Kirkus Review: Reincarnation Blues by Michael Poore

Milo is the oldest soul in the history of souls, but despite his many lives, he has failed to reach enlightenment that will free him from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. Poore's Milo lives and dies almost 10,000 times, but has so far failed to to learn the correct lessons. He's a screw up and a slacker who stumbles close to enlightenment and perfection but always misses the mark. He's done something most souls never do, reached his lifetime cap of lifetimes. He has only a few more incarnations before his soul dissolves into nothingness. To achieve "perfection" is the goal of all souls, but for Milo, the interim between lives is where he'd rather stay for eternity, with the woman he loves. Unfortunately, she is Death AKA Suzie. Relationships between mortal souls and immortal beings are frowned upon, but Suzie is what Milo lives and dies for. Literally. Theirs is the ultimate long term long-distance relationship.  He's only got a few more"iterations"or lifetimes to get his soul's "shit together" until they are separated forever and his soul gets its last recycle and ends up in the landfill of nothingness.

Other reviewers have noted the influence of Douglass Adams in this amusing and witty novel by Poore (Up Jumps the Devil 2012). The omniscient narrator's wry telling of Milo's struggles definitely owes a lot to Adams' work, both in style, and the often dark often silly absurd humor. Lovers of Neil Gaimen's  and of Douglass Adams' work will enjoy this humorous metaphysical romance that dabbles in the absurd as Milo reincarnates  in nonlinear fashion as a follower of THE Buddha, to an American sociopath, to a Margheritaville hippie near do well, to an involuntary cyborg messiah in a deep space dystopian hellscape far in the future. A fun and whimsical read sure to entertain.