Customer Reviews

Sir Dalton and the Shadow Heart (The Knights of Arrethtrae)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In the Kingdom across the sea, Lucius and one third of the warriors loyal to him rebelled and were tossed out of their homes. These beings are Shadow Warriors, who tempt mortals away from the Prince and King. Lucius and his minion travel to Arrethtree to gain loyal followers while the Knights of Arrethtree counter by spreading the Word of the King and Prince.

Sir Dalton is a knight of Arrethtree in training, but lacks the heart and passion of his peers. When the Shadow Warrior Sir Prox captures Sir Dalton, he locks him away in a prison no one escapes from. He plans to break Sir Dalton into disavowing the Word, the Prince and the King and when he succeeds he will have another loyal member added to his shadowy minion. Sir Dalton does the impossible as he breaks out. He meets Master Sejus who explains to him about the Code, the King and the Prince until the young knight in training feels the passion in his heart and becomes one of their most loyal supporters. He knows he must challenge Sir Prox in order to liberate the prisoners as he now believes hecan win with the Prince in his soul.

This allegory of good vs. evil is a strong tale that young adult readers and many of us older in the audience will appreciate and understand the symbolic religious significance. Sir Dalton is a doubting Thomas until his escape from the demonic shadow warrior and encounter with a true believer. He finally accepts on faith the Word and is willing to test his belief in battle. Though somewhat similar in tone to the sagas of Sir Bentley and Sir Holbrook, fans will enjoy this engaging parable.

Harriet Klausner

Since I'm a big fan of all the Chuck Black - Kingdom Series and the Knights of Arrethtrea Series; I found this one to be quite enjoyable as well. It has a good amount
of internal conflict for the main character and serves as a great bridge for the next
one in the series... "Lady Carliss"

Four or five years ago, I borrowed and read the first three books of Chuck Black's Kingdom series. While the writing was not great, the storytelling swept me away, and the pictures of Biblical truths had me eagerly rereading Scripture to savor the source of the echoes. Each book ended with the piano music to a haunting (but not too difficult) song, which I simply loved.

Chuck Black has been off my radar for a few years, but recently I discovered he's still writing books set in the world of Arrethtrae, and I suddenly found the third of his second series in my hands. I usually refuse to start in the middle of a series, but I couldn't find copies of the first two in time and had to just jump in. And in The Knights of Arrethtrae series, each book focuses on different characters, making them more episodic than epic. There's an epic level, of course, but it's explained in the first few pages.

Sir Dalton's story was a decent kids' adventure, an allegory full of medieval motifs like swords and knights and battle. The main character learned some important things about being a Knight of the King, and there were some great pictures of spiritual principles about doubt, faith, friendship, and freedom.

Most of the time I felt it was a bit too heavy-handed on the allegory to get let readers fully immerse themselves in the story, but when I did get lost in it, it was wonderful. While allegory is not my favorite form of story, I don't think it's evil. Sometimes formulas and direct correlations are helpful, sometimes they are just dry and distracting.

For a fairly short, kid-friendly book, Sir Dalton and the Shadow Heart was a thoughtful look at doubt in the life of Christians and how to combat it by knowing Christ and His Word well. For timeless, better-written (but more challenging) allegory, find Pilgrim's Regress or The Faerie Queene.

Review written by 14 year old girl:

Sir Dalton and the Shadow Heart written by Chuck Black is the third book in The Knights of Arrethtrae series. It tells an amazing story of a knight of the Prince who loses his way and is taken captive by his own doubts. My family and I love to hear tapes at night or on long road trips and the full cast audio version of these books makes the experience of hearing about knights, castles, maidens in distress, and the battle of good and evil all the more thrilling. The sound effects and wide array of music selections they use brings the whole story to life.

Sir Dalton is a knight in training who is young, well-liked, and a natural leader of all the other young knights at the haven including the beautiful Lady Brynn. But when a new leader arrives at the haven he doesn't have a passion for the Prince and leads all these young knights into folly through over-excessive celebration and eating and little training with the sword or The Code. Sir Dalton's doubts leads him straight into the waiting clutches of the evil Lord Drox who uses Dalton's fear to imprison him. All Dalton can wonder is "Where is my Prince now?"

Because this series is in allegorical form, there are many similarities between this story and the Bible. The King is God, the Prince is Jesus Christ, Master Sejus ("Jesus" re-scrambled) is the Prince in disguise, and Sir Dalton is a wondering Christian who has lost his faith in Christ.
I really loved this audiobook and the whole Arrethrae audio series. It was morally wholesome, uses clean, uplifting language and is a great Christian inspiration for all ages.

I only use 5 stars on books I buy for my permanent library. This book is part of my "all ages" library.

Would I/Did I buy it? Yes
Would I read it again? Yes
Would I recommend it to friends? Yes

This is a review of the AUDIOBOOK version of the story

Have you ever doubted when it comes to Christianity and the Bible? Well this epic adventure is one book you don't want to miss!! It's about a young knight of the Prince, Sir Dalton, who's got popularity, a potential love (Lady Brynn), and skills just waiting to be developed but something is missing in his life. Also, He and all the other knights, except for two, at his local haven don't seem to be worried about some other young people who start disappearing while on missions. One day, Sir Dalton gets attacked and captured by Lord Drox, an evil Shadow Warrior. Can Sir Dalton break out of the bonds holding him down or will he be a prisoner forever?

