CLOSED: Knights of Arrethtrae Review and Giveaway

I had the opportunity to read and review books 5 & 6 in the Knights of Arrethtrae series (see below for a giveaway). Book 5 is titled "Sir Quinlan and the Swords of Valor". It tells the story of Twich (Quinlan is his given name, but he is always called Twich) and his desire to do more and serve the Prince. He has lived with Tav's family since orphaned and is very comfortable with them. Twich and Tav are almost inseparable until Tav trades his shield for a paytha (reworking of the word apathy). Shortly after, Tav's uncle comes to see if he can recruit Tav to fight with him in the Swords of Valor for the Prince. Everyone has always known that Tav was destined for great things. So when Baylor asks him to join the Swords of Valor, Twich figures it's a sure thing. But when Tav decides that there are too many things keeping him from leaving his hometown, Twich makes a commitment to the Prince and instantly is put on the front line of good vs. evil. He decides to fight for good and becomes Sir Quinlan and part of the Swords of Valor.

From there, a terrible thing happens at one point and Sir Quinlan believes he is unlovable and unredeemable. I don't want to spoil any of the things that happen, but the road to recovery and redemption was personally moving to me. As an adult who has made more than my fair share of mistakes, I could see the truths of the Bible shown so gently through this book. My oldest is starting with the first book in the series and I am thrilled that he will be shown Biblical truths through this story in a way that will speak to his heart.

The final story in the Knights of Arrethtrae series is "Sir Rowan and the Camerian Conquest". Sir Rowan is a young knight of the Prince when we first meet him. While training, he soon realizes he is one of the best sword fighters around. Coming from a background of poverty, lack and being from the wrong side of the tracks. He has always felt inferior, but sees his opportunity for greatness. He becomes a tournament fighter and is renown as the greatest fighter in the vicinity. This winning causes a lot of pride and the tournaments become a stumbling block for following the Prince. It always seems like there's one more fight before he can focus on the Prince and his work. When a major event occurs in his life, he finds himself helpless for the first time ever. Will he begin to see the Prince working in his life and follow Him? And when he meets Lijah, he's not sure what to think of this man who claims they need to work together. Who is right? What will become of the two of them?

I thought this book was going to be all about pride, but I was amazed at how well Chuck Black was able to translate the end times stories from the Bible into an easy to understand format using more allegories. I really don't want to spoil more of the plot than I already have, but the end time events that have been fairly difficult for me to grasp as an adult were certainly very clear in the story. And the author notes at the end that it's one interpretation, but even if the exact events aren't true, we get a true glimpse of what the Bible is referring to.

Here's a snippet of information about Chuck Black found at the website. Chuck Black first wrote Kingdom’s Edge to inspire his children to read the Bible with renewed zeal. This led him to write more allegories and add five more titles to the Kingdom's Edge series.
Chuck is a former F-16 fighter pilot and currently works as an engineer for a firm designing plastic consumer products. It is Chuck’s desire to serve the Lord through his work and to inspire people of all ages to study the scriptures in order to discover the hope and love of a truly majestic King and His Son.


Learn more about the author Chuck Black here.

Would you like to win Books 5 & 6 to read for yourself?

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@Coolestmommy has a #giveaway of a two Knights of Arrethtrae books you can #win. Ends 11/12 http://bit.ly/aNREZw

**Rules**
•Giveaway ends Friday, November 12, 2010
•Winner will be chosen via Random.Org. and contacted by email
•Winner will have 48 hours to respond to the email or another winner will be chosen
• Open to addresses in the United States


Disclosure: This is a MamaBuzz review. The books were provided by Waterbrook Multnomah and no other compensation was given.