Tales of the Kingdom by David and Karen Mains

Tales of the Kingdom by David & Karen Mains is an allegorical story about characters who live in a magical world with bad guys and good guys.  I have vague memories of hearing this book as a child, and I  I recall thinking it was rather interesting, though I didn't remember a lot about it.

As a story it is an interesting tale of girls and boys who find refuge in the forest with the exiled King.  Different lessons are learned by various unique characters, who all find a place in the Kingdom. There are creepy bad guys, like the Enchanter and the Burners and Naysayers.  The book tells stories   about individual people in the various chapters, switching back and forth between some, and introducing new characters in others.  They ultimately fit together very well as an overall story. There is the girl named Dirty, who loved being dirty and lived with the pigs, but comes to realize her horrible situation and wants to be clean.  There is the boy named Scarboy (later Hero) who has a hard time coming to grips with his usefulness while thinking that the scar on his face is an impediment.  There is a princess named Amanda, one of whose skills is spitting with great accuracy. Kind of a strange thing…. There are even stranger characters as well.  Perhaps the weirdest of all is the Ranger  Commander who is also the "Caretaker" who makes flowers and things grow. Think of a hippy who is not opposed to war. 

I need to offer a bit of critique of this book. First, some of the things that happened make me a bit uncomfortable.  For instance, in one place, while the girl Amanda's burn wounds are being cared for (think dragon), the boy, almost a man, Hero is watching. I didn't feel comfortable with that as it mentioned that her clothes had been taken off to care for the wounds.  I don't think that it was meant to be erotic at all but just the concept itself was not decent.

And another thing, If it weren’t meant to be a Christian allegory, I would probably have liked the book more overall, but it is supposed to be Christian allegory.  There are some odd symbolisms that I don't quite understand but My main problem is the portrayal of the King (who seems to represent Christ).  At times he seems serious, but then at others he seems like some sort of happy-go-lucky guy.  Let me quote an example, The King is talking to one of the main children of this story, and he says, "'Can you do this?' He sprang onto his hands and balanced his feet in the air as he moved across the grass.  Hero hadn't spent all afternoon on the practice field for nothing.  He lifted his hands above his head, then went down to the ground with his feet in the air.  He walked around awkwardly until he faced the peasant.  They looked at each other upside down."  That is not the way Jesus is portrayed in the New Testament.  Also, toward the end, a girl who had been rebellious is now coming back but is afraid of how the king will receive her.  "The King folded the weeping child into his arms.  "Don't leave me, Amanda,' he whispered, 'We've all been so lonely without you.'  That is not accurate either, God is not lonely for humans, and not lonely in general (The Father, Son and Holy Spirit do not need company). He does not need us, and does not lack anything that we can give Him (otherwise, He wouldn't be God).  The loneliest moment, and probably the only lonely moment Jesus has ever had was, not when His disciples forsook Him, but when the Father did so.

But if you just look on it as a story, not an allegory, then it's okay and just an adventure (though it's kind of hard to do that when the king says as a battle cry, speaking of his father, "To the Emperor of All! To the One Who Always Is!". But one could change that while reading it out loud.

The pictures are interesting, I would have enjoyed studying them as a kid, though some are pretty weird.  My little brother loved the picture of Amanda and the Dragon, because he really likes dragons and this one is illustrated well.  He kept asking if he could look at the book, just to examine the dragon picture some more. 

  It would work well as a bedtime story, if you can get your kids to only listen to one or two stories. It is adventurous and well written.  If a little odd. 

Many thanks to the folks at BookCrash for working with the publisher to provide me with a complimentary review copy of this book! (My review did not have to be favorable)

My Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars ***

This book may be purchased at Amazon.com and at kingdomtales.com

Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss

Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss is one of my favorite works of Christian fiction.  Written in the 1800s, it is still very interesting and relevant to people in our current day and very readable. Prentiss tells the story using the format of a diary written by a woman named Katherine, who records her life struggles, from young womanhood through much of her married life.  She gives the events of various days (sometimes skipping days, months or even years, but giving updates along the way), and writes down many of her inmost thoughts, questions and struggles with sin.  She has questions about her salvation and whether or not she is being sanctified.  God brings along many different people to teach her and to help her recognize that He really is working in her and making her more Christ like. God also brings along many different trials to grow her spiritually. 

