It’s unusual to think of pirate adventure stories and Christian literature being in the same category, but Wayne Thomas Batson has managed to combine the two successfully into an action-packed adventure in Isle of Fire. This story is the sequel to Isle of Swords at the end of which Cat Thorne loses his memory and nearly loses his life.
In this new tale, Cat slowly regains his memory as bits and pieces of his past come back to him. With horror he realizes who he is and who his father is. His father is Bartholomew Thorne, a notorious pirate who nearly killed his own son.
But Cat is befriended by the monks of Monasterio de Michael Arcangel, who are not only servants of God but ferocious soldiers in the fight for truth and justice. They tell him that he doesn’t have to be like his father. Father Brun believes Cat’s life has been spared and he has been delivered to the monastery in order to carry out a divine mission. The monks want him to lead their fleet when they set out to destroy the forces of evil.
Cat wants to put the past behind him and bring his father to justice but he’s terrified he is destined to continue on his father’s legacy, one of murder and mayhem. Bartholomew Thorne is believed to be dead, but he resurfaces. He not only wants to seek revenge on the British Empire, he captures his son and wants Cat to join him in his quest. Will Cat be able to resist his father or will he conquer his past and his father’s evil?
The story involves a whole cast of colorful characters: Cat and Bartholomew Thorne, the brethren of the monastary, a colony of Vikings, Cutlass Jack, Declan Ross, Red Eye, Edmund Scully, Commodore Blake and many, many others. The author includes a list of “Principal Cast” members to help the reader keep everyone straight. He also includes a drawing of a typical pirate ship complete with the parts labeled and their uses explained.
What I Like: Even though I hadn’t read the first book in this series, I was able to keep up with the storyline because the author provided enough background information to fill in the missing parts.
What I Dislike: My only complaint is that the pages of the book are blue. It doesn’t really make the book difficult to read, but it was a bit distracting, at least at first, to concentrate on the words and not the color of the pages. It’s not a big deal, but I thought it was worth mentioning.
Overall Rating: Excellent.
Age Appeal: Young adult.
Publisher Info: Thomas Nelson Publishers,2009; ISBN: 9781400315123; Paperback, $9.99.
Buy now at ChristianBook $7.99!
Or buy at Amazon.com $9.99.
Special Info: This is book two of the “Isle of Swords” adventures series. Read our reviews of other books by Wayne Thomas Batson. Visit the author’s website.
In this new tale, Cat slowly regains his memory as bits and pieces of his past come back to him. With horror he realizes who he is and who his father is. His father is Bartholomew Thorne, a notorious pirate who nearly killed his own son.
But Cat is befriended by the monks of Monasterio de Michael Arcangel, who are not only servants of God but ferocious soldiers in the fight for truth and justice. They tell him that he doesn’t have to be like his father. Father Brun believes Cat’s life has been spared and he has been delivered to the monastery in order to carry out a divine mission. The monks want him to lead their fleet when they set out to destroy the forces of evil.
Cat wants to put the past behind him and bring his father to justice but he’s terrified he is destined to continue on his father’s legacy, one of murder and mayhem. Bartholomew Thorne is believed to be dead, but he resurfaces. He not only wants to seek revenge on the British Empire, he captures his son and wants Cat to join him in his quest. Will Cat be able to resist his father or will he conquer his past and his father’s evil?
The story involves a whole cast of colorful characters: Cat and Bartholomew Thorne, the brethren of the monastary, a colony of Vikings, Cutlass Jack, Declan Ross, Red Eye, Edmund Scully, Commodore Blake and many, many others. The author includes a list of “Principal Cast” members to help the reader keep everyone straight. He also includes a drawing of a typical pirate ship complete with the parts labeled and their uses explained.
What I Like: Even though I hadn’t read the first book in this series, I was able to keep up with the storyline because the author provided enough background information to fill in the missing parts.
What I Dislike: My only complaint is that the pages of the book are blue. It doesn’t really make the book difficult to read, but it was a bit distracting, at least at first, to concentrate on the words and not the color of the pages. It’s not a big deal, but I thought it was worth mentioning.
Overall Rating: Excellent.
Age Appeal: Young adult.
Publisher Info: Thomas Nelson Publishers,2009; ISBN: 9781400315123; Paperback, $9.99.
Buy now at ChristianBook $7.99!
Or buy at Amazon.com $9.99.
Special Info: This is book two of the “Isle of Swords” adventures series. Read our reviews of other books by Wayne Thomas Batson. Visit the author’s website.
1 comment:
I love Wayne Thomas Batson, and can't wait til my son is old enough to read this! He is quite taken with pirates! Thanks for the great review! Erin
Post a Comment