Paradise Lost

In 1668, John Milton published Paradise Lost, an epic about the beginning of time and the fall of Satan, the demons, and Adam and Eve. In the course of 12 ‘books’ Milton weaves a plot from the fabric of Scripture, while taking a bit of author’s liberty to name angels and demons and filling in the dialogue to lengthen the story. Although  Milton did not want to ‘create’ a Calvinistic God by how he wrote, he inadvertently did.

When the story begins, Satan has already fallen to hell. He and his demons discuss what to do, how to get revenge on God. They finally decide that one of them should go to earth, God’s newest creation and see if he can pervert the crown of the Lord’s work, man. Satan is elected as Hell’s spy and he leaves to accomplish his task. He arrives and whispers a dream into Eve’s ear as she sleeps, he is caught by a troop of angels patrolling Eden and is brought to Gabriel. Satan is then kicked out of Eden, only to return later. A seraph named Raphael arrives from Heaven and, upon Adam’s request, recounts the fall of Satan, the war in Heaven, and the Creation. In order to detain Raphael further, Adam tells him all that he remembers of his own creation and the creation of Eve and their marriage. Finally, after Raphael leaves, Satan strikes again with temptation and our first parents succumb to the temptation. The Son of God (Jesus) comes to Eden, searching for his creations. He is saddened by their betrayal and, because of their unwillingness to take responsibility for their actions, curses them, as well as Satan. The Father tells the Son that a rift has been made that separates man from God and the Son offers his life to pay for theirs. The Father accepts this offer, but even though the sin has been forgiven in light of the Cross, he requires the humans to leave Eden. As they obey and retreat to the world outside, Michael appears and gives them a glimpse into the future, of Jesus’ coming and the Atonement that he will bring.

Because this book was written in the 17^th Century, it is extremely hard to read. I would recommend it to lovers of the classics and those who can concentrate and decipher Old English.  And anyone looking for a challenge... just sayin'.

Hunter Brown and the Eye of Ends

Hunter Brown and the Eye of Ends, written by the Miller Brothers, is the thrilling conclusion to the Hunter Brown Trilogy. This book is entertaining, original, and packed with biblical truths. Although the message that “the Author writes everything for a purpose” still seems to be an overriding theme, the main theme seems to be “Trust that God want the best for you.”

            After saving Cranton from the school fire, Hunter is sedated by two “hospital” workers, and when he wakes up, he can’t remember anything that happened the previous night… except the fair. His whole memory of his second trip to Solandria has been erased, not that he knows that. A big black detective named Vogler comes to him at the hospital and gives Hunter his backpack, which was found at the scene of the fire, and Hunter finds his things in it: his Author’s Writ, his Veritas Sword… and someone else’s, but he can’t remember whose it is. To make matters worse, when he tries to use his sword, he gets incredibly painful migraines. After being let go from the hospital, he is visited by another stranger, a girl named Desi, who gives him a card that says he has an overdue item at the library… only he’s never had a library account. Through mysterious circumstances, he gets a call from Desi, who tells Hunter that Vogler is looking for him and is there at the library. She saves him from the detective and takes him to her uncle, who informs him that Vogler is actually an evil Watcher named Tonomis and that he (the uncle), a man named Simon Ot, knows Hunter’s father, Caleb. He also knows that Caleb was the last human in possession of the mysterious Eye of Ends…

            Why can Hunter not remember his visit to Solandria with Trista? Is Vogler really who Simon says he is? Is Hunter’s father still alive? And what exactly is the Eye of Ends? Find out for yourself when you read Hunter Brown and the Eye of Ends. 

Hunter Brown and the Consuming Fire

Hunter Brown and the Consuming Fire, written by the Miller Brothers, is the sequel to Hunter Brown and the Secret of the Shadow and is the second book in the Hunter Brown trilogy. The Brothers have outdone themselves in making this book better than the first. New characters are brought in, an original story is weaved, and the Gospel is still presented smoothly.

            It has been three months since Hunter has returned from the alternate universe of Solandria to his home in Destiny. Summer break is over and he is back in school, beginning to doubt his experience was real, and not just a dream. Then the school klutz, Rob Bungle, stumbles into his life, knocking over the school bully, Cranton and leaving a trail of napkins in is wake. As Cranton bullies Rob, Hunter sees a mark written on one of the napkins, a mark that makes him realize that his experience was real… the Author’s mark. When he gets home that day, he finds the house a mess. The cause? A little monkey-like creature with glowing blue eyes that as an aversion to light and more importantly... it’s from Solandria. Hunter decides to take the little thing to the fair that night, to show his two friends, Stretch and Stubbs, that Solandria is real.  As he waits at the spot that Stretch and Stubbs had agreed to meet him, Trista, his older sister Emily’s friend, strikes up a conversation with him. Stretch and Stubbs never show. A commotion draws their attention to a boy a had walked into a display… Rob. As Trista and Hunter help Rob pick up the mess he made, Cranton sees Rob and makes his way over through the crowd to finish the beating that the principal cut short. Guilty by association, Hunter and Trista flee with Rob. As they hide in the fair stables, little Shadow beasts attack the trio and Rob pulls out his Veritas sword to protect the others. Through a series of unfortunately fortunate events, they end up in a gondola. Dispirits (huge insect-like things with nasty, stinging tongues) attack them and Rob bravely defends the little gondola, but, also severs it from the cable. The gondola plunges down, not into the fair, but off to Solandria.

