Novel Series Review: The Elijah Mandate by Lisa Worthey Smith and Spirit-filled Fiction Award.

The Elijah Mandate 

Selah Award finalist and Kops Fetherling International Book Award recipient, this political conspiracy suspense thriller, weaves the headlines of today with the Scriptures of old. A recent law school graduate, Eliana lands her dream job but finds it saturated with malicious corruption. Her boss, a powerful Supreme Court Justice, is part of a nefarious plan that will dismantle America as we know it. If she keeps quiet, she might survive, but far too much is at stake for that. With her life in peril, a prophecy about Eliana becomes reality. She lives out a parallel story to that of her namesake, Elijah, complete with rampant evil, epic power struggles, and the mandate to trust Almighty God no matter the cost.

   

The Elijah Mandate, Part 2

Bestselling and multiple award-winning author, Lisa Worthey Smith, continues the political suspense in part 2 of this Selah Award finalist series.

This heart-pounding thriller intertwines tomorrow's headlines with Scripture. America will rise or fall depending on the path they choose. Following the parallels in Israel from the time of Elijah and Elisha, God equips modern-day Christians to face down the evil that threatens America.

Perspective by Peter: 

Searching my To Be Read list for the next novel and I came across this series. I do not remember buying the first novel in 2020. But then, that is a characteristic of someone who buys too many novels! Novel hoarder I am, but what a library I have! I have enough novels to read well into my full retirement, which I pray can be in 2022. Semi-retired at present.

Well, my first impression of this novel is that it drags your attention and has you engaged until the end. I was committed to finish this novel. It is uplifting, strengthens your faith in God. I know more about Elijah from the Bible than what I had previously. There is power in the art of storytelling and this is evident in Smith's ability to apply what she has studied of God's Word and her understanding of it.

This series is based on the life of Elijah and the mandate that God had with him. Many lessons to be learned and even applied to our lives from this Biblical person (I hate saying character as this implies they are a fictional creation and the people of the Bible are just not; they were real people).

Smith runs the account of Elijah alongside the main character of Eliana, who is a female version of Elijah and even her name is so. The word building here is well done. Eliana has a relationship with God that is natural, not forced, she knows Him intimately, she is fully submitted to Him and lives under His direction and guidance. She lives out the Word of God and compromise is not part of this relationship. Just like Elijah.

This relationship is contagious. Those around her want what she has, even amoungst those who oppose her and are in conflict with God and are antagonistic towards Him. And those who don't know Him, or are in the evil regime of power against Him also come to know Him. 

This type of fiction that Lisa creates is what we need nowadays, not just an entertaining tale, but one that goes past that, one that edifies, educates and brings glory to God. It shows God for who He is. It shows Christians we are not to be afraid of the circumstances we are in and to confront evil in all its forms with the Word of God, living out His Word, prayer and supplication but above all by listening to and acting on the instruction and guidance of God and His Spirit as He directs our paths and actions.

It is of great benefit having all the bible verses listed at the back of the novels and what they mean. It was also edifying seeing some of these either mentioned in the novel or seeing it lived out in the characters situations in the novel.

I know Christian authors get criticised by having prayer outlined in their novels or when the narrative becomes "preachy". I am glad Smith has not listened to this criticism. The inclusion of the prayers by various characters is an essential part of this novel and shows how this is to be part of the Christian's daily life. The same goes for the narrative of the story of Elijah and what Eliana does with this. Yes, it went on for pages but I could see without its inclusion, it would take away some of the impact of what this novel is about. Yes, it does put the suspense and fast-paced flow of the novel on hold for a bit, but this should not be seen as a negative or a criticism. It needed to be included. Without both, it runs the risk of the novel's message and impact being watered down. 

I highly recommend this series. This is Spirit-filled fiction at its best. I look forward to more from this author. 

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 Elijah Mandate series 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 Lisa Worthey Smith the

Reality Calling Christian Spirit-filled Fiction Award

Congratulations, Lisa!

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 Elijah Mandate series 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.

The Called: Chosen (The Called Series, Book 2) by Justin Price

The Called: Chosen (The Called Series Book 2)

The Called Series continues with Chosen. The Antichrist has unleashed something terrible on earth that is gaining power by the day while believers must flee for their lives. Nations rebel against Samyaza al Assad and the World Council, causing global war to break out. More twists and turns await in the second installment of the series as the tribulation officially begins and the called of God find their place in a world that has become brutal to them.

The Guru's Review:

I was really excited to be back in this novel, with familiar characters,  its setting, past pace, suspense, and I am so glad to see that Price has continued what he started in the previous volume where I described that he,

blended the genres of the supernatural, science fiction, apocalyptic and eschatology into a multi-layered construct that works very well and adds depth to the plot and the overall enjoyment of this novel.

