Customer Reviews

The Shadow and Night (The Lamb Among the Stars, Book 1)

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

 

 

This series will really challenge the 'pre-trib', "He's coming tomorrow" crowd. It requires a long period during which the Gospel permeates human society. While I believe that Jesus's coming has ALWAYS been immanent, this story reaches far into the future, and posits for the reader's consideration a civilization where the implications of the Gospel are fully lived out, insofar as can be expected by fallen man.

The 'slow start' mentioned in another review is necessary for the author to depict this lovely society. Stick with it! It's worth it, and necessary to create the context for the reappearance of evil. It is all done without the syrupy didactic tone of so many other Christian fiction works.

This is not 'fantasy' in the genre of C.S. Lewis's "Narnia" or even the heavily alegorical "Out of the Silent Planet" trilogy'. This is REAL SciFi. This series has the future technology and whiz-bang stuff I would expect in good SciFi.

Further, so much of modern SciFi has objectionable material in it: Sexual sin, foul language, and even overt blasphemy. This is good, CLEAN, fun.

Finally, I want to say that this is the first SciFi written as Christian literature that didn't absolutely stink from a SciFi fan's viewpoint. All the others I read were 'yawners', because I knew what would happen next. They were just making characters walk through the stock Hal Lindsey, pre-trib scenarios. This one is a whole new world.

Buy it! Read it! Love it!

When I watch the news I sometimes wonder what it would be like to live in a world where evil didn't exist. What if we didn't need an army, or police, or weapons? Where no one lied, everyone could be trusted, and envy was unheard of? Well, that's the way it was in Farholme, a Made World, copied from Ancient earth, until Merral Stefan D'Avanos saw what he thought was a meteor streaking against the night sky. Suddenly, the peaceful world of Farholme began to change.

At first he barely noticed the changes. There were just hints that something was wrong; a deception, a vision, a show of fear. Then Vero, a Sentinel from Ancient Earth showed up to check out what was going on. As Vero and Merral began the investigation, they became embroiled in a desperate battle agains the powers of evil. At first they didn't understand what was happening to Farholme, but both men believed in God and they were willing to follow wherever He led them.

Chris Walley has created a world so vivid it seems almost real. This is a fascinating story of the battle between good and evil with a different twist. Full of action and suspense and engaging characters, it pulled me into the story from page one.

I just finished reading the two books that actually make up this single hardcover - Shadow At Evening and Power of the Night (accidentally rebought this book thinking it was a sequel - it's not). My 13 year old son recommended the books to me and I was extremely impressed with the quality of the story and the way that Chris Walley knits together a compelling sci-fi story with a Christian point of view. As a long time sci-fi/fantasy reader, I didn't think it was really possible for it to be done in a believable way, but he does it. His main character's evolution as he comes into contact with evil is a challenge for all believers! A must-read!

I have travelled far in the realms of fantasy and sci-fi... to Narnia, Empyrion, Middle Earth, Byntar and Albion, but never have I journeyed so far away as this book has taken me. Nor does anything even come close to the distance we encounter in "The Shadow and Night". As I opened the book and read the first pages, the thought came to me: perhaps this is the story I have been waiting all my life to read - or the tale I have always wanted to write. Well, not quite. But darned close to it.

In the Year of Our Lord 13000, the Lord's Peace is about to come under attack. Over eleven thousand years have passed since the Great Intervention; since that time there have been no wars, indeed no evil at all among humans. The Assembly's far-flung colonies have been created from inhospitable planets over thousands of years of terraforming and atmospheric adjustments.

But I'm not just talking about physical or temporal distance. The people on these worlds are redeemed, almost unfallen, incapable of sin. Far-advanced technologies are a part of daily life, but not overbearingly; simple, useful concepts are a joy to behold, such as the personal diary: a computer, telephone, camera, journal, dictaphone all in one; and the perfection of the Internet to a virtual-reality library containing all the information in the known universe.

The most distant Made World is Farholme, six hundred light years from Earth. Merral, the forester, finds himself an unwilling fighter for the cause of good when he becomes aware of strange happenings at his uncle's farm. The array of characters surrounding Merral is headed by Verofaza, a visitor from Ancient Earth, sent to investigate reports of a possible threat at Farholme.

