The Pendulum's Path

David Shields has crafted a brutally honest novel of family, religion, and relationships. This story transcends the boundaries of the Salt Lake Valley where it’s set, ultimately soaring above and beyond the towering peaks of the Wasatch Front. The themes woven through The Pendulum’s Path will resonate with readers of all cultures.

In The Pendulum's Path, Tom Lewis becomes aware of a dark family secret as the result of chance meeting with Martin Crump, a man he thought to be his uncle. Tom discovers this at a time when his life is already chock full of obligation. Foremost among them are the preparations for the birth of his first child. His wife´s discomfort regarding Martin complicates things. She begs Tom to stay away from the old man.

Tom, however, can´t help being drawn to the mystery of his own origins. He´s dragged in by tiny increments, until he finds himself so involved that pieces of his present day life begin to show signs of serious neglect. Still, the almost magnetic attraction to discover who he really is will not release him.

The result is a pair of interwoven stories, one the saga of the family he was born to, and the other, his present day life and growth as a man against the backdrop of the day to day failures and triumphs of his grandparents and their three children.

Eventually, both Tom and Martin learn great lessons about the value of relationships while together climbing Mount Olympus, the peak that soars above their Salt Lake Valley homes. At journeys end both men find themselves forever changed.

Dave Shields lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with his wife and daughter. He has placed numerous articles in local and national magazines and was a featured contributor to Utah's sesquicentennial publication, "Utah- A Portrait." The Pendulum's Path is his first novel.