Customer Reviews

Kingdom's Dawn (Kingdom, Book 1)

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I really enjoyed this book and was anxious to read the next in the series. As a teenager I highly recommend this book for all age groups. The author did a good job of portraying the bible in a medieval setting which made for exciting reading. This book goes goes from creation through captivity under the Pharoah which in this book is named Fairos. Great book! Highly recommend and I am so excited to see that the author has written more for a total of 6 in this series as of May 2007!

On the back of the book it says it is supposed to be for teenagers. I enjoy a lot of 'young adult' fiction, so bought this book. Frankly, it's written more for pre-teens, maybe 8- to 12-year-olds. The language and writing is very simplistic for teenagers. I do think a pre-teen could really enjoy it, though.

I think I would have given this book at least 4 stars if it wasn't trying so hard to be an allegory. In an allegory of the Bible, usually one person, event, or idea in the book represents one person, event, or idea in the Bible. Here, a sword can be a real sword used in a real battle or representing a spiritual battle with the Word of God. His two main characters, Leinad and Tess, represent multiple people in many different events covering all of the Old Testament (from Seth to Moses in this book). He also is too loose (or not loose enough) in this allegory. For example, his retelling of the Biblical Flood is: our heroes are warned of a bunch of sea creatures that will eat any living thing that are coming their way. They race to the nearest village to warn them, but the villagers don't listen. Leinad and Tess ride their horse into the hills and barely escape, losing their horse to creatures in the process. All humans, plants, and animals in their valley are destroyed and they nearly starve, but they travel over the hills to the country beyond.

The author tries so hard to make it clear this is an allegory that he occasionally even uses Biblical names and asks what various people represent in the discussion questions. Yet the events rarely follow the Biblical accounts very closely. The story was good fun in itself, but this "I'm a Biblical allegory and this represents this if you couldn't figure it out!" style really was distracting from the story for me.

So, if you can ignore it's supposed to be a Biblical allegory, it's a fun story.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. Biblical allegories are often lame, and you get the feeling the author is trying too hard. I didn't get that feeling here. The story is different and strong enough to stand on its own. Kids who are not familiar with the various Biblical stories will still be on the edge of their seat. And if your child is familiar with Bible stories, once they "get" what is going on, it adds another whole level of interest as they try to link the story they are hearing with the stories they already know. But, that usually happens after each episode, since some of the segments are so tense they are completely lost in the story. I have three kids between 10 and 14, two girls and a boy, and they all love this book. "Please! One more chapter!" is a refrain I hear nearly every night.

One thing to note - the author does not shy away from accurate descriptions of battle and torture. They are age-appropriate and not gratuitous, and Black seems to have a knack for just getting to the point where it might be a bit much and then backing down. It's a fine line, but I think he walks it well. The Bible is not all neat, clean, and tidy, and I'm glad the book is not either.

Highly recommended.

I am a longtime medieval fantasy enthusiast, and a Christian. I am used to "Christian fiction" being either a good story that is seriously theologically flawed, or a bad, bad story that is theologically sound. Rarely do you find a book that is both a good story and theologically sound, let alone an entire series.

I am also a medieval reenactor and practitioner of Western Martial Arts. As such my only suggestion might be a greater familiarity with medieval swordplay but I'm very picky and I admit that anything that seemd awry was more than made up for elsewhere. ;)

My son is only three right now, but I am eagerly awaiting the day he is old enough for me to go through this series with him.

Thank you Mr. Black for your service and ministry.

As you can probably tell from my reviews, I love adventure stories that parallel biblical events. Lewis' Narnia series, Karen Hancock's Arena, and Calvin Miller's "The Singer Trilogy" are just a few of the books I have read that utilize this form of storytelling. I've just completed listening to the magnificent "Kingdom's Dawn," by Chuck Black. The author sets the events of Genesis against the backdrop of a medieval kingdom called Arrethtrae.
Leonard is the son of Payton, a farmer who instills strength and honor in his son while training him to use a sword. Payton encourages Leonard to serve "The King," a person whom Leonard has never seen. Leonard is catapulted from his uneventful life into an extraordinary quest. It is up to this young boy and a servant girl named Tess to begin a perelous mission to free Arrethtrae from the treacherous "Dark Knight" called Lucius. Chuck Black masterfully makes biblical events accessible to children. All of his characters, particularly Leonard, the village blacksmith who is more than he seems, and Leonard's father, represent key figures that will be easily recognized. I won't tell who these characters symbolize, because the book speaks for itself. The author does exceptionally well at illustrating the spiritual warfare we all are embroiled in.

