Reviewed by Rachel: 8.5 out of 10.

For those of you who have read The Hunted by Mike Delosso, this book is very similar to it. I say that and not the other way around because I read The Oath second. However, I liked and disliked things about both books and I would happily read both again and don’t fancy one over the other.

This must be one of the very few novels I have ever read that actually scared me. Even though I read it during the day, I was still spooked by the smallest of sounds and had to keep looking around the house to make sure I was alone! I don’t think it was the ‘fantasy’ part of the novel so much as simply realising what atrocities that evil can commit through human beings when allowed. When the mind dwells on that instead of the saving power of Jesus, one cannot help but feel helpless and lost. However, Peretti certainly allows his readers to believe that things will certainly turn out better than they seem.

Superbly written and delicately crafted as have been the tradition of all the Peretti books that I have read so far.  He draws his readers in piece by twist-turning piece to gradually end up with the finished puzzle being not quite what you expected. A fantastic writer and certainly right up there with the best authors I have come across.

As you journey with the main character of the story, you find yourself feeling sorry for him when he gets hurt, cheering him on when he does the right thing and really drawn in to the story as if you were part of it. The way Peretti makes the characters come alive is quite spectacular and realistic.

All in all, a great read (certainly not at night though) and I would highly recommend it. If you like a bit of fantasy, drama, action, and spiritual themes all combined into one, then this book is for you!

Click here to visit www.frankperetti.com

Reviewed by Symon: 8 out of 10.

A Ship Possessed is Book 1 in the  J. D. Stanton Mystery series (trilogy) – A series in which a retired navy captain/historian (Stanton) is called upon to investigate paranormal occurrences relating to the armed forces.

Military + Paranormal + Christian worldview = Definitely my kind of series.

The Back Cover blurb from A Ship Possessed follows.

The USS Triggerfish–an American World War II submarine–has come home over fifty years after she was presumed lost in the Atlantic. Now her dark gray hulk lies embedded in the sand of a San Diego beach, her conning tower barely above the breaking surf. The submarine is in the wrong ocean, her crew is missing . . . And her half-century absence is a mystery that’s about to deepen. For the Triggerfish has returned, but she has not returned alone. Something is inside her — something unexpected and terrible. To J. D. Stanton, retired Navy captain and historian, falls the task of solving the mystery surrounding a ship possessed. What he is about to encounter will challenge his training, his wits, and his faith. Complicating his mission is a ruthless madman bent on obtaining a secret artifact stolen from the highest levels of the Nazi regime. And poised in the middle is a young woman, a lieutenant who must contend with invisible forces she never knew existed. A Ship Possessed is a story of faith, courage, and determination in the face of unexpected and unknown evil.

This book is a cleverly crafted mystery, alternating between 2 stories separated by 5 decades:  The happenings on a submarine during world war 2, and the happenings when the same sub suddenly appears 50+ years later.  The two stories eventually intersect, and all is revealed (as would be expected in a mystery novel), in the final chapters.

I cannot say much more than what’s on the back cover without spoiling the story, but suffice to say – this is a genuine ghost story, not the disappointing rational-explanation-man-in-ghost-costume-scooby-doo plot.

Gansky has an amazing knack for developing characters and atmosphere which are totally believable.  Some books, inbetween sittings, stay with you (in your mind) – and this story was definitely one of those.  It also single-handedly rekindled my childhood interest in submarines, resulting in another viewing of the classic Das Boot ).

A Ship Possessed is an intense read and has some genuinely unsettling/scary moments (depending on the readers’ imagination), and Gansky’s take on ghosts and other paranormal entities is thought-provoking to say the least.

Not an epic, nor classic, but a very enjoyable/engaging read nevertheless – and I’m looking forward to reading the other 2 books in the series (which are currently sitting snug on my bookshelf).

Reveiwed by Kristy: 9 out of 10.

Mackenzie Allen Philips youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation, and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later, in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, ostensibly from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend.

Against his better judgment, Mack arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Macks world forever and quite possibly your own.

In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant The Shack wrestles with the timeless question, ‘Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?’ The answers Mack gets will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him. Youll want everyone you know to read this book!

It has taken me a while to get around to reading The Shack, partially because I’m a wee bit of a sook when it comes to sad stories (especially knowing that my ‘never hardly ever cries’ husband cried while reading this).  I was also slightly hesitant after hearing so many rave reviews alongside an awful lot of controversial ones.

