Mike Robbins has created a beautiful tale, a collection of nine in all, that take the reader to all of the world’s continents save for one. It is a rich tapestry, brightly colored and vivid in texture, but strangely distant in the telling. It is a curious mix of intricate detail which the author offers in breathtaking fashion, while he himself remains a bit distant. Robbins does preface his collection with an author’s note that tells the reader what they are about to read is not an autobiography but a series of snapshots, and he begins the first story by stating that the reader need not know much about him. Although Robbins offered this, the style in which he presents his journeys was unique and something I had to adjust to. It didn’t take me long, and what a wonderful ride I was taken on throughout the pages of The Nine Horizons.

There is no debate that Robbins has a gift for the written word. So often times I found myself reading again many of the phrases he constructed simply because I loved the way his words rolled together to create a stunning portrait in my mind. The prose is peppered with words in languages I do not understand. I have not visited a great number of the places the author described, but neither of these things were of any consequence. The scenes, or snapshots, were written in such fine detail that I could see what Robbins so artfully described, could understand the meanings of unfamiliar words with the least bit of effort.

What amazing adventures Mike Robbins has had in his lifetime! The Nine Horizons is a beautiful summary of his travels, written in exquisite detail that allows his readers to experience so much of what he saw and what he did while he was on his long journey. If he were to ever forget any facet of his incredible excursion, all he need do is flip through the pages of his book. He has created for himself a stunning album full of words and mental images, and we, his readers, are lucky that he has offered to share them with us.