Novel Trilogy Review and Spirit-filled Fiction Award: The Prophecy of the Seventh Elizabeth by Jarrod Edge

The Prophecy of the Seventh Elizabeth: The Battle Between Light and Dark, Book 1

In approximately 100 A.D. in the ancient Greek city of Ephesus, the aged Apostle John shares a secret prophecy with his young caretaker about “an evil not born of this world,” intent on coming to Earth and destroying the forces of light. He also tells of a chosen one who would arise to “stand for all mankind.” In 1999 Florida, a pregnant woman survives a car crash just long enough to give birth. The child’s father, FBI agent Johnathan Sette, is still unconscious in the hospital when a mysterious stranger abducts the newborn baby.

This sparks a search that takes up a good portion of Edge’s novel, as forces of light and darkness align around the little girl, who’s the embodiment of the Apostle John’s prophecy. Agent Sette immediately suspects an international crime cartel, the Syndicate, of kidnapping his daughter, but there are even more malevolent and otherworldly forces at work under the control of a being called the Destroyer.

In order to protect his other children, Sette insists that they be extensively trained in martial arts by the super-adept Seven Dragons family. Edge handles these disparate plot strands with considerable ease, and he shows a cinematic flair in standout scenes:

There are enough car crashes, fight sequences and tense standoffs to satisfy any thriller reader. The story is suffused with an uncompromising but never preachy Christian ethos, in a rare instance of religious fiction that can be readily enjoyed by a wider audience. Edge maintains a fast pace, but cuts the mood frequently with humor and pathos. Minor, annoying formatting problems, such as a copyright notice at the bottom of every page, only slightly distract from this accomplished first novel.A well-done first installment in a promising Christian-themed action series.

The Prophecy of the Seventh Elizabeth: The Battle Between Light and Dark, Book 2

One FBI Agent, four children, trained in an ancient form of Martial Arts, Angels, Demons, Aliens, Monks, Priests, Hackers, Dragons, Mossad, Snipers, Terrorists, Navy SEALS, an Evil Corporation, the United Nations, the Vatican, Voyager, NASA, a President, a Prophecy, and an Apostle! The Prophecy of the Seventh Elizabeth, The Battle Between Light and Dark, Book 2.

The Prophecy of the Seventh Elizabeth: Enoch, Book 3

The third installment of the award-winning and visionary YA science fiction Christian series!

A young girl is the Chosen One to fulfill a prophecy in a battle between light and dark.

Earth has recently discovered that it is not alone. In a universe with portals to different dimensions, times, and worlds, a prophecy forebodes an interstellar war against evil and the forces of darkness, and that God will send a chosen one and ten to end the war.

The prophecy predicts a great war for the universe by an Unholy Trinity of three – The Destroyer of Worlds, Queen Deceptra, and the Saint of the Apocalypse. For more than a thousand years, races of beings across various star systems that had been conquered were being oppressed and controlled by evil forces. A young girl is the Chosen One to end the final battle of the universe and spread a message from God to all beings. In the fifteenth year of the prophecy and with an Earth recovering from war, Enoch, seventh of Adam, comes to strengthen God’s people with his teachings.

Enoch is the thought-provoking third book in The Prophecy of the Seventh Elizabeth series, the next enduring YA science fiction favorite.

Perspective by Peter: 

This trilogy has been a work in progress for the author since 2013. The author set himself a goal of 10 novels in  10 years and he has achieved this. What a great effort! I have waited since then to read this trilogy and the associated short stories.

Edge states that he likes to tell a good story. He certainly does that! He

".....has been recognised for his ability to take Christian concepts and relay them to his readers in a fun, action-filled way. Through the series within the E7 Prophecy Universe, Jarrod takes readers on fantastic journeys, traveling throughout the United Stares, the world, and even into space to fight an interstellar war against evil and the forces of darkness." (quoted from About the Author, Enoch, Book 3 of The Prophecy of the Seventh Elizabeth). 

This trilogy and the short stories are an epic science fiction and fantasy that exists in his mind/imagination. To quote him again from the above, About the Author in Book 3:

"....His inspiration derives from his Christian beliefs...."

These beliefs are infused into the story. They are obvious and not implied or hinted at. Edge is not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ and does not hesitate to show that the Sette family, especially Elizabeth, live out the Bible in their quest to defeat evil and the forces of darkness and are obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit in doing so. They are totally committed and surrendered to the Spirit. Christians reading this should find this encouraging and an uplifting of their faith and relationship with Jesus. If the Sette family can do this with all the dire circumstances they find themselves in, then it should be an encouragement to the Christian reader that this living in Christ's victory is open and available to those who accepted Him as Saviour. Edge has depicted the Lord of Lords and the Kings of Kings as the same God of the Bible and the same One whom we have accepted as Lord and Saviour in our hearts and lives. There are many aspects of spiritual warfare in this epic tome: prayer, knowing who you are in Christ, standing on the promises of the Bible and applying them to their lives and fight against the forces of darkness. 

