A Hideous Beauty (Kingdom Wars Series #1) [Paperback]

Jack Cavanaugh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 14, 2007

This isn't the world you think it is...

Every day they slip across our borders to infiltrate our government, our schools, our neighborhoods.

Homeland security can't stop them.

The armed forces are no threat to them.

Powerful and unseen, they cannot be stopped.

They have been doing this for millennia.

On what should have been the best day of his life, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Grant Austin learns of a plan to assassinate the president of the United States. Every attempt to sound the alarm is thwarted, and Grant soon finds himself at the center of an even greater battle that predates time as he stands alone against ancient powers and unspeakable evil -- evil that can only be described as a hideous beauty.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Jack Cavanaugh does more than entertain -- he raises questions worth pondering. A Hideous Beauty opens our eyes to an invisible world and lays bare a centuries-old battle. Grant Austin is a memorable hero, one the reader will want to visit time and time again." -- Alton Gansky, author of Crime Scene Jerusalem and Finder's Fee

About the Author

Jack Cavanaugh is a popular historical fiction author. He has fifteen published novels which have received numerous Christian and secular awards. His novels While Mortals Sleep and His Watchful Eye won Christy Awards for excellence in Christian Fiction. The Puritans, from the American Portrait series, won an ECPA Silver Medallion Award.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Howard Books; Original edition (August 14, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416543406
• ISBN-13: 978-1416543404
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,147,133 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A student of history, ancient languages and myths, Jack has taught history, sociology, and writing on the college level.

Now a full-time novelist, on most days you'll find Jack's body in his 3,000 volume library reading and translating and writing, but his mind and spirit are not there. If you're looking for him, you might try Narnia; or Middle Earth; or Mars; or ancient Ephesus; or galaxies far, far away; any time in the past, present, or future.

In the evenings, Jack returns to his body where he lives with his wife of 38 years in Southern California.

AWARDS
* Silver Medallion Award (1995), Christian Booksellers Association
* Christy Award (2002, 2003), Excellence in Christian Fiction
* Silver Angel Award (2002), Excellence in Media
* Gold Medal, Best Historical (2001), ForeWord Magazine
* Best Historical Novel (1994), San Diego Literary Society
* Best Novel (1995, 1996, 2005), San Diego Christian Writers Guild

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fast-paced thrill ride, August 23, 2007

By 

Lacy J. Williams "wife, mom, writer, dog-lover" (Oklahoma, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Hideous Beauty (Kingdom Wars Series #1) (Paperback)

This inspirational thriller will keep you on your toes the whole way through!

Grant Austin finally has it all together. His recent bestseller - a presidential biography - has just won the Pulitzer Prize. He's just given a successful speech to his high school alma mater, and he's flying high.

But things take a turn for the worse when he decides to visit his high school rival, who morphs into an angelic being before his very eyes. Semyazah, a fallen angel, declares that he is the one who has given Grant all of his earthly success, and threatens Grant with the fact that his book contains a veiled threat to the President, warning of his assassination.

When Grant awakens from his angelic encounter, groggy and unsure how he got on the classroom floor, he only knows one thing: he has to notify his ex-girlfriend, Christina, a White House assistant. But instead of the welcome he assumed he would get, she brushes him off.

With time working against him, Grant does the thing he knows to do best: research. A lead points him to a local university where he meets a professor who changes his whole perspective.

Can Grant stop the assassination planned by fallen angels? Or is he destined to become one of them?

Cavanaugh keeps the reader on the edge of their seat in the fast-paced thriller. Snappy, sarcastic dialogue seems to be the forte of his hero, Grant Austin, and it works for him. Dazzling imagery plus unexpected twists complete this great novel. Recommended!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outta This World..., September 25, 2007

By 

Kelly Klepfer (Iowa) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: A Hideous Beauty (Kingdom Wars Series #1) (Paperback)

If you are a Jack Cavanaugh fan, you are in for a treat. A different kind of a treat, though, Jack's new series is a Spiritual Warfare/Fantasy. Proving that a good, respected-in-his-genre storyteller can cross into another genre and do it right, too.

My husband and I read Hideous Beauty over the weekend while we drove to Minnesota and back home. We both loved it. I struggled with the first several pages, trying to figure out exactly what was going on, but my hubby didn't. We both loved the main character, Grant Austin, who narrates with sarcastic humor and experiences a wild story full of intriguing friends and enemies. Several times, we found ourselves laughing out loud as Grant encountered one issue after another with witty thoughts and comments. The feel is very lad lit, complete with some serious relationship mess-ups.

Another small issue was a bit of tweaking with our theology. Both of us wondered a time or two if we agreed with the possibility of this or that event playing out quite like it did in the book. But this is fantasy fiction. I hope no one bases their theology on something they read in fiction. If you don't struggle with differing opinions of the faith, then you shouldn't get hung up on...well...on speculative differing opinions.

Hideous Beauty is going to appeal to Hines, Liparulo and Wells fans, as well as Cavanaugh's faithful readers. If you love Spiritual Warfare, Fantasy, and great stories, you might want to get your hands on a copy.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic, November 19, 2007

By 

Zekharyah (Memphis, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Hideous Beauty (Kingdom Wars Series #1) (Paperback)

Do you like Frank Perreti, Ted Dekker, and yes, Tolkien? Well, this book
is for you. Fast paced, well written, and theologically intriging only begin to discribe how I view this story. I don't want to overinflate expectations, but I can't wait to read the next volume coming in the spring. It is certainly rare for me to not be able to put a book down. If you enjoy novels, like I do, please, do yourself a favor, and purchase this book.