This provided strength to the previous novel and does the same with this one. Price has progressed everything in this novel. The plot is developed more with the evil plans of Samyaza al Assad, the world population becomes deceived by his charm and deceptive schemes, the one world political system forges deeper roots into the threads of society with more control of the masses and Christians are further persecuted with an ever increasing search to destroy their underground residences and force them to recant their faith or be executed. This adds to the pace making it a cannot put down tale just like the previous installment. Despite the pace, Price still manages to develop the characters further and their fear, despair, trust in God, faith is very evident and I found myself relating to their emotions in a tangible way. I kept thinking that I pray this is what I would do when similar plot lines become reality in this world. 

This is one thing that I enjoy about novels like this. May sound like an oxymoron but while being entertained immensely, Price paints a very sobering picture of what the future could be like and it is this that provokes the Christian reader into thinking about their faith, being ready for this, and drawing closer to God in preparation. We are encouraged in the Word to always be ready and to be prepared to take a stand for our faith. Price succeeds here. I would love to think that a reader who does not have a relationship with Jesus would also be encouraged to consider their future as well and to identify that God needs to be a part of this. 

I loved the example of Abbie, how being submitted to God, she risked everything out of obedience to Him to have her singing career instrumental in bringing multitudes to Christ and despite being reprimanded by the government for it, she still found it worth the cost. I pray that this encourages Christians to stand firm in their faith through whatever trial or adversity they are going through, whether now or in the future as depicted in this novel, that they lay down their lives and count the cost for Christ.

It is also good to see that Price has continued the work of the Spirit in bringing people to Christ by using various characters as a witness to Him. Seeing one major character from the previous installment come to Christ and another being on the verge is very encouraging as the Word tells us that there will still be conversions to Christ in the last days before Jesus comes back and during the Tribulation Period which this novel has as its setting. It is through plot lines like this that an author gets to deliver the message of the Gospel in a showing and not telling/preaching manner. Price does this well and it is very refreshing.

Price continues his inclusion of angelic visitation and I appreciate his depiction of them as Messengers that they are, as described in the Bible, that they seek no vain glory or attention to themselves; they just want to deliver God's message, encourage those they have been sent to minister to and be on their way. Another aspect of the realistic world building that Price has created. 

I can see that the next installment will have more of the supernatural and spiritual elements developed as this installment lays the foundation for this. Demons and or demonic beings are released into the world at the beginning, but do not have any involvement in this novel, other than being prepared for their role which will take place in the next installment. Sounds like that is going to be one even more action packed read. Bring it on, Justin!

I consider that Price has developed his writing skill and plot development further in this novel than the previous and this is good to see, shows he is becoming more seasoned as a writer and creator of edgy, speculative fiction.  

Despite its shorter length, 126 pages, he does pack quite a bit in and it does feel longer which is a good quality for a novel of this fast pace and subject matter. It is enough to drop you in the mix of it, allow you to be taken for a fast paced ride and then left with one riveting cliff hanger, dangling for more. The opening sequence to this next installment based on this ending, should make the reader hit the road running. I look forward to this immensely. 

Highly Recommended. 

The Levine Affair: Angel's Flight by Lela Gilbert

The Levine Affair: Angel's Flight

Haram’s slaughter of Christian villagers have stunned the world. A barbaric gang of thugs has kidnapped of hundreds of schoolgirls. They have slaughtered young boys and men and have burned countless worshippers alive in their churches. They’ve raped and forcibly married Christian women to Muslim men. 

And now…. 

An American missionary has been kidnapped in by Boko Haram. 

A young Nigerian mother is sentenced to death by stoning. 

A Texas oilman has disappeared in Nigeria’s oil-rich delta. 

No government in the world will touch these politically charged cases. 

Acquisitions editor Karen Burke works for the small, L.A. based “faith and inspiration” imprint of a venerable New York publishing company. She arrives at work one Monday morning to find a book proposal on her desk. “See if this story has legs,” her boss writes. “If you have to do a site visit, do it. This could be huge!” 

The book proposal was written by an American, Nate Gregory, recounting his shocking recollections of being held hostage by Muslim radicals in Nigeria. His story is gripping, and although Nate was simply doing construction work on a short-term missionary assignment, he turns out to be a surprisingly talented writer. 

Karen is troubled, however, with his description of his Muslim captors, his seemingly “colonial” view of the Christian community in Africa, and his eloquent but relentless deprecation of “Sharia law,” the Islamic religious system under which he was held captive. He also makes incredible claims about brutal amputations as sentencing for crimes, crude violations of women’s rights, and the burning alive of Christians in their churches. 

Talented or not, is Nate Gregory just another Islamophobic religious fanatic who hates Muslims? 

Meanwhile, David Levine, an Israeli philanthropist based in London, has put an elite paramilitary team together. Levine is deeply concerned about the global threat of Islamic jihadists like Boko Haram, and their ferocious tactics in trying to impose Shari’a law around the world. 

