Genre: Christian Fantasy
Recommendation: Excellent
Originality – 5/5
Writing Style – 4/5
Plot – 5/5
Characters – 5/5
Aesthetics – 5/5
God is at work in Obann.
A thousand years ago, King Ozias, the last king, placed a bell on top of Mount Yul. Scripture says that when someone rings that bell, God will hear it.
But no one ever has rung the bell. Until now.
Many people, from the head priest to a small-town teacher, have felt God stirring their heart to ring it, but the only ones obedient enough to answer that call are two children – Jack and Ellayne.
Jack is a poor boy, a child of misfortune; Ellayne is a rich girl, child of the town’s chief councilor. Together they will make it to the top of the mountain and fulfill their calling.
Bell Mountain is such a fun read for people of all ages. It’s interesting and moves at a quick pace with lots of action and adventure. As you read, you’ll meet new creatures, an expert assassin, Helki the Rod, Obst the Hermit, and Wytt the…? (Well, you’ll just have to read about Wytt.)
It’s a perfectly clean read with a ton of depth and good Christian messages. One of my favorite themes was the question of how we should treat Scripture. Is it to be taken at face-value and treated seriously, or is it just a collection of myths and metaphors?
I give Bell Mountain an enthusiastic recommendation of Excellent and will look forward to diving into the sequel, The Cellar Beneath the Cellar.
Bell Mountain is available in print from Amazon.com.
"The Cellar Beneath the Cellar" by Lee Duigon Book Review
Genre: Christian Fantasy
Recommendation: Excellent
Originality – 5/5
Writing Style – 5/5
Plot – 5/5
Characters – 5/5
Aesthetics – 5/5
If you’re not reading Lee Duigon’s Bell Mountain series, you need to be! It’s absolutely one of the best out there!
In this amazing second volume, The Cellar Beneath the Cellar,
First Prester Reesh, the leader of the entire organized “Church”, is
purposely misinterpreting Scripture to serve his own ends while a
barbarian army streams into Obann, hungry for the slaughter.
Meanwhile,
the Bell has rung and God has continued to call His chosen ones to a
great and final purpose. He is speaking through the Toddler Prophet, has
gifted the Old Man Missionary, has strengthened the Flail of the Lord,
has commissioned the Finders of Lost Scripture, and has anointed the Boy
King.
With so much going on, The Cellar Beneath the Cellar
can’t fail to be an intriguing read for any fantasy-lover. Lee’s
writing is refined, his characters deep, his action non-stop, and his
vision big. This is indeed an epic worth following.
It all starts with Bell Mountain, continues in The Cellar Beneath the Cellar, and then on into the soon-to-be-released The Thunder King. I can’t wait for it to come out!
Okay, I’m done gushing, but as you can tell, I’m giving The Cellar Beneath the Cellar
a big recommendation of Excellent and personally guarantee that this
will be one of the best series you’ve ever read. Check it out today!
The Thunder King: The Bell Mountain Series, Book Three by Lee Duigon Book Review
Genre: Christian Fantasy
Recommendation: Good
Originality – 4/5
Writing Style – 5/5
Plot – 4/5
Characters – 5/5
Aesthetics – 4/5
The dog Cavall and First Prester Reesh steal the show.
I’ve been a big fan of the Bell Mountain
series since reading the first volume. In book 3, the Boy King’s
formerly-Heathen army continues to grow in their faith in the One God
under the tutelage of the Old Prophet. But is the Boy ready to be King?
As
the action and characters in this novel shows, God more often than not
calls us to do things that are much bigger than ourselves, and hardly
ever reveals how He’s going to help us accomplish them.
Through
a series of adventures and with the companionship of his new dog,
Cavall, the Boy King learns trust and obedience as God uses him to
fulfill His purposes.
On
the other hand, Lord Reesh, head of the nation’s “Church” is scrambling
to save the Temple, not because of any religious faith, but because he
doesn’t want to lose that which he has spent his entire life building.
He will do anything to keep the Temple safe from the Thunder King’s
Heathen armies, even if it means committing some of the most heinous
sins imaginable. My favorite scene in this novel is when Lord Reesh bids
his oldest friend goodbye.
Filled with echoes of prophecy and Biblical stories, along with a solid theology and clean content, Bell Mountain continues to be one of the most encouraging Christian fantasy series out there.
I did take a few points off for The Thunder King,
though, mainly because it felt like a transitional novel. There were
some major events that took place and the ending sequence is great, but,
in my opinion, it took a little too long getting there. It seemed like
most of the book was spent traveling from place to place without much
happening of consequence, almost like it was filler.
Still, the Bell Mountain Series continues to excite me and I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next for Duigon’s core cast of characters.
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