Reincarnationist Books In Order

Publication Order of Reincarnationist Books

Reincarnationist is a series of suspense novels written by M.J. Rose. The books take place in a world where reincarnation is real. Rose’s characters must come to terms with the fact that they have past lives that must be understood if they are to overcome the dangers facing them at the present.

+The Story

The Reincarnationist series has been around since the late 2000s. The first book was published in 2007 introducing readers to a world where reincarnation is real. ‘The Reincarnationist’ is the first book in the series and it gives readers a peek into the nature of past lives and how they can affect the present.

Josh Ryder takes center stage in that book. A photojournalist, Josh was on assignment in Rome when a terrorist’s bomb nearly killed him. Josh survived the experience and eventually recovered, but only physically.

Mentally, Josh began to break down, or so he thought. It began with hallucinations. Josh kept seeing himself in ancient Rome. And then he became embroiled in the machinations of the Phoenix Foundation and realized that his hallucinations where actually visions of the life he had lived centuries in the past and the love that he lost.

The Reincarnationist is a perfect picture of the Reincarnationist series as a whole. You have Josh, a relatively ordinary individual who suffers a trauma and is forced to revisit his past lives.

The visions drive him to seek out those aspects in the present that are connected to his past and can better help him unlock his memories. Along the way, he enters into conflict with an organization which seems determined to gain mastery over reincarnation.

The subsequent books in the series follow this trajectory. The Phoenix Foundation isn’t necessarily evil in each book but they are definitely antagonistic. In the first book, the organization wants to find certain gems that have the capacity to help their users view their past lives.

As the series progresses, it is revealed that there are numerous other tools through which past lives can be viewed, and the Phoenix Foundation is not the only one keen on capturing them.

While the Reincarnationist is a series, the books that follow ‘The Reincarnationist’ are not necessary sequels. This is because M.J. Rose writes them as standalones. Each new book in the Reincarnationist series introduces an entirely new cast of characters.

There’s always a protagonist or two who begin to research reincarnation because they have begun to receive unbidden visions of their past lives. And they are not always keen on accepting the idea of reincarnation. But the evidence eventually proves too overwhelming.

The Phoenix Foundation and characters like Dr. Malachi Samuels also tend to make appearances. However, each Reincarnationist book can be read independently without prior knowledge of the books that came before.

M.J. Rose’s stories normally flash back and forth through time. Her goal is to keep readers abreast of both her protagonist’s past and present life. The events of the past are supposed to impact each character’s present dilemma.

However, Rose has been known to weather criticism for the somewhat jarring manner in which she shifts back and forth between the past and the present. Additionally, her earlier books were criticized for their bland descriptions of ancient environments, not to mention the authors’ penchant for introducing so many characters and plots that the overall story grows unnecessarily convoluted.

Both Rose’s fans and critics have compared her work to that of Dan Brown. This is because many of Reincarnationist novels eventually boil down to a hunt for certain valuable treasures.

There’s always a conspiracy at play, and some of the books definitely rely heavily on secret orders and hidden political machinations.

It should be noted that even though these M.J. Rose books revolve around reincarnation, they cannot be categorized as fantasy. Most of the goings on of the books are grounded in reality and even the reincarnation elements are approached scientifically.

+Adaptations

The Reincarnationist series has never received a straightforward adaptation. However, its concept was used as inspiration for ‘Past Life’, a crime drama television series from 2010.

Unlike the books, the television show focused on the efforts of a specific cast of characters. ‘Past Life’ was poorly received by audiences. It was eventually canceled after just seven episodes.

+The Reincarnationist

Josh Ryder is a photojournalist that is on assignment to cover a delegation of peacekeepers in Rome. Josh’s life changes when he is nearly killed by a suicide bomber. Josh wakes up in the hospital where he eventually recovers, at least physically.

Mentally things are not so straightforward. Josh begins to have visions that take him to a past life. There he meets Sabina, a Vestal Virgin he was sworn to protect and whose affair with him would have seen her buried alive if their relationship was ever discovered.

As the visions grow more intense, Josh goes seeking for answers. He encounters the Phoenix Foundation, an organization looking to explore reincarnation. Josh agrees to work with them unaware that their efforts are driven by a desire to locate and acquire the memory stones, special gems that allow one to view their past lives.

As Josh’s thirst for answers grows, he encounters two women one of whom might be the love of his life from ancient Rome.

+The Memorist

Meer Logan has spent her life struggling under the weight of memories she doesn’t understand and the music that accompanies them. It is little wonder that she has spent so much of her time studying music and false memories.

Jeremy Logan, Meer’s father, has his hands steeped in Jewish Mysticism. It has always been his belief that his daughter’s memories emanate from her past life. And he has made it his goal to find a way to help her. Jeremy believes that finding a box, the same box Meer has been drawing obsessively all her life could hold the key to all their problems.

But they are not the only ones interested in the box. Malachi Samuels is a child psychologist. He has tried and failed to help Meer. Malachi wants to decipher the clues in the box in the hopes that it will reveal the secrets of reincarnation.

His, Jeremy and Meer’s lives will interest with that of David Yalom, a successful journalist whose career cost him everything.