Mind Writer by Mike Lynch and Lisa Godfrees

Mind Writer

Born with a rare genetic mutation, Eighteen-year-old Rinee Newburgh has been kept in a secret government facility all her life. Trained to enhance her skills as a Mind Writer, her unique talents give her the ability to transfer a person’s thoughts, memories, personality—their soul—into a clone created for those deemed vital to society’s continued survival.

When Rinee’s friend and right hand to the President, Andrei Malotetnev, is nearly killed in an assassination attempt, she discovers the terrible truth—that Mind Writers are regarded as disposable, and life outside the Facility is nothing more than a pollution-filled world on the brink of collapse. She also learns of Malotetnev’s plan to kill millions of people as a means of freeing up dwindling resources needed by the government. Horrified at the thought of a modern day holocaust, Rinee escapes the Facility in a desperate attempt to warn the people of his evil intentions.

Locked in a race against time, Malotetnev sends his most trusted assassin with orders to eliminate Rinee at any cost before the truth can be revealed. What he didn't count on was an assassin with a conscience.

The Guru's Review: 

This is the first novel I have read by Lynch and Godfrees and I am glad I have done so. I have seen Lynch's books around Amazon and have another of his in my kindle but not read. It was this new novel that encouraged  me to read from this author. This is the first of anything I have read of Lisa Godfrees.

I love this novel. Lynch and Godfrees write well and seem to be compliment each other in writing and developing this futuristic, science fiction, dystopian, medical based story. In a novel such as this, it needs to flow well, without any overly descriptive narrative. Having the latter, would only derail the plot and its flow and detract from the reader's enjoyment and attachment to the characters and story. This novel does not suffer from this. The authors are very competent in this aspect. I would not hesitate to read another novel of theirs either individually or if they team up in the future. Of the latter, I hope they do. They are a writing dynamo together!

I don't believe that in today's world with its advancements in medical/science, technology and research, and how the experts in these fields seem to push the envelope and ignore all boundaries on ethics, morals etc, that any reader would be surprised or shocked with the premise of this story. To use a well used and common cliché, it seems to be a case of not if but when! It is against this background that makes novels like Mind Writer such great escapism and enjoyable experience, but gives the reader an introduction into what could be an example of our future.

What I especially enjoy about Christian fiction is for its authors to take such futuristic and/or speculative topics such as what is in this novel and develop it against a Christian worldview.

The authors spend a considerable amount of the novel developing the antagonistic and protangonistic characters, the medical technology and practice of mind writing and the corruptness and deceit of those in charge of this, including a world depleted of resources on every level and suffering from the environmental effects of world war. We become endeared to the protagonists especially Rinee, Clixon, Saminy, her daughters and even the very sick Tory.

We also learn to despise, dislike, (or hate!) the antagonists of Blackstone, Malotetnev and others, and be angered at their evilness, corruption and deceitfulness. When the authors have the protagonists coming to the end of themselves and in dire circumstances with no apparent way out, the authors then introduce the spiritual aspects that make up this worldview.

Who do Rinee, Clixton turn to when they only have each other to rely on and that is becoming self limited? Which protagonist holds the key to the future of the circumstances that they find themselves in? It is here that this protagonist introduces these characters to the Three, (the Trinity of the biblical God) and the underground Christian church. The church members come to their aid, allowing their active faith to be a platform for the presence of The Three to destroy the actions and plans of the antagonists. Here also, the authors introduce the biblical ethics of the practice of mind writing and whether this is compatible with The Three's Sovereignty and veracity of His Scriptures.

For me, reading the last quarter of the novel, where all aspects of the plot come to a head, it was inevitable that some of the protagonists find the salvation offered from God. This not only reflects what happens in real life, in most circumstances, but also honours the Gospel of Jesus Christ and its power unto salvation.

From this point of view, I applaud the authors for what they achieved in presenting the Christian worldview of this medical practice and the Sovereignty of God. However, I would have liked more of the biblical ethics of mind writing to have been explored from this worldview. I just felt that what was presented was too short or too concise and thus run the risk as being seen by a reader as a weak biblical worldview.