Symon was intrigued by the fact that usually the people he knew that raved about The Shack were males and the females seemed to find it ‘okay’.  He wanted my opinion… so here it is:

For me, The Shack is a brilliantly written piece of literature.   William P. Young shows he is a gifted writer from the words he uses and the way he compels you to connect and empathise with the characters he has created.  There were many moments of action and suspense alongside deep and moving ones.   Yes, there were some aspects that were theologically debatable (and I did struggle slightly with these but pushed on through), but not enough to stone the poor guy.  Young had his reasons for portraying the characters as he did, and if people want to go on a crusade against him for these reasons, they will definitely cause others to miss out on some precious gems hidden amongst this story.

There were a few pages in this book where I was slightly bored – I felt some of the dialogue was too long winded and just wanted the story to continue on, but I realise that now all people will feel this way.   There were moments where I felt deep healing taking place in my heart as I read, and I know others have experienced this as well.

All in all I found The Shack to be an excellent book, one I would highly recommend for anyone to read, especially those who have suffered loss or hardship in their life.  It is a life-changing book and a heart-healing story.

Reviewed by Symon: 9 out of 10.

The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis is, without doubt, the most bizarre, and most theologically challenging book I have ever read.  It’s plot is as follows (courtesy of Wikipedia):

In The Great Divorce, the narrator suddenly, and inexplicably, finds himself in the “grey town”, representative of hell. He eventually finds a bus for those who desire an excursion to some other place (which eventually turns out to be the foothills of heaven). He enters the bus and converses with his fellow passengers as they travel. When the bus reaches its destination, the “people” on the bus, including the narrator, gradually realise that they are ghosts. Although the country is the most beautiful they have ever seen, every feature of the landscape is unbearably solid compared to themselves: it causes them immense pain to walk on the grass, and even a single leaf is far too heavy for any of them to lift.

Shining figures, men and women whom they have known on earth, come to meet them, and to persuade them to repent and enter heaven proper. They promise that as the ghosts travel onward and upward, they will become acclimated to the country and will feel no discomfort. These figures, called “spirits” to distinguish them from the ghosts, offer to assist them in the journey toward the mountains and the sunrise.

Almost all of the ghosts choose to return instead to “hell”, giving various reasons and excuses. Much of the interest of the book lies in the recognition it awakens of the plausibility and familiarity, along with the thinness and self-deception, of the excuses that the ghosts refuse to abandon, even though to do so would bring them to “reality” and “joy forevermore”.

As you can see in the overview, The Great Divorce pushes the boundaries (or perhaps brazenly steps outside) of Christian theology of the afterlife, and for this reason I must admit, I initially struggled with it. In the introduction, Lewis covers his theological bases by begging his readers to remember that this book is a fantasy.  Needless to say, if you struggled with The Shack, don’t even think about reading this book .

Having said I struggled with it, I also throughly enjoyed, and was surprisingly impacted by The Great Divorce.  Its description of heaven is worth the read alone.  In my opinion, Lewis’ imagination surpasses any author I have read. This book’s depth and insight into human-nature and its profound dissection of the human heart – is simply incredible.

Consider this excerpt as an example…

“Every poet and musician, but for Grace, is drawn away from love of the thing he tells, to love of the telling till, down in Deep Hell, they cannot be interested in God at all but only in what they say about Him. For it doesn’t stop… you know. They sink lower – become interested in their own personalities and then in nothing but their own reputations.”

In conclusion, this is a book that should be read more than once as I believe it will only get better with each reading.  If you are in search of a book which excels in engaging the intellect, the imagination and the soul, you won’t find much better than The Great Divorce.

Reviewed by Kristy: 8.5 out of 10.

With The Dead Don’t Dance (Book 1 of  in the 2 book Awakening Series), Charles Martin once again steps up to the plate with another excellent read filled with emotion, intrigue, thorough character development and the usual mysterious twist or ‘must get to the end to see what happens’ scenario.

A sleepy rural town in South Carolina. The end of summer and a baby about to be born. But in the midst of hope and celebration comes unexpected tragedy, and Dylan Styles must come to terms with how much he’s lost. Will the music of his heart be stilled forever–or will he choose to dance with life once more, in spite of sorrow and heartbreak?

In this book we journey with the protagonist Dylan Styles and experience the roller-coaster events in his life.  From the darkest moments he endures to the precious and beautiful ones he discovers along the way, the reader is sure to be captured by this story so beautifully crafted by Martin, who weaves such a good read through present experiences with intermingled flashbacks throughout.