Since neither the US, NATO nor any other government wants to get involved in politically incorrect religious politics, Levine has formed an elite team of former Special Forces commandoes. He sees it as his own little army – fighting jihadis, one deadly attack at a time. 

Unbeknownst to Nate Gregory – who’s been led astray by a Southern California preacher who claims to have miraculously saved him from his captors - Levine’s team, commanded by Joe Brac a retired Green Beret, was actually responsible for his release from captivity. 

Now Levine has tasked Brac with another rescue – this time to liberate Jumoke Akabakar, the 18-year-old Nigerian girl who has been sentenced to death by stoning for adultery. 

The story unfolds as Karen Burke, in order to confirm the facts in Nate’s book proposal, travels to Nigeria to meet up with him. The two of them get along better than they might have imagined. But what seems to be a simple fact-finding mission soon gets increasingly ugly. 

While Karen and Nate are in Nigeria, they learn that an American oilman has been kidnapped and beheaded in the Niger River delta. At about the same time, the corrupt governor of the local Nigerian state is assassinated. Worst of all, an urgent warning reaches them that a mob of jihadis has targeted the church compound where they are staying. The Boko Haram terrorists are heavily armed and raging with hatred. 

All at once Karen and Nate find themselves in the crosshairs of bloodthirsty radicals. They have unexpectedly been left on their own and aren’t at all sure that help is one the way. They have no choice but to run for their lives. 

Joe Brac’s small team of Special Operators rescue has been working night and day to develop of plan to liberate Jumoke. That was their key mission, well conceived and meticulously planned. 

But now, unexpectedly, they have two more victims in grave danger. 

Will they find a way to rescue Nate and Karen?

The Guru's Review: 

I discovered Angel's Flight through a blog post promoting this novel from author, Martin Roth, who writes in the same genre, the persecuted church. His novels also involve a special ops team that support the persecuted Christian church with military force. I loved Martin's books, and I just love this one.  I am very encouraged to see that there are authors such as Roth and Gilbert who are writing novels to alert Christian readers of the plight of Christians and their persecution for their faith in God in countries where their religious/political regime is extremely hostile to the Bible, God and Christianity. Another author, whom I have all his books but have not read them yet, is D. I Telbat. His books look very exciting yet with the same serious message about the persecuted church.

The first thing that hit me reading Gilbert's novel is the detail she has included in the descriptions of all things military. This has been achieved by using the knowledge and experience of W. Jack Bruckner (LTC, Retired, Special Forces) to her fullest advantage here. His input is invaluable and definitely adds credibility and authenticity to the plot lines, and enriches the action scenes. It also adds credibility and development to the ops team characters and other military personnel. I loved the description of the management and planning system of Levine's special forces; this felt as if you were part of this special ops team. I would love to see this team continue in further books as Gilbert has created a team that becomes endeared to the reader, especially their leader, Joe Brac. 

Gilbert successfully recreates the Nigerian culture and political landscape and you really feel that you are transported there. The same  can be said for the Muslim agenda of domination and suppression/eradication of Christianity through violence and force. The Muslim extremists threat feels real, you can feels their hatred of Christianity and any who don't agree or follow the Muslim faith. Conversely, the fear, and desperation to escape this threat experienced by Karen, Nate and their cohorts is also real and is transferred to the reader. I was there with them dodging bullets, feeling that I would not escape unharmed or at all. 

Gilbert shows that she has researched and understands the mindset of the Muslim doctrine in relation to their terrorist activities/jihad, as explained by Levine, an Israeli philanthropist,

In their minds they are all part of one pan-Islamist nation that has no borders. And they've declared war on the rest of the world, especially on Jews and Christians. Have you heard some of the sermons in their mosques? Unbelievable hatred! And in some areas they're killing the so-called infidels by the thousands. As I'm surew you know, a lot of the violence goes unreported, and even if it is, no one lifts a finger to help. I think the time has come for private individuals to get involved. We have to fight for the sake of the oppressed...... because no one else will fight for them."

and further where he explains to Karen, 

Karen......you must understand.....this so-called "war on terror'......in the minds of our enemies, is a war against the infidel-you and me-for the sake of establishing a pan-Islamic state. This isn't just about Nigeria. It is a global threat. In the minds of the jihadists, there is no difference between Christians and Jews and, really, all non-Muslim Americans....there are reports of books in mosques throughout America, calling for the death of Christians and Jews......their publications....in their view, we are mortal enemies because America supports the existence of Israel, and America does embrace radical Islam's geo-political ambitions.

It is both these accounts that show the main theme and background of this novel , the persecution of Christians and Jews and that the world does not seem to be doing too much to rescue these persecuted groups, hence Levine's formation of his special ops group as he explains, 

I intend to put together a small paramilitary unit that can perform surgical military strikes, rescue hostages, and deal with tyrants.... I have been very fortunate in my business and am privileged to do what I can to protect and assist innocent people in difficult circumstances. On several occasions it has been necessary for me to provide rescue and relief for certain individuals when they have run out of options.

