Are we the proucts of destiny, or do we possess free will and make our own choices? It’s an age-old question that is at the center of The Soulfast, Terrance Glasscock’s grainy novel of historical mystery, supernatural suspense, and philosophical sophistication.

As the story unfolds over centuries, it encourages readers to wonder whether our choices truly make us—who or what might be writing our destiny in advance. With its suspenseful double narrative, The Soulfast dances along the razor’s edge of fate and free will, forcing its characters—and its readers—to challenge their assumptions.

Let’s go straight into how The Soulfast looks at the fight between destiny and choice and why it has us asking: Are we really the masters of our own tales?

The Soulfast Ritual: Fate in Motion

The novel’s core mystery revolves around the Soulfast ritual, an ancient ceremony performed in medieval England (AD 1098) by Lord Tristan and Lady Sabina. Their souls become inseparable forever, such that no number of lifetimes may part them once again. But this is the catch: in promising to eternally link their souls together, it actually distances them as well, pushing them to locate each other yet again in succeeding lifetimes.

Is this true love conquering time—or a heartless twist of fate that refuses them happiness? More significantly, do they possess the ability to free themselves from this cycle, or are they simply reenacting a tale already etched?

Simon Sterling: The Battle Between Destiny and Free Will

Flash-forward to 2024, when professor of mythology Simon Sterling discovers an illuminated manuscript and a cryptic painting. Once he discovers the secrets of the Soulfast, he begins to realize that he could be connected to the history that he is reading.

Simon is the perfect embodiment of the modern struggle between reason and destiny. As an academic, he believes in evidence, fact, and human agency—but as he reassembles the ancient enigma, he can’t help but wonder if he’s just following the path that someone else has laid out for him. His journey forces him to ask:

• Do we make our own choices, or are we destined to repeat history?
• Is love a matter of chance, or is it written in the stars?
• If given the chance to change fate, would we take it?

Destiny vs. Choice: What The Soulfast Teaches Us

One of the most interesting aspects of The Soulfast is that it never provides a straightforward answer. Instead, it causes readers to consider their own beliefs.

There will be some who read the novel’s events as proof that fate always wins, and some who will argue that our decisions, however small, shape the future.

Ultimately, The Soulfast teaches us that life is a combination of free will and destiny—and the choices we make will shape how our fate is sealed.

Embrace the Mystery

Do we direct our fate, or does our fate direct us? The Soulfast challenges you to examine this age-old mystery in a historical thriller unlike any other.