I had wondered you could marry martial arts with Christianity. This was explored well in another novel series, The Adventure Chronicles by Jeffrey A. Davis. I was skeptical, but after reading that series, I can see how it could be compatible. Edge shows how this could be too. In both these novel series, it has to be based on Christianity and the Bible first and not the other way around. The special gifts/abilities that the Sette family and more so, Elizabeth, were transferred to them as enablement from God to the Dragons who transferred them to the Sette family and those of the Temple of Light. Readers of this series will enjoy The Adventure Chronicles too. Edge's take on this marriage of the martial arts and Christianity/Biblical base is unique and forms a sold foundation that this trilogy and its associated stories are based. 

There is never a dull moment throughout the trilogy and short stories. You hit the road running from page one and you had better keep up or the pace of this epic (trilogy and short stories) will leave you behind. His world building is extensive with layers, he can definitely brag that he has created a universe, the E7 Prophecy Universe. It is one to revel in and look back in awe.

 Thoroughly enjoyed this trilogy. This is an author to follow! Allow yourself to be immersed in this epic adventure of overcoming evil and being an instrument of victory and God's glory! 

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 5/5

Enemy Spiritual Level 5/5

Overall Rating: 5/5

Spiritually, based on my review and on the aforementioned reference booklet, A Spiritual System for Rating Books by David Bergsland (Radiqx Press) and that The Prophecy of the Seventh Elizabeth trilogy contains elements of the criteria of what constitutes Christian Spirit-filled Fiction outlined in this booklet, (click on the title below to see what this is based on), I bestow to Jarrod Edge the

Reality Calling Christian Spirit-filled Fiction Award

Congratulations, Jarrod!

If you would like to investigate this series further, click on the link below:

The Prophecy of the Seventh Elizabeth

Readers and reviews are an author’s best asset, so I encourage any reader, to consider reading The Prophecy of the Seventh Elizabeth Trilogy and then submit a review on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest (or any other social media platform you subscribe to).

Reviews help promote an author’s novel to potential readers and encourage the author to keep writing. Reviews also help get the author’s message (and God’s message) to the reader, who may need encouragement and support in their lives while being entertained by the story.

Please note: As an Amazon Associate, I am required to disclose that book cover images or titles of novels in this post are paid links if they are linked to Amazon and result in a sale.

Novel Review and Christian Spirit-filled Fiction Award: The Soul Reader Series by Dante Lupinetti.

Soul Reader: Touch Enabled, Book 1.

Zeke Jackson, a young mild-mannered reporter with a checkered past, wants to be an on-air reporter but he has a stuttering problem. His boss sends him to a televangelist to be healed. After being slain in the spirit his stuttering disappears and he acquires an unexpected supernatural ability to see the state of people’s souls and detect their lies. As others seek to use or exploit his gift, he questions why he has it and its source. The CIA, who has worked extensively with psychics, notices his gift and hires him as an asset to help prevent an assassination plot on the president and vice president. When they bring in one of the suspects, Zeke extracts critical terrorist intel which enables the Secret Service and FBI to prevent the assassination and take down the terrorists. Book 1 sets up the backdrop for Zeke in Book 2 to investigate the powers behind the assassination attempt. In the process he discovers a darkness and evil force that permeates the entire DC hill and realizes that the fight is “against the world forces of this darkness, against spiritual forces of wickedness in high places.”

Soul Reader: Sight Enabled, Book 2.

The real fight is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces of wickedness in high places.

Zeke Jackson saved the president's life with his supernatural gift. Now he must figure out who was behind the assassination attempt but it won't be easy. The demons are fighting back. They want to play on their own turf and when POTUS brings Zeke to the White House, they’ll get their chance. But Zeke has received another gift-the ability to see the evil forces in their secret haunts. Will it be enough? Can Soul Reader drive out the demonic forces who have taken up residence on the hill or will he succumb to the temptations and traps set for him? A faith-based supernatural thriller with a splash of Frank Peretti and a dash of Ted Dekker.

Soul Reader: Hearing Enabled, Book 3. 

An apocalyptic EMP brings down the White House. The president's life is in danger. Can Zeke Jackson, the Lord's gatekeeper, ferret out the culprits using his supernatural interviewing ability? 

A conspiracy of congressmen and senators plot to overthrow Israel and its political government. Zeke, the chief investigator, has been threatened with imprisonment if his interview techniques cross the line. The gatekeeper answers to a higher power. Can Zeke stay out of prison long enough to expose the terrorists and bring them to justice? 

An EMP apocalyptic thriller in the enduring style of Frank Peretti. 

Perspective by Peter:

What if you could see the state of someone’s soul, know their inner truth and detect their every lie?

So begins this series with this edgy, speculative question. And what a ride you will be taken on!

