This month, the Christian Fiction Review Blog is featuring a wonderful new book by Bill Myers--Angel of Wrath. Angel of Wrath is book 2 in his Voice of God series.Synopsis of book one, The Voice:
Charlie Madison is a burned out Special Forces Agent and his world is about to be turned
upside down. When his 13-year-old niece barges into his reclusive life, Charlie must come out of retirement to rescue her parents and a computer Program that has recorded the actual Voice of God--the implications of which have shaken the world's religions to their core. Together, with the help of the attractive and mysterious Lisa Harmon, Charlie and his niece circle the globe, tracking down the religious radicals who have kidnapped his sister and brother-in-law. But, there is far more at stake than the safety of the parents or even religion. If the Voice of God created reality, It can destroy it. If controlled, It would become a weapon of mass destruction making all others obsolete. Soon the trio not only fights against various religious powers, but major governments as well . . . until the Program is discovered and played back with unimaginable results.My thoughts on The Voice:
I am no stranger to Bill Myers' books. My first experience was with The Face of God, which had me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire story. The Voice was no exception. It was a roller-coaster ride of emotions, both good and heart-wrenching, as well as non-stop, heart-pounding action. I felt as though I was experiencing an entire season of 24, only in book form.
The only problem I had with The Voice was that I didn't feel a connection with the main characters, which I attribute to the very fast pace of the book. I felt for Jazmin all the way through simply because she's got more to deal with than most teenagers. On the other hand, Charlie and Lisa's abrupt romantic connection at the end didn't seem very realistic to me at all. In spite of that, I was still very anxious to read the next book, Angel of Wrath.
Synopsis for Angel of Wrath:Thirteen-year-old Jazmin, her ex-Special Ops uncle Charlie, and former FBI agent Lisa are reunited in the second of the Voice of God series to stop a an assassin driven to murder members of a megachurch led by Lisa's brother. This assassin has drawn in a coven of teens toying with satanic practices to support his efforts. The naive youth engage in ceremonies that appear to usher in the death of each of his victims. When their rituals open a portal into the spiritual realm, a terrifying and mysterious entity crosses over to our world.
The battle culminates with the capture of Lisa's father as the next target and a Black Mass requiring both their deaths as a sacrifice. The team will, once again, have to rely on all their wits, strength, and faith to survive in this action-packed, unearthly warfare.
My thoughts on Angel of Wrath:
While I did enjoy The Voice as a whole, I absolutely LOVED Angel of Wrath. I read this entire book in one sitting because I just could not put it down. Spiritual warfare is not a topic I come across very often in fiction, and Bill Myers' portrayal in this book was very reminiscent of Frank Peretti's earlier works on the same topic.
As with The Voice, I felt the same way about Angel of Wrath being similar to watching 24 on tv. There is one scene in the book where Charlie is hunting down Kristof (the bad guy). Charlie has managed to put a tracking device on Kristof, and has chased him down to a local carnival. Charlie then relies on a friend of his to help him locate Kristof in a massive crowd of people. Just reading lines like, "Two meters ahead, two o'clock," and "He's right on top of you, don't you see him?" made it so easy to visualize, and compare to a tv show. (Sorry, you'll have to read the book to see if Charlie caught up to Kristof.) :o)
To sum it all up, if you want some good, heart-pounding, action-packed couple of books, then here you have it. I would very much love to see a third book come out in this series as I think it would help to tie up a few loose ends.
4 Stars for both books
Southern? No
Sass? Yes
I can't believe it! I didn't know "The Voice" is part of a series. I won this book from Smiling Sal. I've started it, and it's so good. Good to know there are more to follow this book.
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