The Rise of Shams is the first volume of a story that follows the spiritual awakening of a superfluous millennial in a new world.His name is Darien Shams, a young Iranian living in Dubai, whose life is void of meaning and direction. On one of his darker nights, he is visited by a deity in a dream, who tells him to follow the sun. And on the eve of his best friend's wedding, he meets a girl who has a sun tattooed on her arm. He follows the sun as he was asked by the angel only to wake up on an island in Abu Dhabi called the Ashkhas Island. The story ensues on a magical island weaved with Persian, Arabic, Turkish and wider Middle Eastern folklore and mythology.The story is built on Darien resurrecting himself and giving mankind its salvation through his journey on the island. But it does not come without a cost.This is a modern voice and interpretation on the duality we collectively face and feel through life. It is a story that incorporates esoteric elements of good versus evil derived from Buddhism, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The storyline is built with allegorical secrets and twists. It binds a world of fantasy in magical realism that unravels what matters most to Darien, and that is to live a life built on three constitutions: love, faith and preserving the world he lives in.
About the Author: Soroosh Shahrivar is an Iranian writer and poet. He began writing leisurely from an early age and even flirted as an engineering major with writing during an elective course at Boston University. However, he relinquished his deep calling to pursue success in the financial services industry. It was not until a series of personal and global events in 2012, that he began writing his first book, the Rise of Shams. Born in Tehran, raised in Dubai and Moscow, and educated in Boston and Edinburgh - all of which are places and experiences that lend inspiration for his fictional stories, through their own milestones including the Iran-Iraq War, the Russian Perestroika, the tragic incident of 9/11 and Dubai's economic boom. His style brings to life Arabic, Persian and Turkish folklore and mythology through a kaleidoscope of historical facts, personal experiences, and imaginary magical worlds. Playful and curious by nature, he plants a trail of scientific factoids, geometric formulas, and unsolved mysteries that are a crossword for the meaning of life. It is a challenge to read not only between the lines, but also between the layers of his book. The eminence of time is distinctly felt in his stories. While he banks heavily on the past and borrows prolifically from the future, the most prevailing use of time is of the present, the now. He is an alumni of Berkshire School, Boston University and the University of Edinburgh. Soroosh is fluent in English, Farsi and Russian, and the unspoken words.