regardless, the characters are honest and well-natured. The journey is also compelling and mysterious, resulting in a story that will surprise even the most experienced of readers.

Age warning: semi-graphic depictions of a (homo)sexual nature. Not appropriate for younger audiences.
Paradigm Lost: Jamari Shaman is a brilliant commentary on being open-minded and on finding oneself. Jamari belongs to the Elk Creek Tribe, living in an Oregon of the future. Disasters have ravaged the country, reshaping geo-political boundaries and allowing new cultures to flourish. Jamari is traveling to truly find himself and to find the job that he will take on. To do this, he must explore many.
I found this story fascinating from an anthropological point of view. The Elk Creek Tribe in the far past (it’s been near a century since “the Fall”), decided it best to separate the men and women. Relationships of a homosexual nature are now fostered, with heterosexual pairings being assignments for breeding purposes. To prefer a heterosexual relationship is considered aberrant.
Younglings decide when they are ready for adulthood, rather than having it thrust upon them at an arbitrary age. When they are ready, they will undergo the Manhood Rites and will be assigned a mentor for “Night Studies,” which is to say, for shepherding them through sexual encounters. Shane and Jamari’s mentor/student relationship reminded me of the cultures with similar relationships I learned about many moons ago, albeit for different reasons.
I speculated early on that in this culture, having developed after major upheavals and being descendant from a population that should remember the danger of rampant overpopulation, inculcating homosexuality as the norm was a method of cultural population control that was either purposefully decided or, as is often the case with (seemingly) bizarre customs or taboos, having grown up organically. I’ve been taught to look at the oddest of customs with the eye of anthropology and cultural relativism. I love that (Rowe) flipped the paradigm here, with homosexuality not seen as taboo. We need more books like this that portray it as normal, without making a big deal over it. I must say, bravo with the title. It is very appropriate.
All that being said, the beginning seemed disjointed and skipped ahead in leaps and bounds. I learned later that the first few chapters are actually taken from Paradigm Lost: Jamari and the Manhood Rites. They seem very out of place here. A brief recap would have been better instead–though, really, neither are needed.
I found the writing stilted and awkward at times. Things would flow better with more showing and less telling. The story is solid, with good messages. I look forward to seeing (Rowe) grow as a writer and will be on the lookout for new stories.

I want to call Paradigm Lost: Jamari Shaman by R. Roderick Rowe full-on dystopian novel with a dash of fantasy and plenty of homosexuality that will appeal to many male readers who are homosexual. But I would rather replace the word “dystopian” with that of “utopian” and say that readers, regardless of their sexual preferences, should read this book, if only for the sake of the possible solution that Rowe lays bare for the world so that it can be better connected to the spirit of the Creator within each and every one of us.
The world of the twenty-second century is a world that bloomed from the writings of a man known as the Founder. In the Elk Creek tribe and the communities that they form, homosexual relationships are what is orthodox and heterosexual relationships are not. To become a man in this world, young men must first go through what is known as the Manhood Rites. Meanwhile, the future role they will take up in the Tribe is greatly discussed by a council of men who hold powerful positions. One young man’s role is discussed at great length, and that young man is Jamari, a potentially powerful shaman.
Even though Jamari was a lead character, the author maintained a level of mystique surrounding this attractive young man. Always up for a night of pleasurable fun, Jamari, like everyone else, is open to spending nights with various men whenever an opportunity calls for it. One of the trainees, a man named Christian, presents some much longed for conflict in this otherwise smooth flowing story.
When Christian’s affections for a female become obvious to Jamari, he is slightly irritated about it and nothing more, but I feel as though Rowe could’ve written a scene containing a Jamari who completely loses his composure somewhere, somehow. Save for a tribe of wildlings I met close to the end, this book has little antagonism. What I also noticed is that this book is more about the future than the present, yet in an ironic and tragic way the author does indeed put the Elk Creek tribe members in the here and now before the story concludes.
R. Roderick Rowe hasn’t written some overly erotic novel for homosexual men here. What I got from this a culture where having sex with those you want to have sex with comes with few barriers. A fictional utopia has been created for men who admire the beauty of other men in a societal system where it is not frowned upon but welcomed.