There are several interesting dialogues with others that are recounted by Katy, I give a couple of samples here:

Here she is speaking to one of her spiritual mentors, Dr Cabot:

 "'There is one thing more that troubles me,' I said.  'Most persons know the exact moment when they begin real Christian lives.  But I do not know of any such time in my history.  This causes me many uneasy moments.' 

[Dr Cabot]'You are wrong in thinking that most persons have this advantage over you.  I believe that the children of Christian parents, who have been judiciously trained, rarely can point to any day or hour when they began to live this new life.  The question is not, do you remember, my child, when you entered this world, and how!  It is simply this, are you now alive and an inhabitant thereof?'"

In this next excerpt Katy has just had a former friend, Amelia, die, her husband, a doctor, attended her last moments on earth:

"'What do you think,'  I asked, 'about her last days on earth?  Was there really any preparation for death?'

'These scenes are very painful,' he returned.  'Of course there is but one real preparation for Christian dying, and that tis Christian living……..I do not now recall a single instance where a worldly Christian died a happy, joyful death, in all my practice.'

[Kate]…..'Well, in one sense it makes no difference whether they die happily or not.  The question is do they die in the Lord?'

'[her husband]It may make no vital difference to them, but we must not forget that God is honored or dishonored by the way a Christian dies, as well as by the way in which he lives…..I can tell you, my darling, that standing, as I so often do, by dying beds, this whole subject has become one of great magnitude to my mind.  And it gives me positive personal pain to see heirs of the eternal kingdom, made such by the ignominious death of their Lord, go shrinking and weeping to the full possession of their inheritance.'"

There are several thought provoking dialogues like the above. And many little statements that are intriguing as well, a few of which I give here:

"You can will to prefer a religion of principle to one of mere feeling; in other words, to obey the will of God when no comfortable glow of emotion accompanies your obedience."

"It is repining that dishonors God, not grief."

"People ask me how it happens that my children are all so promptly obedient and so happy.  As if it chanced that some parents have such children, or chanced that some have not! I am afraid it is only too true, as someone has remarked, that this is the age of obedient parents!' What then will be the future of their children? How can they yield to God who have never been taught to yield to human authority…?"

A year after her oldest child died she writes:

"It is a year ago this day that the brightest sunshine faded out of our lives, and our beautiful boy was taken from us.  I have been tempted to spend this anniversary in bitter tears and lamentations.  For oh, this sorrow is not healed by time!  I feel it more and more.  But I begged God when I first awoke this morning not to let me so dishonor and grieve Him.  I may suffer, I must suffer, He means it, He wills it, but let it be without repining, without gloomy despondency.  The world is full of sorrow; it is not I alone who taste its bitter draughts, nor have I the only right to a sad countenance.  Oh, for patience to bear on, cost what it may!"

Now, there were statements and things that I didn't agree with, such as Kate thinking that her little children do not need to learn that they are sinners until they get older, though they do need to learn about Christ.  That doesn't make a lot of biblical , or even common, sense to me.  Wasn't that one of the most important things about Christ? That he came to die for the sins of His people? Or when she indicates that when we die, we leave our bodies forever.  I don't know if she believed in the resurrection of  our physical bodies?  Things like that bothered me.

But overall, I still really liked the book and found it quite spiritually edifying.  Kate grows in the Faith, becomes more patient toward others, learns to not trust her own judgement, learns to trust God more and more, learns that whatever trials He ordains for her to face are lovingly ordained to make her more Christ like.  The book is very well written and really keeps the attention, or at least it kept mine! 

Now, I must say something about this particular edition that I am reviewing, published by Ichthus Publications. The cover is pretty, the format of the text inside the book is very nicely laid out and readable.  But….this edition needs to be proofread.  There are typos ALL OVER this edition, periods and commas out of place or missing, and sentences that were practically unintelligible.  Here's a sample:

"In the first place, Helen would be perfectly if she had the care of father in his present. She is too young to have such responsibility….She is one of those little tender, soft souls one could crush fingers."

I don't think I've ever had to rate a book based on numerous typos and missing words. But I'll have to do that with this one.  I feel really bad having to do this, but I need to rate this edition at only three stars.  Normally I would rate this book at five stars, but this is not a good edition of Stepping Heavenward.  I love the book, I just don't like this edition.  If they would fix the typos it would be great!

Thanks to the folks at Ichthus Publications for sending me a free review copy of this book (My review did not have to be favorable).

