The Final Storm: The Door Within Trilogy - Book Three

The Door Within #3

by Wayne Thomas Batson

The final installment of the thrilling The Door Within trilogy!

Pure evil collides as Paragor, the betrayer of the one true King Eliam, unites with the Wyrm Lord and the mythical Seven Sleepers to launch a full-scale assault on the Kingdom of Alleble. And while their enemies plot their next attack, Alleble's remaining allies flee from the four corners of The Realm to safety within the Alleble's walls. Once there, the allies find the Kingdom crestfallen, grieving a fallen hero. While Alleble and its allies prepare to face the coming onslaught, they cling to an ancient legend about three witnesses who have the power to bring victory. But is the legend true? And if it is, where are the witnesses?

Time is running out as darkness spreads over the Realm, and Paragor unleashes the final storm. But will anyone survive to see the dawn?

With over 250,000 copies sold in "The Door Within "trilogy, this is a perfect time to introduce this bestselling series to a new batch of readers. The fantasy genre is wildly popular among young readers, and "The Final Storm" is thrilling end to this epic trilogy!

Common Core Standards:

R.CCR.1 Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text; R.CCR.2 Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas; R.CCR.3 Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text; R.CCR.6 Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text;R.CCR.9 Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take; SL.CCR.1 Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively; SL.CCR.2 Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally

Genres: Fantasy, Christian Fiction, Young Adult, Christian, Fiction, Adventure, Middle Grade

384 pages, Paperback

First published September 5, 2006

About the author

Wayne Thomas Batson was born in Seabrook, MD in 1968. He had an adventurous childhood and adolescence that included: building forts in the woods, crabbing and crayfishing in bays, ponds, and bayous, playing lead guitar in a heavy metal band, and teaching tennis lessons at the local recreation center. He attended Gabriel DuVal Senior High School where he wrote for the school’s newspaper and literary magazine. He was voted “Most Talented” in his senior year, and wrote this for his Yearbook Senior Goal: “To become a published author.” Little did he know that God had even greater plans.

Wayne Thomas Batson has spent the last thirty years teaching Reading and English to Maryland middle school students. Wayne Thomas Batson lives in Eldersburg with his extraordinary wife of 26 years. His four adult children intermittently live at home whenever their unexpected adventures lead them.

Batson’s writing career began in 2005 with the publication of fantasy epic, The Door Within. Since then, The Door Within, The Final Storm, Isle of Swords, and Isle of Fire have all appeared on the CBA Young Adult Bestseller List, including #2 for The Final Storm Fall 2007. To date, Batson has penned or coauthored seventeen novels and has sold well over half a million copies.

Wayne Thomas Batson gives thanks to God for the abundant life he’s been given. He continues to write for the people he cares so deeply about because he believes that, on a deep level, we all long for another world and yearn to do something important.

Reviews

[Michael O'Brien · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very good final book in "The Door Within" trilogy, and I enjoyed it very much. In some ways, it reminded me of "The Return of the King", the final book in The Lord of the Rings trilogy!

[Kait · Rating 5 out of 5]

First things first: Did anyone else want to run out and take up sword fighting/archery/erm, dragon riding after reading this, you know, just in case? :)

I rarely enjoy Christian fiction. Typically, I find it to be sub-par and just too about Christianity, and not so much about plot. Wayne Thomas Batson obliterates this pattern (for me). Both The Door Within and Rise of the Wyrm Lord were excellent, but for some reason, the final book in the series really blew it all out of the water for me.

There was nothing lacking in this book. I usually like to bring up one thing that annoyed me or that I didn't like... but I can't even think up one thing. Not even that the series is ended! It ends so perfectly. I may or may not have even cried a little at the end (I'll never tell).

I will also mention (again!) how beautiful, absolutely beautiful these books are. The publisher (Thomas Nelson) went above and beyond the call of duty in to produce these hardcover books. The cover art is still photo-shoppy, but at least it's unique and interesting. The interior of the book is done in monochromatic colour (everything is green in this book, it's beautiful!). The alternating fonts depending on what we're reading (things like prophesy or scripture show up in a different font, so as not to mistake these things). Even the pages where the characters transfer between The Realm and The Mirror Realm (our world) are distinguished and beautifully done. The maps are also just great. Honestly, I'm not sure that TN could have done a better job with these books.

