Inside The Cover
Book Reviews
Review by Heather Hunt
The Light of Eidon
By Karen Hancock
July, 2003
Bethany House
432 pages
Christian fiction
Amazon.com price: $10.39
This exciting new story by Christy-award-winning author Karen Hancock is the
first book in the “Legends of the Guardian-King” series. Like J.R.R. Tolkien
did for his “Lord of the Rings” series, Hancock has created a whole world
with map included in which readers can lose themselves for hours of
heart-stopping adventures. This is a world where battles between good and evil
are still being fought, where darkness and light stand side by side, yet the
truth is not as black and white as it may seem.
Our hero in this epic world is Abramm Kalladorne, a lowly prince of the northern
kingdom of Kiriath, who is so far down the line of succession and so puny
compared to his brothers that he decides to join the religious order Guardians
of the Sacred Flames of Eidon. For eight years he toils in the rigors of the
religion only to be betrayed by his spiritual mentor on the eve of his
installation as a Guardian.
This betrayal sets him on a long series of grueling adventures that includes
slavery on a galley ship and the equally miserable life of a gladiator. Like
Joseph in the book of Genesis, however, he appears to be blessed in all of his
experiences and turns into the
most famous gladiator, known as the White Pretender, and eventually is pegged to
be the Deliverer of the downtrodden Dorsaddi race.
Along the way he finds love, strength, and loyal friendship. And every step of
the way, his spiritual battles mirror the intensity of his physical
confrontations. Hancock has created a tale that combines elements from
Tolkien’s Middle Earth, Russell Crowe’s “Gladiator” movie, and Frank
Peretti’s This Present Darkness, which was the first breakout Christian
novel.
Hancock’s archetypal world includes the familiar motif of twins destined for
greatness, but she gives it a unique twist in having the sister, Carissa, be the
one who sets out to rescue her beloved brother, Abramm. Hancock writes with
confidence, perfect pacing, and a welcome economy of words. (I often find books
of this genre to be somewhat florid and lengthy.)
Though this tale begins a series, its main story comes to a definite ending at
the end of this book. Several other storylines are left open to be explored in
future novels. So the promise is there but not the frustrating gimmick of the
cliffhanger. The Light of Eidon is a swashbuckling tale that satisfies on
its own terms while pointing to further exciting adventures from a talented new
writer.
CLICK
HERE TO ORDER THE BOOK.
Heather
Hunt earns her living as an editor for a business publisher in Connecticut. For
fun she rides bikes, reads books and magazines, watches films, and cheers on the
Red Sox. She writes reviews for ThisChristianLife.com and SFReader.com and is
also practicing screenwriting. Practice makes perfect!