Rating of Prentiss' book: Five Stars *****

Rating of this edition:  Three Stars ***

Steal Away Home - By Matt Carter and Aaron Ivey

Steal Away Home: Charles Spurgeon & Thomas Johnson - Unlikely Friends on the Passage to Freedom by Matt Carter and Aaron Ivey, is a novel that tells of a friendship between those two men.  One was a pastor who became quite famous, and yet had a lot of troubles in his life, and the other a former slave who became a preacher and then a Missionary to Africa.  This book is an attempt to imagine their lives leading up to their ultimate meeting and friendship.  Various chapters deal with either the perspective of Spurgeon or that of Thomas in a particular year.  The time advances through the chapters, showing the growing perspective of the men individually.

I really wanted to like this book, but sadly I didn't.  First, , as I was reading this book I kept running across parts where the thought kept nagging me that something about the depiction wasn't right.  I went and looked at some other books I have on Spurgeon and realized the thought was generally correct.  The authors don't seem very concerned about getting the history right. 

I'll give a couple of examples:  First, when Spurgeon's wife, Susannah, heard Spurgeon preach and  laid eyes on Spurgeon  for the first time, the book describes Susannah as struggling with conviction, focused upon a spiritual question provoked by Charles' sermon.  But in real life Susannah herself says, "Alas, for my vain and foolish heart! I was not spiritually minded enough to understand his earnest presentation of the Gospel and his powerful pleading with sinners", rather she remembers that his odd attire attracted most of her attention and caused her some amusement.  The portrayal afterward when they met at dinner seemed odd as well, Spurgeon and Susannah are depicted as flirting with each other, even though they were only just meeting each other! I never understood that to be the case.  Another inaccuracy in the book is that Susannah is present in the building at the time of the Surrey Gardens Music Hall disaster and Spurgeon runs to her immediately after attempting to conclude the message.  In reality Susannah was not there, she was at home having not yet recovered from childbirth.  I understand that this is a work of fiction, but I understood that it was going to be building around the historical facts, not changing them.  This just seemed like an attempt to make the events romantic, when they were not.

Second, I didn't like that Charles and Susannah are portrayed together in bed.  Nothing really indecent is described there but I feel really uncomfortable with that type of thing.  The conversations that this book depicts them having in bed could have been had in the living room during the day.  There was also at least one description of Spurgeon touching his wife that make me feel uncomfortable, it seemed slightly sensual.  Maybe I'm just too picky, but I don't need to picture them caressing each other in order to realize that they loved each other.  I don't understand why this needs to be depicted? 

And then, ironically, some  of Spurgeon's struggle with depression is depicted in a depressing way.  Spurgeon is shown to struggle with various fears,  fear about his wife dying, about himself dying with no one to mourn him, fearing that too many people need him, feeling that no one needs him, and he has struggles with the "why" of his and his wife's sufferings.  Things like that.  He finally finds peace late in the book when Thomas talks to him, but that doesn't make much sense. I don't understand that what Thomas told him was different from what he had already been contemplating himself, in real life and in the book.  And I really didn't think that Spurgeon's almost despairing "why?" was in keeping with his character.

I never thought that Spurgeon lived through a good portion of his life doubting the sanctifying purpose of God in suffering. From what I've read, he seemed to understand it most of his life as a Christian! And I always thought that good deal of his sadness and depression stemmed from his grief for others.  That he mourning for the souls of people and their not caring for God rather than fearing that they did not care about him.  That he mourned for the state of the church and the indifference of so called Christians to getting the Gospel right and Biblical doctrine right.  I also remember his grieving that he didn't preach adequately. In a way, a lot of Spurgeon's sorrows seemed to me to be godly sorrow, rather than worldly sorrow.  But perhaps I misunderstood Spurgeon's depression in my readings of biographies about him, or perhaps I just don't remember correctly.

But the way they have him deal with his depression (or not deal with it) also bothered me.  One spot talks about him using nature:  "Whether it was a starry night on the patio, a morning in the garden, an afternoon with bees, or a week in the countryside with a friend, Charles did his best to surround himself with things that felt natural, real, and truthful.  Because when a person wars against depression, and tries with all their might to push away the haunting darkness……that person pays very close attention to the things that illuminate truth.  Like sunshine after a weeklong shower, truth is wonderfully bright to a depressed heart."  That didn't make biblical sense to me.  That the things which are seen illuminate truth and, by implication, provoke faith?  Doesn't that contradict what Hebrews 11:1 says about faith? And other Biblical passages as well? Truth is found by hearing the Word of God, and faith comes by that Word, not by staring at nature or finding things to stir up one's emotions or feelings.