I do believe that this may not have been what the authors intended. What they did present is relevant to the biblical ethics of transferring a person's soul into another. Would more of the biblical ethics of this issue detract from the action, suspense and flow of the story? I don't think so. I feel more would have challenged both the Christian and non-Christian reader to consider on a deeper level the biblical ethics of this practice, the nature of God and how totally Sovereign He is. I don't believe this would have detracted from any of the novel's construction or the reader's enjoyment of it.

I offer this as positive feedback. I realise that any Christian author would find it a fine line striking a balance between how much spiritual/biblical content to present and how much not to. Too much or too in-depth presents as preachy to the reader and derails the plot, its flow and characters. Too little, or none at all, presents the novel with questionable Christian/biblical content and whether it can be considered Christian fiction at all.

I have stated in many other reviews that I am not a fan of romance as a genre. However, I do enjoy romance when it is a subplot or a minor plot line. My enjoyment is even more pronounced when written by a male Christian author. Such was the case with the romance developing between Clixon and Rinee. If this was mainly developed by Lynch, then I am one happier camper than if it was mainly by Godfrees. No offence intended to you, Lisa Godfrees! The inclusion of romance not only added some light relief to the suspense and tension of the action scenes, but added more depth to these two characters. 

A thoroughly entertaining and thought provoking glimpse of what our future could look like when medical science is manipulated through greed, deceit and the boundaries of morality and spiritual ethics are ignored or suppressed.

I am very much looking forward to the next novel (or a previous one) from each of these authors.

Strongly Recommended.

World Building 5/5

Characterisation 4/5

Story 5/5

Spiritual Level 4/5

Enemy Spiritual Level 3/5

Average Rating 4.2/5 Stars

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Spiritually, based on my review and on the following reference booklet, A Spiritual System for Rating Books by David Bergsland, and that Mind Writer contains elements of the criteria of what constitutes Christian Redemptive Speculative Fiction outlined in this booklet, I award Mike Lynch and Lisa Godfrees with

The Reality Calling Christian Redemptive Speculative Fiction Award

Congratulations Mike Lynch and Lisa Godfrees!

To read a preview of Mind Writer, click on the Preview button below: 

The Kingdom by Guy Stanton III

The sands blow hollowly across the plains of time. Unseen by man an army was on the move, an army of darkness…….

Slowly over the course of centuries the truth has been eroded away within the courts of men, until few yet stand for the ways of El Elyon, the Creator of the beginning and He who foreknew that one day the end would come…….

Ayenathurim, a world poised on the edge of change. Chaos beckons as people fractured apart by ancient rivalries strive to hold on. The sounds of war echo on the wind, but who yet is able to stand in the gap for those who are blind to the signs of the times…………………the end, if so it must be, heralds the rise of heroes, even as monsters roar, and kings rise and fall. As Evil triumphs over the nations, even so it was foretold to come to pass and yet the end of darkness’s reign has already begun…….

The Guru's Review:

I am going to start this review with my comments for my Goodreads status when I finished this book: 

As usual, I am left on a high after finishing a Guy Stanton III novel. Epic fantasy, spiritual truths, highly entertained and my spirit edified. What more can I expect from a novel like this! Stanton always delivers! 

Yes, it took me a while to return to reality. All Stanton's novels are very positive, uplifting and action packed. His characters are memorable, admirable and relational. But it is the spiritual aspects where he as author shines and his books as well, this one included. He unashamedly presents the Gospel of the Bible, the supernatural, the attributes of God, the ministry of angels, many biblical doctrines, all interwoven into the plot and form the structure of the novel. He presents evil as it is, demonic and from the nature of sin, and his demons and fallen angels are as they are biblically and in reality, nothing withheld. When I look back on this novel, and the others that I have read, he seems to include certain elements in each one. A visit to his website showed me what they are: 

• Exciting action blended into both dystopian contemporary environments and the realms of antiquity's past.

