Restoration's Journey (An Unseen Dominion Novel, Book 2) by Robert Roush

Restoration's Journey (Unseen Dominion Book 2)

How do you run from an unseen enemy . . .

. . . in a world you've never experienced?

Twelve-year-old Ima Fredericks is a second generation mim (manufactured image of man). Born and raised in the secret research facility known as CeSiR Tech, she discovered early in life that she was different—different from humans and different from the other mims.

When the one person she trusts is murdered, Ima flees the only world she has ever known. But escape was the easy part. Can she survive in an unfamiliar world while hunted by the unseen forces responsible for the creation of the mims?

As a faithful warrior of the heavenly host, Adiya cannot understand why she would be assigned to protect an abomination created by the enemy. She trusts in the Creator s wisdom, but will she be up to this challenge?

Interview with Robert Rouse can be found here

The Guru's Review: 

In my review of Book 1, In The Image of Man, I stated,

If there is one thing that I dislike immensely is reading Book 1 of a series then having to wait for Book 2 when this first book has entertained me immensely, uplifted me spiritually and reinforced spiritual truths from the Bible. All the three things that I expect to see and like to see from Christian fiction. This author delivers this with ease and expertise. Quite a feat and talent for his debut novel.

Well, now this applies to Book 2! I sincerely hope that Book 3 will not be too long in the waiting as the ending of this one leaves the door wide open as to what happens to Ima after the events in this instalment. Again, Roush has entertained me immensely, uplifted me spiritually and reinforced spiritual truths from the Bible.

It was great to be back in the world Roush created in Book 1, In The Image of Man. Although I was looking forward to seeing the plot develop more between Chris and Sarah, Marilyn and Daryl, Pastor Thomas and others, this instalment focusses solely on what happened to Ima at the end of Book 1. This entire novel is devoted to her and the spiritual warfare between the forces of Mael and his demonic horde and those of the Host of Heaven.

This is necessary to further the plot of this trilogy. Roush has this plot full of action and adventure, twists and turns while interspersed throughout with the spiritual warfare principles that were included in Book 1. Here we learn more about submission to God's will and His Ways. Mainly through the angel Adiya, Roush shows the reader that despite wanting to act on her own will in the spiritual warfare battles against Ophois, she instead keeps her obedience to God, understanding that His Sovereignty is above her instincts and she is a Warrior and Messenger, and not the one who has the final say. Every time she kept herself in check with God in this regard, it touched my spirit as I can fully relate to wanting to act on my own behalf when situations have gone pear shaped before going to the Throne of Grace and seeking His counsel first. This is just one example of what Roush instructs throughout the novel. There are many more. It is also fitting in a spiritual warfare novel of this calibre to have the Spirit present and active in the lives of both the Angels and Patricia and Charles as this is what should be the experience of the Christian in real life.

I felt more endeared to the characters in this novel than the previous. Not saying that the previous were not well developed; they were, just that in this novel, I felt Roush had made the angels (Adiya, Eldwyn) and the humans, Patricia and Charles, the mims, (Manufactured Image of Man, human clones) Ima and Trenton, very relatable and real, seeing that the majority of the novel comprises these characters. I loved the grandfatherly figure of Eldwyn, the angel guardian of Charles, who has this demeanor, not due to any aging characteristic but more due to his personality. My heart warmed every time Eldwyn entered the plot! I loved Adiya, her strength in battle, determination to be the best she could be, forever loyal and submitted to her Lord and the hierarchy of the chain of command of her angelic warriors (mainly to Captin Eitan). He is also one very strong and powerful strategist, the leader who takes charge, but also understands and is caring and considerate to his angelic charges.

Having read this second novel, it is quite evident that he is very consistent with how he constructs his novels. The flow never slows, just like the pace, it is fluid, like a bubbling brook, no peaks and troughs in the pace, his characters are relatable and you either like or hate them which is evident more in a series like this where it deals with good versus evil, light versus darkness and spiritual warfare. His adherence to biblical truths and honouring God has not waned in this novel and this latter point is one of the strengths and pillars of this novel's and the series construction.

Roush is one author who is not afraid to present God for who He is and His many character traits. He is also not afraid to present in his novels the behaviour of what a Christian should be. In Patricia and Charles, we see two people who are selfless and committed to God, submitted to Him and put Him first in what they do daily. Patricia is sensitive to the Spirit, has constant daily prayer with Him as a prayer warrior and receives discernment and contact with and from the Spirit during the day. She is a mentor to those she comes in contact with and uses her experiences with Ima to teach her about God, His ways and what His Word is about. Charles, while not a prayer warrior, is more of a hands on person, who is an encourager of the faith. Both compliment each other here and this is a good example of what biblical marriage should be.

I loved how Roush has constructed the plot to lead Ima into the knowledge and experience of who God, Jesus and His Spirit are and her need for Him as Saviour. These events are not contrived which is a great asset to the storyline and is in line with the nature of who God is, but rather had a natural occurrence and follow on from the input of Patricia and Charles in her life in the circumstances that surround the spiritual warfare concerning the battle over her life.

There is an intriguing twist relating to Ima being a mim, that is not suggested as a result of the events in Book 1, and it shows more of the Sovereignty of God in relation to His creation. I did not see this coming and it sets the stage for some very good plot developments in Book 3. Something very good to look forward to that should end this trilogy extremely well.

For those who have not read Book 1, In The Image of Man, they will have a great blessing and a treat in being able to read both of these together. I really pray that Roush will be able to release Book 3 as quickly as possible.

Highly Recommended.

