56660

To say this was Disappointing doesn't begin to cover it.

First book was decent, if a bit choppy. 2nd was an Empire Strikes Back ending, forcing you on to the third, regrettably, since the writing quality had declined. The third was just...wow. The writing quality remains mediocre, but it's more than that. Hard to know where to begin. Perhaps that it would seem to be a complete rip-off of the 1871 Vril, the Power of the Coming Race- an underground post-flood civilization where people have superpowers and can control the physical world by the power of their will. But more, the characters are not people you care about, even after three books. They do not develop believably. Worse, the theology is rather whack. Suddenly we're thrust into the End Times, but a particular reading of Revelations, even amongst those who interpret the book literally. (I'm being polite. It's actually a reading that no theologian would support.) If this is going to be a Left Behind style book, that's fine- just let us know before we buy it.

It got two stars because it does include also the concepts of love and self-sacrifice, the more important parts of the Christian religion. Late to the game, after a *lot* of walking, but still there.

But the worst part from my perspective was the genre. This is billed as Sci-Fi. It is superhero Sci-Fi for the first two books. You are *not* allowed to switch genres in the middle. Fantasy is really cool, but it's a different genre. When you bring in a particular aberrant reading of Revelations and Genesis, that is Fantasy. Nothing on Revelations and Genesis, or even a literal reading of such that I don't hold to, but this is in no way hewing to a standard exegesis of those texts. Science Fiction is a genre that holds closely to science, with leaps from current science only at specific points. There should not be constant suggestions of humans and the Earth beginning a mere 7,000 years ago. There should be an explanation of how people could jump bodies and receive powers, besides "magic rings". If there isn't, then the rings really are magical, and we are in the realm of Fantasy. There should be an explanation of how the Earth would turn black and into a wasteland, and it is *not* enough to simply say that this is one reading of Revelations. Not in Science Fiction it's not. And please, please, do us the kindness of explaining how the Earth gets green and alive again! Because otherwise, I don't care if the good guys won- there's no way our species or the planet are going to survive much more than a year. ( )

I picked up all 3 together and read them back to back. Even though this is a Christian publisher, the message is very subtle and would be a good read to recommend to non-Christian friends who like scifi & books with supernatural elements. If you like your books with a fast pace, reasonable character development, and a semi-believable plot about good vs evil, then this is a series for you. ( )

Final book in the Trilogy! Again, the plot moved slowly with description of the destruction of earth after Grant's character transformation. This book becomes a religious primer on the "End Times" with Grant's character forced to become Oblivion, the forth horseman of the Apocalypse. Story was supported by a number of Biblical quotes predicting the struggle between good and evil with evil destroying all mankind from the Universe. The description of the pain and misery experienced by the population and the ring bearers who were compelled to become an evil army to help with Oblivion's destruction seemed excessive and unnecessary. Maybe my non-religious perspective on life tainted my appreciation for this story but, I felt hoodwinked by being drawn into what was essentially a bible story under the guise of a science fiction story. Wish I had known of the Christian bias before I spent so much time reading this series. If I had, I might have avoided purchasing the last two books in the series and saved a lot of my personal time! ( )

Very good. Excellent ending. Sometimes a book ends, leaving you with a sense of wonder, as to what will happen to the characters. This one ends well, with good closure. It is not the best book I have read, but it definitely kept the pace going, and a strong sense of mystery as to how the book would end. Did not completely expect the ending. I still need to go back to the first book, as I, for some reason, got the second book, first. ( )