• Romance that reflects the reality of life in all its glory, but in none of its over the top mainstream explicitness.

• Stories that feature characters who don't have it all together and who have to learn to mature in order to become the people that God has intended for them to be.

• Facts of history and future events weaved into a fast paced plot line with the use of vivid imagination that evokes the imagery of the setting at hand as if you were there actually living it.

• Fiction that is Christ honoring and glorifies God as the Creator of all and the Master of the hearts of mankind.

I never noticed this on his website before and I found myself saying Yes to each one of these as I remember the novels I have read. And saying Yes, to these criteria in The Kingdom was not hard, all very obvious. 

There is so much to like in this novel. I said that in my review of Fallen Ambitions as well, but this seems to be a characteristic of all Stanton's novels, from those I have read and from reading the reviews of those I have not yet. 

As usual, I am taken by the romance created by Stanton. It is honest, biblically based, it promotes healthy relationships and more importantly, it is based on what I was brought up to believe (and lived when I met my now wife) that the relationship needs to be based on God first and then He looks after your relationship. This is clearly shown in Benaiah being sold out for God, placing Him first and this then is the spark that ignites the desire of Susori for God as well for those reasons only and not primarily to be with Benaiah. This is the bible verse of Matthew 6:33 being lived out as we are instructed to do, 

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. NKJ version

I loved the character of Benaiah. A relational man that has the heart of the Biblical David who is after God's own heart and a perfect example of what being a Godly man should be. This seems to be displayed in all of Stanton's main male protagonists and I pray that this will be an encouragement and inspiration to male readers who seek to see what a Christian, Godly man should be and what God can develop in them if only they will let Him. 

I found it very uplifting the relationship between Kuri and Benaiah. Amazing to see the transformation that Benaiah undertakes through the involvement of Kuri and who he is. Very much like what happens when one gives their heart to Jesus and becomes a new spiritual creation as outlined in 2 Corinthians 5: 17, 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

One thing I must mention is the world building Stanton has created. This world of Ayenathurim is made up of many nations, divided into two religious belief systems, those nations of the Kingdomer nations unified in the belief of the one God, El Elyon, while those of the Nicationer Nations as wide-ranging, from worshiping the gods of stone and wood to the darks arts of the fallen Malachim (Angels). The hatred of the Nicationer Nations towards the Kingdomer Nations forms the basis of the spiritual warfare that manifests itself in bitter, physical wars, and it is this that Benaiah goes willingly into empowered with the spirit of El Elyon and his new found faith. He definitely becomes the spiritual leader and warrior of the Kingdomer nations leading to the ultimate victory against the demonic, spiritual forces of the Nicationer nations. It is here against this backdrop, that Stanton brings all the other aspects, those mentioned above, and more not mentioned here, together to make for one epic fantasy and spirit filled fiction. It is one very believable world and the spiritual warfare aspects can encourage the reader to adopt in their own lives. It is in this world of Ayenathurim that Stanton has created one wonderful tale of eschatological fiction encompassing God's involvement with man and His plan for salvation, redemption and His return.

This is one very memorable stand-alone novel by the master of spirit-filled fiction in the Christian fantasy genre. 

Highly recommended. 5/5

Fallen Ambitions by Guy Stanton III

They desire me - They hate me - They molded me - They tortured me - They used me

I can’t give up because I’m different now. I will never give up exposing the truth of who they are!

Shoot me – Poison Me – Chase Me – Restrain me – Terrorize Me

I don’t care anymore. I’ve been redeemed and I’m standing where my God has placed me. I know the evil you’ve done. You know who you are. I’m not running. Come and get me!

A highly trained Russian assassin..........

An ex-pop superstar singer who just won't be silenced...........

A New World Order, who plans to destroy what God has redeemed........

All come together in a story of redemption that features faith, action, and a romance that bullets can't kill.

Christian Speculative Fiction at its Best!

