Rise of the Dibor (The White Lion Chronicles, Book 1) (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

What if Adam and Eve never sinned? Would Satan be back? A perfect world untouched by evil and ignorant of death is secretly invaded by an ancient enemy that threatens to destroy their way of life forever. At first any signs of Morgui's vile presence are subtle, but slowly even Creation itself heralds the impending doom that awaits as the summers grow cold and certain of Dionia's inhabitants go missing. As more and more people are strangely taken, the Kings of Dionia decide take precautionary measures. Luik son of Lair is summoned to join an elite group of warriors known as the Dibor, sworn to protect their Kingdom against invading foes. But when a sinister plot to dethrone the Kings and flatten the capital city of Adriel is discovered, the Dibor are summoned along with the rest of the men of Dionia to defend her walls. It is here that Luik and his army face Morgui's Prince as well as the unending ranks of the demon war-host known as the Dairne-Reih, engaging in an epic saga to keep their world from following the same fate of one that has gone before it; earth. What some think will destroy them all, others believe will be the birth of a legend. Join a stunning cast of characters as they rally together in an inspiring story of courage, brotherhood, and sacrifice as Dionia becomes the epicenter for a war of historic proportions. With this first installment of The White Lion Chronicles, The Rise of The Dibor spans issues of friendship, love, loyalty and dives into some of the most essential questions of faith, including humanitys struggle to resist temptation and mankind's ultimate need for a Deliverer. Will Adriel fall to the Dairne-Reih? Will Luik ever see find his family again? Will Morgui succeed in deceiving yet another world? Read the story that turned children into warriors, and warriors into heroes.

About the Author

Christopher Hopper is an internationally acclaimed conference speaker, worship leader, record producer and recording artist with eight albums released worldwide and hundreds of other titles to his credit. He is the president of Quest Productions and also the Director of Awakening, a national youth revival conference. A threetime ordained minister, he travels extensively around the globe appearing before thousands of people each year, ministering the Good News of Jesus Christ. He and his wife, Jennifer, and their two children, reside in the 1,000 Islands Region of northern New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 472 pages
• Publisher: Tsaba House (June 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0972548602
• ISBN-13: 978-0972548601
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #72,901 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars from Wayne Thomas Batson, Author of The Door Within Trilogy..., November 7, 2006

By	Wayne Thomas Batson "Adventures are funny thi... (Eldersburg, MD, USA) - See all my reviews

I'd be hard pressed to give Christopher Hopper's work any less than a 5 on this, his first full length novel. Rise of the Dibor is a phenomenal debut novel. Sure like any first novel, there are some minor errors, and I'm sure there will be reviewers who have something to say to that effect. But you have to expect that, even with great editing, first novels are going to be a little rough around the edges.

Rather than technical precision, what readers should look for in a first novel are the following: an intriguing hook, sparks of creative genius, and a story worth hearing. RotD has all of that.

The hook: a world where Adam's fall had never happened. For how long could it stay pure?

Sparks of creative genius: everywhere! Mr. Hopper's worldbuilding skills are wonderful. After a chapter, I forgot that Dionia wasn't a real place. And wait until Luik returns the baby's blanket to the King--what an amazingly surreal scene!

A story worth hearing: This is a tale we all need to hear. People of faith who are honest about themselves will learn a lot about the nature of sin from RotD. We'll realize what we lost in the fall, as well as, all we lose on a daily basis when we scratch and claw to get our own way rather than God's. People outside the faith are not excluded. Sure, if you know the Bible, the allegory will stand out. But it is NOT preachy. Still, for the nonChristian, reading RotD could lead to asking big questions...the questions we all struggle with whether we admit it out loud or not.

More about the actual story: Rise of the Dibor has a very real protagonist who is noble and heroic, as well as, a very real antagonist who is evil and destructive. But lest you think that this is too simple, too traditional, be assured that there are plenty of complex characters. When a wholely pure world is first tainted by evil, you begin to see the complicated machinations of darkness through rationalization and compromise. Very deep stuff.

This is not light fantasy. It is multilayered TRUE fantasy. Lovers of Tolkien, Lewis, MacDonald--you'll love this. Readers of Erikson, Bakker, and other more contemporary fantasy, try RotD and escape in its provoking intracacies.