As I read this book, after having read a few not-sogood ones, I realised what a gift for writing this author truly has.  Martin is a brilliant writer in every way – one of those authors that you know will not bring a disappointing read.

Things I loved about this book:

• Touching story with excellent characters introduced throughout (and the usual strange personality too)
• Great faith journey
• Quite a few dramatic and exciting moments (enough to keep the guy readers happy;-))
• I just had to see what happened in the end

Things I  didn’t like:

• A tad bit slow in a couple of places
• I find it hard to relate to the Southern traces in his books being a born and bred Kiwi (New Zealander)

All in all, if you are a Charles Martin fan I can assure you that you will not be disappointed with this book, and if you aren’t a fan, I bet you will still enjoy it.

Highly recommended – I’m off to read the sequel, Maggie (review to come soon).

Click here to visit Charles Martin’s website.

Reviewed by Rachel: 8.5 out of 10.

Two years ago, Art “Mac” Mackenzie was a respected newspaper journalist with a wonderful family and a great future. Now he lives by himself, eking out an existence as a freelance writer. His faith in God, humanity, and virtually everything else is gone. What’s left is a pile of bills and the ache of his eldest son’s death. Enter a woman in a psychiatric ward, with an off-the-wall story of how aliens abducted her, created a baby within her, and later stole it. From her seemingly twisted account springs the potential media story of the century . . . and more trouble than Mac has ever imagined. In this engrossing page-turner, Mac follows his story to Israel, where he comes across the remains of one of the Nephilim: an ancient biblical giant, sired by demons and born of human women. Mac’s encounter is just the tip of a terrifying supernatural iceberg — for the Nephilim are back on earth. And Mac has stumbled onto their secret. Nephilim winds from the Holy Land to the Nevada desert, through mind-numbing dangers and choices that will affect the future of the human race. Just one hope stands between Mac and destruction: the power of the risen Messiah. But can it save Mac and his children from the evil spiritual forces that spawned the Nephilim? Or fulfill his agonizing quest for meaning and purpose in life? Nephilim. Giants. Aliens.

Fact or Fiction?

I personally find the topic of aliens/UFOs/extra-terrestrial life very fascinating so this book had me intrigued right from just looking at the front cover. In my opinion, Marzulli really knows how to write a good story. I loved his in-depth description of all his characters, how he described all of their emotions; anger, laughter, fear, loneliness, envy and hate (to name just a few) in an open and realistic way. You feel as if you could be a part of the story and any of the circumstances could happen to you in real life.

He has done his research superbly well and the theories that he presents are unfortunately, scarily believable and enough to put fear in to any self-respecting person’s heart. However, being a Christian author, he certainly doesn’t leave the reader without hope.

I was hooked from the beginning and couldn’t put the book down. With some excellent twists, some sober moments and some intense action, I believe this book has something in it to satisfy everyone: Sci-fi, action, thrills, romance and drama all intertwined with a blatant Christian worldview.

Click here to visit Marzulli’s blog/wordpress page.

Reviewed By Symon: 8 out of 10.

Shadow In The Deep: Book 3 of The Binding Of The Blade series.  By L. B. Graham.

As the rains fall and the floodwaters rise, Aljeron embarks on a dangerous quest across the forsaken land of Nolthanin.  For all of Kirthanin, the days are dark and hope seems far away.  And yet, in the midst of their darkness, a ray of light appears when Benjiah takes up Valzaan’s staff and enters where all others fear to go.

The Binding Of The Blade Series is a true fantasy masterpiece consisting of one epic story spanning 5 separate books.  Shadow In The Deep is the middle portion of this story, and therefore is rather difficult to review (and should not be read) as a stand-alone story – It’s what you’d expect from the middle quarter of a story (except it’s 500 pages long), and I liken it’s feel and style to The Empire Strikes Back in its relation to the original Star Wars trilogy.

This book continues the continuing events of 5 main characters -

• Aljeron and his team as they venture to the dangerous North to find the legendary King of Dragons.
• Queen Wylla, as she struggles to rule one of the last standing cities of a realm at war with the ultimate enemy.
• Benjiah, 17 year old son of Queen Wylla and his coming of age as the next prophet of Allfather.
• Rulalin, traitor of the Novanna and his story marching with, and fighting alongside Malek’s evil hordes.
• Caan, legendary swordsman and leader of the combined armies of Werthanin, as they flee and ultimately battle the armies and monsters of Malek.

Did I mention this book was complex?