The Guru's Review: 

This will be the fifth novel by Guy Stanton III that I am reviewing and I find it very hard to start this review. Simply because, like the four before, I am in awe of Guy's ability to create such action-packed, supernatural, spiritual warfare based, Spirit filled, bible based story.

As usual, Stanton grabs you from the beginning and does not let go, you hit the ground running with all of his novels. The plot unfolds quickly and is very engaging. I bonded with Desiree and Lonigan quickly and was very upset when he was assassinated. Despite describing this assassin as one ruthless, inhuman, demon possessed, killing machine, I still felt fond of him straight away. 

I actually cried from the narrative between Desiree and God when she has been assassinated by Victor and she was in the afterlife. Not from the fact that she was murdered but from how Stanton depicted the nature of God. Very tender, loving, caring and sovereign. It resonated in my spirit of how I see God and have experienced Him. I had to pause from reading and re-read this section and I found myself doing with all the other occurrences of God talking directly to either Desiree or Victor.

It is this type of supernatural, spirit filled fiction that makes Christian fiction more than worthwhile, and it meets the criteria that I like to see an author include; it entertains, edifies my spirit, encourages my faith and educates, in this case, in spiritual warfare, being obedient to God, not compromising your faith in the face of adversary especially while under demonic attack, and not acting in your own strength but by God's Spirit alone. 

As usual, Stanton includes romance but it strictly biblically based and on God's design and standards. I admire this and love reading about it in his novels as it is the way God intended in the bible, and it is what Stanton himself has lived by his own admission and myself as well. This is so very encouraging to see included so it can be seen what human sex and sexuality should be and not what our fallen secular world dictates and which has warped God's truth and intention in this area. I usually do not like romance in a Christian novel when it is of the romance genre but when it is a sub-plot or not the main plot line then I do enjoy it and the way Stanton treats it, it is always well done and a joy to read.

By this next statement, I am not saying that other authors or their novels do not glorify God by their construction and execution, but I can definitely see that Stanton does this with ease with all the bible based elements he unashamedly includes and only by the direction of the Spirit of God as he admits. This is yet another criterion I desire to see in Christian fiction, that it glorify God and while I do see this in many other Christian fiction novels, with Stanton it is just very obvious.

I would have liked to have seen Stanton develop the plot better and this could have been achieved as it is only 152 pages in length so about half a full-length novel, but looking at this novel as a whole, it does not detract from a great novel that it is.

As usual with a Stanton novel, any conversion is portrayed with the character(s) coming to the end of themselves and seeing their need for Jesus as Savior. I like this as it may be just the encouragement that a reader needs to see their need for Jesus as well. The conversion of Victor from being a demon possessed inhuman killing machine, and the shame and remorse that he feels from the heinous crimes that he committed leading to his denial that God would have anything to do with him, is very realistic and this attitude is one that people experience to this day. I pray that a reader in this situation will be able to relate to this and it be a watering of the seed of their salvation.

When I got halfway through this novel, Goodreads asked for an update on my reading status, and this is what I wrote,

It has been about 18 months since I last read a Guy Stanton III novel. It has been great to be back in the world he creates. And God was there in more ways than one!! I am blown away by this novel. I will not let time become a barrier again. I have so many of Guy's novels to catch up with. Looking forward to being transported into the Stanton world of fiction where God renews my spirit!

This account sums up my feeling about this novel. I am not going to lag behind reading a Stanton novel again. 

Now onto the next Stanton novel! 

Highly recommended.

Strong Delusion by TJ Allen

Strong Delusion

The book revolves around two separate missions to the planet Mars roughly 75 to 100 years into the future. The time is some time after the western world has gone through a major war and is left partially decimated by that war (Evangelical War) and plagues. The technological advancements one would expect with time were stunted due to the war and plagues. There are two missions because not enough people could be transported by one vehicle. However, they have one commander and live in the same station. The mission is funded primarily by private funds though manned by military personnel. On Mars, several of the team members see what they call angels or demons. Two of the crew profess to be Christians and are the only ones who can see “flaming men” at first.