The portrayal of the two wives, Spurgeon's wife and Johnson's wife, gave me an impression that the wives were the spiritual leaders of the families.  I know in Spurgeon's family that wasn't the case in real life. Spurgeon was his "wifey's" spiritual leader.  That change grated at me, but maybe I just read it the wrong way.  And then Spurgeon seemed too, how shall I describe it?  Too flighty? Too mystical?  He didn't seem as grounded in the truth of God's Word as the real Spurgeon was.

The book didn't talk about the DownGrade controversy, or Susannah's book fund for pastors who were struggling financially. Facts like those would have been interesting to have delved into and contemplated. Showing Spurgeon's fight to keep to the truths of the Bible rather than give in and promote the doctrines of men. Instead the book just seemed to desperately be trying to interweave Johnson and Spurgeon's lives more than they probably actually were.  Even at the very end, they portray Susannah softly singing "Steal Away" to Spurgeon as he is dying.  Maybe she did, though I don't remember it.  I remember having read in a biography that the song that was sung close to the time Spurgeon died was "Emmanuel's Land", which, as nice as Steal Away is, has a lot more biblical concepts than the latter. 

 I have focused on the book's portrayal of Spurgeon and his wife because I don't know much about Thomas Johnson. But, knowing how they portrayed the Spurgeons, I'm not sure I'd completely trust the portrayal of Johnson or his wife either.  I am very disappointed.  The book was well written, I just didn't find this Spurgeon to be the Spurgeon I read about in the biographies.  Historical Fact is more fascinating than historical fiction, and the individual facts of history were all ordained of God, so we can't make them any better!  The facts God ordained, events, people, times, how much people met, how little they met…etc, are all perfect! Work with those!  I really wish that the authors of this novel had grounded their fiction more solidly in the facts God ordained rather than amending them to fit some other story line they wanted to run with. 

Many Thanks to the folks at B&H Publishers for the free review copy of this book (My review did not have to be favorable)!

My Rating:  1 out of 5 Stars

*

The Knight's Map - R. C. Sproul

The Knight's Map by R. C. Sproul is an allegory for children and is very much like the Pilgrim's Progress.  Its focus is on the tale of a Knight without loyalties to any king who receives a mysterious letter, and also a map, from a King (whose existence is doubted by people), the King invites the Knight to follow the map to find a Treasure that will not fade away.  The Knight encounters many obstacles along the way, mainly these obstacles take the form  of the Knight being misled by other people like Mr. Skeptic and Mr. Liberal who try to draw the Knight's attention away from trying to read the map correctly (and even discouraging any attempt to read it at all). 

The book has many nicely drawn (or rather, painted) pictures that I am sure would have captured my interest as a child. The story is well-written and would hold the interest of adults as well as children.  There is a question and answer section at the back that could be helpful to parents in prompting their children to think about what the story represents, though I think that the actual story has enough explanation in and of itself through the dialogue of the Grandpa (who is telling the story) and his grandkids at the beginning and ending of the book.

I think that my biggest problem with this book is that I wish it were longer.  It just seemed too short, even for a kids book, but perhaps that is because I am judging with an adult's brain.  I think that that is a sign of a good book, when it leaves you wanting more.  Perhaps someday Mr. Sproul will come up with an adult's version, one that delves into even more detail about those who want to distract us from the Bible/map that God provides us with.  I find allegories like that in this book fascinating.  But even if he doesn't come up with an edition for older people, this book is good in its own right, simple and straightforward picture of a person seeking God and God's provision of understanding and guidance along the way to discovering Him. 

Thanks to the folks at Reformation Trust Publishing for the free review copy of this book(My review did not have to be a favorable one). 

Among other sites, a couple of the places where one may purchase this book is at Amazon.com and at the Ligonier store

Little Pilgrim's Progress by Helen Taylor

Little Pilgrim's Progress is a rewritten, illustrated version of Pilgrim's Progress and Christiana for kids.  In this version, Christian is a "Little Pilgrim" who is close friends with a little girl named Christiana who has several little siblings. Christian goes out on his pilgrimage first, and meets with various characters similar to the original Pilgrim's Progress, though some of them have been changed to be boys instead of men.  Christiana goes on her pilgrimage later on in the book with her siblings, where they also encounter Christian's father who has become a Christian and is also journeying to the Celestial City.   