I enjoyed Shadow In The Deep more than Bringer Of Storms, and as much (if not slightly more) than Beyond The Summerland.

A couple of negatives:

• Shadow In The Deep is slow paced at times (although not as much as the first 2 books).  This series is an epic fantasy drama (with superb occasional action sequences), rather than a fantasy action/adventure.  If you have preconceived notions that it is high-action, you may be disappointed.
• Shadow In The Deep has extended segments of dialogue.  Portions of this book read like they should be in the deleted-scenes section of a DVD (having been cut to keep the pace up).

Having said that, this series is (bar none) the best Christian fantasy fiction I have read – It’s parallels, morals, and message is phenomenal!  In conclusion, as I mentioned before – The 5 book series is one continuing story divided into 5 books, and therefore Shadow In The Deep should not be read as a stand-alone novel or out of order.  If you enjoy huge fantasy epics with definite Christian values, monsters, battles, tragedy and some romance, look no further than this series.

Click here to visit the Binding Of The Blade website.

Reviewed by Stephen: 10 out of 10.

As foretold by ancient prophets, an apocalypse destroyed Earth during the twenty-first century. But two thousand years later Elyon set upon the earth a new Adam. This time, however, He gave humanity an advantage. What was once unseen became seen. It was good and it was called…Green. Enter an apocalyptic story like none you have read. A story with links to our own history so shocking that you will forget you are in another world at all. Welcome to Green. Book Zero.

If you read my review of The Circle Trilogy earlier this year then you would probably understand my undulated excitement when Ted Dekker announced that he would be writing another book for The Circle Series entitled Green.

As with any series you hold in the highest regard, there can be a niggling suspicion that a new addition to the scene will not only spoil the series for you, but also lower the credibility and enjoyment of the other books in your mind as well. Thankfully, Green was not one of those sour cases . . . for the most part. New characters, new twists, and a whole new life and dimension to the already flourishing Circle were just the start of the positives to this book; but, and yes, there’s a but . . . there was also a very strange ending to the Circle saga. Was I disappointed with said ending? I’ll get to that soon.

The insights in this book run as deep as Elyon’s lakes, and were not only a great encouragement to read, but also a tremendous revelation as well. The critics have accused this book many times for containing far too much glorification of evil and not dwelling enough on the light. Hm. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: In order to truly appreciate the light, one must first realise the depth and inescapable nature of the pit of evil they are, or were, in. If you see the antidote without first seeing the shocking disease, you will probably scorn the cure.

Getting back to my thoughts on the ending of Green, I am very much at an impasse. At the end of Green, coming “full circle” as Ted calls it has left a somewhat chaotic response from fans. Many object to the ending and its surface implications. Without giving away too much of critical value to the story, and a reader’s initial impressions thereof, I simply cannot decide whether the ending is Ted’s biggest blunder or his biggest stroke of brilliance. It took a month of mulling to truly get my head around said ending, and my thoughts now to the virgin reader would be to tackle the end of Green with an open mind and to try to look beyond the glaringly obvious into a completely new world. Think outside the square to a circle that ends, yet does not. You might hate the ending, you might love it. Either way, the book still gets a 10-star rating from me. The story is just that good.

Speaking of books (funny to be doing that on a book review site, I know), I have not read a book that I could not put down in quite a long time. Green was definitely a welcome, furious-page-turning change. If you’re looking for the best kind of suspense–that which is truly suspenseful while maintaining significantly deep spiritual parallels–then look no further than Green and the rest of The Circle Series.

“Dive deep into a world of colour. Of Green, of Black, of Red, of White.”

Reviewed by Rachel: 7.5 out of 10.

The Chronicles Of Brothers trilogy traces three archangel brother, Michael, Gabriel, and Lucifer, and their harrowing journey from the flawless world of the palace chambers in the first heaven through Lucifer’s banishment with his fallen host to Perdition. Only one can put a stop to Lucifer’s malevolent plans, Lucifer’s arch adversary, the Nazarene.

This is the second novel in Wendy Alec’s Chronicles of Brothers series, and in my opinion, much better than the first book (click here to read the review of ‘The Fall of Lucifer’).

Compelling, at times heart-wrenching and extremely challenging, Wendy Alec takes you on a journey that is like no other; the story of Christ’s ultimate sacrifice for his beloved race of men. She weaves a complex tapestry of descriptions of fallen angels, the Nazarene, Christos, the angels, and man.