One Christian, Jeremy is constantly quoting scripture, yet he is not living what he professes. He dabbles in paranormal psychology and conforms a lot to the spiritual fad and peer pressure of the day. The other Christian, known by his last name, Hernandez, started out quiet then begins to realize that they could be living close to the last days of human existence before the coming of Christ. He becomes more verbal as he realizes that he has not been true to his faith and beliefs. The more embolden he becomes, the more hostile some of the crew members become. Both are children of Godly families, but both handle the strange happenings on Mars differently.

The commander of the mission Colonel Quirinus goes through a transformation that brings on what he calls his mission and his destiny that needs to be fulfilled. “Enlightened” to this new truth, he returns to earth and as his new power and intellect is revealed, he is heralded as the latest Messiah. Scripture would recognize him as the antichrist.

The history of the “City Square” and other “conspiracies” around life on Mars are discussed as well as some theories of previous life on Mars from a “biblical” standpoint. The team goes through a series of demonic attacks. However, angels are also present in their lives. The overall theme of the book is to explore a possibility of how the Anti-Christ if he were to get his power from Mars, would get such power and how it would be used. It further explores how the Rapture of the Church can be explained away as an alien phenomenon. Though the story is purely fictional; woven in the story is scriptural truths. Some of the arguments dealt with are akin to those that Christians have faced or will face in their lives.

This book is a parallel story to other books that I have written or are working on. These books form an ongoing story from different angles. This is the first of several.

The Guru's Review:

I was asked by the author to review his debut novel pre-release. I am very glad I did. I thoroughly enjoyed Strong Delusion. It is a gripping tale combining the genres of science fiction, fantasy, eschatological fiction with the supernatural, demon possession, spiritual warfare, angels, and demons.

As is common in the fantasy and science fiction genres, there needs to be world building or modification of existing worlds to suit the plot and/or themes the author wants to explore. Similarly, it may be necessary as well to provide a prologue that gives some history or back story that supports this world building and themes and contribute to the realism and credibility of the story. Allen does both in this novel. The prologue provides essential information on the spiritual side of this novel as well as providing a brief backstory as to why this mission to Mars was planned. Allen also explains more of this spiritual history in an early chapter and this is suitably placed to add further depth and credibility to the world building. The description of the physical world building is not a new one, as Mars exists, including some of its structures, such as the Face, the D&M pyramid, the City, Tholos, all of which is collectively known as the Cydonia Mensae or Cydonia for short, but he has added a few creative elements to Cydonia that support his alien/supernatural themes and plot lines that contribute to the plausibility of these. Allen has used this as a convincing backdrop for his plot to be further developed.

It is from this that that Allen sets the scene right from the first chapter that keep you reading. I found this very encouraging seeing there was going to be many topics, twists and turns covered (from reading the book description). This is where some authors introduce too much too soon and the reader gets frustrated and struggles to keep pace and join the dots as the author intended, but not so with this novel. Having this first chapter open with a scene that is instantly intriguing and mysterious and not what you are expecting grabs your attention and makes you turn the page and keep turning. You are instantly in this story and the pace and timing of events flows well keeping you absorbed in the events.

Allen wastes no time explaining what the Mars mission is all about, introduces the characters, their rank, the teams, some of their personal history, and who the two Christians (New Order Believers) are, the description of their headquarters/base and technology and then lays the foundation for the supernatural, edgy, speculative themes that pervade the rest of the novel. Once Jeremy and Dianna discover what is underneath the pyramid the plot really takes off and the entire crew is no longer searching for rock samples and primitive forms of life.

It is here that the pace quickens and the character's lives are turned upside down, the reader is not aware of their surroundings and where Allen comes into his own as an author. The rest of this novel is the culmination of his writing mission, where his love of science fiction blends well with him being a Christian and his love for end time prophecy and the supernatural influenced by Billy Graham, Jerry B Jenkins, Tim Lahaye, Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker.

