Customer Reviews

The Restorer's Journey (The Sword of Lyric Series #3)

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Another winner in the Sword of Lyric series by Sharon Hinck, The Restorer's Journey is an action-packed fantasy grounded in harsh reality. The narrative alternates between two main characters: Susan, the Restorer/soccer mom from the first book, (The Restorer) who becomes a prisoner of the Rhusicans while her son Jake, the new Restorer, tromps around trying to find both his bearings and his courage.

Jake struggles with his new role as the Restorer and tries to triage the multiple injuries of the land - plus rescue his missing mother. Not a stand-out leader initially, Jake is knocked around, beaten up, tied up and taken for a forced march, and more - but recovers from everything until he learns to follow the One's direction and truly be a leader for the people. After seasons of trial and suffering, the People of the Verses begin to restore order and return to their sacred roots.

In the meantime, Susan is kept a prisoner of the sadistic mind-reading Rhusicans. Through her experiences of deprivation and mental torture, Susan connects even deeper with the One. The strength and reality of Susan's relationship with the One unhinges the Rhusicans and literally rocks their world.

All in all, it's a riveting story. This is not a sweet bedtime book with a happy little moral at the end - it's not a standard fantasy novel in any way. It's a harsh spotlight revealing a couple of very real characters in deadly situations that don't play out easily. Both Jake and Susan suffer terrible things, yet each does so with an amazing attitude of gratitude to the One whom they serve. They continue to seek His face and direction regardless of their individual circumstances, whether they are running for their lives, or trapped and alone with no hope for relief or release. It's truly an astounding book to read. We all face trials and difficulties in our own lives. We may at times petition God to help us out of our troubles. But it's rare to choose to remain in the trial so that we might find God's will for us, for our lives. I know it's a struggle for me personally to be faithful and trusting when it seems like everything is crashing in around me. But it's good to be able to take comfort in a book that tells it like it is, and doesn't make light of life. Books like The Restorer's Journey are real sources of inspiration. It doesn't need to be non-fiction to be encouraging. And this book proves it.

Sharon Hinck has truly become one of my all-time favorite authors. She has shown time and again that she can tell an awesome story and make it hit home with depth, passion and conviction. Her books have an honored spot in our home library, and I hope that many will find her works as enjoyable as I have.

Susan and Mark Mitchell have returned from Lyric through the portal in their attic, shaken by the telltale signs of the Restorer, exhibited by their son Jake. There is little time to contemplate the implications when the self serving Cameron of Lyric and the mind swaying Rhusican, Medea, sweep back into their home and their lives, stealing Susan away.

Desperate to save his mum from their clutches, Jake re-enters the portal transporting himself back to Lyric, but the familiar has all but been replaced by fear and despair. Cameron has produced previously unseen Verses, divided the lands and proclaimed himself King of Lyric. Driven by a courage he didn't know he had, Jake seeks out the exiled guardians but falters as he is suspected of being a traitor.

Meanwhile, Susan is fighting a losing battle, physically held captive by the Rhusicans, but overwhelmed by their power they exact over her mind, sending her spiralling into loneliness and despair as their poisonous thoughts strip her of dignity and hope.

I doubt that any words from me can do this unique series justice but I will try! Sharon Hinck's storytelling is masterful, from her creation of the magnificent world of Lyric to the fascinating characters that reflect so much of the human heart and circumstance. Sharon engaged my heart, mind and soul in The Restorer's Journey, more powerfully even than in the first two books, The Restorer and The Restorer's Son. I believed, naively it now seems, that Sharon couldn't exceed my expectations a third time, yet she did, in every imaginable way. Each emotion and thought of her characters seared into my mind as if they were my own, from torment to fear, from relief to joy. Sharon writes with authority and an understanding of the human heart which is oftentimes both painful and confronting to read. Despite this, a steadfast belief and hope in a power greater than us all underscores each page. There is a profundity to Sharon's words in this tale, about the challenges of suffering, the need for healing and the beauty, depth and power of God's love, that I am still contemplating and hope to for a long time. I count it a privilege to have read such an inspiring, challenging and engrossing story.