The only issues I had with this book is that it is incredibly wordy, in that it uses big words that most ‘normal’ people wouldn’t typically bring up in everyday conversation. Keep a dictionary beside you because I guarantee you will need it! Also I found it jumped a little too often between eras.  I simply could not keep up and found it a little difficult to follow the storyline.   Apart from that, this is an incredibly well-written story of the battle between Lucifer and the Nazarene and the Christos’s one act of love towards his favorite species.

Click here to visit Alec’s Chronicle of Brothers site.

Reviewed by Symon: 9 out of 10.

The Martyr’s Song series consists of three stories (novels) which are loosely related to the to the martyrdom of a priest and girl and those who witnessed them in a small Bosnian town during the Second World War. The martyrdoms are retold in the novella The Martyr’s Song, which is the prequel to the 3 said stories.

(Please click on the titles below to read the separate reviews.)

Book 1: Heaven’s Wager

Kent Anthony is a brilliant software engineer who is cashing in on a brilliant career. He’s finally living the idyllic life, far from thoughts of theft and murder and other kinds of horrible criminal behavior. He’s left his past far behind . . . or so he thinks.

Book 2: When Heaven Weeps

In a small Balkan village near the end of World War II, a band of soldiers play a cruel game of ultimate stakes with a priest and his flock. Jan Jovic reluctantly participates. But he’s prepared neither for the incredible demonstration of love, nor the terrible events that follow. Now, many years later, that game will spring to life in Jan’s own heart. He will fall madly in love with the wrong woman, her name is Helen. Now it’s Jan’s turn to play the game. But there is a price.

Book 3: Thunder Of Heaven

Deep in the Amazon jungle a young American woman and the son of plantation owners fall madly in love. For Tanya and Shannon, life is a paradise most only dream about. But today paradise ends. The jungle has hatched more than idyllic love. It has also spawned insidious evil. An evil shrouded in a plot so diabolically brilliant that America will be brought to its knees at the hands of a few terrorists. Nothing stands in the way of terrible destruction. Except for the love of one woman.

Book 4: The Martyr’s Song

“Make me beautiful.” That’s what Marci wants from the old woman—not “inner beauty,” but real, physical attractiveness to save her from being a teenage outcast. The woman offers a gift in the form of a story—a strange tale from 1940s Bosnia about a group of soldiers who terrorize a town of women and children, brutalize their priest, and murder a child. Somehow, in the midst of the horror, a window opens to another reality—a world of impossible beauty, infectious music, irresistible laughter, and a vision that somehow changes…everything.As the title suggests, this is a story about martyrdom… people who die for their faith in Christ. But like no other martyrdom story I’ve read, Dekker allows the reader to see what heaven sees, the refuge of the righteous in the time of calamity.

If you intend to read this series, and I really hope you do… don’t read them in order of publication as pars of the story will lose some of its impact. Instead, I recommend reading them in chronological order, which is:

• Book 4: The Martyr’s Song
• Book 2: When Heaven Weeps
• Book 1: Heaven’s Wager
• Book 3: Thunder Of Heaven

Surprisingly The Martyr’s Song novella is retold practically verbatim in When Heaven Weeps. In my review of it I recommended readers of the series to skip The Martyr’s Song because of this, but now that I’ve thought it over, I would suggest reading it, and skim reading the repeated portion in When Heaven Weeps.

Ted Dekker has ingeniously told the same story in two distinctly different ways, and the stand-alone version (Martyr’s Song) very nearly earned it’s place in the Hall Of Fame because it is so good as a short story/novella.

A unique characteristic of this series, and one which I have yet to come across in any other series I have read is that, although every story is connected and all are classed as suspense/thrillers, they are all very different from each other – completely different stories, different sub-genres and different themes. Because of this, I was not at all sick of the series by the end of the last book… Ted is extremely clever.

The Martyr’s Song:
Sub genre: War fiction
Era: World War 2
Spiritual theme: The spiritual realm, persecution and martyrdom

When Heaven Weeps:
Sub-genre:Romance
Era: 1960s with flashbacks to World War 2
Spiritual theme: The unconditional Love of God and the adulterous nature of the human heart

Heaven’s Wager:
Sub-genre: Crime fiction
Era: Present day
Spiritual themes: Understanding suffering and pain

Thunder Of Heaven
Sub-genre: Action/adventure
Era: Near Future
Spiritual theme: Understanding God’s purpose for our lives and our obedience to it

In conclusion, the series deserves no less than a 9 out of 10, because of it’s underlying spiritual depth, variety and originality – making it immensely enjoyable and memorable.