From this point on, I became much more engrossed in this novel as Allen introduced these edgy, speculative themes of alien/demonic beings, their attacks on the crew, and the possession of their commander and another crew member and the reason these demonic beings have revealed themselves in relation to the future of the earth and mankind. Allen uses this backdrop to introduce the biblical worldview to explain their occurrences and what their motives are and this becomes the springboard for the Gospel to be presented to the crew by Hernandez. Allen presents this very well, without it standing out from the plot as preachy or in excess where it frustrates the reader and becomes counterproductive. Instead, Allen has integrated the Gospel and the Bible's eschatological answers to support the plot, shows the spiritual deficit of the characters and their need for God in response to this alien/demonic gospel being presented to them and mankind. I applaud Allen for presenting the Gospel as it is, holding nothing back and showing through the character of Hernandez, the power of the Gospel and not to be ashamed of it, despite being ridiculed and attacked by one of the demonic beings and members of his crew.

There is one very important message Allen expounds in this novel between the two Christian members of the crew. Once Hernandez realises who and what these aliens beings are and what their agenda is, he becomes sold out for the Gospel and does not compromise it in relation to these demonic attacks and their deceptive gospel or the ridicule and humiliation from other crew members. He becomes an evangelist to the crew, explaining the Gospel to the crew in relation to who these aliens are and what they are doing, even resulting in the conversion of one of them. The other Christian, Jeremy Johnson, is the opposite. He believes in God only in his head and not his heart, and has allowed himself to dabble in other paranormal activities, and so compromising himself and his faith. It is no surprise then, that when the Rapture occurs, he is beyond remorse and regret as he realises too late that he has compromised himself despite his strong upbringing in the Word by his grandfather and the warning of an angel that he needs to choose who he believes as he does not have much time to do so. Such a sobering account of what lies ahead for Christians who profess to have a relationship with Christ, but spiritually and in reality, they do not, and suffer the eternal consequences. Again, I applaud Allen for including this spiritual reality as this is important and essential in the study of end times (eschatology) from a biblical worldview.

I have said this in many previous Christian novels, that I believe Christian fiction should entertain, edify and educate the reader, whether Christian or not. For the Christian, it should edify or strengthen their relationship with Christ, while entertaining and educating them in that particular theme of the novel; for those who don't believe, it should point them to Christ and offer them His eternal hope, or encourage them to consider Christ and His Gospel as much as they allow this to happen. For me, Allen has done this well. If he continues to maintain the standard he set in the novel in the remainder of his writings then he will be an author to follow knowing the reader will be entertained, edified and educated.

I understand from the author's website that Allen has spent 3 years researching for this novel and I can see much evidence of this. This very much adds credibility to Allen as an author and expounding the themes of this novel in order to not just entertain but edify and educate. His website also contains a lot of other information and resources to back up everything he has depicted in this novel and it is not such a bad idea to check this out as this novel is being read. It is good, for example, to see the photos of the structures that make up Cydonia that I mentioned previously.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. For his debut, Allen has created a well researched, well laid out novel that I believe he achieves what he set out to if by reading the resources in his website is any indication. I look forward to the next book in this series.

Highly Recommended.

Blood for Blood by Ben Wolf

What if a vampire got saved? 

Calandra, an evangelist's daughter, is amazed to watch as Raven, a century-old vampire, develops faith. As Raven ceases to drink blood and becomes more human with each passing day, Calandra cannot deny her growing attraction to him even though she is being courted by another man. 

Raven's newfound salvation is both a relief and a burden, as he encounters multiple vampire taboos and must overcome them. Just when Raven begins to get the hang of his new lifestyle, Calandra is attacked by bandits.

Will Raven revert to his old vampiric ways to save Calandra from certain death? Or will he rely on his faith in God to help him ransom Calandra from a new brand of evil more horrifying than he ever was as a vampire?

