Oracles of Fire Part 2: Enoch’s Ghost

Title: Enoch’s Ghost

Series: Oracles of Fire #2; Sequel to Dragons in Our Midst

Author: Bryan Davis

Genre: YA (10-14) Technological Fantasy

Excerpt from “Prologue” of Enoch’s Ghost:

The great dragon’s eyes glowed with bloodred luminescence, and his voice rumbled like distant thunder. “Mardon, the time is short. When will the giants awaken to bring about our final victory?”
“Soon, very soon.” Standing on the edge of a precipice, Mardon held a shining rope of gold, as taut as a harp string and almost as slender. It stretched across a chasm that lay before him, the canyon path of a magma river far below. A mere stone’s throw away, a nebulous figure held to the golden line from another precipice, too far to detect any features of form or face. The barest of glows emanated from the slow-moving river, casting reddish light and illuminating the rutted walls and jagged ceiling of their underground cavern.

“Sapphira’s latest use of her power,” Mardon continued, “has allowed me to draw Earth and Hades so close, only a mere thread of dimensional space separates them. A few more pulls should bind them as one. Even then, I cannot guess how perfectly the two dimensions will combine. The dead souls should eventually become as they were when they were alive, but we might have to wait for the merged realms to reach a state of equilibrium before everything settles.” He strained against the line again, letting out an almost inaudible grunt. “That’s why the synchronization has to be precise. The realms must not touch until the timers are ready to expire and the escape route for our giants is complete.”

Three teens, two oracles, and the son of Shem race to stop the Nephilim and a dead mastermind’s plan to unite Heaven, Earth, and Hades.

The Writing: This is probably the best of the Dragon/Oracles books thus far. For although the cast is large, most are old acquaintances by now and easy to follow (especially if you kept the characters of the first Oracle book straight, for which I recommend reading it twice before pursuing this book). Enoch’s Ghost simply fleshes those characters out, adding depth to hero and villain alike.

As for plotting, it rarely loses pace after the first page. Since there are as many as four individual plots going on simultaneously, it could be easy to release the tension as we switch from plot line to plot line. Instead, each builds on the tension created, culminating in an intense—and heart-wrenching—climax.

The Story: Just as the plotting of Enoch’s Ghost is intense, so is the content, with one of the best salvation/conversion scenes I’ve seen in a young adult book—and it only gets a little preachy right at the end! But to get there, many dark and emotionally challenging scenes exist, including the deaths of two beloved characters and a chilling chapter set by the Lake of Fire.

But the darkness is never allowed to overwhelm, and the hope and truth shines brighter for it, highlighting the surrender of gifts, sacrificial love, and as already mentioned, salvation by faith.

Summary: In many ways this is the darkest book of the Dragon and Oracles series, but it is also one of the most powerful. It makes the journey through all the books well worth the while.

Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars

Ready to buy Enoch's Ghost? Order it here.

And don't forget to check out book 1, Eye of the Oracle, book 3, Last of the Nephilim, and the entire Dragons in Our Midst series!

Highs & Lows

Sitting down with notebook in hand, I stare at the words I wrote yesterday. Where was I? Something was about to happen, something important. Oh yeah…

I press my pen to paper, write a paragraph, then pause. Is that really what I want to say? No matter. It can be fixed later.

Another couple paragraphs and pause again. My character has a choice. Which way is she going to proceed? I close my eyes and stretch my mind out. So many possibilities. I travel down the paths one by one, considering my character's personality and the outcomes of each decision.

Suddenly, it snaps into place. I know what my character will choose. I know how the other characters will react. I know the results of it all. Image piles on image, like a movie in fast-forward.

My pen flies across the paper; adrenaline courses through my body. This will be the best story ever! So much energy! So much emotion! I struggle to capture the impressions striking my mind before they vanish into a void, irretrievable.

Then wham! Nothing. I’ve hit a black, impenetrable wall.

I squeeze out another sentence, then a paragraph. But the words are dull, meaningless, redundant, a way to fill space.

I back up and reread what I just scribbled, hoping to jumpstart the flow again. Bad idea. How could I ever think this was worth anything? The characters are flat, their motivations forced, reactions predictable. Details don’t exist and the plot wraps itself into a ghastly knot. There is not one innovative sentence in what I wrote. Dozens or revisions could never fix this mess. I should throw it all out. In fact I probably should burn the whole novel, or at least send it to bottom-drawer purgatory. As for my writing “career,” isn’t it time I grow up and get a real job?