            The Miller Brothers do a fabulous job authoring this book to glorify the master Author. I would recommend this book to anyone, no matter their literary tastes, although I think they should read the books in order. The story is quite captivating and makes for hours of good reading.

Hunter Brown and the Secret of the Shadow

Hunter Brown and the Secret of the Shadow, written by brothers Christopher and Allan Miller, follows the story of a teenage boy named Hunter Brown. Although written for teens and children, the Millers make the story more than merely fun to read. Through the course of the book, they let out biblical truths that their audience can understand, while not giving the feeling of being preachy; mainly, that God is in control, and that whether the circumstances be good or bad, He always has a purpose for them.

            The story opens as Hunter is running for his life. The reason? He just pulled a prank on the school bully, Cranton, who isn’t too happy about. Hunter and two of his friends hide in a dumpster… that locks itself. As they begin to panic over their situation, a kind janitor named Evan opens the dumpster and helps them out. He promises not to turn them over to the principle… as long as they do him a small favor. The favor is to run to the local bookshop and get a book, then bring it back to him. It sounds simple enough, so they agree. When they return to the school, Evan is nowhere to be found, and the principal has never heard of him. She believes their story though, and asks them to take her to the book shop so that she can verify with bookshop clerk if in fact they were there. Only, when they get to where the bookshop is supposed to be, it, just like Evan, has vanished. The boys are given detention and the book is confiscated. When he is allowed to go home, Hunter is upset and a little disappointed… until he sets his backpack down. Looking inside, he finds the book and a key to unlock it. Little does he know that opening this book will be the worst and best decision that he will ever make.

            I would recommend this book to anyone who loves reading, especially if they are a Christian. The allegory in this book is well written, the characters believable, and the story captivating.  

Immanuel's Veins

Over the next few blog posts, I am going to post book reports that I have written. Here's the first...
Oh, and normally people save the best for last  but I can't, this is one of the BEST books ever written... ever. (Not counting the Bible, of course)

Immanuel's Veins 

            In the fictional tale, Immanuel’s Veins, author Ted Dekker explores the reason for the Cross in a roundabout way. Although I have had great pleasure in reading Dekker’s other novel’s,  I thoroughly enjoyed this story better than any other I have read. The amazingly weaved plot, spectacular imagery,  and the presentation of the gospel are the work of master wordsmith.

            Immanuel’s Veins takes place in Moldavia, in the late 1700s, following the character Toma Nicolescu and his companion. Toma is a soldier in Catherine the Great’s army and has been sent with his companion, Alek Cardei, to guard the Cantemir sisters. Against orders, Toma falls in love with Lucine, one of the sisters, but struggles between love and duty, knowing that he must fulfill the latter. Then, a suitor, Vlad van Valerik seeks Lucine’s hand, but neither she, nor Toma, feels comfortable around him. But, as Lucine feelings toward Vlad change, Toma is left at war with himself. Knowing that he loves her, he questions his motives for trying to expose Vlad. Is it jealousy or duty that is prodding him? What will he do now?

            Many of Ted Dekker’s books are dark. When asked about this, he said, “When you are trying to reach a culture that has watered down the line between good and evil, you need to paint evil with a very dark brush,” and Immanuel’s Veins doesn’t part from this trend. The plot doesn’t take as many twists and turns as he is known for writing, but that doesn’t make it  inferior to his other novels. He uses both first and third person as he penned this masterpiece.  The descriptions he presents are well-worded and not trite, “…now hot fingers snaked through her body, tingling and burning along her wounds, and then, deeper, through her veins to her extremities like molten lava finding its way through cracks and down narrow channels. It burned her fingers and her toes and it made her face hot.” Combined with these two elements of professional story writing, he presented the gospel as well, “All of the blood sacrifices, which I had always considered barbarous, suddenly made sense. That blood, however symbolic on the altar, had true power as much as evil had manifested itself in the blood of this beast. Surely this is why the Christ had bled out on that cross of torture. Not for a religion, not for Christianity or orthodoxy, but for the heart of man.”

            In conclusion, it is in my opinion that Immanuel’s Veins is a masterpiece composed of epic plot, skillful description, and beautiful gospel. I believe that it will become a classic among Christians, if not the world.