I was very impatient to read this book after the first two in the series won my absolute and undying respect. I'm only sorry I didn't get to it during a truly dark period in life when it could have had a powerful effect. But in the years between books two and three I shifted between five countries and could not carry much reading material.

No matter. This book was worth the wait. Picking up the story of Jake as he tumbles into his role as Restorer, the ride is wild from the beginning. Trespassers from Lyric invade the family home and drag Susan back with them to torment her mind. Jake lands up with a remnant of rebel guardians who distrust him completely, and comes to recognise his calling is not just to free his mother.

This is a tale about restoring justice and truth, and resisting lies. But it's also about a young man finding his identity and task. We get to see inside Jake's head a lot, and while I'm unqualified to say whether an eighteen-year-old guy would really think like this, I have to remember his heritage comes from two worlds. It is definitely a highlight to see him face down his enemy.

In the meantime Susan struggles with mind games akin to torture. The parallels to depression are clear, and the metaphor extends so far as to offer a way out - only by total trust in God when there is nothing else to lean on.

This is a good solid conclusion to the series, leaving plenty of room to imagine even more. The final result is brilliant and certainly not what I expected. Lovely work as usual from Sharon. In a word - classic.

All of the Restorer books are very good.The characters are believeable even if not likeable at times. There is always a theme of trusting in God no matter what the circumstances and also of stepping into our destiny/call even though we are just ordinary people. These books have many layers of truth to expose and apply to daily life in the midst of exciting adventure fantasy fiction.

The first two books in The Restorer series are very good but the third, The Restorer's Journey, is even better. Watching Susan as she is held captive by the Rhusicans and trying to follow and obey the One, but feeling that she cannot possibly be understanding Him right kept me wanting to read more and find out what happens. Following Jake as he 'fumbles' but recovers and matures is fascinating, and the ending is making me wish a fourth book in the series was already on the book shelves. I highly recommend all three books for their insights as well as their adventure.

I am very quick to let folks know that I don't read fantasy - don't understand fantasy - can't keep fantasy characters and places straight in my head while I'm reading....I'm just not a fantasy person. Sharon Hinck's book has given me hope to keep trying to wrap my brain around this genre! This book was wonderful!!

I suppose what appealed to me at first was that the main characters were based in the 21st century reality that I live in, and many of their points of reference were familiar to me. Their faith, their experiences in the "real" world helped me to understand their actions and reactions in the alternate world of Lyric on the other side of the portal. More thrilling yet was that once the main characters (Susan and Jake) entered Lyric and the surrounding areas, I was able to follow the story easily despite the fact that I hadn't read the first two books of this series. I cannot tell you how exciting this was for me! I truly enjoyed this story!

I loved the way these characters wrestled within themselves as they tried to follow where the One was leading them. On page 101 Susan's mind asks the questions: "How many times in my life had I done this dance with God? Asking Him for direction, then promptly arguing when I sensed His guidance." Much later in the book, on page 228, her son Jake wrestles with obedience; "I had followed the guidance I'd received then and every day since. And everything had gone wrong. Time to make my own decision." Even though these characters were dealing with fantasy characters and events, their frame of reference was still that of a Christian in personal relationship with God through Christ. Because of this, the alternate world of Lyric was an echo - a beautiful reworking - of the gospel story. It was very moving to me to watch the sacrificial decisions that these folks had to reach in the course of their journey!