When you read books like Gilbert's, Roth and I presume Telbat (having, as I mentioned previously, not read his yet), you cannot help but know that what is described in these books should also exist in reality. Would it not be heart-warming, inspiring and a great witness of who God is and what God can do if what is described in these novels was not just a fictitious account? 

Martin Roth, in a recent blog post about this book, has the following to say about this book,

The words “ripped from the headlines” have become a cliché, but they describe abundantly this excellent book. It is well researched, well written and features all the drama a reader would want from an international thriller, including, it must be noted, violence and a modicum of (somewhat opaque) sex.

The persecution of Christians around the globe, and particularly in the Muslim world, is an escalating terror. Yet too many Western Christians seem uninformed or, at best, aware but unwilling to do much.

We need more educational resources, in all forms of media, that vividly portray the new reality. That is why novels like “The Levine Affair: Angel’s Flight” serve such an important role. This is a novel that the church needs to read.

I could not have described this any better myself. After reading Roth's novels and now this one, I agree that the church needs to read novels such as these and of Telbat's to get the message about the persecuted Church and get real about this neglected area of Christianity, that Western Christianity is isolated from, and which it should not be.

I wondered why Gilbert chose Nigeria as the setting for this novel, and the following from Roth's post gives a clear reason why she did so, 

A harrowing report in the Baptist Press last year noted that Nigeria was, at that time, by far the most lethal country for Christians.

According to the article:

The publicly reported Christian casualties in Nigeria last year [2012] were greater than the Christian casualties of Pakistan, Syria, Kenya and Egypt combined. In fact, Nigeria alone accounted for almost 70 per cent of Christians killed globally. This makes Nigeria the most lethal country for Christians by a huge margin.

Statistics like this should be sobering for the Christian Church, especially for Western Christianity and act as a wake up call. I applaud these three authors for writing novels to reflect this reality and pray that God use their novels to wake up any reader to this reality. 

I am very appreciative of these three authors and it has woken me up to the reality of the persecuted Christian Church. I believe that God can and does use fiction to educate, entertain, and change a Christian's heart, and attract a non-believer to consider Him to be real. Gilbert, Roth and Telbat are strategically placed by God to be used in this media to, as Roth so aptly put it, 

We need more educational resources, in all forms of media, that vividly portray the new reality.

Christian fiction, through these authors, portrays this  very vividly. 

Angel's Flight: Highly Recommended. 

The Beginning of the End (The Called, Book 1) by Justin Price

The Called: The Beginning of the End

The Called is an action packed apocalyptic sci-fi thriller written by Justin Price. In a world where all religion has been purged from society, a remnant of individuals is called out for the purpose of withstanding the evil that has emerged onto the world scene. The World Council takes steps to snuff out the pockets of believers who will not swear their allegiance to Samyaza al Assad, the Syrian leader of the new world government. Advanced technology causes untold chaos as the battle between good and evil spills out onto earth.

The Guru's Review:

One of the great things about being an avid reader is getting absorbed in a novel that is in the genre you love, written well, fast paced, plot flows seamlessly, content grabs you and does not let go, and the characters are ones you can relate to. The icing on the cake is when you also know that it is written by a new author! That for me is a real treat and a win/win for both the reader and the author. The reader gets a well-crafted novel and can get straight into it and be transported to the world created and the author has had a great head start into his new field. 

Such is the case for myself reading Price's The Beginning of the End. I am very impressed with this. It is a real page turner and I became lost in the apocalyptic world that Price constructed very convincingly and consequently I could not put this down. It has a real cliff hanger ending not just for one character, but a few; not just for one plot line but more so. This makes it even more baited with anticipation for the next instalment and according to Price, he is more excited about this sequel than this first instalment! I would more than agree with this.

Price has successfully blended the genres of the supernatural, science-fiction, apocalyptic and eschatology into a multi-layered construct that works very well and adds depth to the plot and the overall enjoyment of this novel. It is this that is all the more enthralling and is what draws the reader in. This also is a great part of the success of this novel and series.

The spiritual elements are excellent in this novel. I loved the sincerity of Price to show the Christian characters being faithful to God and willing to risk everything including their lives to know the truth of the Gospel, and to lead those who seek Him to this truth. It is really confronting reading how realistic this scenario is where all religion is banned and the penalty for disobeying and defying this ban is either death or imprisonment for life. 

I pray that the reactions and motives fo seeking the Truth of Christ and the Gospel by these characters challenges and encourage Christians to not falter but to take a stand for Christ and the Gospel. I pray that these reactions serve as a role model for us to consider when what is described in this novel becomes our reality; because this is our future.

