Flight of the Eagles (School & Library Binding)

The storyline concerns an ordinary 14 year-old boy named Joshua Adams who is self-concious concerning his clumsiness and self-image. Then a girl named Sarah Collingwood, who is Josh's age, comes to stay at his house while her parents travel to Africa as missionaries.
Then a global nuclear war strikes. Josh's father wakes him up the night of the first nuclear strikes. Josh finds himself in a race against time, along with his parents and Sarah, to his father's silo lab. When they arrive at the concrete building. Josh's father explains to them that the world as they knew it would end that very night because of the global nuclear war. Josh is put into a time capsule deep inside the silo building and Sarah is whisked away to seperate capsule. Josh's father explains to him that when he awakes from the time capsule, he, along with several others, will find himself on a planet altered by nuclear devastation.

50 years later, Joshua Adams is awakened by from his sleep by and old man named Crusoe. He later discovers that the genetically altered races of Earth hail his awakening as the first fulfillment of ancient prophecy which states that seven sleepers would arise in Nuworld to unite their strength with Goel and join in battle against the forces of evil that threaten to dominate Nuworld. Josh learns that he, along with six others, would become the only hope of Nuworld.
He teams up with Crusoe, a giant named Volka, and two dwarfs named Mat and Tam, and together they embark on a dangerous quest through Nuworld to find and awaken the other sleepers from the Oldworld, one of which is Sarah, who is the second sleeper. Together they continue the quest to find the other five sleepers.

The third Sleeper is Jake Garfield, who is a redheaded boy of about 14 years old. His character isn't developed very much for some reason.
The fourth Sleeper is 15 year-old Dave Cooper who is very confident concerning himself and how he relates to others, and who can be both optimistic and pessimistic depending on the situation.
The fifth Sleeper is 14 year-old Bob Jackson whom everyone calls Reb. He has a very distinct character as someone who enjoys thoroughly the lifestyle of a cowboy. He is a southerner whose favorite historical figure is Stonewall Jackson.
The sixth Sleeper is 13 year-old Abigail Roberts, who is a rich girl who is used to having whatever she wants. She is not a very likeable character at first, but later on her character is developed positively.
The seventh and final Sleeper is 12 year-old Gregory Jones, whom everyone calls Wash. Seeing as he doesn't come on the scene until the last parts of the book, there is not much time for his character to be developed.

Throughout the course of their quest to find and awaken the Sleepers, Josh and his companions encounter many dangers. The evil priests of the Sanhedrin are a constant and potent threat to their survival, and other dangers besides are encountered, such as giant killer bees, highly dangerous marsh lands, monster attacks, a perilous desert, and more. This novel's climax involves a huge battle fought between the seven Sleepers with their Nuworld companions and the armies of the evil Sanhedrin warrior priests. One of the seven Sleepers is killed in the battle, then brought to life again by Goel, the spiritual leader of the Sleepers. One of the main Nuworld characters dies, and there is a surprise ending which will indeed surprise you.

Flight of the Eagles is a promising beginning to the Seven Sleepers series. The storyline is excellent, and most of the characters are well-developed. I have rated this book with 4 stars because some of the characters are not as developed as others. Still, I highly reccomend this book to anyone who enjoys sci-fi or fantasy.

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Some say that these series live up to the standards of "The Chronicles of Narnia", I beg to differ. Their are some similarities, one in that the main characters are of the younger generations, teenagers to be more specific. But while the Narnia series had a depth to it in which even adults will find themselves drawn into the story, "The Seven Sleepers Series" falls a bit flat. Gilbert Morris is an accomplished writer of more adult books, including the great "House of Winslow Series", "Appomattox Series", "Cheney Duvalle M.D. Series", and numerous other wonderful historical/fiction series. But his attempt to writing a series aimed for younger children is a bit disappointing.

First of all, the religious themes embedded into this series feels a bit contrite and not too well developed. Aslan was a great character in Narnia, but Goel's characters feels a bit flat even though he is supposed to be the Sleeper's spiritual champion. There is no real climax in the book as the story plods through at a mediocre pace. I had to force myself to finish the story.

But don't take me wrong, I am only giving my opinion as a sixteen-year-old. The series is aimed for kids younger than me. There is nothing objectionable in the stories so these books are great for kids ages 10-14. The only point I'm trying to make is some reviewers said that this series is up there with the Chronicles of Narnia. Whereas those series can be read by kids of a wide age range, "The Seven Sleepers" are strictly for younger kids.

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