Now there’s a thought. What if my character…

I write a paragraph, pause, and then write another.

Maybe I can salvage this after all.

Personal Limitations: Marriage Status, Part 1

At first glance, marriage status may seem to have little bearing on our fiction habits. However, nearly all books and movies beyond a mid-grade level (stories for kids 8-12 years) have an element of romance/sexual tension. Indeed, even many of younger stories have romance in them too, if only the fairy-tale love of Cinderella or Snow White. So your marriage status can and will change how you perceive this prevalent element of story.

For the sake of this study, I will focus on three groups:

• Singles (defined here as someone who has never been in a sexually intimate relationship)

• Married couples (men and women currently in a sexually active relationship)

• Widows/divorcées (those who were in a sexual relationship which has now been broken)

Each of these has freedoms and restrictions that generally apply to the whole group. But remember: we’re dealing with personal limitations, so the exact application will vary from person to person.

Oracles of Fire, Part 1: Eye of the Oracle

Title: Eye of the Oracle

Series: Oracles of Fire #1; also prequel to Dragons in Our Midst

Author: Bryan Davis

Genre: YA (10-14) Technological Fantasy

Excerpt from “The Seed of Eden,” Chapter 1 of Eye of the Oracle:

Angling into a plunging dive, the dragon blasted a fireball at Lilith and Naamah. The two women dropped to the ground just as the flaming sphere sizzled over their heads. Naamah swatted her hair, whipping away stinging sparks that rained down from the fireball’s tail.

With a flurry of wings and a gust of wind, the dragon swooped low. As razor sharp claws jabbed at the women, Naamah lunged to the side, and Lilith rolled through the grass. A single claw caught Lilith’s long black dress, ripping it as the dragon lifted toward the sky.

Naamah jumped to her feet and helped Lilith up. The dragon made a sharp turn in the air, and, with its jagged-toothed maw stretching open, charged back toward them.

Lilith pushed a trembling hand into the pocket of her dress. “Only one hope left,” she said, panting. Pulling out a handful of black powder, she tossed it over her head. “Give me darkness!” she cried.

An oracle of fire and a son of Shem join forces to thwart an ancient sorceress and save the dragon race.

The Writing: A massive six hundred pages, Eye of the Oracle can appear daunting. However, it reads fast, more like three books than one with its large jumps in time and numerous characters, and is necessary as this book attempts to cover (rightly or wrongly) the entire history of dragons from the days immediately proceeding the Flood through the contemporary days of Dragons in Our Midst.

The result is a fascinating and complex history that fills the gaps left in the previous series. However, at the same time, the plot can be confusing. A single chapter may cover events years apart, and many characters have more than one name, complicating an already vast and intricate network or relations. I personally would have appreciated a chart with the characters, their various aliases, and the relationships listed.

That aside, the characters themselves are varied and colorful, many of them providing bright spots of humor in a dark-edged story. But while the emotional connection to the characters is established quicker and better than in Dragons in Our Midst, much is left to be desired. Nor does it help that the long time span makes the character arcs (the growth that characters undergo in the course of a story) a bit choppy with no clear climatic moment in the plotting.

The Content: Faith. Sacrifice. Heroism. Many of the themes of Dragons in our Mist series also run throughout Eye of the Oracle. But whereas Dragons in Our Mist emphasizes faith in action, Eye of the Oracle focuses on faith in waiting: hope, patience, the holding fast to what you learned in the light when darkness overtakes you. In this the huge time jumps work for the story: we watch characters fight to hold on not for days, weeks or years, but for decades, centuries, and even millennia.

As for areas of concern, violence does frequently occur with resulting “deaths” occasionally. This includes everything from sword battles to electrical shocks to the mention of whippings and glimpses of two people being shoved into a magma-filled chasm. But as a whole, the descriptions are minimal, supplying enough information for the reader to conclude the outcome, such as a death of a character.

Eye of the Oracle contains more “magical” elements than the previous series. However, much is explained by a character’s (or an object’s) connection to the supernatural, and most of the characters wielding the magical powers are either clearly evil (e.g. Morgan) or classified as prophets of God (e.g. Merlin). The two major exceptions deal with characters who are not fully human (e.g. underborns) or take a non-human form (e.g. Gabriel).

Summary: Although very confusing at times, Eye of the Oracle has fun plotting, enchanting characters, and out-of-this-world (literally) premises, which will delight readers who enjoyed Dragons in Our Midst. However, I don’t recommend reading this before Dragons in Our Midst, even though this is technically a prequel to that series.

