Monthly Archives: December 2014

The Last Toqeph by Yvonne Anderson, a review

Lost and Found The Last Toqeph by Yvonne Anderson, Gateway to Gannah Series #4 of 4
Published by the author, 2014, 402 pages
Genre: Christian fantasy/sci-fi, young adult and up

Adam, heir to the throne of the new settlers of the planet Gannah, sees a fairly smooth road before him. Though he’s only one-half native Gannahian, no one is more qualified to succeed his mother, the ruling toqeph. At least, that’s what he thinks until he goes on a lonely quest and meets a young man in a desolate corner of the planet. This young man may have a better claim.

But, since all native Gannahians except Adam’s mother were wiped out in a plague, this young man isn’t supposed to exist.

Does Adam report the existence of the young man? Or just let things ride?

Gannahians believe they are by nature full of integrity. But Adam discovers that’s not so. He personally has the opportunity to right an ancient wrong, at great cost to himself. Will he do it?

This book caps the four-book Gateway to Gannah series, which winds through a large cast of characters and situations. I really enjoyed reading this series, and I am sure you will too.

Read my reviews of this series:

Book 1

Book 2

Book 3

Book 4

 

Ransom in the Rock by Yvonne Anderson, a review

Lost and Found Ransom in the Rock by Yvonne Anderson, Gateway to Gannah Series #3 of 4
Published by the author, 2014, 295 pages
Genre: Christian fantasy/sci-fi, young adult and up

It’s time for Lileela, age 15, to return to her home planet. But she’s disgusted with the parents who sent her away to the planet Karkar ten years before. Karkar’s a civilized place. Why would she want to go back home to backward, underpopulated Gannah?

Soon after the rebellious Lileela returns, she learns that her parents have paid a king’s ransom for her return. And she learns that the people accompanying her from Karkar are planning to conquer and colonize Gannah. Where do her allegiances lie now?

Meanwhile, a crack special forces team from Earth is handed the assignment to kidnap a Christian evangelist and his family and send them into prison and slavery. Problem is, the leader of the team, Faris, was secretly evangelized himself by this man a year earlier. Can he obey his orders? Should he? If he does, where can he flee?

This book continues the tales of Gannah, a richly imagined world where natives can communicate telepathically with each other–and with the Yasha, the Lord. While Jesus died on Earth for sins of Earthers, his death covers the sins of others too, the people of Gannah have discovered. Gannahians are particularly in tune with the Yasha, because they know the ancient language of Gannah is the same language as that of the ancient children of Israel on earth, no coincidence but a work of the creator God.

I enjoyed this book. I really enjoy the richly imagined planet and its history, along with its colorful characters.

Read my reviews of this series:

Book 1

Book 2

Book 3

Book 4

The Fatal Tree by Stephen Lawhead, a review

The Fatal Tree The Fatal Tree, final book of the five-book Bright Empires Series, by Stephen R. Lawhead
Published by Thomas Nelson, 2014, 335 pages
Genre: Multiverse/alternate history/time-travel written from a Christian worldview, for teens and adults

Former novice Kit Livingstone is a seasoned ley traveler now. He’s been using a method of walking along natural energy-filled “ley” lines in the earth’s crust to travel to alternate, but similar, universes, following in the footsteps of other ley travelers like his late great-grandfather, Cosimo, and the ruthless Lord Burleigh. They’ve all been looking madly for the Skin Map, which they think will show the ley-travel way to the Spirit Well: what seems to be the fountain of youth and life.

In this book Kit and friends discover that the stakes are far higher than they thought, and the Spirit Well is something different from what they thought. The multiverse is getting more and more unstable, and quickly. Ley traveling doesn’t take them where it used to, but to strange and dangerous places. Napoleon’s soldiers appear in 1930’s Damascus. Kit’s friend Mina runs into a duplicate of herself.

And the key to it all, the Spirit Well, is beyond their reach, because an enormous yew tree has planted itself in the portal leading to it, a tree that zaps to death anyone that reaches for it. If they can’t get around the tree, the multiverse will quickly unravel. The world and all its clones in the multiverse have only a few weeks to live, but only some scientists and some ley travelers know it.

And the key to the tree belongs to the one person none of them wants to trust.

What do I think? I’ve gotten pretty fond of some of the newer characters in this series, the ley-traveling Italian priest Gianni especially. Gianni brings a Christian flavor to some of the book, which is sold in the general market and therefore is very delicate about conveying its worldview, lest non-Christians put it down. I think having the sunny priest convey certain ideas works very well.

The fully-drawn characters, the well-described locales all around the world spiced with those critical details, and an intriguing plot that brings a whole epic series to conclusion make this a winning book.

Read my reviews of all five books in the series: one, two, three, four, five.

This review is part of the Christian Science Fiction/Fantasy Blog Tour.

Please check out what others are saying:

Julie Bihn
Thomas Clayton Booher
Beckie Burnham
Jeff Chapman
Karri Compton
April Erwin
Victor Gentile
Jason Joyner
Janeen Ippolito
Carol Keen
Emileigh Latham
Rebekah Loper
Shannon McDermott
Meagan @ Blooming with Books
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Nissa
Jalynn Patterson
Writer Rani
Nathan Reimer
Audrey Sauble
Jojo Sutis
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Shane Werlinger
Phyllis Wheeler

Author Website – http://www.stephenlawhead.com/
Author Facebook page – #/pages/Stephen-R-Lawhead/84503526872

I received a free copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review.