Wars of the Realm: Rise of the Fallen

 The 2nd book in the "Wars of the Realm" series, (sequel to "The Cloak of Light") was highly anticipated by young Christian's all over the US. Chuck Black is highly respected for his well loved series, The Kingdom Series and The Knights of Arrethtrae, it wasn't a big surprise for me to hear, many were looking forward to the Cloak of Light. After The Cloak Of Light left off at a cliffhanger, young readers were even more eager to read Rise of the Fallen.
   
     Many were surprised to find Mr. Black's book was different in the way that it did not follow the perspective the main protagonist in The Cloak of Light. (I have not reviewed The Cloak of Light, but there is a link to a great review here, written by my good friend Maria.  http://knightoftheprince.blogspot.com/2014/08/book-review-on-cloak-of-light.html

  Instead, Rise of the Fallen tells the story from the perspective of the angel Valdius. Valdius, the last created angel, is a warrior, daily fighting demons and sin for the King of Kings and the salvation of the human race. We journey with Valdius through the history of the Earth including, Noah and the ark, the tower of Babel, the birth of Christ, the crucifixion of Christ, the holocaust, and much more. Mr. Black digs deep into the heart of history and tells these stories through the eyes of the Vadlius.

                                                                  

    But what kind of sequel would it be if it didn't continue the story of the first book? I am so glad you asked! Because Rise of the Fallen while exploring the Biblical, historic stories, Black also tells Valdius, commander and warrior in God's holy army, gets reassigned to guard the life of one seemingly insignificant man.
 
     Valdius begins to question his task: Why has he been reassigned? And what can be so important about a young unsaved man living in Kansas? Valdius continually seeks answers as he fights to keep this man, Drew Carter alive, and also wars with the demons to save Carter's soul.

    In this review, I have split it into two parts. First one of dislike and one of likes. Please understand that I do not to wish to put down the book or Mr. Black. I don't want to hender anyone from reading the book, please know that. Read my review, but please, get the book and read it for yourself. I simply am trying to express my likes and dislikes in this review. 

     THINGS I DISLIKED:

    Black says in chapter 4, page 28, "For nearly five thousand years, he [Vadlius] had watched humans perfect the art of war, and he had learned from them." I find it very hard to believe that the angels would watch humans and learn from them. Of course, I cannot prove this, but Angels are supernatural creatures. God's holy army. I think God could use us to teach angels, because He is God, He can do whatever He wants. God does use us, but I wanted Mr. Black to elaborate that God doesn't NEED us to help Him.

    On the same page Black says, "At first the warrior angels were hesitant to embrace the ingenious tactics of assault, but the Fallens [demons] relentless pursuit of utter destruction forced the warriors of Elohim [God] to adapt or be dissolved."
    I find this to be very unrealistic. You really think that the warriors of God, God's supernatural army, that He created to be warriors, would have a hard time defending their own Creator? I don't think so.

    Also, Valdius continually struggles with doubt. Doubt it the cause of faithless-ness. We also see him struggle with his pride as he finds it hard to understand why he was "demoted" from being a warrior to being a guardian. All of this is perfectly understandable, its only human correct? Even as Christians, children of God, we doubt, because we're sinful. We struggle with pride, because we're sinful. In the study guide in the back of the book to chapter 38, Mr. Black says angels are sinless. Then why in the world does his main character angel struggle with sin? I understand making a main character that doesn't have feelings would be extremely difficult to write, but I don't think giving Valdius a struggle with sin was the best way to go about it.

    And also Mr. Black says that Valdius feels like the least of the angels, because he was the last one created. Honestly, I think with a Perfect God, and a Holy army, that there would be no feelings of feeling like the least or the most. I think there would be a perfect order, but maybe that's just me.


    THINGS I LIKED:

    One thing I really appreciated was Mr. Black's boldness to speak against sin. The book opens up on the steps of a abortion clinic and spiritual warfare there. Also Mr. Black talks about how sexual perversion, homosexuality, drugs, and many other sins, are wrong, but without going into detail. 

    One of my favorite parts in the book was the arrest of Jesus before He was crucified. The creativity of the twelve legions of Angels actually being there, waiting to defend their King, but by Jesus saying, "Do you not know my father could call twelve liegons of angels if I asked Him to?" was telling the angels that it was not in the Plan for them to defend Him at this time.  I thought that was clever on Mr. Black's part.  