I thoroughly enjoyed the angelic visitation to various characters and this is significant as Price shows the reader a God who is active and present in a believer's life or in one who is not a believer but seeking Him. I feel this is a strength in this novel. Just as the Spirit is alive and acts in our lives, so He needs to be in fiction. I believe that fiction can portray the realities of life and also of the supernatural. The Spirit can minister to the reader in fiction just as He can with His Creation.  

I am so glad that I came across Justin on Twitter. I definitely had a good feeling about his book when he described it to me. It has more than been worth it.

Highly Recommended.  

Daniel's Mighty Men by David Bergsland

Daniel's Mighty Men (Black Sail)

Christian Warriors?

Give me a break! Surely I cannot be saying that there are Christians who could be black ops covert warriors. But yes, that's what I'm saying. In fact, I'm sure there must be some of them as the Lord has His sheep spread like salt throughout the earth. Now there are certainly no Christian porn workers or porn movie producers. But warriors, intelligence people, politicians, and first response men & women? Of course there are.

David's mighty men are given good coverage in the Bible. In 2 Samuel 22 and 1 Chronicles 11, David's mighty men did amazing feats. They snuck David water from the center of the enemy camp after David vaguely wished for it.

• Abishai, the brother of Joab, was the leader of the Thirty. He once used his spear to kill 300 enemy warriors in a single battle. It was by such feats that he became as famous as the Three. [1 Chron 11:20 NLT]

• Josheb-Basshebeth, a Tahkemonite, was chief of the Three; he raised his spear against eight hundred men, whom he killed in one encounter. [2 Sam 23:8 NIV]

These were supernaturally anointed warriors. But that begs the question:

How would Christian warriors act?

They would do their work with love, care, prayer, and guidance from the Holy Spirit, of course. This book is written by a spirit-filled pastor with decades of experience in hearing from the Lord in very trying circumstances. You will be immersed in Christian living at a level most people never experience. Do you feel the need to hear from the Lord on a regular basis for practical guidance in daily living? This novel will show you how to do that.

The scenario may seem extreme, but only if you have not lived in New Mexico for the past three decades. Radical Mexicans get the money, supplies, training, and leadership they need--to do what they have been talking about since the mid-20th century, at least. The invasion comes suddenly on Cinco de Mayo. The burden of repelling the invaders and saving the union falls on Senator Daniel Aragon, the presidential candidate with the character to do what Washington shockingly refuses to allow. The Lord gives the authority and provides the warriors. How will it all work out? What's His plan?

It's a fun read, with real spiritual training and discipleship at its core. There's a lot of action, but these aren't trigger-happy cowboys shootin' up the range. They are warriors led by a former CIA assassin who's now a spirit-filled pastor. In Washington, experience a situation room meeting of horror contrasted with one led by the Spirit of God. A Godly political leader? Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Review:

When I read the blurb of this book, I was instantly reminded of another similar take on the idea of Christians Warriors. This is a series called Brother Half Angel by Martin Roth. In Roth's books, a Pastor in Korea answers the call of the Lord to provide a special ops team of Christian men and women from military and associated backgrounds to provide military support of the persecuted church around the world. This group was called The New Mercedarians based on the Knights Templar and the Mercedarians that existed in centuries past. I thoroughly enjoyed this series and it was this that encouraged me to read and review Daniel's Mighty Men when David Bergsland requested a review.

I must confess though that this book is the first 600 page plus novel I have read! I was a little daunted by this. I wondered what the author could include in such a large volume! I have not been disappointed. Bergsland writes well and he is very descriptive in all aspects of the plot, characters, weaponry, politics, action and adventure, warfare strategy and even the supernatural. It is quite easy to see from this how this novel passes the general 300-400 page novel limit that most of us are used to. I feel it would loose its impact and effect on the reader if it was shortened.

Admittedly, it means a longer time to read this novel, but what a ride you are taken on! Bergsland has obviously researched this topic and all its "What ifs?" effectively including all those aforementioned aspects. He combines all this into a well written and constructed story that is very plausible and does make you wonder how great is the possibility this could happen to the USA in real life or for that matter any country that has similar or same conditions described herein.

He has described and is very convincing showing the belief system of the radical Mexicans who invade the US and in portraying their hatred of the oppression from the US whom they accuse of taking their land from them since the founding days of America. This adds strength to the plot and credibility to these radicals in their quest to reclaim their land.

Bergsland combines well the complexities of a plot such as this with a corrupt government bent on inaction towards these invaders, a faction forming within this government who decide to do something about this inaction, the counter offensive military action that follows as a result, the ignoring of the American citizens by this corrupt government and keeping them in the dark, various groups that align with the radical Mexicans for their own gain, betrayal, manipulation and deceit that goes with all this. This adds to the plausibility of the whole plot.