Rating: 3.8 out of 5 stars

Make sure to check out book 2 (Enoch's Ghost) and 3 (Last of the Nephilim) as well as all of Dragons in Our Midst too!

Ready for the Oracles? Buy here.

Personal Limitations: Gender, Part 2

Last week we consider how male and females view fiction differently. In short, males tend to be more intellectual in their choices while females become more attached to the emotional. So what does this mean for fiction guidelines?

With women, their fiction will be limited by their emotional boundaries. What turns them on? What leaves them edgy? What acts as a catharsis and what drains their ability to cope with reality?

For while fiction can be a wonderful catharsis, the reverse danger is forcing the standards of the imaginary upon reality. An example of this would be expecting a husband to be the hero you see in romances or that it’s always “happily ever after” following the wedding.

With men, they need to consider emotional disconnection. This allows them to watch movies with higher violence content with less impact, and when they finish a story, the emotional baggage is usually left behind with the story.

However, emotional disconnection can be carried too far. They can become desensitized to the reality of a problem from too many encounters in fiction, and habits can be formed to disconnect from anything emotionally uncomfortable, even (or maybe especially) in the real world.

Is one problem worse than the other? No. The failure to emotionally disconnect fiction and reality can be as dangerous as completely disconnecting. And while each problem is predominately faced by one gender or the other, there is also cross-over. A male can impose the fictional world on the real one, while females can be desensitized. The key is to be aware of the dangers you face in order to guard against it.

Dragons in Our Midst Part 4: Tears of a Dragon

Title: Tears of a Dragon

Series: Dragons in Our Midst #4

Author: Bryan Davis

Genre: YA (10-14) Technological Fantasy

Excerpt from “Fama Regis,” Chapter 1 of Tears of a Dragon:

Bonnie leaned against the bedrail and clutched Sir Barlow’s burly hand. “I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

Barlow smiled, lifting his mustache. His dark eyes sparkled. “Yes, Miss. Thanks to an infusion of your blood, I am as fit as a Fiddle.” The knight’s brow furrowed under thick strands of unkempt hair. “That is the correct idiom, isn’t it?”

Bonnie tightened her grip on Barlow’s hand and laughed. “That’s the perfect idiom for a true gentleman!” Barlow’s smile broadened, revealing a chipped front tooth among a half-dozen yellowed incisors.
A new voice filled the room, strong and cheerful. “Indeed it is the correct idiom. A fine violin well played is fit for heaven itself.”

Bonnie spun toward the sound. Professor Hamilton, her teacher and friend, ambled into the hospital room, unbuttoning his black trench coat. She glanced at a clock on the wall. “Did you run into trouble somewhere?”

Two anthrozils and their friends battle Morgan Le Faye and powerful demons while searching for a missing father.

The Writing: Hooray for Tears of a Dragon! As a conclusion of a series, this novel is quite satisfying.

Does that mean that everything is wrapped up nicely? No. A beloved character dies, and many ends are left undone, enough for a new series to be started—indeed as Mr. Davis has done with the follow-up series, Oracles of Fire.

But you can finish this book and be completely satisfied, even if another book had never been written. Okay, almost completely satisfied. He leaves open one question concerning Bonnie, and I wished for a stronger hint of the outcome.

Besides that, Tears of a Dragon successfully wraps up the Dragons in Our Midst series with plenty of adventure and humor. The reader will be able to close the book with a big, happy sigh that all has been righted.

The Story: The themes of sacrifice and redemption flood the landscape of Tears of a Dragon. They pop up wherever you go in the story, being as integral to the plot as any sword-swinging or fire-breathing.

However, since redemption is a major theme and full-scale war is the plot, death and destruction are everywhere. Not that Mr. Davis does it in a way unreadable for ten-to-fourteen-year-olds, but it is something to be aware of.

Summary: Tears of a Dragon delivers everything the series has promised, closing Dragons in Our Midst with a bang. It’s not to be missed by readers of the earlier books.

Rating: 4.0 out of 5

Never heard of Dragons in Our Midst? Then check out my reviews for book 1, 2 and 3 as well as the follow-up series, Oracles of Fire.
Or order here.

Why I Write

Seven years have passed since I seriously started my pursuit of writing. Not a lot time in the publishing world by any means. Nonetheless, as I work day in and day out, writing page after page, I sometimes wonder what’s the point. My credits are less than a dozen, and despite three correspondence courses and more than a half-dozen conferences, my goals sometimes seem no closer to fulfillment than when I started.

So what is the point?

