Novel Review and Redemptive Fiction Award: Sins of the Fathers by Bryan M. Powell.

Sins of the Father.

With the War Between the States raging across the south and the ports along the southern seaboard blockaded by the Union navy, Captain Beauregard Jackson is desperate to save his honor and way of life. But when he turns to piracy, he realizes too late the devastation it will have on his family. After robbing the USS Dragoon of its gold, Captain Jackson and his crew are caught in a violent storm that strands on a desolate island in the Caribbean.

Maurice LeBlanc, the Shamrock’s First Mate, loves only one thing more than Veronica Jackson, Captain Jackson’s young, flirtatious wife, and that is gold. Driven to rid himself of the curse of Ramesses, which has plagued his family for decades, Maurice will stop at nothing to find its cure. Little does he know that he and Captain Jackson share the same curse, a curse that taints everything they touch, including Captain Jackson’s children.

Set in the late 1800’s, Hilltop Manor, located on the outskirts of Hoschton, Georgia, is the scene of lust, murder, and mayhem. Sins of the Fathers plumbs the depths of mankind’s depravity, and demonstrates the lengths God will go to rescue ruined, broken and damaged lives.

Perspective by Peter.

Having read some of Powell's novels and been thoroughly entertained and blessed by them, it was a no brainer to read this new novel. And what a ride he takes you on! I was totally engrossed with this from start to finish. There is always something going on, always the next piece of the puzzle or element of mystery and suspense that you are presented with. And what does this do to you? It keeps you coming back for more and your curiosity of where the author is going with this story only becomes stronger. And when spiritual elements/themes kick in, well, this is the icing on the cake!

It is a novel that is well-crafted with a plot that has twists and turns and characters you will despise on one hand and become endeared to on another. You will empathise with the three Jackson children and the abuse they suffered at the hands of their step-father, Maurice LeBlanc, and cheer them on as they protect themselves and fight back against this abuser. You will feel pity for their mother who in some ways condoned this behaviour by not standing up to him and allowing herself to spend his money to live the life of luxury and selfishness at the expense of her children. But such was the power and deceit that Maurice wielded over everyone he came across.

I could not help but consider that Sins of the Fathers could be reclassified as Christian horror. Yes, there is such a genre and these two words can be put together to describe such. Read the Bible and you will see it is horrific, there are many elements of horror there just as there are in this novel.

Powell has based this novel on the biblical verse of Deuteronomy 5:9-10 and what gives this novel its title, as discussed between Alfred and Elizabeth, two of the Jackson siblings,

He repeated it. “It’s just something I heard the chaplain say one day. He said that God visits the sins of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Him, but shows mercy to thousands.” 

 and expand used Egyptian mythology to develop this theme.

I like to see Bible verses in the full context and this theme is no different: Deuteronomy 5:6-10: (bold italics mine)

⁶ “‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. ⁷ “‘You shall have no other gods before me. ⁸ “‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. ⁹ You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, ¹⁰ but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments."

Here, Powell, has Maurice, like his ancestors before him, obsessed with an Egyptian curse that has plagued their generations and its cure: that of death itself.  Maurice's physical abuse of his victims and what he does to them once he has killed them is one such case in point, but the reasons he does this is another. This curse is traced back to Ramesses, and Powell gives an interesting back story as to how this occurred. I am not sure if this is based on any actual recorded event in Egyptian history or just poetic licence on Powell's part but it does form a solid foundation for what is to come at the hands of Maurice. Ancient Egyptians were obsessed with the afterlife and the gods they served and their religious practices and worldview was very much demonic based. And just like the Egyptians, the practice of voodoo that Maurice embraced from being shipwrecked in the Caribbean is also demonic based. This becomes an effective form of torture and capture for Maurice and Rose to use against Veronica, Clara and many others.  From this, Powell sets the foundation for the Biblical worldview as a response to demonic curses, demonic influence and generational sins by what God achieved through the power of the Gospel and the power of the Cross.

Powell does this in true storyteller style. As the novel progresses, as the web of deceit and evilness of Maurice's behaviour traps and kills those around him, all to aid in finding the cure to this familial curse, Powell has interspersed Biblical gems that encourage and strengthen the Jackson children, the Sheriff, and his deputy. There is even a hint of an angelic visitation who appear to one of the Jackson siblings but is not in their angelic form and it is taken from Hebrews 13:2 that states (bold italics mine),

13 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. ² Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. ³ Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.

All these events come to a riveting ending where these gems come together and form the basis of the Good overcoming Evil story arc that we are all used to experiencing in novels, and movie formats.

However, it is through this that Powell, shows the power of the Cross, that Jesus' death broke all curses, that His death on the Cross dealt with Death's sting and broke all demonic strongholds and their power, and subjugated demonic entities as described by Beauregard Jackson,

And as far as finding a cure for death,” he shook his head ruefully. “The only cure for that is Christ’s sacrifice. Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

and based on 1 Corinthians 15 but specifically verse 55. The verse that this novel is based though is from John 6, specifically verse 37 (bold italics mine), but I found it best to have this verse in its full context, from verses 35-40,

³⁵“I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “No one who comes to Me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in Me will ever be thirsty again. ³⁶But as I told you, you’ve seen Me, and yet you do not believe. ³⁷Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never cast out. ³⁸For I have come down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of Him who sent Me. ³⁹This is the will of Him who sent Me: that I should lose none of those He has given Me but should raise them up on the last day. ⁴⁰For this is the will of My Father: that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

Powell shows how being obsessed with something or someone and under the influence of demonic strongholds alters one's attitudes, behaviour and their worldview. They do not see the reality of the world they live in, they are in their own world of the obsession and demonic influence or possession and what they do to feed it,  with their interaction with the real world distorted in that they see mankind as pawns for their use in furthering their obsession or the object of it. It is definitely demonic bondage. Powell shows this very well with Maurice. Towards the end of the novel, Maurice's obsession with this curse and his obsession with finding a cure for it and death overtook him, causing madness. This can be seen in the interaction he had with his last victim. Powell's dialogue from Maurice is eerie, shocking and creepy. You can see that this obsession has defined him, it has changed him to a point of no return, he has lost himself and who he is.

Compare this to how the abuse the Jackson children endured at the hands of Maurice. It did not define them and God placed people (even angels, though not obvious) to show them the path they need to take, they gave up their quest or obsession with revenge and allowed God to deliver them and deal with Maurice, just as Powell's verses aforementioned prove.

This is one riveting, engrossing and spiritually enlightening novel. Powell does the novel justice and depicts that the battle belongs to the Lord and not us as long as we submit to Him and live out His Word. This is the best novel of those of Powell's I have read and is Powell at his best. He has become a master storyteller!

Highly Recommended 

The three ratings below are based on my discernment:

World Building 5/5

Characters 5/5

Story 5/5

The two classifications below are based on the booklet, A Spiritual System for Rating Books by David Bergsland:

Spiritual Level 4/5

Enemy Spiritual Level 3/5

Overall Rating: 4.4/5

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Spiritually, based on my review and on the aforementioned reference booklet, A Spiritual System for Rating Books by David Bergsland (Radiqx Press) and that Sins of the Fathers contains elements of the criteria of what constitutes Christian Redemptive Fiction outlined in this booklet, (click on the title below to see what this is based on), I bestow to Bryan M. Powell, the

Reality Calling Christian Redemptive Fiction Award

Congratulations, Bryan!

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