Sir Kendrick and the Castle of Bel Lione (The Knights of Arrethtrae) [Audiobook, CD, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Chuck Black (Author), Andy Turvey (Narrator), Dawn Marshall (Narrator)

Book Description

Series: The Knights of Arrethtrae | Publication Date: February 2, 2009

A dangerous new order threatens the mission of the Knights of Arrethtrae. Only loyalty to the prince can bring victory!   As the Knights of the Prince await His triumphant return, they are steadfast in their mission to take His story into the kingdom and recruit as many as are willing. but when a new and dangerous threat is revealed, their mission is jeopardized. Sir Kendrick and his young charge, the impetuous Sir Duncan, are sent on a mission to discover the identity and origin of a secretive new order known as the Conquistero Knights. They travel to the city of Bel Lione where Lord Ra has been enticing young people in the kingdom to join his festivals, after which many choose not to return home. Their families keep quiet for fear of repercussion. When Sir Duncan disappears while trying to discover the truth of Lord Ra’s castle, Sir Kendrick attempts to find and enlist the help of a mysterious warrior. Time is short for he must save Duncan and call upon the knight of Chessington to join in the battle against the evil Lord Ra.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Chuck Black is a fantastic storyteller who knows how to get his message across in an exhilarating tale without preaching."
-Midwest Book Review for Kingdom's Call

About the Author

Chuck Black, a former F-16 fighter pilot and tactical communications engineer, is the author of eight novels, including the popular Kingdom series. He has received praise from parents across the country for his unique approach to telling biblical truths. His passion in life is to serve the Lord Jesus Christ and to love his wife, Andrea, and their six children. He lives with his family in North Dakota.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Audio CD
• Publisher: Oasis Audio; Unabridged, Multi-voice dramatized edition (February 2, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598595156
• ISBN-13: 978-1598595154
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,548,374 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Chuck Black is the author of nine novels including the popular Kingdom Series and The Knights of Arrethtrae series. He spent eight years in the Air Force traveling the world as a communications engineer and an F-16 fighter pilot. Today, Chuck is a product design engineer and has invented or coinvented eleven patented construction products now being sold internationally. His passion in life is to serve the Lord Jesus Christ and to love his wife, Andrea, and their six children. The Blacks take their family music ministry on the road, singing Christian gospel, contemporary, and traditional songs. Chuck and his family live in North Dakota.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved this story and I'm way past my teen years!, June 24, 2008

By 

Michelle Sutton (Arizona) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Sir Kendrick and the Castle of Bel Lione (The Knights of Arrethtrae) (Paperback)

Sir Kendrick and the Castle at Bel Lione is thoroughly engaging. I think the author is a genius with an amazing gift of showing through fiction what the heart of man is truly like. I was enthralled with the story and am amazed that the genre is categorized as teen fiction. Adults who love Medieval stories will enjoy this, too. The only thing that tipped me off was the lack of descriptive violence. When someone got killed they "ran into the blade" but that was as descriptive as it got. Even the sickest scene in the dungeon/torture chambers was easy to stomach despite the cat o nine tails being used on someone. I am a bit of a wuss when it comes to gore, so this book was perfect for me. At any rate, I enjoyed Chuck's lyrical style of writing so much I read several portions out loud to my husband. The author has an amazing "voice" for writing medieval fiction with castles and knights and I felt as if I were watching a movie as I read.

What made this story unique was the allegory to the New Testament ministry of Paul. Sir Kendrick reminded me of Paul and Duncan was a lot like Timothy. I loved the clear parallel to scripture and the emphasis on good versus evil, minus the witches and dragons and other mystical themes that are often found in fantasy novels. The story did contain some pretty scary wolves, though. I felt the terror from the attacks of evil. The moral lessons were fabulously knitted into the fabric of the story, and I was moved to tears several times over themes of forgiveness. It really isn't about what we say we believe, but it's about how we actually apply our faith in Christ to our lives. The author demonstrates this theme with perfection. You can't help being inspired by reading this book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great fiction!, May 1, 2009

By 

Sarah Anderson (Wichita, KS) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sir Kendrick and the Castle of Bel Lione (The Knights of Arrethtrae) (Paperback)

I have 2 sons in elementary school, and we have read everything Chuck Black has written. His Knights of Arrethrae series is even better than the Kingdom Series, and we loved that! I loved the story, and as we were reading it each night, I found it hard to put down. I confess I'd frequently read ahead after the boys were asleep! Not only is the story line captivating (to little boys as well as their Mom & Dad), the message and "moral" of the story is excellent. We did the discussion questions at the back of the book as a family, and it opened up all kinds of great family discussions about spiritual issues. After reading Chuck Black's books together as a family, the boys like to read them on their own, sometimes multiple times! I give this book a strong 5 star rating.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not bad at all!, December 5, 2010

By 

Catherine Morland (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sir Kendrick and the Castle of Bel Lione (The Knights of Arrethtrae) (Audio CD)

I love historical fiction and the medieval time period especially, clean fantasy (Lewis and Tolkien, of course), allegories if they're good ones (if I agree with the theology)--you get the picture. So this seemed like a good fit for me. However, I'm usually disappointed in the quality of modern writing, and some Christian fiction is completely unreadable. I hardly bother looking any more--I usually spend my reading time on nonfiction. I'm pleased to say that by the end of the book, I gave this a "pass" ("Whew!" the author is saying--'cause I'm a picky one!) and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series, and Chuck's other books eventually.

I thought the story was well told, the characters believable, and the allegory just strong enough but not overdone (which would distract from enjoyment of the tale). The Christian truths that were portrayed fit my own beliefs, and also gave me new things to think about. I like stories that stretch my thinking like this. (C.S. Lewis does it best.) I gave this just 4 stars because the writing style, although good, is not quite up there with the best literature (and I must reserve my 5-star rating so that it really means something!). I liked Chuck's descriptions and turns of phrase, and he strikes a good balance between too little detail and too much. Each chapter was well-constructed and ended with suspense, and overall, the story was tight and complete--no loose ends left to bug me later (I hate that!). Now that I've looked up his bio and read more about him, I'm amazed that a former fighter pilot and current engineer can also write good fiction (and where does he find the time, with that lovely big family?!).

As for the audio version, it was really interesting to have the sound effects and different voices (some done by the narrator, but not all...I couldn't always tell, but I'm sure he didn't do the women!). I liked the sound effects very much, from horses' hooves, to chirping birds in the woods, to growls of beasts, to various yells of pain when men were wounded in battle...and the variety and style of music between and behind the narration was also great. Very well done...and maybe now I'm talking myself into getting these all on audio! The narrator was very good, you could tell he really cared about his story, and my only small quibble was that he was just a bit overdramatic in places. Occasionally he even read the chapter numbers with enthusiasm! Funny. However, this is FAR preferable to the alternative. I've heard too many audiobooks (some read by the authors themselves) in which the narrator falls into a singsong reading style--as we all do sometimes, but it gets tiring after an hour or so.

So, overall, huzzah! for a good book and a good audiobook, and for the pleasure of looking forward to a nice long series which I see other readers heartily recommending. They say it only gets better...so wow! Maybe I'll get a bit overdramatic myself, by the end of it. =)