This was the third book in the Knights of Arrethtrae series and was as engaging as the first two. I liked how Chuck Black started the book off at the middle of the story and then did a flashback. This technique worked really well by grabbing my interest right off the bat. The theme of the book was helpful and thought provoking. When I was younger, I remember having problems with what the theme addresses and really wish I had read this book then. I also like the mysterious mountain hermit that helps Sir Dalton. I would recommend this book to teens and older kids who have trouble with doubt in their lives. I know this book will encourage and teach you to be a stronger Christian.

This allegory fits in the time of the Church, the time between Jesus ascension and His glorious return. It could take place anywhere, any time today. A young man seeks to learn how to be a follower of the Prince, but realizes he is not confident in his faith. Seeds of doubt have been planted well. This book contains a great challenge in the introduction - "Sir Dalton dared to look into the shadows of his heart.... Shall we?". And as you read the book you can not help but think about your own faith and listen as Dalton's doubts get answered. Do you dare to admit you don't know it all, dare to grow in your faith and become a more effective servant of the Prince?

Who doesn't enjoy a great adventure story with struggles of good and evil?! The question that always runs through my mind is the hope that yes, once again good will triumph over evil! The story begins with Sir Dalton, a knight of the Prince. The Knights of the Prince fight in honor of the King and his son the Prince. Lord Drox is a fallen knight, who now fights against the Knights of the Prince and tries to gain allegiance from Knights of the Prince who falter in their loyalty. Lord Drox preys on the fears of fellow soldiers and takes Dalton to his cavernous prison. Here, Dalton finds other Knights of the Prince who have given up their zeal and hope of escape.
Following his daring escape, Dalton is mortally wounded by Lord Drox but survives due to the rescue of a mysterious man who claims to collect things and make them like new. Once healed, Dalton decides to return to the prison and rescue his fellow Knights. This allegory of good vs. evil is a strong tale that young adult readers and all ages will appreciate and understand the symbolic religious significance. This exciting book was my very first introduction to a whole series created by Chuck Black. I plan to read more!

Chuck Black is a masterful storyteller with a God-given gift. His books are filled with adventure and force readers to contemplate their own lives.

"Sir Dalton and the Shadow Heart" is the third instalment in "The Knights of Arrethtrae" series. I have not read the previous books, but this book is easy to follow.

Sir Dalton is a Knight in the service of "The King and his Son across the sea". The knights are preparing for warfare against Lucius and his Shadow Warriors, beings who rebelled against "The King" because of their pride. Dalton trains at a compound with many other knights. A new trainer has just arrived. He is well-travelled and knowledgeable, and the majority of the group take to him immediately. A small number, Dalton included, are disturbed by the trainer's lack of conviction. Dalton in particular finds himself asking many questions about his beliefs. He encounters three individuals who force him to examine his loyalty to the King. Hounded by a malevolent enemy and enduring several attacks, Dalton must confront himself and call upon the One who can give him strength.

Sir Dalton is one of the most compelling characters Chuck Black has ever created. This book is relevant and unforgettable. The Church as a whole is descending into "lukewarm" apathy, and we are all tempted to compromise our beliefs for the sake of peace. We must all "be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the whole armor of God so that you can take your stand against the Devil's schemes, and after you have done everything, to stand" (Ephesians 6-10).

The audio version of this book is magnificent. Andy Turvey and Dawn Marshall, two exceptional British narrators, read with vibrancy and feeling. The music and sound affects bring the story vividly to life. Happy reading, and God bless you.

I am coming into this read not having read the first or second book. Truly written in a good VS. evil style right from the early pages I felt as though I was playing catch up on a story that had begun two books ago. While this book does stand on its own, if I were to have had time, I would have started with book 1 and went from there working my way to this book in order to just pick up on the flow of Chuck Black's writing style. I have to say that the introduction in the book to the Knights of Arrethtrae was very helpful!)

In this book Sir Dalton is in training to be a knight and when he is sent on a mission he finds when he is alone he is being attacked. (I really love this metaphor in the book and actually paused a bit to think how true this can be... we are more easily attacked when we are separated from others.)

A likable YA read, I think Sir Dalton makes a wonderful character that kids (I am thinking boys ages 7-13) will relate to. The book covers great Christian subject matter in a way that reads like the story of knighthood and at the same time great questions are wove into the words... Sir Dalton

Why should we believe?

What do we do with doubt?

Who can save him?

Sir Dalton continues his training through the book and again I am thinking if my boys were younger they would have enjoyed these books. A quick read for me.... I was excited to get a bit of a CS Lewis feel to this read. I think this book would be a great discussion book to review with your child about the power of good and evil and the wonders of a strong spirit.

Sir Dalton's life is going very well. He is young and handsome, respected among his fellow knights and admired by the beautiful Lady Brynn. But a shadow of doubt grows in his heart. Is that enough to destroy him? The powerful Lord Drox seems to be intent on killing Sir Dalton at all costs. Is there nothing Sir Dalton can do to escape the evil lord?

This book was clever. I like the way Chuck Black uses knights and allegory to write deep stories. Having not read the first two books in the series, it took a bit to grasp the storyworld and what the knights were all about. I read this one to my seven-year-old son and he liked it, though it wasn't one of his favorites. I'd like to read the other books in the series, especially the next one, as this book left us hanging a bit! Recommended for readers 8 and up who love medieval knights.