    Another part I really enjoyed was the tower of Babel. Mr. Black took a lot of fictional license with the story, but it was interesting to see how it could have happened. (I will not say anymore so as not to give away too much. :D)

    I think the part I liked most about the book was at one point when the five thousand people gathered to hear Jesus preaching. Valdius and his commanding officer, Danick are watching the scene and this is the dialogue that plays out:

    (Valdius) "What do we do now, sir? Surely there's great work to be done now that He's here."

    Danick shook his head, "No, my friend. There is nothing for us to do. Don't you see? When He is here, we do not need to be. He is sufficient for everything!" 

    This really struck me as I came to realize, though the book was about angels, and the angels were cool and certainly mighty creatures of the King, I also realized that its God who directs their actions. God does not need angels, but uses them for His mighty works through out the world. I really appreciate Mr. Black's boldness to state that it is God who is sovereign.

    My parental advisory for this book is this: There is nothing inherently bad in this book. There are just some very hard subjects mention and some of the descriptions of the demons could be frightening for younger readers. I will not give a age recommendation, because honestly, it depends on how mature the reader is. This isn't a book for the innocent, but I believed it was originally geared toward older readers anyways.

   In a summery, there were many things I liked about the book, but also many things I did not like. Out of five stars I would give this book a three. If my review has aroused your curiosity, you must read the book for yourself and tell me what you thought. :) Please feel free to leave comments below and tell me what you thought of the book and of this review. :) 

     I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

The Rangers Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan

    So, you may be wondering where I have been for the past couple of months? Don't worry, I have NOT been abducted by aliens, I am still alive and kicking. Honestly, the holidays and the return of school (and all of the books I got for Christmas, heh heh.) have been keeping busy. But, I have cleared my schedule, (more like cut down on some of reading time for the day. :p) Spotify is playing, "The Piano Guys" I am full caffeinated with coffee, so lets gets to the book review!

 
 
    The time has come. Its Choosing Day in the Kingdom of Araluen. The day where the age appropriate children of the abby will be chosen by masters of the different trades, to be the next apprentices. And our main character Will, couldn't be more nervous.
 
      Will, is a fifteen-year-old boy full of curiosity, vibrant energy and maybe a touch of mischief. But Will, is short for a boy of his age. He's not exactly what you would call muscular, but he's always dreamed of going to battle school where he would learn the art of being a Knight of the King.
 
    Will, like all of the other children of the abby is a orphan. Dropped off at the abby when he was just a baby, Will has no memory of his parents. The only thing that Will holds on to, is the simple rumor that his father, was a Warrior of the King.
 
    But when choosing day comes and Will is chosen by the mysterious Ranger Halt to be his apprentice, Will's life changes forever. With their dark cloaks and amazing bow skills, the Rangers are rumored to have practiced magic, due to the fact of their ways of disappearing into the background and their silent maneuvers. Will has always known he had a gift of moving silently and without being seen, but he never imagined he would be chosen to be a Rangers Apprentice. The Rangers, are a elected intelligence group trained in the ways of moving unseen to the enemy and surveillance, discovering things about the enemy and reporting to the higher authority, the enemy, never knowing that
they were there.
 
    But Will's training is cut short when rumors of the return of the Lord Morgarath, ruler of the mountains of rain and night is returning to the kingdom with armed forces of the terribly hideous creatures called the Wargals, worst yet, Moragrath has sent the assassins the Kalkara ahead of him. Lord Morgarath, former Baron of the Castle Gorlan, was exiled after his rebellion against King Duchan, the King of Araluen. Now, Lord Morgarath will stop at nothing to have his revenge.
    In a quest to save the Kingdom of Araluen, Ranger Halt, Will, teaming up with Halt's former apprentice Gilan, must track down the Kalkara, and save the kingdom from the clutches of the evil Lord.

 
    The Ruins of Gorlan... let me just say, WOW. I didn't like reading till I was in my teens, so I am still a bit of a picky reader, but the Rangers Apprentice, had me hooked from the first chapter. Flanagan has a easy to read writing style and keeps you on the edge of your seat with his plot twists and character dynamics.
 