Amoungst all this is the characters on both sides of this conflict. This is one of the strengths of this novel. To pull this plot off, apart from the author's research and plot development, the well developed, three dimensional characters add strength and foundation to this plot. All the characters in the special ops groups that make up the Black Sail team, are very relational and believable and you come to be fond of or love them. Some make you laugh and some you admire for their unique characteristics. For me, I related well to Major. Now there is a character who is disciplined, tough when he needs to be and  soft, tender and passionate when the situation arises and also willing to face the hard facts of life head on. Another character, Deborah, has a hard exterior to deflect the typical male attitude towards her triggered by her beauty and to survive being a CIA operative, but allows herself to be vulnerable as Major develops their relationship. This is a very nice romantic subplot Bergsland has added and balances the fast paced action and adventure and political tenseness of the plot. I looked forward to the chapters that were devoted to the continuing relationship between Deborah and Major (Warren Jensen).

Sometimes an author struggles or outright fails to blend the faith of the character with their person, but Bergsland blends this very well and this becomes another of the successes of this novel and what he set out to achieve, that of how marrying faith in God affects a warrior's behaviour. The account from Rachael to Deborah as the latter struggles with her new role which may include killing civilians if she has to, is where Bergsland shines in marrying Christian/biblical faith with being a Christian warrior. It is a great piece of writing and really stands out in this novel as his main message. It is well placed and does not come across as preachy or self righteous but one of education and bringing the truth of this marriage of faith and military action into the right perspective from God's point of view. While reading this section it felt as though Rachael was educating myself rather than Deborah!

This is the first Christian military/special ops novel that I have read where an author has added the supernatural. The account where Deborah reaches out to Jesus while in a drug induced stupor inflicted upon her by her captors, is captivating and to me is how I would expect to experience this in real life. Another touching one is where Major cries out to God when Deborah is captured, he in his unbelief of God and realises that he has come to the end of himself and has no resources left to search for her and God shows Himself to him and Major finally accepts Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Yet others where God reveals Himself audibly to direct various characters in warfare or when they are in dire straits and realise they cannot continue without His involvement.

The other spiritual aspect Bergsland has included is that of demonology. On two occasions, God enabled Deborah to see in the spiritual plane, demons exert their oppression/influence on certain main terrorists or on their cohorts. On one of those occasions she also saw a protective layer around those whom she identified as Christians in right relationship with God. Adding this aspect of the spiritual, reinforces the reality of the spiritual warfare that exists in the real world and also adds suspense and realism to this novel. For me, this was another of the strengths of this novel. This is where an author reinforces in me that Christian fiction can educate the reader while strengthening their faith and relationship with God. 

I did become alarmed at one aspect of this novel where astral projection was included. I could see why the author had included this as it served to give one of the warrior team, Miner, a means to visit the enemy headquarters and obtain intel without being discovered, but it troubled me as the way it was written could be interpreted that astral travel is being aligned with Christian doctrine when this is not the case. I contacted the author via email and he cleared this up for me:

"No, I definitely do not condone astral projection. The character, and the warrior team she leads, are all heathens...  This type of occult practice is found among people seeking personal power. I see it as being on the same level as King Saul when he went to the medium. To the shock of the medium, instead of the normal demonic communication, Samuel apparently actually showed up. Supernatural power is used by both sides in the war. For we humans, people have many experiences no one wants to deal with before the Lord clears things up."

I had a feeling something like this would be his reply as everything up to this point and after it was very consistent with biblical principles and a reflection of his faith. David also mentioned that astral projection was something he had dabbled in before the Lord brought him to His salvation. 

I am glad David was encouraged to contact me to review this novel. I have thoroughly enjoyed this and have found another author to follow and not only be entertained, but have my faith strengthened and educated in biblical principles, in this case, spiritual warfare, as well.

I received this novel free in return for an honest review. 

Highly Recommended. 

The Coptic Martyr of Cairo (A Brother Half Angel Thriller, Book 5) by Martin Roth

Four Americans in Egypt on an archaeological dig. In the blistering summer heat they are fighting amongst themselves. Then they unearth a body. It is an old priest who has been murdered.

The gruesome discovery sets in train a sequence of events that leads to a deadly Islamist attack on the ancient church where the Americans are working.

The leader of the expedition, Professor Rafa Harel, must decide whether to withdraw his fractious team or continue on a mission to unveil a controversial series of wall paintings, all the while knowing that these images have the power to spark even greater violence.

Meanwhile, watching over all of them is a dreamy young Egyptian Christian named Amir. His only quest in life is to become a martyr.

Review: 

In my review of Roth's previous novel, Festival In The Desert, I stated that this was the best in the series and Roth shines in that one. Well, this last book in the series, The Coptic Martyr of Cairo, is definitely the best and Roth further shines. This is one well written, well researched and very compelling account of the conflict between Islam and Christianity in a predominantly Islamic country. 