I loved this trilogy. Never alone!

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This trilogy is a wonder to behold!

[Kaytlin Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

This series was definitely interesting with the Realm and our world and how everything was presented and handled...I loved some aspects and others I liked less...but the adventure was definitely fun!

Characters:
There are so many! I love them all!
Aiden is just a great character and I love how he doesn't rush into anything, but stops and prays about it asking for guidance!
Antionette got on my nerves less in this book...probably because she didn't have as much page time. XD
Robby was a great edition and his accent is actually really nice when read on the audiobook! The author did a great job with him!
All the other characters...*hugs* They were great and I can't spell any names because I listened to the series by they were great!

Themes:
That we are never alone. There was some end-times like theology with the 3 witnesses and some other stuff...I think, the glimpses are supposed to be like our soul/spirit's? At least, that's what is seemed and the only way I could come to terms with Robby and his glimpse being so different. Kearn was more of a representation of Robby's emotional state, the things he plotted in his mind, and not his outward actions. Kind of like his father/father's glimpse...same thing. Though his dad's did bleed a little into physical actions, but not...say killing people like his glimpse did...anyway, that's what I got, I'd be interested in other peoples thoughts on that.

Romance:
A marriage...and some budding romances...the married couple ended up aggravating me because they kept calling each other sir and lady after getting married and I was like...just use your first names! I'm not asking for much just stop calling each other sir and lady and act like you actually like each other! Lol...my one complaint there.

Langauge:
N/A

Magic:
Kind of...like controlling the weather? But more like a power that given to someone by the King and then the bad guys could do it too...no spell casting or anything weird. Was actually kind of cool.

Violence/Gore:
Deaths, battles, wounds, injuries, giant spiders, giant snakes, dragons, wolf-like creatures who attack with lots of devastation...etc...nothing overly detailed, this one has the least gross me out mentions of blood...that I might have tuned out because I listen while I work...so take it with a grain of salt. XD

Overall:
This was a pretty interesting series...the ending was fast. Like super fast and I got a bit lost (and no, I wasn't working when I finished the book. XD I was walking my dog and listening intently trying not to miss anything). But overall, this was still a pretty enjoyable series with lots of adventure, action, and some great moral lessons overall...even if the ending threw me for a bit of curveball. XD
Recommend ages 13+

[Gabriellyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay...whoa...! Loved this series! It was TOO SHORT! Wish it had been longer! Unexpected ending. It was sad but beautiful and hopeful! Lots of deep meaning in this series! Liked Dreamtreaders better, but this was really good too! There were some Tolkien-ish elements but still had a distinct flavor! WELL DONE, Wayne Thomas Batson!

[Shantelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dynamic ending to the Door Within Trilogy… I think The Final Storm deserves five stars. It definitely did NOT end how I expected it to; but it was incredible anyway! The very last paragraph just makes me smile again and again. :)

So The Final Storm takes off right where The Rise of the Wyrm Lord ends. An accident, a conversion, an escape… Two more humans come from the Mirror Realm to join Antoinette in the Glimpse Realm. Dramatic battles ensue. Dear friends see their end. Giant spiders attack. Three awful, but awe-inspiring deaths happen. Full of adventure, this book had me constantly guessing! Not your typical fantasy, that’s for sure!

Some things that happened at the end were hard to wrap my mind around, such as the merging of the Glimpses and humans. Kind of disappointing in some ways. But I’m getting used of it. What happened to the two worlds was totally epic! A beautiful, unexpected ending. Yeah, there were some things I wished would have been a bit different; but overall, it was great.

Read this series. Different and non-typical, unexpected and a little weird, but worth it! An awesome Christian allegory.

[Abbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting end to one of my favourite series!