The Restorer's Journey by Sharon Hinck is the third book in the Sword of Lyric series. It picks up shortly after the second book with the return home of Jake, and his parents Mark and Susan. Cameron and Medea are still free in the world, and when they decide to return to the world of Lyric, they kidnap Susan as their hostage. Jake and Mark prepare to follow, but Mark has made too many trips through the portal and is held back, leaving Jake on his own to not only save his mother but the world of Lyric itself from Cameron's machinations. I hadn't read the first two books in the series, butHinck includes enough back story to make it easy to slip into the story without bogging the story down with exposition. Jake is the new Restorer, a mystical title that gives him the ability to heal his own wounds, hear and see things far away, and fight with ability not his own. 18 year-old Jake is unsure of himself and initially wants only to find his mom and return home, but the longer he spends with the people of Lyric, the more he falls in love with the world and respect his own abilities. Susan's story, while a definite subplot, was to me the more fascinating story. She is imprisoned in the country ofRhus among people who manipulate others' minds for pleasure. She becomes the plaything of Nicco , Medea's friend, who spends hours forcing Susan to relive her worst memories and warping her best memories into nightmares. When she asks God to free her or help her, he instead tells her to pray for him and his people. Susan's prayers change her heart, and ultimately that of the Rhusican people as well. God is ever present throughout the book (although in Lyric he's referred to as The One), and Hinck does a good job of creating a viable fantasy world where God is relevant and true to Scripture. This is a great read, and the ending leaves things a bit up in the air. Maybe there will be more...

Sharon Hinck's "The Restorer's Journey" is even better than "The Restorer" and "The Restorer's Son". Although it's darker they, it's a highly enjoyable read. Much of the story focuses on Susan Mitchell and her son Jake as they pass through the portal again into the world of the People of the Verses.

The plot is as strong as in her other books, but the books are character driven, giving them an extra impact. The people she depicts are three-dimensional individuals that the reader can care about. Even the villains are distinct personalities. Secondary characters still stand out, and a small number of ambiguous people are rendered convincingly. Nobody is as simple as he or she might seem.

The dangers are as real as always. As a godparent to a teenager, I felt my emotions surge as Ms. Hinck placed Jake in several highly perilous situations that were essential to the plot. She showed his growth and developing maturity believably. But I still wanted to pound some purely fictional characters!

The characters continue to be plausible, the humor leavens the story without distracting it, and the pacing is brisk but not breakneck. The moments between Jake and Linette were especially appealing and brought back some very adolescent memories.....

Ms. Hinck also provides fascinating insights into the Rhusicans (a group of people who are able to exercise a disturbing level of mind control on others. Avoid them if possible.), raising intriguing questions about good and evil along the way.

She uses biblical themes to advance the story and to expand our knowledge of the characters, but does this unobtrusively, not by sledge hammer. Understated beats overstated every time.

How engrossing is it? I read the first 250 pages in one sweep, stopping only when it was late enough that I couldn't track sentences any more. I finished the remaining 125 pages the next day.

How good is it? In a word, exceedingly. I look forward to reading a continuation of the saga. These characters and storylines are much too good to face early retirement.

My son is a voracious reader and I'm always trying to find something different for him to read. He has enjoyed these books.

I'm still not a fantasy fan but this is one series that I have enjoyed thoroughly. This is mainly due to Sharon Hinck's writing and her ability to suck you into the story even if you are totally unfamiliar with the genre, like myself. The story picks up right where The Restorer's Son left off it's a shocker right from the beginning. Two from the other world have now come into our world and the Mitchell family has to figure out a way to get them out. Mishap and mayhem occur as Mark, Susan and Jake do their best to return to Lyric. I would have liked a bit more time seeing how the outsiders fared in our world but it's not really an issue. When returning to Lyric, the family faces obstacles and consequences they didn't expect and find themselves amidst another battle that will threaten the lives of all those they have come to love. Lyric is like another Middle Earth or another Narnia. It's a world that Sharon has completely created. I normally shy away from fantasy because it's hard for me to grasp different worlds in relationship to our own world. I did have problems with this in the beginning of this series but by the time this book came around, I was totally able to accept the idea of Lyric.

There were some parts that I did feel drag on a bit. This was mainly during the scenes where the characters were waiting for action. It wasn't boring, just felt like there was a lull in the scene and in the reading. The ending also left me a bit hanging. I understood why it had to happen, yet at the same time I could foresee problems trying to explain the situation. It didn't seem like an easy way out to end the story yet at the same time I felt like something else could have happened. Either way, I would love to see a return to this series in the future. Sharon has done an excellent job of making non fantasy fans enjoy the fantasy world and stretch both their imagination and reading tastes.