Book Review #11 - Rise of the Fallen

Thoughts:

*grins widely*

Hello, readers! Unfortunately, Miss Ella Grace couldn’t join us this week, so I, Raya Lee, am in charge of yet another book review. She has even been kind enough to grant me access to this blog with my own account, so that I don’t keep hacking into hers. I guess that shows that I am a good kidnapper, considering the kid I’ve nabbed (I never understood why it’s kidnapper when you’re actually nabbing the kid… so it should really be kidnabber in my opinion) granted me access to her blog. Not like I’m complaining though!

Since I’ve given you some time, I figured it was time to review the second installment of the Wars of the Realm trilogy by Chuck Black! If you have not read Cloak of the Light, this post will contain some spoilers for that book.

If I’m being completely honest, I didn’t read this second book until I’d read the first and last book twice through. I already had all three books at my disposal, and this second book isn’t quite as directly related to Drew’s story, so I skipped it in favor of the last book. The series can be read how I did, but looking back, I strongly advise you to read the series in order… There are some… things… that happen in the last book that I would have appreciated a lot more if I’d read this one first. Though this book is still my least favorite of the trilogy, it’s still amazing to read!

Author: Chuck Black

Genre: Action/Adventure, Science Fiction, Mystery, Romance

Series: Yes, this is the second book in Chuck Black’s Wars of the Realm trilogy.

Time period: Jumps between ancient Biblical days and modern day.

Setting: Jumps between heaven, places/main events in the Old and New Testament (ex. Noah and the Ark, Babel, the Crucifixion, etc.), events in World War II, Brazil, European countries, and various cities in the U.S.

Summary:

(Contains spoilers from the first book)

"Valadius is the last and least of God’s angels, but he’s seen much across the millennia since his creation. Empires have risen and fallen as angelic and demonic forces battle in a raging war that will determine humanity’s fate — and the fate of his defeated brothers.

Eventually called to be an earth-bound warrior, Valadius rises to a position of power and respect, commanding legions of angels through impossible battles and overwhelming odds. But when orders arrive from the Creator’s most elite Messenger, he finds himself suddenly demoted to a task of apparent insignificance considering the fierce war they are waging against the demonic Fallen — the covert protection of one unbelieving man.

Valadius soon finds himself on a mission that will push him beyond his abilities as he battles to protect Drew Carter, for the Fallen are coming for him. Legions of them.

As Valadius races against time to discover why Drew is so important to humanity’s survival, can he stand between Drew and all who would destroy him?"

(summary is taken from back of the book)

Main Characters:

Validus

Niturni

Persimus

Cadriel

Ral

Drew Carter

Writing Style:

This book is written from Third person, exclusively from Validus’s point of view. As I’ve said before, I positively adore Chuck Black’s writing style. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve found that small things I didn’t notice as a kid concerning wording and other scenes bother me more. Chuck Black does such an amazing job using descriptive language without being redundant, and he has such a good balance between dialogue and descriptions. It’s honestly something I aspire towards when I write my own books! The one I am working on definitely has been influenced by Chuck’s writing style.

Plot Development:

I didn’t find this plot quite as interesting as the first and third books, and here’s why. Spoilers for the first book are ahead. As mentioned before, this book was written from Validus’s point of view. Validus is the main angel character from the first book. This book basically gives a bunch of Validus’s backstory. I do love good backstories (I write my own all the time!), but the plot jumps around a bit between the present and the past. While it makes relative cohesive sense, there are some things that don’t seem to have much importance until much later in the book, or even the third book. Even still, I thoroughly enjoyed this book because it gave me information about a character I was curious about.

Theme of the Book:

Fight against evil, trust in God’s plan.

Spiritual Content:

This book is from an angel’s point of view so… Descriptions of Heaven, creation of the Earth, descriptions of Biblical events, descriptions of fallen angels/demons and the fall of said angels, descriptions of spiritual beings (i.e. guardian angels, demons possessing others, warrior angels, etc.), prayer, and more.

Warnings:

Oh man… This book includes many of the same warnings from the last book, as many of the same events occur from a different POV. Some new warnings include…

Angels falling out of God’s favor/the birth of evil; minor characters death; mentions of abortion, human trafficking, sexual harassment, drugs, other evils corrupting the world; lots of intense fighting with various weapons; scenes from intense Biblical events; scenes from World War II (specifically the holocaust and gas chambers); mentions of suicide; demon possession; probably more that I have forgotten.

Age rating:

12+ for reading level, 13+ for certain content

Preteens:

Young teens:

Older teens:

Personal rating:

This post was written by Raya Lee. Nerd. Technology lover. Lover of fresh pow.