This round of reviews for the Christian Sci-Fi Fantasy Blog Tour (CSFFBT) is for C.S. Lakin’s “The Wolf of Tebron. It’s the first book in the “Gates of Heaven” series. I was honored to have the chance to review this book back in August, and you can find my original review here.
Since then I’ve read through the book again, done an internet interview with C.S. Lakin, and gathered some more thoughts on the book. I’ll be doing 3 posts during this tour, Lord willing. Tonight’s post is on some additional thoughts I had after re-reading the book, examining further the experiences of Joran. Tuesday’s post will be the 1st portion of the internet interview with the author. Wednesday’s post will be the last part of the interview with the author which includes possible spoilers, as well as a sneak peek mention of the next book in the “Gates of Heaven” series… “The Map Across Time”.
Now onto the book…
There are a lot of things the main character, Joran, experiences as a direct result of his jealousy. Those experiences do a good job of describing what we really go through as a result of our jealousy. Jealous people often close themselves off from possible realities that might truly heal their pain. Instead they embrace a goal of vengeance that promises a peace, yet it only causes more pain for everybody. Rage takes over, and the spirit and mind become blind and imprisoned. It’s a horrible experience, and sadly people don’t considered how their own actions can cause others to suffer through this. I myself have had major struggles with jealousy, and they completely sapped the life out of me for many years. I couldn’t believe how well “The Wolf of Tebron” brought those experiences to life in Joran. I felt every single bit of his pain!
At one point in the book Joran is so self-absorbed that he’s angry about his companion Ruyah having fun on their journey, and he considers it to be at the expense of his own self. He thinks others are taking joy in the very things that he feels are ruining his life, and that they are somehow making it worse for him. And in that, he is not only ignorant of the hearts and goals of others, but Joran is unable to see the joy set before him. It’s the nature of a focus on self. We were made for God, all things were made for God. We’re supposed to suffer when we lose sight of God, it helps bring us back to Him. It is able to wake us up from the nightmares we make of our lives, and direct us back to the reality which is the very base of our earthly experiences.
This book is good for those struggling with jealousy and rage ruling their lives. It can help the reader take a step back and watch somebody going through the extremes of what the reader is going through. The reader will likely wonder how someone was able to so accurately capture all the feelings they’re struggling with because of jealousy. It will help the reader see not only how it sucks their lives away, but also see that there is indeed a true escape available to them in Christ.
To check out the book for yourself visit http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0899578888
Also visit the author’s webpage at http://www.cslakin.com/
Or her blog at http://cslakin.blogspot.com/
Check out what the others in the tour had to say:
Noah Arsenault
Amy Bissell
Red Bissell
Justin Boyer
Keanan Brand
Grace Bridges
Beckie Burnham
Jeff Chapman
Christian Fiction Book Reviews
Carol Bruce Collett
Valerie Comer
CSFF Blog Tour
D. G. D. Davidson
April Erwin
Andrea Graham
Nikole Hahn
Katie Hart
Ryan Heart
Bruce Hennigan
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Becca Johnson
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Dawn King
Shannon McDermott
Matt Mikalatos
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Joan Nienhuis
Nissa
John W. Otte
Chawna Schroeder
Tammy Shelnut
Kathleen Smith
James Somers
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
Writing for Christ! 