It is ironic that in this story, the archeological finding in the St George Church proves that Christianity existed in Egypt well before Islam took root and yet it is this fact that Muslims do not want to acknowledge as this would be detrimental to their belief that they have more right to be in Egypt than Christians do. It is against this backdrop that adds further kindling to a long term political/religious conflict that brings to a head the controversy whether the persecuted Christian Church accept and do nothing in response to persecution or do they fight back. Roth explores this controversy very well in this novel, and it is quite clear that his research is well applied here. 

The entire five books in the Brother Half Angel Thriller series give any Western Christian who may not have any idea of what the Christian Church endures in countries where they are persecuted for their faith, a dramatic eye opening revelation. Roth portrays it well through one of the main characters, Father Paulos Nazeh who says to Rafa, a Western Christian,

"....Our faith is in God, not governments. You are in a relationship with God, and you seem to believe that He tells you to lobby politicians. We are in a relationship with God, and He tells us that we shall suffer, and that some of us - perhaps many of us - will die. That is why the Egyptian church has lasted for two thousand years and will continue until the glorious return of Jesus. How long do you expect your church to last?”

Further on in the plot, when tensions between the Muslim and Christians escalate and Rafa is wanting to take his team home, Father Paulos states,

"Go. Americans are scared of death. They celebrate life, and that is good. So do we. But we also celebrate death. Because it marks a passage to a better life. We are not scared like you." 

and a little further on, 

"Go,.....Protect your lives. We are different from you. We read our Bibles about the beautiful kingdom of the resurrected saints and in our heart we yearn to be with them, if possible wearing the robes and the crown of the martyrs. Even our young think like that, because they know that 25 years or 75 years makes no difference to God. Death is the greatest gift that God can bestow on His people. It is an opening of the gate to our beautiful, eternal home. So we do not cling to life. We are in God's hands, and if He chooses to open that gate for us then we shall rush forward for our eternal reward." 

And of Father Paulos' resentment to the worsening of tensions that the New Mercedarians have caused, he says this to Rafa, (concerning the difference between Western and Eastern Christian attitudes), 

"...Your Korean friends have not especially helped us, but I will say one thing about them. I do not feel they have the same attitude to life and death as us. Unlike Americans, they are not afraid to die."  

Roth's well applied research can also be said to have added depth to the characters portraying the tenets of the faith to the Christian characters of Rafa, Father Paulos, Amir, Riad, Mikel, Brett, Elly and of the Muslim characters of Mohammed, The Turk, and the local Imam. In the character of Susan, Roth portrays the typical ignorance and arrogance of the Westerner who does not have any strong religious bent and who is rather ambivalent and arrogant towards this religious/political conflict. 

My only negative is that the ending was very sudden and very unexpected. I was heartbroken to discover that the New Mercedarians had failed to prevent the murder of kidnapped Mikel, and the reaction of Brother Half Angel was very sincere and realistic, but then the novel just quickly and suddenly ended! I really do hope that Roth continues this series. More of Brother Half Angel and his team would be great to follow and learn more about the persecuted church.

I loved what Roth included at the end of this novel, his final message to all of us who are Christian towards the persecuted Christian church, from Rafa, 

"God is calling us to pray," he sobbed. "All of us. Everyone. We must all pray. It's what God wants." 

After being enlightened to what the persecuted Christian Church endure gladly, as reinforced by Father Paulos' statements  and Rafa's above, it is the least we can do. 

Highly Recommended. 

My Rating:  

Military Orders by Martin Roth (A BROTHER HALF ANGEL THRILLER, Book 3)

Description: 
 
Matt was the solid one of his family – successful student, a good husband and father, devoted missionary. The rock on which many churches would have been built. By contrast, elder brother Rafa is the troublemaker – sharp-tongued and only too well aware of his gifts, a broken marriage, estranged from his parents. But when Matt is murdered in northern India by an unknown assailant, it is Rafa who must investigate. And it is in India where he learns that the local police are claiming Matt was leader of a gang engaged in the theft and sale of precious temple artworks.

Rafa knows these allegations to be false. Yet it quickly becomes apparent that Matt was involved in something much bigger than simple mission work. But what? The answer, when it comes, is chilling. For Matt was part of a clandestine project with the potential to change the future course of world religion. And now Rafa must complete the assignment.

Review:
 
This book in the Brother Half Angel series is different from the previous two. Those were about the persecuted church in Korea and Japan while Military Orders takes place in India and involves finding the next Dalai Lama. The previous two involved Brother Half Angel as the main New Mercedarian while this one has Sister Sunhee as the main New Mercedarian.