World building 5/5

Characters 5/5

Story 5/5

Spiritual level 5/5

Spiritual Enemy Level 5/5

Average Rating: 5/5

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In The Image of Man (Unseen Dominion, Book 1) by Robert Roush

In The Image of Man (Unseen Dominion Book 1)

When Officer Chris Davis, of Arrow Springs, Missouri, rescues a young woman from a mysterious attacker, he steps into the center of a spiritual showdown. Following his heart, and a trace of circumstantial evidence, he embarks on a collision course with a government research facility and an unseen foe.

One year before Dolly the Sheep, three humans were cloned in a small town in Missouri.

Twenty-five years later, THEY'RE READY!

The Guru's Review:

If there is one thing that I dislike immensely is reading Book 1 of a series then having to wait for Book 2 when this first book has entertained me immensely, uplifted me spiritually and reinforced spiritual truths from the Bible. All the three things that I expect to see and like to see from Christian fiction. This author delivers this with ease and expertise. Quite a feat and talent for his debut novel.

This novel is predominantly about spiritual warfare between angels, fallen angels and humans. If anyone has read Frank Peretti's This Present Darkness and Piercing The Darkness, they will understand what this novel is about and how it is structured. This novel is up there with Peretti and all the other authors who have successfully gone down this path like Peretti.

I must say though that what I found refreshing about this novel is that Roush has added a different motive to the fallen angels quest for takeover. In other novels of this genre, it has simply been to usher in their agenda of control, deception and rule, but in this novel, Roush has escalated their agenda. The fallen angels do not just want to control by deception and spiritual bondage by leading Christian and non-Christian astray but by cloning the human race, effectively making them almost similar to the Nephilim of Genesis 6: 4. In reality, Satan has made it his aim to counterfeit everything of God's creation in order to mock and defile God and His creation and this latest venture in this novel makes the reading more compelling, intriguing, and concerning.

I was impressed with Roush's premise that God would not give these clones a soul and for obvious reasons, that they are not created by Him, and I love the plot twist that Roush gives to Mael, evil fallen angel, to further mock and counterfeit God and his creation. This theme of whether a clone has a soul has some interesting ethics for mankind in reality and has already made it in another story by Terri Main, Parmenter's Wager: A Short Story, where she explores this from a Biblical/Christian worldview, but with some differences to the origin of clones in this novel.

The spiritual warfare aspects of this novel are well done. Roush is very much an advocate (as all Christians should be) of paying close attention to the spiritual warfare that exists around us that we cannot see, but experience its effects. This novel, like Peretti's, and all the others in this genre, is based on the biblical
verse that instructs,

Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. (Ephesians 6:12).

He, therefore, shows the power of prayer as evidenced by the prayer and bible study practice of the main character, Chris Davis, various church members individually and corporately, and Pastor Thomas, showing him being sensitive to the leading of the Spirit and being spiritually discerning and the power of fasting. I found this to be a great strength to this story and it is an important discipline of a Christian's behaviour and one to not take lightly. I applaud Roush for including this so strongly in this novel.

I loved the portrayal of Chris, main character, as a strong personality but also as one whose is totally reliant on God for direction and guidance in both his personal life and occupation. Nothing separating the two and this just adds to this character being portrayed as realistic and relatable and one Christian male role model, who is tempted sexually, has his doubts about faith, frustrated in his battle against the politics and deception of his own police force and the government research facility, but seeks repentance and forgiveness for these shortcomings. I love this in a Christian novel, the characters are real, and relatable and show Christians for who they are, real people with a fallen nature but who are works in progress from an ever patient and loving God.

Roush portrays the other main characters with similar failings but who find hope and restoration in God. Sarah battles through sexual abuse by the killers of her parents, betrayal and mistrust of men and human relationships, loses her faith in God and humanity, but finds trust, hope, reconciliation with God through the example of Chris Davis who represents the protective, nurturing, and saviour like quality of Christ, and what Christian men should be like, while they both recognise their strong feelings of attraction for each other; Daryl learns that the only way to forgive himself is to accept the forgiveness of God as he realises his need for God as Saviour, Marilyn also finds that she cannot forgive Daryl until she learns to trust God and accept that she needs to let go of her bitterness and anger.

Through all this characterisation and situations, these are all connected to the spiritual warfare elements and provide for one very cohesive, smooth flowing plot. Sometimes these subplots can derail the main plot and make it very disjointed by not in this novel. Roush is one very good plotter here and this novel reads like it would as if the reader was observing all these events in real life.

Roush has portrayed the angels as you find them in the Bible, as messengers, warriors and guardians. Perhaps the most important part of their portrayal is their obedience to what God has instructed them to do in these three roles. They never act independently of God's instruction or of their own will or initiative. They may wonder why they cannot act in a certain way according to the what they can see should happen in the circumstance they are in, but they keep themselves in check knowing that God's intention and outcome for this circumstance may not be evident at the time. I loved the rapport that Roush has developed between them, they are a team, they respect each other, joke with each other, encourage each other and keep each other in check. Their obedience and submission to God and how they treat each other has important lessons for us as Christians in how we are to do the same and our relationship with God.

I really enjoyed this novel better than I thought I would. Roush has quite a talent for writing, for entertaining the reader, educating in spiritual warfare and the power of prayer, and honouring the Bible record of these matters and God himself. I believe that Christian fiction shows more of the heart toward God that an author has as evidenced in how he deals with his subject matter and from this novel, I can see that Roush is one very devoted, committed man with a heart after God's own, just like David of the Bible. 

I look forward immensely to the next instalments of this series.

Highly Recommended.