Not in Kansas Anymore: A Review of George Mendoza's Journey of the Spirit Man

Title: Journey of the Spirit Man

Author: George Mendoza

Publisher: Wise Tree Press

ISBN & Price: 9780578756950, $16.77

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Journey of the Spirit Man by George Mendoza is a fictional novel inspired by a hiking accident Mendoza experienced in 2011 in the Organ Mountains. After the fall, he began suffering from cluster headaches that provided dreamlike visions, which he then painted. Those visions eventually became the foundation for the story. As Mendoza writes in the author's note, “The headaches and pain led to a wildly productive period during which I painted up a storm and wrote novels about my superhero, the Spiritman.” The novel offers readers a glimpse into these visions through vivid imagery, spiritual exploration, moral dilemmas, and self-discovery, following the main character, Michael Seymour, on a journey across a series of strange and symbolic worlds.

The story opens with an eerie prologue in which Michael is dreaming, lost in a fog, surrounded by grinning faces emerging from the mist. This opening immediately places the reader somewhere between reality and imagination, establishing the dreamlike tone that carries throughout the novel. One aspect of the novel that I found especially fascinating was its vibrant language. The descriptive style mirrors Mendoza's background as a painter, but it is even more remarkable considering that he lost his vision when he was a teenager. Although Mendoza has stated that he can still perceive colors, I find it intriguing that the worlds he creates on both canvas and page are so full of life and color when his own visual experience is likely much more limited than that of a sighted person. His imagery transforms scenes into vivid paintings. One example appears on page 4: “A storm billowed high above, the late afternoon sun piercing the piles of cumulous clouds with shafts of light that glowed crimson and gold on the valley below.”

At the onset of the novel, Michael is characterized by a very large ego, believing he is better than everyone and everything around him. His friend Mark openly points this out, complaining that Michael has had the whole world handed to him. Before his accident, Michael also possessed the unusual ability to see spirits, or “mirages,” despite Mark telling him that he had no spirit of his own. In the first few chapters, Michael is forced to confront a series of traumatic events. He witnesses the death of his best friend, Mark, in a violent bar fight that seems to be partially his fault. After this, he learns that he has a rare, incurable degenerative disease that, while not life-threatening, will progressively limit his abilities. His diagnosis creates an interesting dynamic, raising questions about life, death, and survival. While he grapples with his best friend’s death, he must also come to terms with the reality of living under increasing limitations and uncertainty.

After going through these traumatic events, Michael escapes for a run in the mountains, where he slips, falls, and hits his head, waking up in a terrifying spirit world. He first finds himself in a barren desert before being taken by a nomad to a prison known as Gehenna. One of the inhabitants of this strange new world references The Wizard of Oz with the line, “You're not in Kansas anymore, Toto,” emphasizing just how far removed Michael is from reality.

In Gehenna, he witnesses prison cells containing each person's own unique hell, carefully designed around whatever would cause that individual the greatest suffering. He is even given the opportunity to take revenge on Mark's killer, but chooses not to, revealing the first signs of personal growth. Throughout this section, Michael's guilt remains, reflected in the thought, “Didn't he carry the filth of that city inside him? Didn't everybody to one extent or another?” After escaping Gehenna, Michael journeys across the desert, suffering from dehydration and delirium. Along the way, he experiences visions of Mark, who encourages him to continue moving forward rather than give up. Eventually, he encounters a group of nomads who guide him toward the “Holy Mountain that holds the Altar of the Cup of All Good Things.” There, the people believe Michael is their chosen prophet and begin to worship him. Uncomfortable with both the title and the responsibility, and still questioning whether he is even a good person at all, Michael rejects the admiration and riches offered to him and leaves the pilgrims behind, continuing his journey. In the next leg of his adventure through the strange new land, Michael encounters Paradisa, a place where every wish is instantly granted. Paradisa is filled with endless feasts, stunning women, strong servant men, and rooms offering “your every wish.” In the perfection of this world, Michael quickly slips back into his jealous, egotistical, and narcissistic tendencies. He finds himself able to outperform everyone at writing, music, sports, painting, and countless other talents, reinforcing his sense of superiority. This section raises the question of whether people truly change, or whether they endlessly chase what they already have. Although tempted by the beauty and euphoria of Paradisa, Michael eventually breaks free from its pull, consciously deciding to be better than what Paradisa has to offer. Soon after he leaves, a great flood sweeps him into ancient Egypt. 

In Egypt, Michael is taken to a palace where he studies and learns. Once again, those around him question whether he is a savior figure who has come to bring a secret. The climax of this section comes when Michael is forced to confront his past self through a series of mirrors, asking him to examine who he truly is. The novel’s central question then emerges: “Who was Michael Seymour? Who had he been, who was he now, and who did he want to be? Could he leave behind the constraints of his culture and experiences to become a better person—even if he wanted to?” (155)

The story winds through many different realities, each testing a different aspect of Michael’s character while reinforcing the idea that he can become better than he was in his real life. The themes explored in this Alice in Wonderland-type journey include ego, identity, change, morality, self-discovery, and self-betterment. These themes are layered over psychedelic, trippy settings that serve as metaphors and encourage reflection from the reader about reality and what we choose to accept as real. The ending delivers a major surprise. Both Michael and the reader expect that he will return to his life with time intact and everything unchanged. Instead, he returns to his world with a shocking revelation and a cliffhanger that begs for a second book, effectively setting up readers for the continuation of Michael’s journey across three more books.