A former F-16 fighter pilot and tactical combat communications engineer, Chuck Black delivers a clean, fast-paced adventure novel with "Cloak of the Light." The first book in his "Wars of the Realm" trilogy.
Drew is pretty normal. You know, other then the death and disappointment dogging his steps for what feels like his entire life. After an accident that derails his plans for the future he is thrust headfirst into a terrifying and confusing world just inches away from our own. Who are these giants who move at terrifying speeds and how is Sydney, his sweet yet mysterious friend from high school, connected to them? And why do some want him dead and others not?
Reading Level: Young Adult - High School
Spiciness: -🔥
Relationships: 💗💗💗
Language: -🚫
Plot: 📖📖📖📖📖
Character Development: 🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀
Spoilers!
"Cloak of the Light" is first and foremost an adventure story. As a result the romance takes a back seat in terms of focus as Drew spends a large portion of the novel trying his best not to die. Throughout the novel Drew is learning how to interact with and depend on people, something the highly independent young man struggles with. Especially after the near deaths of both Sydney and his best friend Ben when he leans on them just a bit too obviously.
The novel is very clean with no problematic language and no spice to be found. The focus of the novel is Drew's character growth and the plot. Both of which are very well executed. Drew grows and develops throughout the whole trilogy, but especially in the first book. The reader follows Drew as he grows from a hopeful high school football player to a depressed, blind college age student, to a fugitive vigilante fighting aliens seamlessly.
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was one of my favorite books in high school and I remember waiting for the last book to come out for what felt like an eternity. (it was about nine months in reality) The fast paced adventure drew me in and got me hooked. I wanted to know what happened to Drew next. Now that I am older I am even more appreciative.
Chuck Black was and still is one of my favorite authors in the Christian Fiction genre. I enjoy his well thought out plots and realistic combat scenes. However, I most enjoy his well rounded, relatable characters. For all their fictional prowess his characters are still human. They are broken and selfish and they struggle. But they still get up and try to do better with what they have. Even if that means they spend months fighting angels and demons, believing them to be alien invaders from a Jupiter-like planet.
In short, I highly recommend his work to those who like a good clean adventure story.
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