Let’s be honest.

I didn’t love all of it.

But hey, if that’s how Wayne wanted to end this book I’ll give it to him, it was an excellent read and well thought out. I juts didn’t exactly love how the end was so unfinished and how everything led up to the final war instead of a gradual incline with new mysteries along the way. To be fair I shouldn’t have guessed what was going to happen so easily but I spent a lot of the time going, ‘yup, guessed that before. Mmhmm, knew that. Wait, what?! I thought if this before the chapter even started!’

I did appreciate all the MCs coming together eventually though, despite Robby’s rather odd conversion to the light. I guess I was just expecting it to be like the other books.

[Abigail McKenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first ending I remember absolutely wrecking me as a kid. I still got a bit emotional, tbh. Are the books perfect? No. But they're a fun ride, and a younger me still loves them very much. ❤️

[Brennan Gash · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This book is great. Enough battles and peril to satisfy the adventure-lover, enough secrets to satisfy the mystery-lover, and enough coolness to satisfy the... well, cool-lover!

All around great. Granted, some might see it as "just another fantasy book", but it most certainly has characteristics that distinguish it from others in its genre.

For instance, there is an unlikely connection between Earth and The Realm... but I won't spoil that for you. :-D Also, there is a good dose of Biblical allegory, enough to inspire and appeal to Christian readers, yet not so much that the books would be termed "preachy" by most non-Christians. It would still be a marvelous book even without these themes.

This is also a welcome addition to the book world because, by almost all standards, it is clean. I have tried many other fantasy tales and been sorely disappointed by inappropriate words and references.

This book is emotional, as well. Beloved characters die, yet even in those times, there is hope...

I will mention that its main downside would be, in my opinion, the fact that there were a grammar issues that I found distracting. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the plot and characters so much that I still am giving this book all five stars.

Mortiwraiths, last stands, shape-shifters, explosions, dungeons, scrolls, fire rock, and a final confrontation between the forces of good and evil as, finally, all warriors from each side amass. Read this book (but first read the others) and read the amazing, complete, emotional, well-planned, unexpected ending of the Door Within Trilogy.

[Alex Beard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the door within trilogy and just recently finished the last book. The story was amazing. when I read the first book I knew that I would end up reading the whole trilogy. The author really had me hooked on the second book seeing grow up and meet new people along the way. I finished the third book on Tuesday of this week and it was a blast. The story was absolutely amazing and it is sad that it was the end of the trilogy because I became attached to the characters throughout the entire book. The end of the book was very similar to the end times that the bible predicts and how God will defeat the devil because King Ellaim the everlasting was playing the role as God and Paragor was playing the role of the devil and he acted a lot like him throughout the entire book. For example Paragor would tempt Aidin to join him and told him that King Ellaim was evil and Paragor was be trade by King Ellaim just how the devil would do to us. I love the story line and this has been the only book that has actually got my attention which is very surprising because have read many books and never finished any of them because I just lost interest, but this book on the other hand really caught me within the first few chapters of book one. Now I am very happy with my self now that I finished an entire trilogy of books.

[Lauryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so amazing! All the characters were developed well and honestly, they all have a special place in my heart. This book kept me in the edge of my seat the entire time, and I couldn't wait to see what the author would do next.
The ending was everything I hoped for and more. This author is amazing and this trilogy is one of the best things I have ever read! I would recommend this to anyone into fantasy/fiction, or anyone up for an adventure.
I felt like I was there and I really loved these characters. I went on a crazy adventure all throughout The Realm and enjoyed every second of it. Thank you Wayne Batson for such an amazing experience through the trilogy of The Door Within!!
Never Alone!

[Sisters Three · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Christina (Confessions of a Book Addict) · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son and I read this series and he said it's one of his favorite series of all-time. I thought the last few chapters were a little over the top, but overall, I am *actually* sad to see the series come to an end. It's a good series to read with the younger crowd before Lord of the Rings.

[Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished the 3rd and last book of The Door Within trilogy and i know these books are amazing, you've got to be crazy not to like these books! I hated books because i would read the back and enjoy it, then when i read the book I'm disappointed because i did not like the book. I didn't know if i could trust these books either but I'm glad i did. Some people think that as you get older you become less creative, clearly Wayne Thomas Batson has proven many people wrong. I found many creative and awesome things in these books, but i found things related to God and the bible. For example the 12 knights, and the 12 Disciples, ( IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE BOOKS THIS MAY SPOIL A BIT)another example which i noticed from finishing the 3rd is that King Eliam is on realm, dies and goes on to the realm beyond the sun, but comes back to the realm then goes back to the realm beyond the sun. Jesus is born on earth, gets gets killed, and goes to heaven, but he returned, but then he went back to heaven. I found many more such as Axeriot and Judas but i've said enough. Never Alone.

[Abigail · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rating:
1.5 stars, rounded down for the star rating. (I rate children's books like this because children's books shouldn't just be for kids. If I can't even enjoy it now, it's not timeless enough to get a stronger review.)

I first read this series when I was a whole lot younger, and I enjoyed them all. I even reread them multiple times, especially the beginning of The Rise of the Wyrm Lord. I probably should've known right then that they weren't going to stick with me, because even then, what I enjoyed most about them were the modern-day, real-world chapters, which were minimal. The portal-world/Realm chapters were the parts I skimmed, and since that's the bulk of the story, I didn't really reread the books for a long time. And now, the books leave me ruffled and irritated. Very irritated. Especially this one.

Mind you, I appreciate what Wayne Thomas Batson was trying to do, and I'm definitely not disagreeing with "Never Alone," his big message. There are even some things about The Final Storm that I actually like. Unfortunately, there are many more things I detest, so I can't justify a higher rating.

Stuff I Liked:

Robby. He's got like ten times more personality than anyone else, since most of the characters are one-note, and an actual character arc, unlike Antoinette (who has no real development to be seen), or Aidan (getting muscles in a physically impossible period of time isn't character development). His romance with Trenna isn't made awkward by Glimpse-twin stuff, you know, because Robby is a different person for Kearn, and Trenna sees that. He isn't MaGiCaLlY great with a sword like Aidan, just brutal, which is okay because he was physically fit to begin with. My gripe with him is his Floridian drawl. It makes him unique, but spelled-out dialect is a bit tacky to me.

Nock. Nock's my darling from these books. He's badass, snarky, and an amazing shot. With that bit of tragedy from losing Bolt, and then meeting him again, having to let him go, and then becoming King of Yewland because the Queen (his brother's girlfriend) died. Why is he the King? Who knows!

Wayne Thomas Batson doesn't have fabulous prose, and the allegory is obvious, but it doesn't feel preachy. That is rare, and amazing.

Stuff I Disliked:
There are spoilers, careful, and I'm not flagging them because there are too many.

Not kidding. Beware of spoilers.

Literally the entire Glimpse-twin thing. You'd think it's cool — everyone has a twin in the Realm! Wow! But then the Realms reunite, and the human-Glimpse pairs get merged into one person with the memories of both — and I head-desk, because literally what? Two completely different people, with different personalities, different lives, and different souls, just get turned into one person, poof, and I'm supposed to be hunky-dory with this? Take Kearn and Robby, who are apparently two halves of a whole. I don't believe it. Kearn, emo bad boy, becomes one with Robby, insecure baby boy...and it works? These two utterly and completely different people become the same person?

Worst, the two personalities aren't combined, one is prioritized. You can see this in Aidan's family best, especially Aidan himself. Aidan dies and joins with Aelic, but he's still Aidan. He's got Aelic's memories, but the person of Aelic is just gone. He even has the name Aidan, not Aelic. The personality that didn't survive the merge (listen, I can't talk about this without sounding creepy, and what should that tell you?) is just gone. Too bad.

It's messed up.

