"The Final Storm" review

It's hard to look back and see who Aidan Thomas was not long ago: a boy distraught about moving, overweight, unhappy. Now, he is one of those few who have been called to save Alleble, and the Realm, from the forces of Paragor. Antoinette Reed was a normal girl who lived a normal life, not quite fitting in. She too, is in the Realm-- now trapped by Robby Pierson's Glimpse-twin, Kearn at the Gate of Despair. Robby himself was a sports star, the ultimate "cool kid". Now, his future is in doubt.

It's time for the final storm.

Paragor has unleashed the legendary Wyrm Lord upon the Realm, whose fires are deadly in the extreme. Other forces are at his command as well, and Alleble and its allied kingdoms are suffering crushing blows. The future is uncertain, to say the least. It seems Paragor even has a prophecy that predicts Alleble's downfall. And yet, the war goes on. When it seems there is no hope left, Paragory and Alleble prepare for the last battle, which will leave an impact on the Realm forever.

This is the greatest and most emotional of the Door Within Trilogy. The characters do what the characters would do. The danger is more intense than ever. There are moments to make the reader cheer, and moments to make them cry, all executed pitch-perfect by Wayne Thomas Batson. You care intensely about what's happening at the moment. There is great fulfilling of foreshadowing, great moments from all the characters. This is the sort of book that makes you want to give the author a round of applause after you've finished.

Well done, Mr. Batson. Well done.

"The Rise of the Wyrm Lord" review

The Door Within was the first novel by Wayne Thomas Batson, and the first in his trilogy of the same name. It told the somewhat allegorical, but never preachy, story of Aidan Thomas, who was whisked to the Realm not long ago after finding a set of incredible scrolls that told its history. Upon leaving, successfully completing his mission and simultaneously saving his father and his father's Glimpse-twin, he saw his best friend, Robby Pierson, had red eyes. This meant he was a servant of the dark lord Paragor.

Now, Aidan is beginning to settle back into his normal lifestyle. One day, though, he meets a girl named Antoinette Reed, a magnificent artist, a skilled fighter, and a firm believer in Alleble and its king, Eliam. He realizes her Glimpse-twin is Gwenne, his love from the Realm. Suddenly, Antoinette is called just as Aidan was in the first book to go to Alleble as the Twelfth Knight, in a desperate attempt to stop Paragor from unleashing his greatest horror yet upon the Realm: the Wyrm Lord, an ancient dragon of evil.

Congratulations are in order for Mr. Batson, as his second book far surpasses his first-- and the first was good. The characters are more fleshed out, including the villains, the perils seem more real, and his writing style is better as well. Be prepared for a surprise cliffhanger ending, though-- you'll want to have Book III, The Final Storm on hand.

"The Door Within" review

I've posted on this book before, but seeing as there's a new book out by this author, Isle of Swords, I figured I'd do more substantial reviews for his past books.

The Door Within is a compelling fantasy novel by a Christian author who's getting bigger by the day: Wayne Thomas Batson. In it, he tells the story of Aidan Thomas, a teenage boy whose life has just turned upside-down. No, he hasn't found out he's king of the trolls or something ludicrous like that. No, he has instead moved hundreds of miles away from his old home and his best friend, Robby Pierson. He doesn't know anyone, and so has suffered a crushing emotional blow. In his new home he is living in with his grandfather, he decides to go searching through the house one day. That's when he finds the scrolls.

The scrolls contain the story of a magical kingdom called Alleble which exists parallel to our own world. Alleble is part of the Realm, where King Eliam reigns in peace. But one of his trusted men, Paragal, betrays him and murders him in front of his people. His name is then changed to Paragor, and he and his servant, Rucifel, go to make a kingdom in his own image: Paragory. But in Alleble, Eliam's influence is still strong, and his spirit still abides in his kingdom.

Aidan is stunned, and rightfully so. These stories, he feels, are true, although his parents say otherwise. Angry, he shuts himself away from them and sees the scrolls have more written on them. There is a poem, a riddle, and with the help of his grandfather, Grampin, Aidan figures it out. He then finds himself in the Realm where it seems he has a mission waiting for him. He is the twelfth in a group of Glimpse knights. (Glimpses are the "humans" of the Realm. They each have a twin on Earth, and each is affected by the other. Their eyes change from blue- servants of Eliam- to red- servants of Paragor- to green- undecided- depending on where their loyalties lie.) In this group are characters such as Captain Valithor, Grampin's Glimpse, and Gwenne, whom Aidan takes a liking to instantly. And he journeys to win over the Glimpses of the neighboring kingdom for Eliam.

There isn't a slow moment in this story, and for this I'm grateful. Only occasionally does the story show the trappings of a first-time author. Wayne Thomas Batson certainly has talent, and he uses it to create a whopping good yarn, one that makes one wish to instantly progress onto Book II, The Rise of the Wyrm Lord.

Belated June 2007 Book Reviews (with some July on the side)

The Name of the Wind: Wow. This is a debut from Patrick Rothfuss, a fantasy author who is absolutely amazing. I can't say enough about this book. Just read it, okay?

Thr3e: The first novel I've read by Ted Dekker, and it won't be the last.

Showdown: An epic novel by Ted Dekker, and very original. Even better than Thr3e.

