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4.0 out of 5 stars
A good fantasy and religious story, August 31, 2009
The land of Shavron is a nice place, seemingly favored by God. But, because of its location, it has found itself in the middle when its neighbors go to war. Many, many years ago, the Holy One appointed three Judges to rule over the people of Shavron. The current Judges are Gideon, the judge of battle; Deborah, the judge of instruction; and Samson, the judge of commerce.
This is a time of fear and uncertainty in Shavron. The neighboring lands are being menaced by the black leopards of Chetz. The only way to prevent a Chetzian attack on Shavron is to appoint a king, or other ruler, of Shavron; then, the Chetzians will leave them alone. Gideon, a rabbit, is totally against the idea, because it would mean abandoning the Holy One. He, and Deborah, a cheetah, try to convince Samson, a wolf, to join them before the Council to change their minds. Samson refuses, not convinced of the seriousness of the situation.
Gideon and Deborah return to Eldos, the capital, to find that a queen has already been chosen by the Council, a red fox named Jezerah. Along with Iya, the power behind the throne, she turns Shavron into a dictatorship. High taxes are imposed, repression is increased; the usual. The Holy One knows what's going on; He tells Gideon that He will never abandon Shavron, and that things will get worse before they get better.
Gideon spends the next couple of years in an impregnable mountain top prison; Samson and Deborah are similarly mistreated. Under such circumstances, it would be easy for anyone to lose their faith, but that does not happen to Gideon.
I was very prepared to not like this book (religion and talking animals usually do not bode well), but it's pretty good. It's not just a good religion story, it's also a good fantasy story.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Sugarwood - A Great Storyteller!, December 7, 2008
Come Children! Come Everybody! Ivan Sugarwood, the great storyteller, is here to share with us The Judges Chronicles: Rebirth of Shavron! Come and hear how three judges saved the little town of Shavron!
Sugarwood begins with a brief reference to the creation, noting that God created the many animals: rabbits, wolves, foxes, lions, etc. In a little place, called Shavron, near the Cinnamount Mountains, many lived under the blessing of the Holy One. He had placed three judges to rule and provide guidance to the land: Many years had gone by until the time when three new judges were named. Gideon of Eldos, the judge of battle; Deborah of Moran, the judge of instruction; and Samson of Old Sim, the judge of commerce. This is their story.
Gideon was a rabbit and though it seemed strange to have a rabbit as the judge of battle, he always won because he spent time in prayer and allowed the Holy One to win the battle for Shavron. It was good that Gideon was the judge of battle at this time, because there was much to threaten the lives of those who lived in Shavron. For a powerful nation, Chetz, whose citizens were leopards, was about to attack.
Instead of depending upon God, the town's council and citizens wanted to appoint a new Queen to save them! As soon as they had spoken of this desire, Gideon knew that he needed to talk with the other judges, so he set off to find Deborah. But when he found her, she admitted that she was practically a prisoner herself. What were they going to do?
While Gideon was gone, the two appointed Jezerah as Queen! And she brought along an elder who was called Iya and proclaimed her to be her mother, which was not true. Actually, Iya was a witch with great powers. These two foxes, cunningly moved into Shavron, only to ultimately enslave everybody and demand tax payments to build a large palace and anything else Jezerah desired.
Knowing that the three judges were a danger to their reign, they went out to capture them one by one until all of them were imprisoned in one place or another. Five long years went by until one day, Gideon spoke in prayer to the Holy One and found that it was now time! Time to reclaim Shavron and make it one of God's blessed places once again! You'll want to learn how this all occurs!
Sugarwood has created an exciting tale, very loosely patterned around the ancient judges once placed over another holy land. Use of animal characters has allowed the author to emphasize the known animalistic characteristics and use them to advantage as each type of animal plays a role in the story. In one way, in my opinion, it served to lessen the impact of one country against another; one race against another, yet allows the envy, greed, and jealousy to occur. Using a rabbit, so timid and shy, to be the bravest of them all is important as well, as it also emphasized the power of God, the Holy One, in working through the timid creature.
In addition to the thrilling story, the author has included many beautifully created sketches of his characters and is sure to delight and encourage children to become involved with the story. Remember this is a good-over-evil tale, so be sure your child is at the proper age... This book is a perfect storybook to have in spending quality reading time with your child(ren)!
G. A. Bixler
for Author's Den
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Fun read, enjoyable characters, November 7, 2008
With great lessons, applicable quotes and fun, entertaining characters, this book kept my attention until the end. It is Christian based and focuses on Christian beliefs and lessons but many of the lessons can be considered universal. I think that even someone with a religious background would enjoy the lessons told through these colorful animals. Adults will consider this a fun book to read. It would also be great for the 6-12 year old crowd to read themselves or with a parent. Preschoolers may enjoy the adventures of the lion, cheetah and others in small increments of the book. The author does a great job making universally enjoyable book.
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