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Against the Fading of the Light by Stu Jones

Against the Fading of the Light

From the Action of Purpose series, volume 3

by Stu Jones

Pub Date: Oct. 8th, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-5148-8039-5
Publisher: CreateSpace

A hero and his cohorts clash with a sinister clan in this tense volume, part of a post-apocalyptic trilogy.

This latest novel from Jones (Into the Dark of Day, 2013, etc.) ends his action-packed trilogy about a world of toxic oceans, roving mutant bands, and scattered pockets of hopeful survivors. The previous book left its small band of heroes in a seemingly impossible situation, especially former cop Kane Lorusso. The evil Coyote clan of mutants forced Kane to watch his wife die and his two children led into slavery before he was shot off a high cliff and presumed dead. He didn’t die, but this new volume opens with him almost wishing he had, badly wounded and deep in despair. His concerned comrades include his massive, 8-foot-tall, 500-pound guardian, Courtland Thompson; his former nemesis Dagen; and Jenna, the woman who saved Dagen from the worst in himself. While hoping that Kane will recover, Courtland sadly recalls the widespread destruction (“So much had happened. The world as they knew it had ended. It had been fast and furious, drowning the planet in plague and fire. Few had survived”). Stalking this group from afar, through lieutenants and moles, is Coyote leader Malak, a provincial warlord who’s possessed by an ancient evil spirit. Malak and his minions are able to brainwash the innocent to join their cause. But benevolent spirits exist, too, in Jones’ multifaceted world. As in the previous volumes, the narrative features strong, evocative Christian overlays, which Jones handles with considerable dramatic skill and a no-nonsense delivery that should make this series attractive to readers of Christian sci-fi. Plotlines that have been accumulating power in the first two books converge in this imaginative novel as the ragtag forces of Kane and his friends square off against the sinister Malak and his followers. Jones adeptly interweaves this earthly brawl (complete with copious amounts of violence and some compelling descriptions and dialogue—non-Christians should be every bit as gripped by the action as Christians) with a larger celestial struggle being fought over the future of humanity. Kane’s quest to save his children, Dagen’s search for the best parts of his soul, the survivors’ hunt for an ancient artifact of enormous power—all are brought to a stirring, well-handled climax.

An energetic thriller about beleaguered warriors of God battling the powers of darkness that delivers a rousing conclusion.