There are two things that I had trouble with regarding this book and this is that first of all Christian's mother, who had gone to the Celestial City before him, is focused upon too much, she is portrayed as if she is watching, and possibly even helping him on his pilgrimage.  Speaking of Christian's mother, one character tells him, "you will find her again, little Christian…And do you know that she often very near to you?  You cannot see her, but she can see you." It took away some of the focus that should belong to God alone as Helper and Protector. We don't want children looking to their dead relatives for help, they should rely upon God!  And then when Christian arrives in the Celestial city and meets his mother he seems more focused upon her than upon the King: "'Does the King live there?' whispered Christian to his mother, for his hand was still clasped in hers.  'Yes,' she replied, 'and when you have knelt before Him and seen His glory, you will be perfectly happy forever.'  'I am happy now,' said little Christian, 'because I have found you, and you love me.'   'Ah yes,' she answered, 'but the love the King is far greater than mine.'" That just seemed very odd…instead of assuming that Christian had learned to love the King above everyone else (especially now that he is in 'Heaven', he loves his mother seemingly above everybody else and has a desire to be with her more than with the King.  It almost makes it seem as though Christian became a 'Christian' only because he wanted to be with his mother! This would be something to talk to children about if they read this book or you read it to them. 

Secondly, I thought that many of the theological dialogues were too dumbed down, and too much was cut out that could have been rendered into language understandable by children, such as the various  Scripture quotations that are cited in the original Pilgrim's Progress.   I could have understood  why the book was written the way it was if the book were for very little children but the back cover says that it is for 8-12 year olds.  Also, I found it odd that though many of the dialogues were very watered down many of the difficult names were left unchanged, such as Diffidence, By-Ends, and Discretion.  Why weren't those simplified as well?   

 But overall I liked the book. Aside from moments like what I mentioned above, most of Christian's focus does seem to be on seeing the King. I did very much like the change of the Monster Apollyon's name to a monster called 'Self'.  Which results in some interesting dialogue, like Christian saying to Self after Self tries to woo him, "The King loves me better than you do, and I would rather live with Him."  And of course Self gets angry with Christian and declares that Christian is his own servant, not the King's, and Self and Christian end up in a big fight with each other. 

All in all it is an interesting read that kept my attention throughout, even when Christiana began her journey and travelled through many of the same places Christian did.  There are many interesting concepts to discuss with children and as I said above, it would be good to talk to children about the flaws of the book as well.

 

Many thanks to Moody Publishers for sending me a complimentary copy of this book to review (My review did not have to be favorable).

You may purchase this book from Christian Book Distributors and other bookstores.

Polycarp: A Destroyer of Our Gods - By Rick Lambert

Polycarp: a destroyer of our gods is a novel about the life of Polycarp, known as one of the early church ‘fathers’. Beginning with Polycarp as a young boy, the narrative follows him into adulthood, old age and finally, his death.  There are only a few details known about the actual Polycarp, one of which is that he was purported to have been taught by the Apostle John (who features as one of Polycarp’s mentors in this book), and because so much is unknown the author is able to take liberties and present the life of Polycarp in this way.

It is written from the perspective of Polycarp, who begins his account starting from his life as a young boy born into slavery who is experiencing drastic changes, having to come to grips with his parents’ death, and shortly after, being sold at the slave market where he is bought and freed by a Christian lady who adopts him as her own.  He begins attending church assemblies with his adopted family and eventually meets the Apostle John.  After several years of being amongst Christians and hearing the Word of God, he has a heartfelt conversation with John about his apprehensions of God being angry with him. John discusses the situation with him and is able to be an instrument in Polycarp’s conversion.  Polycarp, having become a Christian, aspires to be a pastor and becomes apprenticed to John. He goes through many spiritual trials, learns many spiritual lessons, and is enabled to teach others as he grows in the faith.  

Because of the style of this book, the events that take place in Polycarp’s life allow for a large range of topics to be addressed, ranging from basic theology, like justification and sanctification, to the practical application of the Bible’s truths, such as what friends you should have and how one should deal with false teachers.   Other things are addressed in passing, but are still significant, such as a subtle reference to Christians following the precepts of 1 Corinthians 6 when a secular official comments that Christians are rarely seen in court because they take care of their issues amongst themselves instead of taking each other to court. 

