Customer Reviews

A Hideous Beauty (Kingdom Wars Series #1)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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!

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.

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.

I bought this book solely because I like other stuff written by this author. I wasn't disappointed!

This is the first in a two part series about Spiritual Warfare written by Jack Cavenaugh. These are suspenseful novels with angels sent from God and angels sent from Lucifer. About a third of the way through it is hard to put it down until you have read the last words. Jack Cavenaugh is always a good read.

grace2u

Good series. Like the author and the seller's price was great as well as the shipping. Look forward to more in this series if the author writes them.

A type of story I've heard and over: a man, on the day of his greatest achievement, finds about someone's going to assassinate the president and has to stop it. This being the first book of Jack Cavanaugh's I've read, I was hesistant, thinking it'd be some generic story, thought it turns out Jack has some talent up his sleeves when it comes what I once thought were generic and normal. When the main guy, Grant Austin, meets a man who used to be competition in high school, his competition tells him his Pulitzer-prize winning book was... okay. But when he tells Grant that he's actually not done with his book, despite how wildly popular it is. When he finds out the conspiracy to bring the president down, he finds out a devastating secret about his former enemy. As if that weren't enough, he starts to find out about how the spiritual world works (he's presented as either a heavy agnostic or an atheist) and wants to ridicule all there is about spirituality, even though he meets an angel in person. Story progression is pretty good, and when it isn't poignant about Grant's part in the whole plot, it is laugh-out-loud hilarious with its down-to and out-of-earth humor. And, I have to admit, the setting descriptions everywhere were greatly made, and when you find out the meaning behind "hideous beauty" and Grant's role himself, there's no way to prepare for it.

"Kingdom Wars: A Hideous Beauty" is my first Jack Cavanaugh book. I came across an interview with him and thought he sounded like an author I'd like to read. I'm not much of historical fiction fan but this book sounded interesting. Spiritual warfare always makes for a good story.

To be honest, the reason why I gave this book four stars is due to Jack's writing skill. The story itself would never have been so good in the hands of the average writer. The dialogue was entertaining to say the least. The storyline was serious but Jack made the thoughts and dialogue in the book creative and at times quite humorous. I wouldn't call the book a page-turner but I will say that it was enjoyable, thought provoking and very unpredictable.

I believe Christian authors should write their fiction with Biblical accuracy. If one writes a book about spiritual warfare then it should line up with God's Word. This can be done with fantasy, sci-fi or any other genre. All I ask is that you get it right. Saying that I did have some issues with "A Hideous Beauty". Some serious and some minor.

1. The Father DOES NOT have a physical body. Colossians 1:15-16
2. Jesus was created BEFORE the angels. He is the firstborn. Colossians 1:15
3. Angels are spirit being and therefore can not die. Luke 20:36
4. Fallen angels and demons are the same thing. No Scriptural proof either way but if you don't believe angels mated with humans there's no other explanation.
5. Angels don't give honor to Lucifer. What was Jack thinking?
6. In order for this story to work for you you'll need to believe that the Nephilim are part human, part angel. I do not, however it makes for a good story. I'd explain it here but it would take all day. If you're curious check out the article on the Answers In Genesis site.
7. If there are those that are half angel, half human, why can't they be saved by Christ?
8. Why would an angel of God treat a Nephilim badly? Since when are we guilty because of our birth? Doesn't seem right.

Overall I enjoyed the book. The writing is what made it really good. As for a spiritual warfare book I say it doesn't do the believer much good because there really isn't any spiritual warfare going on from a Christian's perspective. Read Peretti's "This Present Darkness" and "Piercing The Darkness" if you want real spiritual warfare.

1 Star = Pathetic
2 Stars = Fair
3 Stars = Good
4 Stars = Excellent
5 Stars = Life changing

My 27 year old daughter brought this book to me after she read it. It has inspired her to get back to praying and to God's word. I read the book and was inspired. This is on the order of Perretti, you can actually see what is happening and it is so understandable because it lines up with what the Word says. Amazing and well worth the read, you won't want to put it down. We definately need the #3 book in the series to be written and beyond.

Grant Austin is a Pulitzer Prize winning author who is widely lauded for his authoritative biography of the sitting President of the United States. But he finds out from a former high school rival (who happens to be a demon incarnate) that much of what he wrote is wrong and that Douglas is not the man he thought he was. Moreover, this world is not what he thought it was, and the forces of evil are plotting to kill the President and use Grant to advance their evil schemes.

Grant refuses to believe at first, but as time goes on, he realizes that there is a spiritual battle happening in the universe, and he must choose sides. Along the way, he learns a great deal about himself, his past, and his destiny. He is helped along the way by some resourceful friends and curious characters.

At first, I thought the story was too weird. But it grew on me as I kept reading, and I even arrived late for an appointment because I couldn't put the flipping book down. Another winner from the pen of Jack Cavanaugh, who makes the transition from historical fiction to thriller fiction quite nicely.