A gripping spiritual tale with a memorable real-life setting.
An American-founded ministry group in India faces a band of terrorists in this Christian thriller sequel.
Andrew Morrison helped start The Call, a Christian movement in the United States. Now that it has gone worldwide, Andrew and his family and friends plan to spend two years in India to aid in developing the Global Calling Ministry. Sadly, not everyone welcomes the Americans’ religious message. A radicalized militia against the West and “any formal religion” launches a devastating terrorist strike at a crowded Global Calling event. Meanwhile, seven guardian angels “protect the chosen”—presumably individuals serving God in any capacity. The angels can’t prevent the terrorist attack but may be able to help when one of the culprits, Sanjay Swaminathan, seems to have a change of heart. Intelligence agencies can use him to take down the faction, which brutally trained him and other recruits at a camp. Sanjay’s role becomes even more important once terrorists kidnap members of the Global Calling, including someone close to Andrew. While the authorities take on militia operatives and angels battle demons, good strives to triumph over evil. As with Delaney’s preceding book, The Shaft (2018), the supernatural facet doesn’t overwhelm the plot. The angels act more like guides; they visit Sanjay, who merely surmises what their nonverbal presence means. This supports a notable theme of divine will; even the angels don’t know God’s plan. As Andrew and his family settle in India, the author vividly describes the country, from the bad (unpleasant smells) to the wonderful (its linguistic diversity and stunning landmarks). Nevertheless, the Morrisons, prominently featured in the series opener, take a back seat this time despite Andrew’s periodically narrating. They contribute little to the suspenseful, action-oriented final act, which focuses on rescuing the abductees. Sanjay is the standout among the cast; he earns sympathy both during his recruitment and after the terrorist attack.
A gripping spiritual tale with a memorable real-life setting.Pub Date: May 31, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-66-280910-1
Page Count: 362
Publisher: Xulon Press
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.
A lifetime’s worth of letters combine to portray a singular character.
Sybil Van Antwerp, a cantankerous but exceedingly well-mannered septuagenarian, is the titular correspondent in Evans’ debut novel. Sybil has retired from a beloved job as chief clerk to a judge with whom she had previously been in private legal practice. She is the divorced mother of two living adult children and one who died when he was 8. She is a reader of novels, a gardener, and a keen observer of human nature. But the most distinguishing thing about Sybil is her lifelong practice of letter writing. As advancing vision problems threaten Sybil’s carefully constructed way of life—in which letters take the place of personal contact and engagement—she must reckon with unaddressed issues from her past that threaten the house of cards (letters, really) she has built around herself. Sybil’s relationships are gradually revealed in the series of letters sent to and received from, among others, her brother, sister-in-law, children, former work associates, and, intriguingly, literary icons including Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry. Perhaps most affecting is the series of missives Sybil writes but never mails to a shadowy figure from her past. Thoughtful musings on the value and immortal quality of letters and the written word populate one of Sybil’s notes to a young correspondent while other messages are laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with her characteristic blunt tartness. Evans has created a brusque and quirky yet endearing main character with no shortage of opinions and advice for others but who fails to excavate the knotty difficulties of her own life. As Sybil grows into a delayed self-awareness, her letters serve as a chronicle of fitful growth.
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780593798430
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.
Are we not men? We are—well, ask Bigfoot, as Brooks does in this delightful yarn, following on his bestseller World War Z(2006).
A zombie apocalypse is one thing. A volcanic eruption is quite another, for, as the journalist who does a framing voice-over narration for Brooks’ latest puts it, when Mount Rainier popped its cork, “it was the psychological aspect, the hyperbole-fueled hysteria that had ended up killing the most people.” Maybe, but the sasquatches whom the volcano displaced contributed to the statistics, too, if only out of self-defense. Brooks places the epicenter of the Bigfoot war in a high-tech hideaway populated by the kind of people you might find in a Jurassic Park franchise: the schmo who doesn’t know how to do much of anything but tries anyway, the well-intentioned bleeding heart, the know-it-all intellectual who turns out to know the wrong things, the immigrant with a tough backstory and an instinct for survival. Indeed, the novel does double duty as a survival manual, packed full of good advice—for instance, try not to get wounded, for “injury turns you from a giver to a taker. Taking up our resources, our time to care for you.” Brooks presents a case for making room for Bigfoot in the world while peppering his narrative with timely social criticism about bad behavior on the human side of the conflict: The explosion of Rainier might have been better forecast had the president not slashed the budget of the U.S. Geological Survey, leading to “immediate suspension of the National Volcano Early Warning System,” and there’s always someone around looking to monetize the natural disaster and the sasquatch-y onslaught that follows. Brooks is a pro at building suspense even if it plays out in some rather spectacularly yucky episodes, one involving a short spear that takes its name from “the sucking sound of pulling it out of the dead man’s heart and lungs.” Grossness aside, it puts you right there on the scene.
A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.Pub Date: June 16, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-2678-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Del Rey/Ballantine
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
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