Kingdom's Hope (Kingdom, Book 2) [Paperback]

Chuck Black (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2006

A Riveting Medieval Parallel to the Bible

Good and evil clash. Leinad and Cedric are determined to not only survive, but claim hope and victory! In Kingdom’s Dawn, Leinad and Tess, along with all the king’s people, must escape slavery by the powerful Lord Fairos. Kingdom’s Hope finds them free and arriving in the Chessington Valley . But when they forget the king, will Kergon and the Kessons capture them for good? After many years, Kingdom’s Edge finds Cedric living a hopeless life until a stranger appears with powerful words of a new kingdom and a grand army. Finally, Kingdom’s Reign marches you through the danger of earth’s last days as the evil dark knight threatens to defeat the prince once and for all. Swords, knights, and battles define these captivating tales that parallel biblical events from Genesis to Revelation!

Fierce castle lords hold the kingdom hostage.

But a champion is coming…

Fairos thought he had sentenced Leinad to death in the Banteen desert. But he was wrong. Leinad survived. Now, trained by the King himself, Leinad returns—a true Knight of the King. His skill with the sword is unmatched this side of the Great Sea ; his resolve is unshakeable. He is determined to fulfill the mission given him by the King and to free the people from their bondage to Lord Fairos.

Leinad’s quest takes him from the chains of slavery, near the jaws of dragons, and close to the arms of love. And when the rest of the kingdom turns away from the King and the Code, Leinad turns to his most faithful ally, Tess. With her help, Leinad struggles to conquer his own doubt. But he must do so soon, for the King’s archenemy, the Dark Knight, is about to unleash his entire evil force, and only Leinad can stop them…

Journey to Arrethtrae, where the King and His Son implement a bold plan to save their kingdom; where courage, faith, and loyalty stand tall in the face of opposition; where good will not bow to evil; where the future of the kingdom is at the threshold of either victory or defeat—and one man holds the key.



DISCUSSION QUESTIONS INCLUDED

Story Behind the Book

“When my six kids’ eyes glossed over during a reading from the Bible, I paused to explain the significance of redemption to a sin-sick soul. I was rewarded with patronizing elephant nods and more blank stares. Shortly thereafter, I awoke in the middle of the night with a medieval story enveloping my mind. I wrote it down and later read it to my children. Their waning attention transformed into complete anticipation. I was amazed and disappointed. Why did it take a fictional story, not a Bible passage, to get that response? Then I realized—that is how Jesus taught! Parables are powerful! I penned the Kingdom series to help young people get excited about the supremely significant story of Jesus Christ and His mission to save mankind.”

— Chuck Black

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Chuck Black spent eight years in the Air Force traveling the world as a communications engineer and an F-16 fighter pilot. He has invented or coinvented eleven patented construction products now being sold internationally. He earned his BS in electrical and electronic engineering from North Dakota State University and today, with his wife, Andrea, is in his thirteenth year homeschooling their six children. The Blacks take their family music ministry on the road, singing Christian gospel, contemporary, and traditional songs. Chuck is enjoying his eighth year teaching adult Sunday school classes at First Baptist Church in Williston, North Dakota.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter One

A Call for Freedom

Leinad entered Nyland wearing the garb of a knight and mounted on a white stallion named
Freedom. He stopped at the drawbridge and took in the splendor of the majestic castle Pyron Mid. The gate towers stood tall as if to proclaim it an impenetrable fortress that no army in the kingdom could ever hope to seize. If Fairos were to fall, it would be for one reason only: The King wanted it. Such was the case, and so it was that Leinad was chosen to accomplish the impossible. Unsure of the future but obedient to and confident in the King, Leinad was willing to be the King’s sword. And so Leinad had prepared himself to challenge the mightiest force in the entire kingdom. In his heart he knew the King was with him.

The moments passed, and Leinad’s stillness began to draw attention. Normally a visiting nobleman would cross the drawbridge and announce himself to the gate guards. Leinad waited beyond the threshold, a clear message of insult never before witnessed at Pyron Mid. The keeper of the gate called for another guard, and after a short exchange between the two, he called down to Leinad.

“Sir, state your name and your intentions. We shall herald your arrival to Lord Fairos.”

Leinad paused before speaking. “My message is for Fairos only.” Slaves, overseers, and guards within listening distance stopped and gazed at Leinad in growing curiosity.

“Lord Fairos is not expecting visitors, and he will not come dancing to your whims, sir,” the guard replied. “I suggest you depart at once.”

“My message is from the King, and I will wait here until Fairos hears it!”

The gatekeeper and the other guard exchanged words again, and the guard disappeared.

Time passed, and Leinad continued to wait. He suspected that Fairos was in no hurry to respond and was sending his own message by his delay. A general movement of people toward the front of the castle was evident as word of Leinad’s arrival spread.

A group of slaves under the close watch of an overseer was returning to the castle with a supply of bricks. As they passed, an adolescent boy caught Leinad’s eye. Leinad smiled with compassion at the young lad, whose face revealed the weariness and subjection of a slave without hope. In a moment of transformation, the lad’s face brightened in hope and disbelief. He turned to the slave next to him, and Leinad could hear the excitement in his voice.