The Guru's Review: 

As soon as I saw the cover of this book and read the blurb that I knew this was an exceptional book. I was quite willing to buy this book, but when Wolf promoted it in a mini Facebook competition, I knew I had to enter and was one of the first 10 to enter and yes, won a copy.

It is not very often that I say this is one of the best books I have read, but this is definitely very true of this novel. I was immediately drawn in and totally absorbed into the 18th Century setting and into the lives of the Zambini family and that of Raven Worth. Sometimes I had to stop reading, very reluctantly I might add, to absorb what I had just read and deal with the awe that was beginning to take me over. This is one very well crafted novel. Wolf writes very well, and the plot structure is strong and flows very smoothly without any hiccups.

When I read the blurb for this novel, I instantly thought, "This is one novel that definitely defines what Edgy Speculative Christian fiction is all about."

Edgy due to it being a taboo Christian subject and one that is one associated with the demonic and occult and the majority of Christians are either scared of this area, ignorant of it or are discouraged from knowing about it for fear of being lured into it, or they are frowned upon by their Christian peers if it is discussed, and then there is the attitude that "Do vampires exist?"

Speculative due to the question that Wolf raises, What if a vampire got saved? And it is this that this novel addresses and I believe shows that the Gospel of Christ and His death on the Cross is for all, no exclusions.

Christian due to the the Gospel being presented to Raven and him being transformed into a new creature as mentioned in 2 Corinthians 5:17,

Whoever is a believer in Christ is a new creation. The old way of living has disappeared. A new way of living has come into existence.

Fiction well, we all know what that means!

Wolf has obviously researched vampire lore and mythology and integrated this well into the plot and in bringing Raven to life as a reluctant vampire. In other vampire novels, it is this lore and mythology that forms the basis of the paranormal romance but in this novel, it forms the basis of why Raven is unhappy and wants out of this life that has been unwillingly thrust upon him. Wolf uses this to not only entertain but to add suspense while educating in the life of a vampire. The way he has described vampire lore through the character of Vanessa and Raven accounting his entry into this existence is very fascinating reading on its own and well done by Wolf. Some of this research/lore/mythology can be easily accessed on Wolf's website with his miniseries of You might be a vampire if... which gives concise bites of information including biblical insights as well. I found this an invaluable resource and I encourage every reader to access this.

I loved the way Wolf has used the doctrine of salvation and redemption to minister to Raven's dark existence. Like his treatment of vampire lore, Wolf has done the same to the biblical response to this existence that is diametrically opposed to everything relating to God. The following passages spoken by Luco Zambini, the pastor, explains it very well and is where the book gets its title from, this first conversation being before Raven accepts Jesus,

"I believe God has a plan for your life, I believe he wants to save you and-"

"I don't have a soul to save....You forget that I am not mortal. My soul is gone."

"Actually, you're immortal because you're cursed. You forfeited your soul when you turned, and you received immortality. Either way, your're still bound to the covenant you made with sin.....You may not have chosen to become a vampire, but we've all sinned. We're all cursed, Raven. There's only way to break that curse....It's by the blood of Jesus Christ."

And in another with Luco after he accepts Christ,

"...Calandra's right, Your're heading in the right direction."

"I feel like I somehow need to make up for the wrong I've done as a vampire."

Luco shook his head. "Jesus died for your sins. His blood covered your transgressions. He atoned for your sins so you wouldn't have to."

"His blood," Raven repeated. "I still find that ironic that His blood is supposed to keep me from drinking everyone else's.

"Blood for blood, Raven," Luco said. "His blood is the substitute for all of ours, yours included. Blood for blood."

"But it didn't cost me anything. I'm cursed, damned, and immortal, and somehow God can just fix all of that with no consequences on my end? it sounds too good to be true."

"Don't misunderstand the Gospel. If you think this ought to cost you something, then you've got the right idea. When you claim Jesus as your Saviour, He claims you for Himself. the caveat in Christianity is that you aren't actually getting your life and your soul back. You're handing them over to Jesus. There's that element of sacrifice you're looking for."

