Shadowmancer [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Though the media is calling this book a "Christian Harry Potter," it is NOT Christian. In fact, the author, G P Taylor, has vehemently denied it being Christian in several interviews that you can find online. He said he wrote it for Christians, Muslims, and Jews, and that Muslims see Mohammed, Christians see Jesus, and Jews see the coming Yeshua. Those are his words. So to make all these groups happy, the God in here, called Riathamus, is very generic, as is the "King" who seems to be a Christ figure but has a very small role. In his encounter with Thomas, he tells Thomas he will forgive him but does not tell Thomas why or how this is possible. Two references to the "Battle of the Skull" (Golgotha where Christ was crucified) do not help. The crucifixion was not a battle anyway; Jesus willingly laid down his life to atone for humanity's sins.

The supposedly good guy, Raphah, has mysterious powers that are very occultic-like, and he turns out to be one of the "objects," but in the flesh, that the evil Demurral wants for his sorcery. So is he an angel, a boy, a statue come to life, or what? Identities are very confusing in the story and we are never sure who several mysterious figures really are. The story is more frustrating than anything.

There are also several quotes from the Bible but they are given in ways that make them mean something different than they do in the Bible. Also, some of the quotes are changed from the original words or mixed with other quotes that don't go together.

As far as the plot and characters go, I found both rather trite and stereotypical. There is not much creativity. The villain, Demurral, is especially implausible because he is so utterly evil that he is almost cartoonish -- much like the Dursley's and Prof. Umbridge in the Harry Potter books. Regular people who seem ordinary but give in to evil desires are much more interesting than someone who right off the bat talks about wanting divine power.

Most disturbing are several warnings and hints that Demurral could actually fight Riathamus (God) and get his power. Raphah tells Thomas and Kate that if Demurral gets the Keruvim (cherubim from the Tabernacle, but you have to figure this out as this info is not given), he could control the world and even the power of Riathamus. Later, Thomas tells Kate that Raphah told him that Demurral has a power that can call up the dead and control the wind and sea. Well, Jesus, during a storm, commanded the wind and sea to stop and they did (Matthew 8, Mark 4, Luke 8). He did this because he had the authority of God as the Son of God and God the Son. No man has this power. It's strange a vicar would put this in a story.

I would really give this book one-and-a-half stars but you have to choose one or two. There are so many good books out there, so choose another book to read.

On a quest to recover the stolen relic taken from his village, African Raphah tracks the object to England where he meets two young victims of Obadiah's evil wrath, Thomas and Kate. The trio team up in an effort to stop Obadiah from accomplishing his malevolent objective even if it means going into hell for their heavenly cause.

SHADOWMANCER is an exhilarating religious allegorical fantasy that provides a deep message without preaching inside a wonderful action-packed good vs. evil war. The story line is fast-paced as Obadiah comes closer and closer to achieving his evil objective while the three youngsters are the only souls with faith in God and his way. Though some bad dudes change sides too conveniently, readers from high school age and up will appreciate this timely cautionary tale. G.P. Taylor admonishes the leaders of organized religion not to abuse power especially at the cost and loss of the congregation and pleads with the congregation to keep the faith even when the leaders abuse their positions of power and fail them.

Harriet Klausner

Thomas, a near orphan, is saved from drowning by Raphah, an African teenager surviving the shipwreck. Raphah recruits Thomas to help steal back the Keruvim, stolen from Raphah's people. Thomas hates the despicable vicar and is determined to help Raphah wrest from the vicar the power obtained through thievery. His friend, Kate, helps the two boys enter the vicarage through a tunnel. Thomas escapes from the vicar, but he and Kate run headlong into a gruesome battle with giant evil warriors called Varrigal. The two cannot even hope to win the fight against these horrific supernatural creatures. Yet somehow they triumph.

Meanwhile, Raphah is imprisoned by Demurral, branded as his slave, and sent to the shale mine. Thomas and Kate are offered a chance to help their friend, who is said to be otherwise "as good as dead." But are they walking into their own deaths? The ultimate fate of the earth and all its beings rests in the hands of Kate, Thomas and Raphah. Can they save earth and heaven from being lost forever to evil?

SHADOWMANCER is an exciting adventure with unforeseen plot twists and terrifying shocks, filled with blackest despair and joyous triumph. G. P. Taylor weaves a fine tapestry of earthly and spiritual battles, complete with characters and references seemingly biblical in nature (although ambiguous enough to possibly represent faiths other than Christianity).

SHADOWMANCER has been billed as "hotter than Potter"; its scope is much more epic, faith-based and disturbing than the Harry Potter novels. Fantasy readers who can handle significant religious symbolism threaded through a "can't put it down" adventure will welcome this first book of a planned trilogy as a future classic.

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