Eclipse of the Sun (Children of the Last Days/Michael D. O'Brien) (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "I will try to reconstruct it from the fragments Father Andrei told me and from other details I learned later..." (more)
Key Phrases: dumpster boy, drug commune, justice critic, Father Ron, Father Andrei, Fort George (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The horrors in O'Brien's novel are frightening not merely because of his suspense-charged, page-turning apocalyptic plot, but because the instruments of coersion he describes are already largely in place. Interweaving moments of profound consolation and ultimate spiritual hope, as in his scintillating Father Elijah, O'Brien is revealed as a novelist of penetrating spiritual insight and prophetic clarity."
- David Lyle Jeffrey, Author, People of the Book

"The sweet, lyrical and faithful voice of Michael O'Brien is perhaps the truest and finest in contemporary fiction. I searched for a very long time before finding a novel as vital as Father Elijah. I thought that such an achievement could not be repeated. It has with Eclipse of the Sun."
- Michael Coren, Author, Columnist, Radio Host

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Description

In this fast-paced, reflective novel, (the second in a trilogy following Strangers and Sojourners) Michael O'Brien presents the dramatic tale of a family that finds itself in the path of a totalitarian government. Set in the near future, the story describes the rise of a police state in North America in which every level of society is infected with propaganda, confusion and disinformation. Few people are equipped to recognize what is happening because the culture of the Western world has been deformed by a widespread undermining of moral absolutes.

Against this background, the Delaney family of Swiftcreek, British Columbia, is struck a severe blow when the father of the family, the editor of a small newspaper which dares to speak the truth, is arrested by the dreaded Office of Internal Security. His older children flee into the forest of the northern interior, accompanied by their great-grandfather and an elderly priest, Father Andrei. Their little brother Arrow also becomes a fugitive as the government seeks to remove any witnesses, and eradicate all evidence of its ultimate goals.

As O'Brien draws together the several strands of the story into a frightening yet moving climax, he explores the heart of growing darkness in North America, examining events which have already occurred. The reader will take away from this disturbing book a number of urgent questions: Are we living in the decisive moment of history? How dire is our situation? Do we live in pessimistic dread, or a Christian realism founded on hope? This is a tale about the victory of the weak over the powerful, courage over terror, good over evil, and, above all, the triumph of love.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 856 pages
• Publisher: Ignatius Press (May 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898706874
• ISBN-13: 978-0898706871
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #759,618 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding conclusion to a great series, October 27, 2000

By	David Zampino "21st Century Hobbit" (Delavan, Wisconsin) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

"Eclipse of the Sun", Michael O'Brien's third novel in the trilogy which began with "Strangers and Sojourners" and continued with "Plague Journal" is an outstanding conclusion to this excellent series. It picks up from where "Plague Journal" leaves off, but from a different perspective. Fortunately there are enough characters which appear in all three novels, allowing for a more or less seamless transition of perspective.

O'Brien continues his tale of the Delaney family and their friends and acquaintences and their trials and tribulations at the turning of the 21st century in British Colombia. There are two main themes: One theme concerns the eschatological prophecies in the book of Revelation, and their relevance to the dawning of the 21st century. The other theme concerns the quiet evaporation of personal and civil liberties which have been gradually occuring in the Western "democracies". These themes are knit so closely together, one is not always sure whether Revelation is a vehicle for O'Brien's political concerns or whether O'Brien's political concerns are a vehicle for his eschatological theories.

Regardless of which it is, the reader will have a difficult time putting this book down.

O'Brien's deeply held Catholicism shines forth brightly in this book -- and frankly, it is refreshing. It is unusual in this day and age for a Catholic to write "End-Times" novels -- such is usually the provence of fundamentalists (who usually hate the Church). His Catholicism is traditional, conservative and uncompromising, yet very human and full of compassion. The religious one meets in his books (including this one) are the very sort that one wishes there were more of! (In my experience, as someone raised in a traditional Anglican background, one of the major reasons that Catholicism has not made the inroads into my former denomination that it could make is due to the progressive hogwash that all too frequently passes for Catholicism in North America. A few more priests like Father Andrei, and a few more bishops like the Archbishop of Vancouver in "Eclipse" would go a long way in attracting converts from a slowing dying Anglicanism. But I digress)

For me, this book rates 4.25 stars. 5 for story content, and 3.5 for character development. One flaw in the book (or perhaps it's merely a flaw in my personal taste) is O'Brien's tendency to develop a character, then suddenly drop them, never to be seen again. He also does not, to my way of thinking, always sufficiently explain how a character develops from when he/she is first presented to how he/she ends up. One is left wondering why such and such a character changed so radically.

Finally, this book shows an interesting respect for conservative, yet non-Catholic clergy. O'Brien is not nearly as hard on his "seperated brethren" as many conservative Catholics tend to be. And he is equally hard on liberal Catholics as he is on liberal Protestants.

I would very much like to meet Mr. O'Brien some day. I have enjoyed his novels; I have enjoyed his non-fiction; I appreciate and respect his faith; (and I have an enormous respect for his understanding of JRR Tolkien). I know a wonderful Irish pub where we could light up the pipes, raise a pint or two, and discuss literature and theology for hours on end.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Apocalypse Now?, April 7, 1999

By A Customer

Excellent, excellent, excellent! Don't let the page count daunt you--this is an amazingly fast read. While this is an end-times book with a decidedly Catholic flavor, all Christians and even secular civil libertarians will find it to be an edifying (and sobering) read.

Basically, it is the story of a "creeping totalitarianism" that is engulfing North America and the few heroic (mostly Catholic and Evangelical) souls who recognize it and attempt to resist, especially when they discover that it is NOT happening by accident.... Although O'Brien says (I'm paraphrasing) that the novel has a "near future" setting, it has a disturbing "today's headlines" feel. This is well-done Catholic Christian literature, and as such it is not afraid to name names and identify the evils of our time: rampant consumerism, globalism, the New Age infection of orthodox Christianity (and its globalist ties), television, degenerate "art" calculated to destroy the sense of the sacred, the deliberate harassment of the devoutly religious, the annihilation of due process--the list goes on and on. In short, EOTS grippingly depicts the fall of night on Western civilization. The struggle against the darkness of sometimes uneasy coalitions of believers in Christ (and other people of good will) sustained by the grace of God makes for an inspiring cautionary tale.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent but meandering, December 18, 2003

By	Peter Santucci (Lebanon, OR United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Eclipse of the Sun (Paperback)

Michael O'Brien continues his excellent Children of the Last Days series that began explosively with Father Elijah in this third part of the Delaney family trilogy (the first two books are Strangers and Sojouners and Plague Journal).

O'Brien is obviously an excellent writer, but he tends to be overly didactic in his novels. A better editor could have helped with that. O'Brien, as most talented writers do, also overwrote his novel. And, again, a better editor could have helped him pull out the extraneous material which could have been included in a collection of short stories in an additional book.

Having said that, O'Brien continues to show keen insight into issues that haunt Western society and the Western church. A committed Christian with traditional Catholic faith, he decries the secularization of the church, including the domination of our lives by television. He presents a bleak view of Western governments, filled with nefarious conspiracy theories that are both audacious and plausible at the same time.

As huge as this book is, O'Brien keeps his readers turning their pages because of his wonderfully human characters and intriguing plot.