Lupinetti has created a fast paced, engaging, and compelling series. It reads like a movie. I would love to see this! He successfully explores this speculative theme based on a supernatural (Divine, as it is described in the novels) gifting from God. While others want to deem Zeke's giftings as psychic, Zeke is he is adamant that it is from God and sets out to prove it as such. Zeke believes that anything that is psychic is from a satanic or demonic origin and not of God and is very vocal about this being so.

The more he uses this gift, the more he questions why he has been given it. Why him? What does God want him to do with it? This gift seems to be based on a Word of Knowledge. For Zeke, it comes down to using it for good or using it for nefarious reasons or for his own purposes for fame and fortune. It is only when one of the fallen angels challenges Zeke's standing with God as Zeke commanded him in Jesus' Name for him to speak to the human and not this fallen angel, that Zeke realises that he is not in a righteous relationship with God and sets about to correct this. After some soul searching and counsel from two mentoring Pastors, he repents and becomes restored to a righteous relationship with God and then God is able to utilise this gift to its fullest. I noticed two spiritual lessons here, one that we can hinder God if we are not in a righteous relationship with Him and we have no authority in Jesus' name in spiritual warfare against satanic forces. I believe this is why we need to confess our sin, repent and be restored to God on a daily basis especially if we are in any type of ministry for the Lord.

From this point on, the novel takes off as Zeke's newfound righteous relationship with God allows him to be used to a greater degree in exposing the demonic and their motives in corrupting people and enslaving them to a Godless eternity. It also exposes him to more spiritual attacks from the fallen angels. In Book 2 we have Zeke being able to not just talk to these spirits through touching (by a handshake and eye contact with the person) but he is also able to see them in the spiritual realm albeit as snakes and in varying species and degrees of venomousness and who are able to bite and envenomate Zeke. But the effects of this were dispelled by Yahweh Rophe (God our Healer) through prayer and by a leaf from the Tree of Life (given to him after a spiritual dream).

Throughout both novels, we have the Frank Peretti-esque fallen angel arcs that add more tension, suspense and spiritual warfare. We see the rules of engagement and plans that are concocted against Zeke and defensive combat against the former's plans. In one instance we see plans to use human sexuality and temptation against Zeke to make him fall from Grace (that is sin) with Abby. I notice here that another spiritual lesson is highlighted. We need to have boundaries around us and in our attitude and behaviour towards the opposite sex and when we are in a relationship with them before we are married. I did this with my fiancee, however, ours was stricter than what Lupinetti has depicted between Zeke and Abby. However, because Abby was not a Christian (but accepted these boundaries), she was spiritually unguarded and unprotected against sexual temptation and possession from one of the fallen angels to seduce Zeke and thwart his relationship with God and hinder the use of his gifts. Zeke realises just in time what is afoot here and although came very close to the enemy's plan being fulfilled, he successfully destroyed their plans through prayer and discernment and spiritual wisdom provided to him by the Lord.

I did wonder while reading this segment that the author had depicted no warning about being unequally yoked with an unbeliever as it states in 2 Corinthians 6: 14, however, it is not difficult to see that this is a plot arc that will be explained further in the novels, and predictably, as Abby becomes more familiar and accepting and understanding of Zeke, his beliefs, their founding in the Bible, his counsel of her in topics of the Bible, in particular, spiritual warfare, demonology, angelology, prayer, the nature of God and who He is, that she will become a Christian. So does this answer the question of being unequally yoked in the true sense of this Corinthian verse? I believe so, (at that point in Book 1, but not so in Book 2). However, in my studies as a young Christian (4 decades ago!), one Pastor went further into this and stated that being unequally yoked could also apply amongst Christians, and Zeke and Abby are examples of this. This Pastor believed that spiritually mature Christians should not have a romantic relationship or marry a spiritually immature or newly converted Christian. I can just imagine the debate over this controversial statement! Is this biblical? I cannot see the Corinthian verse applicable here as a new/immature Christian is not in darkness anymore.

This novel is very much about spiritual warfare. While Lupinetti is successful in depicting this Biblically, there was one instance that showed a different outcome from exorcism. When Abby was exorcised of the seductive fallen angel, this angel was not cast out and sent to Hell, but upon this spirit's request was cast into Zeke's dog. It is very much like the casting of the evil spirits out of the possessed man in the Bible where the spirits (called Legion, for there were many of them) were cast into a herd of pigs. I wondered if Lupinetti was using this example from the Bible to show that not all exorcisms have the same outcome. Either way, it could be said that it is still Biblical. A later meeting of the evil spirits in the novel made note of this seducing spirit being lost to them forever.

I did wonder why when Zeke commands to speak to the possessed human and not the possessing spirit (fallen angel) the latter are very polite in requesting Zeke to not harm them. I wondered why Lupinetti did not have Zeke cast this spirit out of the person? I wondered why the fallen angels were not aggressive, abusive, or antagonistic towards Zeke upon his command to speak to the human and not these spirits. But Lupinetti may have his reasons for this but I would have liked this to be explained in the novel somewhere and somehow so that this aspect of spiritual warfare and of the nature of fallen angels/evil spirits is consistent Biblically and not left to the reader to draw their own conclusions (and therefore unbiblical ones).