The sudden re-entry of evil to the universe is all the more terrible because no one has any experience to deal with it, whether on a global or personal level. Temptations go unrecognised at first, and negative feelings are puzzled over as unknowns. Clues to the impending threat are woven in from the beginning, almost utterly harmless to start with, but creeping in with unabated increase of the suspense factor.

The author is an advocate for "slow creation", in other words, God-designed evolution, as this is taken for granted by all the characters. In the story, evolution appears to have passed from being a theory and is presented as a proven fact.

Nonetheless, the writing and the story drew me in from the first page. Descriptions and characters are sharp and vivid, from sunsets to animals to spaceflight, and particularly the unknowing innocence of saintly heroes in the face of insidious evil. Yet they too must grow, and that is what they do.

I'm glad the two books are joined in one volume here, because the first, while ending at a quiet moment, provides no conclusion to the mystery of what is going on. That is the epic quality of these stories; there is no quick-fix solution anywhere to be seen, but at the same time the reader is dragged into a personal journey of unimaginable proportions.

In the second part, things get exciting. If the first part is gripping suspense, then the second is pumping adrenaline. A peaceful people must prepare for war, and the tale moves increasingly from sci-fi to include the realm of fantasy - but it fits. After all, in a tale at the very end of time I would consider it normal for angels and fallen angels to appear. It's like seeing a war from the inside, up close and personal, with all the emotional reactions of those involved.

Vero changes almost overnight from a timid graduate to a decisive army organiser, studying ancient war histories and pondering a good many Ancient English metaphors along the way. Of course they don't make much sense to him, but that doesn't stop him using them. There is also much telling revelation of the first-time soldiers' initial excitement at battle, followed by the grim horror of reality.

This book will make you think. It will shoot you into the far distant future and make it believable. And it will take you all the way back to the roots of evil, and the triumph of good. If you're anything like me, it will surprise you, shock you, and bring you to the edge of laughter and tears. You will see yourself in its pages, and you will be reminded of the almighty power of the Lamb among the stars. Certainly a most incredible feat of writing (it took me around fifteen hours to read!) - I look forward to getting hold of the next installment. Much more is yet to come for the people of Farholme.

This edition of The Shadow and Night by Chris Walley, Ph.D., includes the first two books of his The Lamb Among the Stars series: The Shadow and Night and The Power of the Night. The series continues with The Dark Foundations and concludes with The Infinite Day.

In the Assembly of a thousand terraformed worlds are held together by instantaneous travel through interstellar gates, the reality of good and evil is not questioned--the Creator intervened in the course of human history ten thousand years before and banished evil from the lives of men and women.

But now evil returns.

And when Farholme's gate is destroyed, the remotest world is cut off from the safety of the Assembly. Suddenly, the people must battle an adversary thought long vanquished while confronting an alluring malevolence that springs from their hearts, minds, and souls.

Dr. Walley writes with an understated smoothness comparable to the style of a fellow British writer--H.G. Wells. His prose does not call attention to itself--this is not a cliff hanger--but page by page, he steadily builds story tension as every avenue of escape is cut off from his characters.


"They were separated by no more than twenty meters, and Merral could see the face clearly despite the shadows. It seemed to him that, despite its flattened appearance, the face was more human than ape. The large brown eyes seemed to stare at him, and Merral decided that if the face conveyed any emotion at all, it was of a cold intelligence and a determined and calculating hatred."


Most books in the SF genre depict stable societies as dystopias, be they theocratic, such as Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, or secular, such as Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Social stability comes at the cost of human freedom and vibrant creativity. Particularly in the America, the bureaucratic State has been personified as the villain, and the hero becomes the lone ranger who fights against unforgiving societal rigidity.

Dr. Walley turns this story tradition on its head. What if a truly good and stable society were to arise that did not sell its soul in a Faustian Bargain? What if the people were so unpretentiously sublime that they did not know they were good? Where would pride or boasting be? What appeals to me most about this story is that Dr. Walley pulls off these tricky themes without any insincere preachiness directed at the reader. The characters act because of who they are, not because Dr. Walley has a point he wants to make.