One of the parts I liked in particular is where Polycarp has made some questionable friends and defends his choice leading to an exchange with Polycarp’s uncle and the Apostle John, a few excerpts of which I give here:

“I recall Decimus instructing me while at work that wrong friends will make my heart yearn for sin more than it usually does.  Compromises will be easier and wisdom will be replaced with folly.  I just figured that they didn’t know him, and therefore were judging him.  Plus, I told them that Erebus …was interested in becoming a Christian, and that was the basis of our friendship.  My biggest mistake was when I told John that Jesus spent time with sinners far worse than Erebus.  ‘Oh foolishness, you forget I was with Jesus when he was in the homes and company of sinners,’ John chided.  ‘Jesus did not come to make friends, but to call sinners to repent.  Do that long enough and let’s see how many friends you pick up…His visits were hardly a social call…He did not save any lost soul by living like that lost soul…until Erebus sees Christ in you, you are guilty of leading him astray as I’m afraid he is leading you astray...As I see it, friendships are grown when you are all going in the same direction, and can help, encourage and protect all involved.  Friendships are not to be reckless, but constructive and purposeful where you are building each other up and improving each other’s character.  If this isn’t that inner, guiding principle of all the friends you hold, then in what direction is it actually going, and what good will be derived from it?  If friends are not making each other better, then they’re fulfilling the role of our spiritual enemy by tearing down what is good and ruining what had potential……”

The book is full of thought provoking statements like the following, “Remember, Paul was not one who had reached the goal, but anyone could clearly see he was in the race…” and “The old nature is not capable of producing the faith required to destroy itself.”  Polycarp’s thought as he contemplates his potentially ‘awful’ death: “I was actually encouraged to see how His grace would sustain me through the dreadful pain of it all.”

Also, the translations/paraphrases of Scripture are the author’s own, and I thought they were very well done; I give a sampling here: 

“No man contending for victory allows himself to be distracted by anything not associated with victory, so that his ambition is perfectly aligned with the ambition of his superior.”(2 Tim 2:4)

“Didn’t Solomon exhort us in his Proverbs that our trust in the Lord didn’t need the support of our own understanding?”

I like these because having it read in the same style as the rest of the book helps with the idea that, at the time period of this story, the NT had only recently been given, so the people reading the letters and books of the New Testament would have been reading them in their common vernacular and these paraphrases/translations really helps give that impression.  The book also pushes for verse-by-verse, expositional preaching and encourages “expositional listening”.

It has its funny moments. For instance, one that I found humorous, in an odd way, is where the apostle John exhibits embarrassment as he reminisces about the time when his mother asked the Lord if her sons could sit on the Lord’s right and left hand in the Kingdom.    And it has its sad moments as well; I teared up many times while reading, not just because of the ‘sadness’ of the events, but because of the stirring response of Polycarp and others to these events.  As an example, when a close friend dies Polycarp, instead of giving in to bitterness or despair, acknowledges the fact that this believer is in Heaven, and is enabled to exhort others who have lost loved ones to keep their perspective, and to submit to God’s will. 

At one point Polycarp, in counseling a person struggling with sin, exhorts him to keep focused on what God’s word says about the victory we already have by Christ over sin, and then ultimately makes the statement: I’m not struggling against sin, but struggling to advance in godly obedience.”  I think that statement is a great summary of the Christian characters in this book. They are excellent illustrations of people who are struggling to obey and submit to God’s will, not merely being those who are focused solely on the ‘remnants of their old self’, but focused on discovering who God says they are in Christ, and so looking to become who they really are. It really encourages you to look at everything from God’s perspective, not merely our human perspective. 

Most novels are entertaining, carrying you along by the emotions and imagination and, although they are certainly enjoyable to read, it is a bit discouraging that, when one is done with them, one is left with the feeling of having catered to oneself rather than having grown in any way.  This book is an edifying novel, wherein you learn along with the main character rather than merely being an observer of him and the different events in his life.  You are carried along by a desire to learn, not merely a desire to be entertained.  While most novels inspire you to read more novels, this one inspires you to read God’s word.   Instead of making you want to live in a different time, a different place, have a romance, an adventure, become an admired hero, this book inspires you to get out into the fray of your own battles and discover the lessons promoting spiritual growth that God has for you in your own life. I highly recommend it as, not just a good read, but an inspiring one.  It gives an illustration of the life of a Christian living out the reality of victory over sin and death that Christ has provided for him. 

This book may be purchased at Amazon.com 

For more purchasing options see the book website:  http://www.polycarpthenovel.com/