Lupinetti shows a great love of the Gospel in these novels. He is not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ and presents it as it is. The accounts of the Gospels in parts and in various conversations are great and do not detract from the plot. It actually enhances it and provides a firm foundation on which all the plot arcs are based. The inclusion of actual prayer, be that of protection, exorcism, wisdom, repentance, discernment, faith, or help is an example that shows the power of Christians living out their faith and being a disciple of God and spiritual warriors.

Putting all the above elements of this together makes these novels shine on the power of the Cross, of the Spirit of God, of the resources and authority that Christians have in having a righteous relationship with Jesus and that we are not in oppression/possession to the wiles of any fallen angel or evil spirit.

This series (and there are many more like this) show how we can live a victorious life when we are submitted to God and live by His Word and what He has bestowed upon us in defeating our spiritual enemy. It also encourages us in our daily life, to live our lives in faith. It encourages us to worship God and not any evil spirit or angel for that matter, we are to worship God, the Creator and not any form of the Created.

This series gives us a look at angelology, demonology, spiritual warfare, where we stand in Christ, the victory over our fallen nature and the authority we have in Christ Jesus.

This is Christian fiction at a level of its finest. I applaud Lupinetti for not being ashamed of Christ's Gospel and presenting it as it is. No watering down or distortion of the Bible's truth or its doctrines.

Seeing this review is based on both novels, there is so much more I could write about, but that would make for one longer review than what I have already composed here. I encourage any reader, whether Christian or not, to read this series and pay attention to what is included here and not just for its entertainment value.

I would love to see Lupinetti provide some Appendices at the end of the novel or even a separate publication that further explains and explores more about the spiritual warfare and Biblical themes for the education of the Christian and the non-Christian who may be seeking a better life and its meaning or an explanation of the evil that exists in this world.

I am so looking forward to the third novel in this series and I understand that it is about 2/3 completed. So not long to wait!! I agree with another reviewer on Amazon that Dante has endless storylines available in these speculative questions, especially since Book 2 is about another spiritual gift and relates to its title: Sight Enabled. Is Dante creating this series based on spiritual giftings anchored in the five senses? Book 1 is Touch Enabled, and Book 2 is Sight Enabled. What will the next three cover, Smell, Hearing, or Taste? That last one will be interesting!

Amendment to this review: 

In October 2022, I received an advanced copy of the next novel, Book 3, Hearing Enabled. The spiritual warfare continues and the attacks on Zeke continue. His relationship with God deepens and he becomes more reliant on God. The romance between Abby and him deepens resulting in what we all expected. But it is not an easy road for them as the spiritual warfare attacks hinder their intentions for a "normal" romance. 

This series is a strong entry into the world of Christian fiction, specifically speculative fiction. A successful and well-constructed novel/series with great depth, layers, and biblically-based themes, and a great witness to the God we all love and serve. Dante is an author to be on readers' radar for Biblically-based fiction that will encourage their faith, and relationship with God and honour God.

I highly recommend this series.

The following three ratings are based on my judgment:

World Building 5/5

Characters 5/5

Story 5/5

Overall Rating: 5/5

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

Spiritual Level 5: Spirit-filled Fiction

Enemy Spiritual Level  4: Demons

and

Level 5: the battle for the spirit and mind.

Spiritually, based on my review and on the aforementioned reference booklet, A Spiritual System for Rating Books by David Bergsland (Radiqx Press) and the Soul Reader Series contains elements of the criteria of what constitutes Spirit-filled Fiction outlined in this booklet, (click on the title below to see what this is based on), that is:

"These books share the true power of a spirit-filled life totally given over to Jesus. They show an intimate personal relationship where a character has two way communication with his Lord and Messiah. Such a character not only speaks to God, he or she hears from the Lord on a regular basis—often hourly, normally daily. This reveals the wonder of the transformed child of God as they are trained, discipled, disciplined, and blessed."

I bestow unto Dante the:

Reality Calling Christian Spirit-filled Fiction Award

Congratulations, Dante!

If you would like to investigate this series further, click on the images below:

Readers and reviews are an author’s best asset, so I encourage any reader, to consider reading the Soul Reader Series and submit a review on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest (or any other social media you subscribe to). Reviews help promote an author’s novel to potential readers and encourage the author to keep writing. Reviews also help get the author’s message (and God’s message) to the reader, whether Christian or not, who may need encouragement and support in their lives while being entertained by the story.

Please note: As an Amazon Associate, I am required to disclose that book cover images or titles of novels in this post are paid links if they are linked to Amazon and result in a sale.

The Epic of Marindel: Chosen by Nathan Keys

Chosen.

Long ago, the Kingdom of Marindel governed the realm with justice and harmony. But when a great evil was unleashed, the Era of Peace came to a tragic end. Thousands of years passed, and Marindel was all but forgotten. Conner, a young farmer with a wild imagination, always longed for adventure. When strange events cause him to realize his role in the greatest story of all, Connor embarks on a quest to rescue the Great King's daughter for a wicked sorcerer whose darkness grows with every passing day.