The book grabs you from the beginning and does not let go. The audio version is read by Andrew Turvey and Dawn Marshall, two British narrators. Their vibrant narrations, particularly Turvey's, along with memorable music and stirring sound effects, bring this series to life. I hope Dawn Marshall portrays more characters as the series progresses, because she seems to be a very talented narrator as well. Please give this book a chance. I am eagerly ready to begin the second book. Happy listening, and God bless you.

My husband and I recently met Chuck and several of his children at our 2009 Homeschool Convention in ND. We have been searching for books exactly like the Kingdom series and the Knight series, for our son who is a Star Wars fanatic. We were so impressed with Chuck and the little bit we read of the books that we bought not only all 6 of the Kingdom Series but also the 3 books of the Knight Series. We are so happy that we did! Not only has my Star Wars fan son read all 6 books and the Knight Series, but my husband who HATES to read, read the first 2 books in the Kingdom series in 48hrs! This is truely a miracle! Not only does Chuck intertwin Midevil times with adventure but the Biblical principals and paralell to the Bible are spot on. We also enjoy the study questions in the back of each book and the music page as well. We appreciate Chuck's creativity and can not wait for more books from Chuck.

My son and I both read all of the books in the series and many times we found it hard to put the books down. I would recommend the books to anyone that enjoys medieval times and sword fights. I enjoyed figuring out the different allagories to the bible that where in the books.

I read this book to my 8 & 6 year old children last summer. They didn't want me to put it down. At one point it brought my son to tears. We are currently reading the last book in the series; Kingdom's Reign. I am thinking of purchasing them in audio form sold from the publisher.

Gave to my 13 year old grandson. He loved it, couldn't put it down! Can't wait to read the rest of the series now. It's hard to find good Christian books that appeal to him, but this has lots of action and adventure, written from a basis of wholesome Christian values. I highly recommend it.

Kingdom's Dawn focusses on a sixteen year old farmer boy named Leinad who has been learning to sword fight from his father for an extensive time period. He had no idea why he would ever need to know how to sword fight because he was a farmer. He had been told by his father that he needed to know how to sword fight because he always needed to be ready to fight for the king. A tragic event occurred which caused his father to lose his life, but before he died he told his son to always stay strong, true, and loyal to the King. Leinad embarked on a remarkable and strenuous quest in which he strived to be faithful to the King.

Leinad and I are similar because we are both naïve but become mature along the way because of the people and trials that we both deal with. His life is a lot tougher and his situations are a little bit more extreme than mine, but we both find a way to learn and grow from the situations. The way that the author wrote Kingdom's Dawn enabled me to understand the characters feelings and emotions. I felt the joy during the blissful parts and the sorrow during the melancholy parts.

Kingdom's Dawn in a way is similar to The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe because both books are battles between good and evil. Also, they are both creative remakes of biblical stories. In Kingdom's Dawn, Leinad along with all of the king's people must escape slavery by the powerful Lord Fairos which is similar to the slaves in Egypt under the rule of Pharaoh. In The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the wardrobe, the White Witch kills Aslan but he comes back to life, which is similar to Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. If you enjoyed Kingdom's Dawn, then you will definitely enjoy The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.

In my opinion, Kingdom's Dawn is a great book to read because it is a riveting medieval parallel to the Bible. I loved how the author creatively retold a Bible story, but while adding his own original style to it. He incorporated figurative language, cliffhangers, and captivating detail. I would unquestionably recommend this book to anyone who enjoys books with great morals and Biblical analogies.