Add Rise of the Dibor by Christopher Hopper to your to be read pile soon. And when you finish it, take heart, the 2nd book is coming soon. The 3rd is even in the works, I hear. Yes! Bring on the fantasy!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Shadowing CS Lewis, August 6, 2006

By	Yellow30 Sci-Fi (VA USA) - See all my reviews

Christian fantasy and science fiction is starting to make a niche for itself. Powerful bestsellers are rising fast since the Left Behind Series made its appearance. With the movie version of C.S. Lewis' immortal The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, more Christian based books are beginning to surface.

Add into the mix a small publishing house and a bright new author by the name of Christopher Hopper you get the feel more Christian allegory is on the way.

The premise of Hopper's first book, The Rise of the Dibor, ask a simple, yet thought provoking question, "What if Adam and Eve had never sinned? What if mankind knew no wrong? Would we still have an enemy?" Hopper answers that question with an emphatic yes!

There is an ancient evil out there bent on destroying all that is good. It will stop at nothing to see that paradise is turned into sinful chaos. As in all good and evil storylines, good has a champion, or in this case champions. Luik, son of Lair, along with his friends are given a commission by the King of Dionia to stop this evil. With the guidance of a skilled master warrior, Luik and his friends are molded into strong and well versed fighting men. Dark days are approaching and many have to rally to save their world.

Rise of the Dibor is a hard book to get into. Though the Dionian language may prove difficult (the use of footnotes helped) it has some flavor of Tolkienese.

One wonders what happened to the editors on this first edition? Did this get passed over on a lunch break or something? One may expect some editorial mishaps from a small press, but this was very poorly edited. Reliance on the spell-checker is not good enough. The human touch and eye were needed on this. Most of the errors were homophones, the meaning could be deduced by the context, but one would hope that these mistakes will be corrected in later editions. The book layout is very nice and effective. However, a more dramatic cover might have been implored to lure readers to buy.

The writing seemed very weak at the beginning. However, by the middle of the story, it had improved enough to carry the remaining of the book. Several of the characters introduced in the beginning simply fail to show by the end of the book. Anorra is one such character that had a hopeful beginning and became a phantom by the final page. Despite all this, Christopher Hopper weaves a story filled with grand characters and stunning scenes with threads dealing with spiritual warfare, discipleship, and the inevitable need for a savior, all standard elements in popular Christian fiction.

Beyond the weak beginning, this is a good tale and Christopher Hopper has created a world filled with believable and likable characters. Hopefully the next book in the series will be better edited and have a much stronger beginning.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good book, July 2, 2006

By	armchairinterviews.com (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

"What if Adam and Eve had never sinned? What if mankind knew no wrong? Would we still have an enemy?"

With this premise firmly in hand, Christopher Hopper spins a yarn guaranteed to captivate the armchair adventurer.

Luik, son of Lair, and his band of friends and acquaintances must grow strong, wise, and cunning in order to deal with an ancient evil that threatens destruction and ruin of epic proportions. Along the way friendships are strengthened, alliances are forged, and love blossoms.

Rise of the Dibor, book one in The White Lion Chronicles, was difficult to get into. There is a definite learning curve as one is introduced to the language of Dionia, but the accompanying footnotes smoothed the way.

This first edition was poorly edited, with what appears to have been too much reliance on the spell-checker. But as most of the errors were homophones, the meaning could be deduced by the context.

By the middle of the story, I was thoroughly engrossed. And while the story can be read by adventure lovers of about ten-years-old and up, as an epic adventure, Christopher Hopper takes mature readers to a deeper level, handling such subjects as the origin of evil, spiritual warfare, discipleship, and the inevitable need for a savior, with a clarity that springs from familiarity with his subject.

An added bonus for the computer savvy reader is a dedicated website complete with story background, story trailer (QuickTime is required) and author's biography.

Although initially skeptical (another reviewer compared Rise of the Dibor with both King Arthur and The Lord of the Rings), Christopher Hopper has won me over with a saga that is both more fantastic and more believable than either Middle Earth or Camelot.

Armchair Interviews says: Look forward to this and the next book in this series.