Flight of the Owl by Donna Dechen Birdwell

Flight of the Owl is the 3rd volume of the Recall Chronicles by Donna Dechen Birdwell.

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Civilization has collapsed. A pandemic has wiped out most of humanity. In the spring of 2127, Jonathan Swain—a backslid Buddhist monk and fugitive filmmaker—sets out in search of his grandfather’s archives, determined to discover the truth about the old man’s role in the disastrous world that was. Accompanied by a Hopi artist and a genius fifteen-year-old with a sketchy past, Jonathan’s quest takes him first to Dallas, Texas, and then to Costa Rica, where he learns that the future of humankind may depend on what he finds.

A Word from the Author

Flight of the Owl is the third—but not final—installment of the Recall Chronicles. (There are reasons why I didn’t want to call it a trilogy!) The main character here is Jenda’s brother Jonathan. We met him in Way of the Serpent, where we learned that he was on the lam from the corporate police because of a flick he’d made that offended the plutocracy. This book picks up about six months after the conclusion of Volume I and I don’t think it will be too much of a spoiler to admit it’s straight-up post apocalyptic. The story hinges on Jonathan’s determination to discover the role his grandfather played in the establishment of plutocratic rule. He returns to the old family estate in Costa Rica to investigate, while mulling over the missteps of his own life in the context of the demise of human civilization. What he uncovers is not what he expected.

The “owl” theme emerges in several ways. Jonathan’s Hopi companion, Dextra, still heeds her grandmother’s admonitions about owls as bearers of news (sometimes good, sometimes bad). And we learn that Jonathan’s troublesome flick was based on a Hindu legend about snake beings called “nagas” and their nemesis “garudas”, creatures ostensibly linked to the Eurasian eagle-owl. There are other references, but I don’t want to spoil the story! The “Recall” theme comes full circle in this one.

(Donna Dechen Birdwell, October 2016)