Fierce Mountain Journey (The Fierce Series, Book 4) by Clay Dolan

Fierce Mountain Journey (Fierce Series Book 4)

Ten months after their adventures in the Rockies and Bart's return to England, the wealthy businessman has returned to the States and has asked Xavier, Thomas, and Walter to join him in searching for more answers about the evil man-beasts and the mysterious flying ships. They undertake a long trip to Mount Saint Helens, home to the dreaded Skookum.

The Guru's Review:

So glad to see that there were enough requests for Dolan to continue this series with another two instalments. In this short, the team are reunited to continue the quest to eradicate the Atahsaia, (Bigfoot, in western society, cannibal demon in the Zuni, American Indian language, and Nephilim as believed by Xavier, the main character in this series).

Compared to the previous three shorts, this one does not have any confrontations with the Atahsaia, but their quest to eradicate them takes them further from their last expedition, this time to seek and destroy the Skookum (evil genii) who are supposed to be that region's version of the Atahsaia. While they are travelling to Mount Saint Helens, Dolan introduces more plot angles and a new motivation from Bart to continue this eradication. Tied in with this, is the evolutionary theory of Darwin's Natural Selection, which the time setting of this series is when he developed his theory. Dolan sets the plot here for a clash between this theory and Christianity represented by Xavier and his beliefs in the Biblical account of Creation and this challenges the beliefs of the rest of the team. So the plot thickens and the edgy, speculative themes deepen! Dolan throws in the "what if....." of speculative fiction as to the two views of the origins of these beasts, which whets my appetite for more of this exploration in the next book.

New characters are introduced and more of Dolan's belief of what is behind the Atahsaia and their origins are further explored, which I am impressed with as they are in line with my own research into the Nephilim and their background. It seems that this short is a bridge between the first trilogy and its continuation to Book 5. I really hope that there are more books beyond Book 5.

I love how Dolan has developed this series. You can definitely see that there is more in Dolan's research that needs to be delivered in future books. Again, I come away from reading this edgy, Christian speculative fiction with my faith reinforced, I am entertained and further informed in the subjects of the Nephilim and more of the associated issues introduced in this book.

A very rewarding short. Highly recommended. 5/5.