Yes, I just re-read it for the first time in years and felt again the unfettered nature of this fiction. It was a really magical series to write because the main character is on a powerful hallucinogen it gave me 'poetic license' (pun intended 😂) to embrace trying what I've always wanted to attempt, to merge fiction with poetry in a kind of seamless way.
I think other authors have beat me to this aim before, to be honest, and most editors will chastize this type of 'purple prose' as they call it. They'll tell you to go away and read Hemmingway 🤣 And maybe they're right, who am I to say.
But all I know is when I read this whole series back to back just now it was beautiful and profound, confusing at times, but just like a true shamen's journey, it came together in the end to a continuity. Ash was all of those creatures at once, the tiger in part one, the seagull in part 6, and even the Sinatra singing crab in part 5 who filled Ash with the energy to take flight into the next chapter.
But yes, this ending is shocking, sad, and strangely final in its description. I feel like it is describing both sex and death in an unsettling mingling until the final paragraph where Ash breaks free of his body and sees the ultimate beauty of Gaia's luminous face.
To be honest, words fail me at this point, I don't really know where most of this series came from. It was almost like it was being written through me, which is not normal for me with fiction as I'm usually a planner, not a pantser.
I'm glad you enjoyed the strange adventures of Ash, Isabella and I suppose even Alberto's bit part 🤣Thanks for reading @deeanndmathews