Connor is joined by Tarento the Samurai, and a company of colorful characters. Together they will travel across the realm, uncover the mysteries of Marindel, and face unimaginable odds as they fight to survive. Will they discover the hope of redemption before it's too late? 

The Guru's Review: 

I discovered this author and his novel from his GoFundMe advert on my Facebook feed. When I read the campaign, the blurb for the novel, and the Vision he has for it, I was very impressed. This encouraged me to review it for him so I contacted him for a review copy. 

I am so glad I volunteered to do this. After reading this novel, I am more than impressed. It is described as epic fantasy and it definitely lives up to this description. It is one of those novels where you become so engrossed you are lost to reality and have a hard time returning to this.

The more I read this novel, the more it reinforced the first impression I had and that was WOW! I was hooked and immersed in this world Keys creates. It became a highlight of my day to return to reading it.

For a debut author, this is novel is very well constructed. Not perfect (no novel is), but has a solid foundation. At the time of writing this review, Keys' manuscript needs a professional edit, hence the GoFundMe campaign. This will no doubt improve the manuscript and enable a much-improved and enjoyable reading experience. 

It does not take you long to become immersed in the plot, the characters and the action. All are firmly intertwined. Connor, the main character, is one you centre on and become endeared to. And I guess, you should as he is the main character and everything centres on him until at least he is introduced to his quest of finding Melody and helping her be restored to the Great King. Then everything is expanded and the reader gets a wider view of the plot, much like a camera pans out during a movie shoot and the viewer sees a much wider view.

It is from here that this novel really takes off. And it is here that Keys introduces more of the superb world building of the realm this novel is set in. Fantasy and science fiction will fall flat if there is not any depth and a firm foundation for the world-building to manifest as credible and realistic. Keys have mastered this well. Even if part of his inspiration has come from The Lord of the Rings, he has done it well and it undergirds this novel well and for the rest of the series.

This world-building consists of a pronunciation of the many names of the various parts of the realm, the character names, and those of the various events and histories. There is a map of the realm which I found very beneficial. A timeline is explained and applied to each chapter. The prologue sets the stage at the beginning of the novel where Connor is introduced to his quest to restore Melody to the Great King. Keys shines describing the history of the Great King, His undersea world, his son Eli, the special powers and gifts He has bestowed on Melody. Keys describes the various histories of the different kingdoms outlining their origin and the characteristics of their people including any special powers they have. It is a good depiction here that Keys has a member from each of these kingdoms as part of the team the Great King assembles to restore Melody to Him, defeat the Serpent and evangelise the realm about the Great King and His Son, Eli and restoring the Kingdom of Marindel. This means that each of the team has a special ability, talent or power to be used in the quest. It becomes clear that as the Great King has brought them together for this, these attributes are not based on the dark arts or originate from the Serpent but as a normal part of the creation of these people by the Great King. The only exception is the Offspring of Sisesa as these originate from the Serpent.

Another part of this world building is the histories of the kingdoms in this realm. This is explained in the accounts of how the Great King led each team member to become part of Connor's company. While this adds length to the novel (it is 500 plus pages), it does also add depth and much-needed background to the plot and to what defines these characters and what they contribute to the King's quest to restore Marindel and Melody. 

The account of The Great Story is another important history. This describes the kingdom of Rhema set up by Melody as a utopia but became corrupted by her pride leading to her pronouncing herself as its Queen. It is here that the Great King sends Eli to this kingdom and it is a wonderful allegory of the Gospel message including the Crucifixion and God's plan of salvation. Keys has depicted this beautifully and his writing of it is superb. Despite its length, it is a necessary part of the plot and placed in the second half of the novel, it builds and adds to the finale of this instalment, laying important themes that will be developed and explored in future instalments of this series. It here in this account that Keys shines in the use of allegory but this is also evident in many other parts of the novel. Keys has definitely depicted Eli as the Jesus of the Bible and for me, this was very convincing. Keys has portrayed the Jesus I have read and experienced from the bible. I imagine that any author depicting Jesus in their novel would find this a challenging feat. Keys has succeeded well here and has done this with ease!

The spiritual aspects of this novel are very unique. I have not read a novel where there is a direct interaction from God to the characters. The Great King speaks directly into the minds of his followers and even to those who do not know Him yet. With the former, it is to give further instruction to thwart the attempts of the various antagonists, namely the Serpent and those under his control and to encourage, uplift their faith and relationship with Him and with the latter, it is to draw them to Him. Keys also has the believers respond freely to the Great King's interaction. I found this direct interaction between the Great King and His followers a breath of fresh air. It resonated with me that this is how our relationship with God should be. We should be and need to be free with Him in our prayer and relationship with Him. We are encouraged as Christians in our prayer relationship to speak to God as if we are talking to a fellow human, so Keys does this well here. How many times do we complicate this by thinking and speaking to impress Him or to hide what we are really feeling, the good, the bad and the ugly? This is not what we should be doing or need to be doing.