“It’s Leinad!” he exclaimed.

“Leinad’s dead, boy,” the man retorted. “And this man’s a dead man too.” The man turned to look, but the overseer shouted and cracked his whip above their heads.

Fairos finally appeared on the gate wall above Leinad with an air of authority and arrogance. Keston, the captain of the guards, and five of his men appeared in the gate below a moment later.

“Tell me, sir!” Fairos shouted. “Who is it that insults me with his presence and an absurd message from a make believe king?”

Leinad sat tall upon Freedom. “My name is Leinad, and I come by the authority of the King and by the might of His sword. I do not wish for harm to fall upon you or any of your men. Hear the words of the King: ‘Let My people go!’”

Fairos did not move or respond, but the people did. An audible rumble of voices flowed like a wave around the castle. Keston responded too. Leinad had humiliated Keston before his own men. His anger was obvious. He drew his sword and advanced with the five guards. Partway to the drawbridge, Fairos spoke.

“Hold, Keston!” He paused. “Well, you certainly are not a nobleman, but rather a slave with no name in Nyland.”

“I am no slave, but I am a servant…a servant of the one true King and His people,” Leinad said.

By now all labor had ceased, and most of the castle guards were on the wall or exiting the gate below to see the activity beyond.

“Kill him, Keston!” Fairos commanded.

Keston and the five guards resumed their advance toward the drawbridge. Leinad dismounted on the far side of the bridge and drew his sword. When Keston reached the bridge, he halted his men.

“Stay here–I will finish him myself!” he said.

Leinad walked onto the drawbridge toward the castle. Keston’s gait was sharp and full of fury.

The two met near the middle of the bridge, and Keston did not break his stride or offer the greeting of mutual respect normally exchanged before such a fight.

Keston’s sword struck first with intense aggressiveness. Although Leinad had seen Keston train and fight, he had learned from his father never to underestimate his opponent. He parried Keston’s barrage of cuts and slices and studied him. Keston’s frustration became increasingly obvious as he attacked with combination after combination against an opponent whose defense was flawless. Leinad matched Keston’s speed and power while he held his ground.

“I have no quarrel with you, Keston,” Leinad said. “It is Fairos I must face.”

“You will only face Lord Fairos on your back after I am through with you, bleeding and dying at his feet!” Keston said in a rage. “That sword will belong to me once and for all!”

“Very well, Keston. The choice is yours.”

Leinad deflected Keston’s last offensive cut, and his last cut it was, for Leinad began an advance that brought gasps from the onlookers. With increasing speed and power,

Leinad’s sword sliced through the air faster than Keston could counter. With each break in Keston’s defense, Leinad made precision cuts in his flesh. First, the tip of Leinad’s sword cut through Keston’s left shoulder–then his right thigh–then his abdomen. Within a moment, Keston was bleeding from a dozen places, but his sword arm was still whole. Leinad’s dominance was obvious, and Keston was growing weak from exhaustion and loss of blood. His rage turned to submission and defeat.

In a last-chance effort, Keston tried to deflect a chest high cut and lunged forward with a thrust at Leinad’s chest. Leinad easily parried the thrust to his left and executed a powerful bind on Keston’s sword that forced it from his grip. Without a sword and bleeding from all over his body, Keston fell to his knees before Leinad with his arms open wide.

“Have mercy, Leinad,” Keston pleaded. “My life is in your hands.”

Just then Fairos, full of rage, broke through the crowd and started across the drawbridge.

Leinad stood before Keston with his sword pointed at Keston’s chest. “As I said, Keston, I have no quarrel with you. Swear that you will raise no sword against me or the King’s people, and you shall live.”

“I swear–”

A sword cut through his chest from behind.

“You have disgraced me and all of Nyland!” Fairos withdrew his sword from Keston’s body. “No one does this to Lord Fairos and lives!”

Keston fell to the ground and died. Leinad stepped back in horror, amazed that Fairos was capable of such ruthlessness to one of his own. Fairos raised his sword to Leinad with hatred in his eyes.

“You are a worthless slave, and I will dispense with you once and for all.”

The last time Leinad had fought Fairos, he’d faced death at the edge of Fairos’s sword. But that was before he met the King. This time was different, and so was Leinad. His sword belonged to the King, and so did his mission. He remained silent and prepared himself for the fight, for he knew that Fairos had shut his ears to words.

The two men engaged each other. Both were extremely skilled–both were very aware of the other’s mastery. Fairos’s arrogance was obvious, and he made an offensive advance as if to probe Leinad’s abilities. The swords screamed through the air, steel to steel. Fairos brought a powerful slice across Leinad’s torso. Leinad met the sword with the flat of his blade and countered with a quick cut across Fairos’s chest. Fairos could not regain protection with his sword in time and jerked his body backward to escape the deadly edge of Leinad’s blade. Seeing that Fairos was off balance, Leinad brought another slice from the right. Fairos pulled his sword across his body to meet Leinad’s sword, but the force of impact was too much to counter, and the razor sharp edge of Leinad’s sword cut into Fairos’s left shoulder.