    What I liked most about The Ruins of Gorlan was first off, there was no magic. There were creatures, there was action, there were knights, there were bowman, there was excitement, but there was no evil witch and no friendly wizard. It was refreshing to have a a medieval book that was believable.

    Another thing I appreciated what Flanagan did in the Rangers Apprentice, he made his characters amazingly likable. I think the best way he did this was through humor. Flanagan's sense of timing and sarcasm was simply witty genius.

    Parental Advisory? Hmm, the only thing I had a problem with was a couple of mild swear words, but thankfully its kept to a minimum.

    Would I recommend the Rangers Apprentice? Absolutely. If you love a good story, with lovable characters, and edge of your seat action, the Rangers Apprentice is the right book for you.

    If your an aspiring writer like myself, I would advise you to especially pay attention to Flanagan's character development and Will's interaction with other characters. Watch how Flanagan conflicts your emotions with the characters dialogue. Its simply brilliant.

    I hope you have enjoyed my first review! :)

What's this blog about?

    Hi there. My name is Emma, I am seventeen. :) I am sinner saved by God's grace. That's the most important thing you should know about me. The second, is that, I LOVE to read. I mostly read young adult and children's fiction, but I do enjoy a good discipleship book. (also known as theology, Spiritual living-they have a lot of different names ;)) 

     I didn't like to read when I was young. A lot that is. I LOVED exciting books. (And still do. ;) ) I picked up my first spy series when I was twelve and was hooked. I didn't want to read anything else but mysteries. I think it was Lamplighter's "Basket Of Flowers" that broke that steel shell. (my favorite is still a good mystery though. :) )

     It was my parents and sister who taught me to read. My parents, wanted me to expand my horizons and encouraged my reading constantly. Eventually I began to branch out and read other things besides my favorite spy series.

    My sister, read to me C.S Lewis's captivating "Narnia" series. I love it. Not only did I love the stories, but my sister was taking time to tell me the stories, and that was what I loved most. That was how much she loved me. Many an act of love can change a person.

    I was seven when I started writing. Looking back, my stories that I wrote then I would now consider silly and poorly chosen, but they were mine. It was my beginning. I didn't stop writing. Ten years later, I write daily and hope to one day become a published author.

     You may be wondering why I am including a paragraph about writing when this a READING blog. Its because they go together, at least for me. :)

     It wasn't until my senior year in high school that I fell in love with reading. I was sixteen-years- old, and just about to loose it. I had, had the bright idea of cramming two years of high school into one. I am a easily stressed out person and was constantly banging my head against the wall (or desk.) wondering WHY IN THE WORLD DID I CHOOSE TO DO THIS??? Reading was my escape. Reading was my vacation. Reading was my therapy.

    At the end of my English class for my senior I read, that, reading was the best way to learn how to write. Read in variety they said, and you, will learn much. This is why I read.

    Don't get me wrong, I like the entertainment of it also, (I mean I am only human. :p) but, I also read to study. To get inspired. To learn.

    This is why I encourage others to read. I have a younger brother, who I am constantly telling, "Pick up your book and read." I probably drive him nuts, but its only because I love him. :) I want him to experience these adventures. To go where he hasn't gone before. (Sorry, I love a dramatic flare. ;) )

    So, if you are still reading this, I will tell you why I am starting this blog. Lets face it, good books are hard to find. (Did you just say amen? ;) ) Especially for us Christian teens and kids who want to read GOOD books. Books that don't have all of the worldly junk in em'. (I don't need to go in detail-I think you all know what I am talking about.)

     I am starting this blog to share with you GOOD books. Books that are not perfect, (What book besides the Bible is?) but have GOOD stories. Stories that will take you on an adventure like no other.

    So, here's what I will do. I am going to review the book. Give ya a brief summation of the story and characters, and then I will tell you what I think. At the end I will put a parental advisory (although that could be called, you might want to know this before you read the book.) And then I will put a age suggestion. I won't limit anyone to that suggestion, that choice is for you to make for yourself, but I will put one, just in case. :)

      I want to share with you my adventures. I want you to have some too. And maybe, some will get inspired to write their own novels. :)

    But most of all I want to glorify and honor my Savior. I hope that by HIS grace that I can encourage you.

      I am here to help you find GOOD books. :) So please stay tuned for the first review. :)