Keys has included two members of the Trinity, the Great King as God the Father, and Eli as God the Son. I at first considered that the Spirit of God could be construed as the voice of the Great King speaking in the minds of the "Christian" characters but the more I read these instances, the more it is apparent that it is the voice of the Great King and not of the Spirit of God. I hope that the Spirit of God is included in future novels in this series. So far we have the allegory of these two members of the Trinity so it would seem appropriate to have the third as we have in real life. 

For those characters who have accepted Him as their King and Saviour, there is no sinner's prayer that so many of us are used to in our conversion. Keys has made it so simple that they just need to believe Him to be who He says He is and call on Him or his name for salvation. This is similar to the many Bible references that support this that to be saved, you need to call on the name of the Lord and to believe He is who He is. In this novel, this is tied back to the Great Story that outlines Eli's mission to draw Melody to Himself and was willing to die for her, despite her many flaws and rebellion through her disobedience to the King. Here Keys' allegory has Melody's rebellion representing sin and Melody representing fallen/sinful mankind. When Eli died and was resurrected He then extended this saving grace to everyone and not just Melody. 

These redemptive features are counterbalanced by the allegorical symbolism of evilness so well described and depicted through the character of the Serpent. I am sure readers will grow to despise and dislike him and the level of his despicableness, evilness and deceitfulness. Keys has done a great job here seeing as the Serpent represents Satan and his rebellion against God. What Keys has not shown is the backstory as to why the Serpent was imprisoned in the area of the Castle that we are introduced to at the beginning of the novel. This needs to be explained and will make a great plotline in a future instalment. It is the only plot line that is left undone.  

One other aspect that Keys has done well is the characterisation. These are characters that you can relate to and become endeared to including rooting for them in their quest. Keys successfully develops this team not only through the events and obstacles they have to overcome but through their interactions and how they get to know each other that then develops into their relationships. Keys have depicted the team with diverse personalities, each with different gifts and abilities and this adds to the team building and dynamics.

These characters are very memorable. I am looking forward to journeying with them in future novels in this series and seeing how they all develop further as a team and individually and how the Great King will transform them more into His likeness as the Bible instructs. There is already the beginnings of this in this volume.

This novel is yet another that has a profound effect on me and meets the criteria I like to see in Christian fiction. This is from the "Why Christian Fiction?" tab of this blog: 

Generally, I hope at the end of the novel: 

• it has entertained me immensely, 
• it has encouraged my walk with God, 
• it has not deviated from known biblical doctrine, and it will not, I believe, lead a non-believer astray or promote false doctrine, 
• it honours God, 
• it does not encourage worship of the created (eg angels) instead of the Creator (God). 

I applaud Keys for including all the elements in this novel that I have mentioned throughout this review. It is such a joy to read! For a debut novel, he has done well in all its aspects and allowed the Spirit to be present.

I pray that Nathan will succeed in his GoFundMe campaign to have this novel edited to a professional level and a suitable publisher. This novel needs to be published and for its message to be delivered as the Spirit sees fit.

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 5/5

Enemy Spiritual Level 3/5

Overall Rating: 4.6/5

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spiritually, based on my review and on the following reference booklet,

A Spiritual System for Rating Books by David Bergsland, and that The Epic of Marindel: Chosen 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 unto Nathan Keys with the

Reality Calling Christian Redemptive Fiction Award

Congratulations, Nathan!

If this review and description have piqued your interest in this novel, please consider contributing to the GoFundMe campaign so it can be professionally edited and published for you to be blessed on many levels like I have. I have contributed to this campaign.

Click on the link below: 

Help Launch The Epic of Marindel

Gods They Had Never Known by Julie Helms

Gods They Had Never Known 

They will enhance your lives,

expand your fortunes,

better your health,

destroy your soul. 

The Guardians look down from their mountaintop to the valley of men below—and they desire the women they see. Abandoning their rightful home, they commence their plan to infiltrate mankind amicably but with disastrous consequences.

Haven, a young man of strong faith, lives in the pleasant valley that is now under invasion. A blind prophet has been warning the people for years, but Haven seems to be the only one listening. The Guardians, who look like men--but are not-- exchange forbidden knowledge for the use of the mortal women. The people love the new technologies and how they improve their lives, turning a blind eye to the monstrosities that are born of these unions. As violence and depravity increase in the valley, Haven desperately tries to warn the people—and the woman he loves—that judgement is coming, putting himself in the crosshairs of both the Guardians and their malevolent offspring.

In this epic retelling of 1 Enoch: Book of the Watchers and Genesis 6:1-4, experience the plunge into chaos when the divine order of creation is violated, leading to idolatry, corruption, and the threat of extermination.