Fairos did not flinch from the pain, and the wound did not appear to be deep. He paused and glared at Leinad and then at the blood trickling down his arm. Leinad knew that Fairos had been victorious against many mighty enemies, but he saw something in Fairos’s expression that he had never seen before–fear.

Leinad allowed Fairos his moment of reflection and was thankful for a break to regain his breath and his composure. He was strained but not exhausted. The King had not only trained him beyond mastery, but had conditioned him as well. The few times Leinad had fought outside of training, he had dealt with fear himself. Now, however, there was no fear within him. He was not fighting for his life; he was fighting for the King and for the people. He carried the mission, the sword, and the skill of the King with him.

By now the people watching from the castle and all the other onlookers were nearly still, watching two masters fight to the death. Those on the fringes of the scene were compelled to draw closer.

From the heights of the castle gate wall, Lady Fairos and her son watched with apprehension. “Kill him, Father! Kill him!” the boy screamed.

Leinad readied himself for the next engagement. “...

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Multnomah Books (May 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590526805
• ISBN-13: 978-1590526804
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.4 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #251,272 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #36 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > History & Historical Fiction > Fiction > Medieval

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

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good read!, May 12, 2006

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kingdom's Hope (Kingdom, Book 2) (Paperback)

The second book in the Kingdom series does not disappoint the reader. It is as positive a work of fiction as the first, Kingdom's Dawn. Here again, I did not catch all of the symbolism that the author meant, reading the study questions at the end of the book. However, in no way does that detract from the book.

Leinad is the leader of the Christian people and his faith in the King, our Lord, is very strong. It is obvious during the first half of the book he represents Moses. The bond between Tess and Leinad is growing stronger throughout the book. Leinad frees the slaves and they begin their journey to the promised land. As the book progresses, it becomes clearer that Leinad's sword represents the King's Word.

The people face many hardships and challenges. Eventually they do reach Chessington. This is the land that the King promised would be good and they would be prosperous. Over the years there they lose faith and become doubters. Leinad tries his hardest to prevent this from happening and tries to convince them to keep their faith in the King but Lord Quinn's wife, Moradiah, is evil. She sways the people and convinces them not to follow the King's Code.

The result is the downfall of Chessington and the people becoming enslaved once again. Leinad's faith is still strong. and he fights for the people to free them again. Tess and Audric help. Their faith becomes stronger and the King helps them in their fight to free the people a second time. At the end of the book we are introduced to the coming of the Prince--Jesus and the hope that this brings.

Author Black has another winner here. The story just seems to flow and leaves the reader wanting more. I think this is a very good book for teens and maybe even children a little younger to read and learn from. Personally, I believe that the book would be a great instrument to be used in Sunday school classrooms.

Armchair Interviews says: The author utilizes the fascination children have with knights to get some very important lessons across without being overbearing.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Safe Reading for Children, October 28, 2006

By 

C. Sabot (Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kingdom's Hope (Kingdom, Book 2) (Paperback)

Having read the Kingdom's Hope, I was truly surprised to read of an attempted rape (as mentioned in D. White's review). So much so, that I had to find that section and see what I'd missed. But I had missed nothing. Check it out for yourself on Amazon's Online Reader (a great feature!), page 64. I believe there is nothing there that is inappropriate for children.

These books are truly good books for children. They present good morals, beliefs, values, and everything else healthy for children. With these books, you do not have to worry about what your child is reading - a rare occurrence in our world today!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great allegory by Chuck Black, April 26, 2011

By 

The Book Runner (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kingdom's Hope (Kingdom, Book 2) (Paperback)

Review written by 16 year old boy:

Kingdom's Hope begins in the Banteen desert where Sir Leinad is knighted as a true Knight of the King and is given his first mission. The King wants him to go and free all of His people from the cruel hand of Lord Fairos and take them to the beautiful Chessington Valley. This turns out to be not so easy as Lord Fairos is not a generous man and not prone to giving things away especially things that enlarge his powerful kingdom. Leinad challenges Fairos to a duel and whoever wins is the duel gets the people, but Fairos, after losing in front of his entire army and all the slaves, refuses to let them go. It is not until Fairos, accidentally, kills his own son that he is willing to let the people go. Through a long, hard journey where many of the people leave in rebellion, they make it to the Chessington Valley and build a vast, prosperous city. The people however foolishly believe they need a king and appoint one to rule over them. This however proves to be their downfall for the king marries someone that has no regard for the True King or His Laws. Because of this woman's influence, the entire city rebels and calamity befalls everyone. For a year they are oppressed and put into slavery again, but their King was kind and knowing they had learned an important lesson, he brings them back to the Chessington Valley where they begin anew.

Kingdom's Hope is a parallel to the Old Testament beginning with Pharaoh enslaving God's people, Solomon with his wives and their idols, and then to God's people being taken by Babylon and being enslaved again. Chuck Black has done an amazing job of writing a beautiful story that captivates your imagination and takes it on a wonderful adventure. I love this book and the correlations between it and the Bible are masterfully done.

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

This is a review of the AUDIOBOOK version of the story

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