And into this world, evil comes. Night falls. How can mere men and women survive?


"We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the Light of the World." John 9:4-5


Highly Recommended

If you started reading the series, don't buy this book!! It is just as excellent as the first two books, because it IS the first two books! This is a combo of "Shadow at Evening" and "Power in the Night"-- sure wish something somewhere had informed me of this. Now I have a spare "loaner" book.

Have you ever had a book that just resonated with you? One that you enjoyed so much you didn't want it to end? The Shadow and Night (The Lamb Among the Starr) is this book for me. I'm a former English teacher and only two other books have affected me so profoundly: To Kill A Mockingbird and The Once And Future King.

I didn't even know that Christian Sci fi existed, much less that it could be so moving. I have been recommending this book to everyone who will listen. The characters are Every man and woman, and their fall from grace familiar. The settings are so beautifully penned that I felt pictures being drawn in my mind. If you want a plot summary, read another post...I'd rather tell you that you will be moved by this story. You will think about it long after you've finished it, and you will want to read the third book in the trillogy, The Infinite Day. The moral lessons it inspires will encourage you to be a little bit better tomorrow, AND these lessons will be in a wonderfully told way.

Simply put, you must read this book if you like sci fi and great writing.

I bought this series in an after Christmas sale(2009) and finished the last one a few months ago. I really liked Chris' books, style, and his theme, "what if people had figured out a way to live without sin of any kind for many generations expanding to many worlds to the far reaches of the universe? And then evil, from the Dominion Emperor (devil's relm & hell) begins to be re-introduced as an opposing force into this sin-less culture? What would be the social, moral, and faith challenges of these naive people and their culture who knew no sin?" A great read and story filled with heros and villains that become fully developed across all three books of the series. Both sides (faith-filled/demon possessed) are well presented in all three books, but the opening scenes of a demon possessed man set on world conquest through help of the devil in the 2nd book creates an entirely new standard for hell's long standing dark imagery.

And the imagery and actions of the Lord's strength in times of trouble, was handled in a way I've never seen done before outside of the Bible itself. No where have I seen so many mini stories within a larger saga explore the many viewpoints, tying faith challenges to integrity, loyalty, relationships, family ties, friendships and community morals as this 3 book series. As the hero, Merral and his side-kick Vero, and their girlfriends move from one evil challenge to the next discovering new and fantastic ways to fight the onslaught of evils menacing influence my faith grew along with the story's characters. I began to see the truth of the messages and the actions that are taken as being divinely anointed. I think Chris has set a new contemporary image for me with his story themes of how people either resist the evil influence with the help of the LORD ALMIGHTY or fall prey to the devils influence in very suttle ways taking entire communities down with them.

I highly recommend the entire 3 book series and applaud Chris for sharing the strength of his faith and convictions in these forward thinking books. I for one Chris, get your books and what you were saying in them. And the messages are indeed along the high brow lines of C.S. Lewis, but in a MUCH more palatable and theme rich story form for the worlds readers. Well done my faith brother!

I echo all the other reviews. Note there are only 5 stars to date! I found this as good as Ted Dekker's circle series. Ted has more adventure along the way, but this story has thought provoking dialog, stuff that makes you think. Chris has very thoughtfully come up with a unique society, far more creatively than most fantasy writers. This is great science/fantasy fiction. There is romance too.

The beginning of a series that pulled me into a world that is completely enjoyable. The world that Chris Walley has created is beautifully described with characters that come to life, their struggles and their joys. The dynamic between the characters is exceptional and through those moments of dialogue and thoughts, spiritual gems come forth to give the reader something to chew on. The plot keeps developing as the story goes on, to the point that you would not think it could have much more impact, but what surprises there are ahead! Chris Walley never gives away whats to come.
I really enjoyed the approach of a sinless society's struggle with sin re-entering the population. Great insights and what a way to introduce them but with a sci-fi theme! Excellent read that will not disappoint anyone that enjoys christian fiction with the sci-fi edge. This is a story the reader can lose himself in.