The Guru's Review: 

I volunteered to review this novel when Julie Helms asked for advice in a Facebook group how to publish her debut work and offered free electronic copies for review. For me, this was a no-brainer as the topic concerning fallen angels and the Nephilim is a favourite genre of mine. 

Straight up, I will say that for a debut novel, this is very impressive! It does not read like one. It is well constructed and has a natural flow. No peaks and troughs. It would not surprise me if future readers read this in one sitting or over the course of one day. I got frustrated when I could only read this on my train journey to and from work and on my lunch breaks. I was so engrossed in each sitting that many times, I nearly missed my train destination or was late back from work!

Helms has a solid command of the English language and is an asset to this novel (as it should be for any novel) but this command does not obstruct your reading, it aids in being a launching pad for the novel, you just sit back and let the story take you on a very enjoyable journey.

What impressed me was the fact that Helms has adhered to the Biblical account of the Nephilim and has borrowed from the extra-biblical text of the Book of Enoch. This latter book gives a much more detailed account of the fallen angels and the Nephilim than what has been included in the Bible. This former book was not included in the latter due to it not meeting canonical criteria, one of these being that there were many different versions of it compared to other books of the bible that have few versions of themselves and these books have adhered to exact copying of these books. However, one of the main reasons for the Book of Enoch rejection from Canon is that it contains a lot of false doctrine or conflicts with various doctrines of Scripture. Go here for a specific list of these.

These reasons alone are enough to still polarize Christians today. There are two camps, those who will only accept the books of the Bible (due to them meeting the canonical criteria as stated above and are Scriptural) and those who also accept the Book of Enoch as having some historical or theological interest although not inspired by God as the books in Bible have been. However, this book is regarded as canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

Helms is not the only author to have based their fiction on Biblical texts and the Book of Enoch. Many other Christian authors have done so and some secular authors have either ignored the Biblical account, referenced it only, or used poetic licence from the content of the Book of Enoch only.

Helms has adhered to both and built her story around this content. I must say that I found the complete product very convincing. In some of fallen angels/Nephilim novels both secular and Christian, the authors have not expounded much on the finer details of why the Nephilim were created or the agenda of the fallen angels, but this novel does and its inclusion not only adds depth to the plot but sets the stage for the spiritual elements of this novel and the judgement that the Bible has outlined for the fallen angels. And it is the reason for these inclusions that is one of the motivations for Helms writing this novel. 

I decided to contact the author to let her know that I loved it. In the conversation that followed, we talked about her motivation for writing it and this reinforced my previous decision to review this novel. It seems that there is so much ignorance, denial, rejection and controversy among the Church about the very topic of the Nephilim; who they are, how they were created, will they and how they will return, the origin of demons, God's judgement of the fallen angels, etc. When Helms would talk about the ins and outs of these two topics or teach it in her Bible classes very few were aware of what the Bible says about fallen angels and Nephilim. And Churches of today (no matter what denomination) do not instruct or educate their congregations in these issues. It is either too hard, too controversial, or will affect the reputation of the Pastor or the Church or affect church adherence for this to be expounded upon (there are many more reasons!). We have both had some negative and severe warnings from Church authorities about these topics. In my case, it affected the relationships between my fellow Christians. Being a heretic and being led astray by false doctrine are just two of the accusations I have had to deal with, albeit from those who know nothing or very little about these topics!  Helms' motivation to write this novel was to expound on the facts as outlined in the Bible and to present supporting accounts that do support the biblical account (as in the Book of Enoch despite it being considered to contain false doctrine regarding other topics it contains).

And it is against this plot construction and motivation that Helms has successfully created a novel that not only entertains but educates about fallen angels, Nephilim, both of their origins, the origins of demons, spiritual warfare, God's judgement, resting on God's promises, taking a stand for God and  remaining faithful when dire circumstances occur including to the point of death. I applaud Helms for this as one cannot expound on the issues surrounding fallen angels and the Nephilim without showing the spiritual side of it concerning what God and the Bible have to say about it. That is a responsibility of all Christians in our witness to others that we present all the facts backed up with the spiritual side and especially this latter element. Helms is very successful here.

How does Helm show this in this novel? She uses a character called the Teller, a blind prophet, to represent the voice of God and to instruct, educate, encourage and confront the evilness of not only the fallen angels and Nephilim but any person who has been deceived and then participated in their demonic and nefarious schemes to lead the community away from God and become spiritually oppressed as a result. Enter one of the main characters, Haven, who has a strong faith in God and who is led by the truth as spoken by the Teller and encouraged by Haven's father to always listen to what this Teller has to say. He becomes quite the evangelist in alerting members of his community who the Guardians really are and what the agenda is even evoking anger from others death threats from both the demons and the fallen angels (Guardians in this novel).

