Advance Praise for Channel of the Grail

Visionary Fiction authors often have personal history roots that span centuries of metaphysical exploration. The legendary twentieth-century Nazi search for the Holy Grail draws author Vic Smith into ancient realms of mysticism. Smith’s extensive on-location research and scholarship spans the Cathar and Templar époques of the twelfth century up to 1939, when the Nazi obsession with the Holy Grail is at its peak. The vehicle of fiction masks a unique visionary access that only Smith’s dedication can bring to distant dramatic events.

Monty Joynes, author of The Booker Series

A well-constructed narrative woven around the two interlinking time periods…the reader will appreciate the author’s depth and scope of historical knowledge that underlies the story. The subject matter and its key linkages—Grail, Cathars, Templars, reincarnation, Nazis obsession with the occult—are very topical.

Nigel Graddon, author of Otto Rahn and Quest for the Holy Grail

This historical novel is a brilliant marriage of two different, though similar, periods in European history. Presented from a refreshing new angle, it is the brainchild of an author who, through his personal passion for fact and truth, leaves no stone unturned in understanding a seemingly unsolvable and recurring mystery. Highly recommended!

Jeanne D’Août, author of The Forbidden Relic (White Lie)

An impressive dual-period novel. Prodigious in his research and with a keen eye for spiritual detail, Victor Smith has provided esotericists, Rahn enthusiasts, and Grail searchers with a worthy addition to their shelves devoted to the Cathar and Gnostic mysteries of old Occitania.

Glen Craney, author of The Fire and the Light

Victor Smith artfully and skillfully develops his characters and interweaves their lives, so that by the time their past life connections and destinies are revealed, even those who may be skeptical about reincarnation, have a foundation laid for belief. This is a mark of well-crafted Visionary Fiction writing. Each historical period is extremely well researched and woven into story form. The story highlights the tragedy of those who are massacred for their faith or their ancestry. It is a novel that reinforces our hope in a future where there can be an end to cruel human behavior in any form.

Dr. Jodine Turner, author of The Goddess of the Stars and the Sea series, Founder Visionary Fiction Alliance

“Every act has both good and evil results.” Victor Smith has woven a fascinating tale, blending elements of Gnosticism, and Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Parzival, with a healthy dose of reincarnation or continued incarnation. Relying heavily upon two seemingly concurring stories; one a century after the fall of Montsegur, and 20th century Nazi Germany, we follow the lives of two men and their quest for protecting the most hallowed object of supernatural grace—the holy grail. In the age-old battle of the church of Amor vs. the church of Roma, the keys of the true faith can only be found in one vessel—a vessel that transcends time itself. It’s a fresh and inspired take on a dearly cherished story, and an excellent one at that!  

Scarlett Amaris, co-author of the Saurimonde series

A fresh and masterful blending of historical and visionary fiction, which transitions between the mad and nightmarish Cathar period (between 1299-1325) and Nazi Germany (in the 1930’s1930’s), two well-known, yet not so well-known, times in world history. Questions introduced by this thought-provoking novel include: Do the painful lessons of history repeat themselves to no end or do they inspire growth and transformation in mankind? And, will the identity and whereabouts of Holy Grail ever be solved, or is it something that can only be possessed spiritually and is hidden in plain sight?

Margaret Duarte, author of Between Will and Surrender, founding member Visionary Fiction Alliance

“The kingdom is within you…” (the Gospel of Thomas). Victor Smith has woven a fascinating tapestry of historical fiction and nonfiction to create this engaging, esoteric tale. My favorite part in Channel of the Grail was the no-holds-barred romance between the German-Jewish grail historian, SS Obersturmführer Otto Wilhelm Rahn, and Raymond Perrier, which, from their 13th century Cathar counterparts to their World War II era selves, transcends time itself. If you are intrigued by Otto Rahn, the Cathars, the Crusades, the Knights Templar, and the quest for the Holy Grail, I highly recommend this book!

Melissa St. Hilaire, co-author of the Saurimonde series

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