You might want to sit down for this…okay, ready? There’s actually a good work of fantasy fiction being sold in your local Christian bookstore. Several, actually.
Raven’s Ladder by Jeffrey Overstreet is the third volume in The Auralia Thread, a series that is currently slated to wrap up with the fourth novel. Following the events of Auralia’s Colors and Cyndere’s Midnight, Raven’s Ladder continues to follow a large cast of characters making their way in the world known as The Expanse, each dealing with struggles and battles of all sizes and shapes.
The author of the series encapsulates it much better than I can, though, and Jeffrey Overstreet was kind enough to compose a summary for Faith & Geekery:
The events of The Auralia Thread stem from the discovery of an abandoned infant in the wilderness, a child who grows up to be an artist.
Nobody knows where Auralia comes from, nor do they understand where she gets her extraordinary gifts. But she has a knack for finding colors nobody has seen before. And she says she’s been sent into the troubled kingdom of House Abascar to reveal these colors… sent by a creature called The Keeper that most people consider to be a myth.
What follows brings hope and freedom to some, trouble and catastrophe for others. Auralia’s art sends House Abascar into chaos and collapse, but it also starts changing the minds and hearts of monsters. In the first book, Auralia’s Colors, we see how it catches the attention of Prince Cal-raven. He will end up leading his people through dangerous days in the wild, guided by Auralia’s colors. In the second volume, Cyndere’s Midnight, a bloodthirsty beastman is humbled and changed by his encounter with Auralia’s work, and a widowed heiress finds solace in the same enchanting spectacle.
The third book picks up when Prince Cal-raven has become King Cal-raven, and he’s trying to find a new home for his people. But he’ll have to contend with a variety of dangers: devious Seers, violent beastmen, and a new kind of evil that is spreading through the ground.
So, that’s the setup for the plot…but how good is it? Is it worth reading? Does it avoid such pitfalls as Derivative Plot, Wooden Stock Characters, and Deus Ex Machina Solutions that have claimed so many other authors of fantasy?
Absolutely.
Take everything you know (or think you know) about the genre (especially so-called “Christian fantasy”) and throw it out the window. Forget conventions, stereotypes, and Tolkien/Lewis ripoffs. The Auralia Thread is a genuinely original work of fiction — no easy task these days. With unpredictable situations, believable dialog, and characters with motivations we can relate to, Raven’s Ladder draws the reader in and keeps him or her guessing.
Fortunately, while I would be satisfied with just a unique, engaging story, Raven’s Ladder (and the rest of The Auralia Thread) is more than that; it’s an epic that not only explores The Expanse and its residents, but that also takes us deeper.
Through this saga of crisscrossing plotlines, we’re treated to subtle musings on faith, spirituality, love, society, philosophy, and the human condition. Best of all, we’re allowed to extend our imaginations into a place where art and beauty have profound, world-shaping power, and we get to experience that in a way that compels us to think about the effects, purpose, and importance of such things in our own world, as well as what they reveal about truth.
I mentioned it in my review of Auralia’s Colors as well, but I’m still impressed by the fact that this is all accomplished with poetic language and colorful, impressionistic similes. Overstreet’s descriptive turns of phrase reveal as much about his love of art and beauty as do the central role those themes play in the larger unfolding drama. The language used to tell the story is as enjoyable as the tale itself.
In short, Raven’s Ladder is an excellent addition to what has already been a remarkable series. While The Auralia Thread is still flying under the radar of many people, I hope that more readers will take a chance on it and discover something that isn’t just different, but special as well.
Raven’s Ladder lands in stores on February 16th.
Full disclosure: The publisher (WaterBrook) sent me an advance copy of the manuscript for Raven’s Ladder in October 2009 for review purposes; this in no way influenced the content or nature of this review.
Sounds great! I’ll have to add this series the long list of way too many books I want to read.
Great review. The books are a pleasure to read. I look forward to reading “Raven’s Ladder.”