House: Ted Dekker and Frank Peretti bring us a great standalone novel that also manages to fit inside Ted Dekker's compelling world of Showdown.

Saint: A great book by Ted Dekker, with touches of The Bourne Identity and The Matrix. One catch-- you have to read Showdown and possibly House.

Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon: A gripping book containing mention of the 600 Grand Canyon deaths.

The rest of July later!

Tomorrow, Tomorrow...

Tomorrow at midnight, the Harry Potter series ends. Spoilers are everywhere, and Harry's life is in doubt. The search for Voldemort's horcruxes, as well as the Deathly Hallows, is about to begin. Who lives? Who dies? Who falls in love? Will a rat's life-debt be repaid? Will an old man's life have been lost in vain? Does the title Harry Potter and the Forest of Shadows have anything at all to do with this? Will Bill and Fleur get married? Will Harry go back to Hogwarts? Will he go to Gordic's Hollow, and if he does, will he like what he finds? Will Voldemort discover a fate worse than death? What does Kreacher do? What was that gleam in Dumbledore's eye about in Goblet of Fire? And when Harry and Voldemort face off in the end, who will emerge victorious?

The answers come July 21.

Not to sound obsessed, but...

The fifth Harry Potter movie producer was coming very close to eliminating a certain... Kreacher... from the film. J.K. Rowling made sure he understood the house-elf was necessary for the plot of Deathly Hallows.

Book News

A few book releases in the not-too-distant future...

Enoch's Ghost: The second in the Oracles of Fire series by Bryan Davis. Comes out July 1.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: It's official! Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final book in J.K. Rowling's magical Harry Potter series, will be released on July 21, 2007. In the February 1 announcement from the book's publisher, Lisa Holton, President of Scholastic Children's Books, said, "We are thrilled to announce the publication date of the seventh installment in this remarkable series. We join J.K. Rowling's millions of readers--young and old, veterans and newcomers--in anticipating what lies ahead."

First Among Sequels: It’s been fourteen years since Thursday Next pegged out at the 1988 SuperHoop, and Friday is now a difficult sixteen year old. However, Thursday’s got bigger problems. Sherlock Holmes is killed at the Rheinback Falls and his series is stopped in its tracks. And before this can be corrected, Miss Marple dies suddenly in a car accident, bringing her series to a close as well. When Thursday receives a death threat clearly intended for her written self, she realizes what’s going on—there is a serial killer on the loose in the Bookworld. And that’s not all—The Goliath Corporation is trying to deregulate book travel. Naturally, Thursday must travel to the outer limits of acceptable narrative possibilities to triumph against increasing odds. Released July 24.

Night of the Soul-Stealer: Third in the Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney. Thomas Ward is the apprentice for the local Spook, who captures witches and drives away ghosts. As the weather gets colder and the nights draw in, the Spook receives an unexpected visitor. Tom doesn't know who the stranger is or what he wants, but the Spook suddenly decides it's time to travel to his winter house, Anglezarke. Tom has heard it will be a bleak, forbidding place, and that menacing creatures are starting to stir somewhere on the moors nearby. Can anything prepare Tom for what he finds there? What if the rumors about the evil beast called the Golgoth are true? And how much danger will Tom be in if the secrets the Spook has been trying to hide from the world are revealed? Released September 1.

Isle of Swords: Wayne Thomas Batson's newest book. 'Nuff said.

Leven Thumps and the Eyes of the Want: Foo--the place between the possible and the impossible--is a realm inside the minds of each of us that allows mankind the power to hope and imagine and dream. The powerfully gifted Leven Thumps, once an ordinary fourteen-year-old boy from Oklahoma, has been retrieved from Reality and sent to stop those in Foo who are nurturing dark dreams and plan to invade and rule Reality. Hold on to your popcorn! In book three, the war to unite Foo and Reality has begun. Not only must Leven race across Foo to stop the Secret before the deadly truth is revealed, he must travel to the island of Lith, the home of the Want--the manic dreammaster who can give Leven the gifts he needs against a foreboding army of rants and other Foo beings. If you are willing and have the courage, you're invited for the next adventure in book three, Leven Thumps and the Eyes of the Want. Travel to Sycophant Run, survive the Lime Sea, and discover a new gateway to Foo and a threat beneath the soil. The fooseeable adventure will keep Foo fans captivated and wanting more! Released September 25.

Empire of Ivory: Fourth in the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik. Released September 25.

Snakehead: What goes up must come down, and when we last saw Alex Rider, he was as up as can be—in outer space. When he crash lands off the coast of Australia, the Australian Secret Service recruits him to infiltrate one of the ruthless gangs operating across South East Asia. Known as snakeheads, the gangs smuggle drugs, weapons, and worst of all, people. Alex accepts the assignment, in part for the chance to work with his godfather and learn more about his parents. What he uncovers, however, is a secret that will make this his darkest and most dangerous mission yet . . . and that his old nemesis, Scorpia, is anything but out of his life. From the slums of Bangkok to the Australian Outback to the middle of the Timor Sea, Snakehead is Alex Rider’s most action-packed adventure yet. Released November 13.

The Search for the Red Dragon: The second in James A. Owen's Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica series. Some inspired plot elements and character elements. Should be a good read. Arrives January 1, 2008.

Attack of the Fiend: Fourth in the Last Apprentice series. Released March 1, 2008.