As a response to this Helms introduces angelic warfare where members of the Heavenly Host are engaged to protect Haven and Rachel against these threats. This is together with Rachel calling on the name of God (Shalliyt, in this novel) where she came under demonic attack while asleep. These Heavenly Host also resist the temptation from the Guardians to join them in their rebellion against Shalliyt. I applaud Helms for portraying these Host as they are depicted in the Bible. So many other Christian authors and secular ones as well depict angels as either more than or less than what they Biblically are. In some cases, they are given more autonomy and independence than what the Bible depicts them as having. Sometimes poetic licence can be very misleading and inappropriate, but that is not ok if the author knows they will have to give an account to God of their actions. 

Helms has depicted the Guardians as tall (all over 7 feet tall) handsome, muscular, ever so polite, gentlemanly like with decorum and intelligence. Young women fall for them without question and so do their parents who give them over to the Guardians in marriage in exchange for knowledge and practices in metallurgy, technology, fashion, and the dark arts of astronomy and the supernatural and weaponry resulting in profitable financial and economic community. But unknown to the community at the time, all this comes with a heavy and destructive price. It is here that Helms very competently shows the finer details of the interaction between the Guardians and the human population that seems to be missing in other novels of this genre and in this one it results in a very plausible and credible account. So is the progressive destructiveness of the consequences of this union between Guardians and the human population resulting in the decay on all levels of the established community: spiritual, financial, moral, ethical, marital, and on all levels of personal relationships. This results in one last warning announced by the Teller of Shalliyt's coming judgement if people do not repent and abandon their sinful ways and return to a relationship with Shalliyt.

This leads to an action-packed and suspenseful ending albeit a fast one at that.  

I can imagine the author having some very difficult decisions to make in how to depict the violence and sexual promiscuity/fornication of the Guardians and Nephilim with the human population of women. Even more so how to depict what the Bible and the Book of Enoch say about them corrupting sexually various animal species resulting in hybrid offspring. However, Helms must have realised there was no need for any gratuitous descriptions of such so she has kept it to a minimum and played it safe. There is only one scene where the detail is slightly more but again, this stays within the no graffic/gratuitous boundaries she set. This scene is necessary to allow a character to see exactly who the Guardians are, what is their agenda and for her to have nothing to do with them on any level. It also acted to further consolidate in Haven that he must alert his community of this spiritual and physical threat to their very livelihood.

Helms has been more graphic in depicting the violence between the Nephilim towards each other and the human population, but it is not enough to detract from the themes of the novel or included just to add action and suspense to the plot. There is more than enough of the intricacies of its themes for that to be necessary at all. It does, however, show just what the Bible and the Book of Enoch mention concerning their behaviour. In both Helms depiction of the mixing of the genes of the Guardians with humans and of animals, their offspring were more violent, destructive, erratic and immoral than their individual parent species and this just adds more to the reason for Shalliyt's decision to exact His judgement on this community just as he had done in the Bible concerning Noah and his Ark. Just goes to show that when you cross a boundary set by God, it always ends in a no-win situation. In this case, it shows why God created each species to reproduce after their own kind and only within their own kind. If mankind or other created beings act in defiance and rebellion against God and cross this boundary to mock Him, then this is the result. Elimination or a permanent and eternal punishment. God is Sovereign and will not be mocked.

Helms has been very graphic and specific in depicting how it may have been for the first demons to possess spiritually and physically a willing human. I do not know of all the specifics for this to happen (I know enough of how it does happen in today's society) so to say that how Helms depicted it is total adherence to actual practices or if there is any poetic licence used, I would have to do more research or ask the author. However, this depiction shows how easy it is for the undiscerning or vulnerable members of society to be lured into the false promises from these demons. What Helms depicted here is very occultic and definitely, a crossing of yet another boundary and one warned by God, in the Bible, to not have anything to do with this. Yet again, and not surprisingly, the consequences will lead to the spiritual bondage of those involved unless they see the truth of this sinful/occultic lifestyle and repent of it and be restored to God. Again, I can see Christians being polarized by the depiction of who these demons are compared to other depictions in other novels based on what those authors (and certain Churches for that matter) consider to be the true origin of demons and who they are.

I can also see this novel will polarize readers from both of the Christian groups mentioned earlier in this review or even maybe those from a non-Christian background. However, if any reader decides to read the Biblical accounts of the fallen angels and Nephilim and the Book of Enoch and other accounts from Christian apologists and scholars, then I am sure that such polarization and criticism/scepticism would be alleviated and the reader then convinced of the Biblical account.

My prayer for this novel is that the Spirit of God will use this to do just that in the reader. For the Christian reader, to show them the veracity of the Biblical account and for the non-Christian, the same but to show them who God is, His love for them, His gift of salvation and redemption and be drawn to Him to accept this.  

I highly recommend this novel. Read it for what it is and with an open mind. Research the Bible and the Book of Enoch and other reputable Christian resources that support and further expound on this subject.

The way the novel ended, at first I wondered why it was left undone then realised that it could be set up for a sequel. I am hoping that this is the case. If not, then this is my only gripe about this novel.

I am looking forward to more from this author. Julie Helms has such a promising future.

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 4/5

Overall Rating: 4.6/5

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