Fred Gaertner, author of the novels “Six Days Till Sunday” and “Preacher Sean, Antiterrorist,” returns to the literary world with “Beethoven, Then and Now” (published by Xlibris). In his third and latest novel, Gaertner examines the possibility of life after death through the daredevil adventures of 18th century musician Ludwig van Beethoven and his numerous reincarnations.
“Beethoven, Then and Now” is a two-part book. Part I, titled “Beethoven Then,” takes place during the maestro’s final earthly years in Germany while Part II, “Beethoven Now,” unfolds between 1827 and 1950 or what the author calls “the beginning of one thousand years of Second-Order life within our Second-Order Major universe.” The novel imagines Beethoven as he is reincarnated into a new 17-year-old being. There is romance, humor, adventure and unforgettable twists and turns.
“I have often heard people express their wish that someone who has died would return to us and relate what the life-death-rebirth experience is really like,” Gaertner said, “This is exactly what Beethoven does in my third novel.”
A heady blend of real and speculative, fact and fiction, “Beethoven, Then and Now” is a journey of epic dimensions and a metaphysical adventure into some of life’s biggest questions.