I don't mind that Aidan has no powers, but listen. Antoinette is the Child of Storms, which is both interesting and foreshadowed earlier (though it did nothing for her character, but I digress). Robby's spiel as the Dragonfriend was a little random, but it was cool. (Where exactly did he get those dragons?) Aidan was the Seeker of the Lost. He runs at people, and they are sore afraid. Of a kid. With a sword. Who should not be as skilled as he is.

The timeline is whacky. The Realm's been around for hundreds of years, yet there have only been like four Sentinels, or whatever Kaliam is. Time passes faster in the Realm, they tell me, and yet Earth appears to have been in existence longer because it actually has technology. I'm sorry?

Antoinette, besides being a bit annoying, should not be able to be such a good shot when she's only used a bow like two times. That's the same problem Aidan had with the sword. Neither of them should be as good as they are.

The way salvation works takes away free will. If the Glimpse believes in King Eliam, the human will be saved. If the human Believes, the Glimpse will be saved. If one half is saved, so's the other half, no matter what. It doesn't matter what you think, if your twin believes, so do you!

Wut? And if both sides have to Believe, or else they can't merge, maybe you should think about the merging a bit more.

I wish I still liked these books, but I can't think about them without getting aggravated. For what they are (Christian portal fantasy), they're okay, but you can't examine the internal logic beyond the allegory.

[Maddy Estherby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love the way this series finishes. It's so fantastically perfect.

[99Kylies · Rating 3 out of 5]

The improvement between this and the other two books is palpable. Good on Batson! I thought it would be the case, and I'm extremely pleased to find it so. I fully intend on reading his other stuff.

My main complaint is that there is...so much fighting, I kinda skimmed over a lot of the fighting scenes because it dragged on and on for the majority of the book. But the action scenes are much better written than in the first book, and far more investing.

SPOILERS

I do find the Thread to be a bit of a sudden, plot needed element, rather than something foreshadowed and thought about in advance.

I also find it strange that Kearn is Paragor's left hand. Especially given how high up Rucifel is - if Paragor could have adults at his service, why have teens? (There's no nepotism here, Kearn made that clear, so it's not *because* of Rucifel.) Unless Kearn isn't a teen, I suppose...? How old is he supposed to be, anyways? A teenager, like the others in the story? idk, just found that a bit odd. But it's a book aimed at teens, so. *Shrugs*

I do wonder what happens in Real Life with this huge war in Allable that kills thousands and thousands of people. That equates to thousands and thousands of deaths on Earth...is there some huge disaster, like a massive Earthquake, to kill off that many people? A war? A terrorist attack? Was the Apocalypse happening on Earth while the final battle was going on? Or is it just 'time works differently in the realm' stuff? Because, we've heard that, but haven't really seen it. Everyone is about the same age, and has the same relations in both realms. Plus, Aidan's travels in the first book, a month of travels if I remember right, took only four hours in real life. If there's anything like that, that's maybe tens of thousands dead in mere minutes on earth.

I think time-weirdness worked for C.S. Lewis because of the massive gaps people jumped in time, how it was always consistent that more time happened in Narnia than on Earth, and that there wasn't a one-to-one ratio like there is in Batson's story. It worked for Lewis, and not for Batson. But it's a relatively minor story complaint in view of the very good theology and general teaching of the books.

SPOILERS END

The end of the story was just...fantastic. My main wish is that the end was longer, more time to breathe in the atmosphere of healing, of love, of downtime. I wanted a little longer with the characters to see them basking in their victory and happy ever after. It was a bit abrupt.

All in all, a fantastic cap to the trilogy. Well worth a place on a Christian young adult's/kid's shelf.

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the final book in the series. It moves at a good pace, overall. There is a lot, and I do mean, a lot, going on in the book. There are some pretty crazy situations in it, and some borderline Deus ex Machina situations (which were kinda appropriate, considering it being a Christian allegory hahahah). The character development was decent in this book; there are numerous secondary and tertiary characters introduced, so it would have been hard to develop much of the lower-tier characters, let alone so many "top-tier" characters that were in the book. It does have a lot of action in the book; it also has some moments that seemed to slow the narrative down. I could not decide if the slowdowns were intentional or now.