The reasons many writers give—to teach, to entertain, to challenge or impact others—don’t work. For while that could be someday, it is not yet, and from a human perspective, by no means guaranteed it will ever be.

Why then do I write?

If it is for my benefit and entertainment alone, my life requires a major makeover. Finding a job that pays a wage would be a good place to start, followed by reallocation of my time.

So why should I write?

Only one reason is sufficient; all others fall short. I write because it pleases my Lord.

For is not pleasing my Lord simply glorifying Him in action? And glorifying Him is the purpose for which I was created. All other things—touching lives, finding satisfaction in my work, entertaining friends and strangers, etc.—these are only added gifts supplied by my Lord. My main purpose is to glorify Him.

And this is why I write.

Personal Limitations: Male vs. Female Readers, Part 1

Despite what modern society may try to say, males and females are build differently, physically, emotionally, and mentally. As a result, they also perceive the realm of fiction differently.

Male readers—and even writers—tend toward the high-tension, plot-driven books. Much action is often a must, with plenty of car chases, gun battles, complex puzzles, and unexpected twists. A few dead bodies are no surprise; they are even expected. Advanced science, technology, and logic are often appreciated, which is why espionage and hard-core science fiction are popular with guys.

Females are more emotional. Many times characters and the emotional connection have greater importance than plotting. Complex relationships and inner turmoil are almost always a must; the matters of the heart engage the female reader. Hence why they read genres like romance, women’s fiction, and the lits (mom-lit, chick-lit, matron-lit).

There are, of course, varying degrees to both sides and even exceptions. I know plenty of female suspense writers who seem to enjoy devising ways to kill off people, and I’ve heard of men who are voracious romance readers.

Nonetheless, men tend toward action and the mind-provoking while women are more emotionally driven and heart engaged.

Dragons in Our Midst Part 3: Circles of Seven

Title: Circles of Seven

Series: Dragons in Our Midst #3

Author: Bryan Davis

Genre: YA (10-14) Technological Fantasy

Excerpt from “The Monogram,” Chapter 1 of Circles of Seven:

Danger!

Billy’s internal alarm blared. Something evil approached, creeping up slowly through one of the hallways of the huge English mansion. Sitting back in an easy chair, he closed his book and flicked off the floor lamp at his side. He waited, allowing his eyes to adjust to the dimness of the unfamiliar bedroom. Only a ray of moonlight seeped in from the window on the opposite wall, its yellowish white glow casting odd shadows across the oak floor.

He slowly rose to his feet, cringing at the sound of the creaking boards under his heels. He tiptoed to the door and pushed it silently closed, carefully releasing the knob and begging the latch not to click.

Icy dread crawled along his skin. The sense of danger grew in intensity with each creak from the bowels of the centuries-old house. Not able to sleep, he had decided to read a book of King Arthur lore borrowed from his teacher, Professor Hamilton. As he sat in the corner, he had thought the postmidnight noises were simply trees brushing the windows or maybe his host puttering around on the first floor. Now, as the clock on the wall ticked past 3:00 a.m., he knew better.

Two teenaged anthrozils (half-human, half-dragon race) enter the seven circles of Hades to rescue long-trapped prisoners.

The Writing: Circles of Seven has settled into the rhythm set by the previous two books without becoming static, the intensity of this story picking up where book two left off. The pace does slack for a couple chapters after the fast beginning, but it only builds pressure before diving back into the conflict.

The weak point of this story, like the rest of the series, is the emotional connection to the characters. While enough has been built to keep the reader wondering and worrying about the characters, there is missing that deeper level that can leave the reader breathless or on the verge of tears with a plot like this.

On the other hand, the good plotting has improved so that the reader becomes confused only a couple times and then for only short periods of times.

The premise, however, is what makes this book worth reading. The strongest point of the writing by far, these fanciful (and perhaps not so fanciful) what-ifs intrigues the mind and tickles the imagination. Thus the curiosity about this mythology will pull the reader along when other parts weaken.

Finally, I also appreciated how Mr. Davis seems to broaden the humor—especially with the addition of Larry the supercomputer—to ease the tension that could otherwise overwhelm.

The Story: The spiritual threads almost invisible in book one have now come to the foreground. At every turn, the main protagonists are faced with complex decisions and temptations that test them not only physically, but spiritually on many levels. Circles of Seven even confronts those times when we are confused and only God seems to know the truth.

As for the other areas of concern, violence and death is the main one faced in Circles of Seven, yet how can you expect otherwise when you consider they are supposedly traversing the circles of Hades? But while Mr. Davis does not shy away from this, he is very careful to depict it in a low-key manner that will not fill the mind with gruesome pictures.