While reading this, I wondered why the author took this deviation from the topic he established in the first two. Coincidentally, I received an email from him in response to one of mine, and he just happened to outline the background to this novel. He wrote,

"If you’re going to read Military Orders – formally the third in the series, though it’s actually set in the future – there’s a bit of a story with it. I actually wrote it before I wrote any of the others. I had found that my Johnny Ravine books weren’t taking off, in large part because the Australian Christian market is so small. So I decided to aim for the US market, and came up with the idea of a book that combined a hero somewhat like the hero of The Da Vinci Code (I made him a professor of spiritual art), with a beautiful heroine like the heroine from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

But during the writing I also came up with the character Brother Half Angel. I self-published the book on Amazon, but soon after I thought that I could create a series of books around Brother Half Angel. So I renamed the series (it was the Military Orders series, but became the Brother Half Angel series) and I also rewrote the book, to give him more prominence, and then re-uploaded it to Amazon. Then, after I had written Brother Half Angel and Maria Kannon, I made Military Orders the third in the series, even though I had written it first. And because it is set in the future it should probably be read as the last of the series."

This was more than enough to explain the query I had about this third book. Even though the author states this should be read as the last book, I found it a nice break from the previous two,. This change adds variety and versatility to the series and to the characters and operation of The New Mercedarians.

It was good to find out about the background to Sister Sunhee who had been mentioned in the previous two. I had a feeling that she was to play more of a part. It was also good to have Rafa back in this novel as I liked him from the previous one where he played an important albeit secondary role while in this one he played the main role. This was a good tie in between this and the Maria Kannon novel.

Roth is very good at incorporating the history of Buddhism and that of the Dalai Lama into this plot. Obviously this had to be the case for the plot to work and work well it does. In this plot, the pace is faster than the previous two, and there is more action as well. I had to chuckle at some of the locations being mentioned as most of the plot involves various locations in Australia which is my home country. Having Melbourne part of the plot was a treat for me as this is my home town. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel.
 
Highly Recommended.

My rating:

The Samson Effect by Tony Eldridge

The Samson Effect: A Novel

Since discovering an ancient scroll in a cave in Hebron, Israel, American biblical archeologist Thomas Hamilton and his trusted friend and colleague, Israeli biblical linguist Michael Sieff, have been consumed with the notion of the Samson Effect—the idea that a long-lost elixir can allow an ordinary person to perform superhuman feats. When they happen upon a worn Hebrew parchment that not only confirms the existence of the Samson Effect but could potentially lead them to its source, the scholars embark on an impassioned crusade for the truth behind the myth. But Hamilton and Sieff aren’t the only ones intent on uncovering the secret of Samson’s strength. An unrelenting sect of Jewish protectors will let no one stand in the way of their mission to reclaim what they had hidden nearly three thousand years ago, and a brilliant but ruthless Palestinian leader will stop at nothing to find and use the Samson Effect to empower his army of soldiers for a jihad against the world in the name of Allah. 

It isn’t long before their joint pursuit becomes a deadly one, and Hamilton and Sieff come to the grim realization that the Samson Effect is more powerful and far-reaching than they ever anticipated. In the wrong hands, it could trigger a worldwide catastrophe. A chilling and suspenseful tale of political and religious intrigue set in the unforgiving landscape of the Middle East, The Samson Effect wanders the boundaries of obsession and love, betrayal and allegiance, and vengeance and justice.

Review: 

I don't believe you could not give this book less than 5 stars! I will do things backwards here and state my recommendation first in this review instead of adding it last as I have in my previous reviews: Highly Recommended!

What a ride, Eldridge takes you on in this book! I thoroughly enjoyed it and could not put it down. It held me every day I read it on the train to and from work without me nodding off to sleep that I am prone to do!!

There are some good twists in the plot; one especially I did not see coming! I won't spoil it for anyone here.

I liked how something hinted at in the first few chapters of the book set the scene for future plot development especially at the end of the book. I regard that as good plot development.

For a first novel, Eldridge has done a fine job. I look forward to successive novels.

I have one question for this very promising and talented author:

Tony, you end the book with a hint of what a possible sequel could be? Am I correct?

Eldridge's knowledge and in-depth studies of Old Testament history pays off in this novel. He has developed the history of the Samson Effect well and is very believable. At first reading of the blurb, I did consider that growing a plant after thousands of years would be the Achilles Heel of his plot, but having since been to his website, I read that what he proposed in his story has recently come true:

"In June of 2008, Dr. Sarah Sallon of The Louis L .Borick Natural Medicine Research Center at Hadassah Medical Organization in Jerusalem, Israel announced that she had successfully grown an extinct tree from 2000 year old dormant seeds found in Masada, Israel. The high quality Date Palm of the first century, important to the region and prominent in biblical history, became extinct over the next two millennia."

This fact adds so much credibility to his story even though he wrote this without knowledge of the above discovery!!

I liked the character development Eldridge has created. They are not presumptous, over the top or too good to be true. Just ordinary people like you and I.

I can see why author Clive Cussler has endorsed this book and agree with that endorsement. I can also see why Hollywood has also bought the rights to it as well! It would make a great movie!

Highly Recommended