"I don't feel like I've sacrificed anything that I wasn't already eager to get rid of though," Raven said.

"Don't worry about that. In time, you'll see differently. We all do."

Another conversation that Wolf had Raven understand was in response to Raven not having a soul. As Raven explains,

"I don't have a soul to save....You forget that I am not mortal. My soul is gone."

Luco states, "Actually, you're immortal because you're cursed. You forfeited your soul when you turned, and you received immortality."

When Raven accepts Jesus, Luco explains,

Now you go out and walk in your new faith, starting by not feeding tonight... You're being sanctified, Raven. Your life is changing. God is restoring your soul, one piece at a time.

Luco then encourages Raven to find comfort in the reality of Psalm 23, especially verse 3,

He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

And this is what Raven allows God to do so from then on till the riveting, fast paced ending, we see that God has indeed restored his soul.

This is just some of the correctly applied biblical theology used by Wolf to minister to Raven before and after he accepts Jesus. This is one area where this novel shines.

Apart from Wolf wielding of the Word of God very appropriately, he is also a master of character development. All of these are very real and relational. No two dimensional characters in this novel. You will love Luco and see him as a great example of being the Shepherd that Jesus is (Yahweh Roi, in the Hebrew), as evidenced in him accepting Raven without any condemnation or judgement and mentoring him in his new found life as a new creation in Christ. 

Then we have Garrett, who is bitter and twisted from his past dealings with vampires and does not see Raven and his sort as redeemable and forgiven beings but as forever damned to hell and he sets out to prove this, and in doing so he loses his faith in God, his fiance, Calandra, and becomes the epitome of deception, deceit, hatred and selfishness. Quite the Pharisee is Garrett.

Raven himself is portrayed as a tortured victim of the curse of vampirism and is genuine is his quest to be free. He is one very likeable character and is very remorseful concerning the lives he has ruined and killed in order to survive as a vampire.

Calandra is one very obedient, young woman, typical of the era of the 1800s, but also as one very determined and feisty character, she is committed to the Lord and is very accepting of Raven despite her attraction to him.

The other characters of note that are developed well are Harry, the outlaw and thief. This man is very scheming and cunning and the reader picks up these vibes and instantly dislikes him and his cohorts.

Marshall is also developed well and once the reader finds out his hidden agenda, his motivation behind all that he does in connection with Luco and Raven is fully explained. This is one twist I did not see coming.

Another major twist that was totally unexpected was right at the end concerning another character and it really did change the whole setting of the plot to that point. It was very clever and I believe Wolf could do a sequel very effectively here.

With all these elements Wolf has constructed a novel that is very real and all absorbing, and while being in this mode, it occurred to me that this novel shows how we judge the level or degree of sin in another's life. How many times have we taken the Garrett attitude and treated someone, Christian or non Christian, abominably because we disliked their type of sin more than other types of sin while forgetting that Jesus died for all and every type of sin however it manifests in our lives? Luco seems to have the right attitude here to accept and love all of mankind and their sin as exemplified in the form of Raven. This novel also shows how Christians judge and treat those who are different or are far removed in lifestyle, behaviour and attitude form us. Again Luco shows the way here. He is quite the Shepherd as God is. Is this why I and many other readers like him so much? We are instructed by Paul to imitate him (Paul) as he imitates Christ. I guess this is one reason I love Luco, and also Raven as I guess there is a little (or more) of him being very different in all of us (only we know what those differences are) that we desperately would like to have the understanding and acceptance from our fellow Christians. Again, another area where this novel and Wolf shine.

If a Christian wanted to find out about vampires and the Christian response, then this novel would be one of the best places to start.

I would be one very happy reader if Wolf was to continue this story either from what I have hinted at previously or with the plot line and character introduced in the Epilogue. I am going to discuss this with the author.

I am sad with a degree of separation anxiety that this novel had to end but elated at such a wonderful last few chapters that Wolf so brilliantly constructed and tied up all the elements in this masterfully created novel.

Highly Recommended.