The Universal Essence

This work of historical fiction combines mystery and fantasy into one great, soulful adventure. At the end of the first millennium, on the eastern fringe of the western empire, in a humble blacksmith shop on the edge of a rich market town, a reluctant apprentice of an alchemist sets out on a visionary quest to solve a mystery, rescue his master and open the doorway for his return to the Universal Essence. In this medieval parable for modern life, the student must turn his ideas about reality upside down to receive the honor, power and respect he desires. The adventure could reward him with death or immortality. Midwest Book Review gives this book 5 out of 5 stars and writes, "Honor in a way is its own piece of immortality. "The Universal Essence" is the story of a student on a quest to save his master and clear his name at around 1000 AD. Thoughtfully analyzing the aspects of life that never change with a tale of adventure and alchemy, he finds that forgiveness of past transgressions are not easy and is not universally accepted or revered as a virtue. "The Universal Essence" is intriguing and a read for any fiction reader who wants a thought provoking story. “ Dr. “Skeeter” Prather, master blacksmith, writes, “...an easy read and spellbinding.” Lynn Wallace, author of Los Caminantes, writes, “In this authentically rendered Dark Age world, Dean Minton fashions the base metal, slag, and dross of a hapless thick-headed boy into a young alchemist who seeks his place in the ever-present Universal Essence. The very writing is alchemy. Read and let the words acquire their golden nature...”