Summary: Circles of Seven captures the imagination in a way that the previous two books only hinted at, providing an exciting adventure for young adults and thought-provoking read fro adults. It’s especially good for intellectual readers who want ideas to stretch their minds.

Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars

Order Circles of Seven here, and don't miss the reviews for book one, book two, and book four!

5 Favorite First Lines

1. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” –The Bible

2. “Collin Boyd stepped off the Metro bus on his way to work, and across the street he saw himself strolling down the sidewalk.” –Relentless, by Robin Parrish

3. “Keryn Wills was in the shower when she figured out how to kill John Trenton.” –Double Vision, by Randall Ingermanson

4. “It was a dark and stormy night.” –A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle

5. “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” –Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen

Personal Limitations: Relationships

The last few weeks we’ve been covering the personality aspects of limitations. Now today we move onto the second part, the realm of relationships.

While some might want to believe that we each are an island unto ourselves, we can and do have an affect on the world around us: even the smallest island will cause a shift in the currents of the ocean around it.

So when we are building fiction guidelines, we must determine what kind of island we are. Do we have the granite cliffs of masculinity or the sandy beaches of femininity? Secluded lagoons of singleness or land bridges of marriage? What is our proximity to other islands? Do children or grandchildren play on our shores? And most importantly, how should that affect the currents of the ocean around us?

That is what we will explore in the coming weeks.

The Gifted, Part 2: The Betrayed

Title: The Betrayed

Series: The Gifted #2

Author: Lisa T. Bergren

Genre: Adult Historical/Supernatural Suspense

Excerpt from Chapter One of The Betrayed:

October, The Year of Our Lord 1340

“Sir, we have brought the one you seek,” the wiry man said from a dark hallway.

“Good. Bring her in,” Vincenzo said. He glanced at the man beside him, Abramo Amidei, staring out the window, apparently deep in thought. Or preparing for this…

A small, elderly woman arrived, flanked by two large guards.

Vincenzo descended the two steps downward and looked her over. Here was the last one to be questioned—the last one touched by Daria d’Angelo, healed by her. He and Abramo had wrung every detail they could from each of those healed by the “Duchess”—a title more granted out of honor than true. There had been far more than Vincenzo had realized, and each gave them more insight into Lady Daria’s life with her new companions.

The city dwellers called this one Old Woman Parmo, in that there were few who reached their gray and wrinkled years, and yet she had the spirit of one who could still take on another in battle. Old eyes, rimmed in wrinkles and understanding, met his own. “Baron del Buco,” she said in greeting. She did not fear. She only waited.

As with the others they had questioned, Vincenzo recognized something of Daria within this one. There was a common strength within them all. Daria had healed her. Given her height and vitality once again. Vincenzo had seen this old woman himself in the marketplace, done business with her. For decades she had sold cloth, so bent over that she could not meet her customer’s eye. Now here she was, before him, upright…What power was that? That Daria, Daria d’Angelo, his Daria could do this?

Old Woman Parmo met his gaze unflinchingly, as if she already knew he had turned against Daria. Suddenly, Vincenzo’s master, Lord Abramo Amidei, turned from the window and descended the stairs. With one broad stroke, he took the old woman by the neck, rushed her to the wall, slammed her against it, and held her there, struggling to breathe. “Where?” he asked between gritted teeth. “Where have they gone?”

The Gifted seek to elude the clutches of evil seeking them.

The Writing: Descriptive, uncluttered, vivid, active—these are some of the adjectives I could use for The Betrayed. Like the previous book, The Begotten, The Betrayed places fleshed-out characters in a setting so detailed that you can almost hear bells tolling, taste salt breezes, feel cold stones. Combined with a well-paced plot, this makes for strong writing indeed.

The Content: The Betrayed has some potent themes woven throughout it. Sacrifice. Courage. Hope in the midst of darkness. Service to God despite reluctance.

However, as before, the vivid descriptions include some graphic portrayals of evil, such a the scenes involving whippings and torture.

Summary: The Betrayed is a well-written tale with some deep spiritual threads. The descriptions would be a history buff’s delight, and the classic good-versus-evil plot fits well for readers of fantasy. However because of some of the more graphic elements, this is definitely an adult novel, not recommended for anyone under sixteen.

Rating: 4.6 out of 5

Don't forget to check out the review for book one and book three, too!

Looking to purchase The Betrayed? Buy it here now.