I almost think the author should have written a four-book series; that way, he could have expanded on some of the situations and peoples that we meet in this story. There is very little time spent on developing the "rest of the cast" as primary cast bounces around, visiting different "kingdoms" and allies for assistance or searching out additional resources in order to battle Rucifel and his evil army of black-clad minions and monsters. It just felt like a items on a checklist were being marked off, things moved so rapidly in the story. But that could be just me.

As I said, the book is filled with crazy scenes and a lot of 'action' throughout most of its pages. In addition to multiple towers, this book has giant burrowing spiders, giant snakes that live in trees, more dragons, entire populations becoming refugees because of the war, friends finding each other, families being reconciled, a giant Dragon of Old who was the 'first-born' dragon and had some crazy powers, a "lake of fire" (lava lake) that kept the ancient first-born dragon captive, shapeshifters that resembled giant werewolves, peoples that resembled elves, peoples that resembled dwarves, sacrifice, a beautiful wedding, traveling between worlds, controlled blasts of lightning, creative interpreting tree rings to read the history of ancient trees, ancient prophecies being both misunderstood and fulfilled, dragon-fire that can melt stone, mortiwraiths, poisoned arrows and blades, white and red powder that matched the best modern-day explosives, catapults that launched barrels filled with flammable liquids, prison escapes, overwhelming invading forces that discovered they were not quite so invulnerable or omnipotent as they thought, spies, traitors, broken alliances, false promises and lies exposed, and more dragons.

There is a nutso sequence where Robby chases one of the spiders into its underground warren to free his beloved Trenna from its clutches; the two of them are swarmed by spiders and their survival can only be described as miraculous! It would have been interesting (maybe even 'cool') if some of the spiders had begun battling the tree-inhabiting snakes. Maybe maybe not. The snakes made a "limited" appearance in that they devoured a couple of knights and then disappeared to let the spiders finish the rest of the Company off.

It was kind of amusing, but a "new" prophecy was either given or discovered that had to do with "Three Witnesses" who would help ensure the fall of Rucifel and his evil forces. Natch, I figured the three witnesses had to be Aidan, Antoinette, and Robby. It was not like any other humans had been mentioned as having recently crossed over to this "Mirror World" who believed in Eliam and were going to fight on behalf of Alleble. So despite the three humans constantly being put in harms way with the implied threat of imminent danger or death, I never truly felt like they were ever in danger because they had not fulfilled the prophecy of "The Three Witnesses". Until the fulfillment of that prophecy, their continued safety was still guaranteed. Needless to say, I was shocked to discover that Robby and Antoinette had already been killed just before Rucifel killed Aidan! I did not "see" that coming, despite having read this "final prophecy" on various pages of the book! hahahah Well played! Granted, it was not 'the true death' because Eliam brought them back with a host of others to finish fighting 'the final battle' and restore the peace, serenity, and calm to the realm (as well as to repair the Great Schism between the two worlds/dimensions).

The "end" end of the book [prior to the last couple of pages] kind of threw me a bit. It describes how the two worlds/dimensions are reunited into one as the breach caused by the "Great Schism" was repaired. So did that mean everybody on Earth now believed in Eliam? The book describes how "modern-day" technology, buildings, and "current environments" were blended together with that of the world of Alleble, how the Humans and their Glimpse twins were blended together to form one (a new) individual. How did that reunification affect non-believers? Were they forcefully reunited/rejoined/blended with their Glimpse counterparts? That does not quite seem right to me, on the one hand, but what do I know. It was just a really odd part of the book, and I still not sure how I either feel about it or am interpreting it. I realize a part of the narrative was the restoration and reunification of Earth and Alleble's world/realm/dimension, but the way the author went about it seemed a little "off", as it were.

I was hoping to see a marriage occur between Aidan and Antoinette as well as Robby and Trenna. That would have been a pretty cool ending, in my opinion, but I did not write the series. hahahah Hopefully he continues it along at some point in the relatively near future.

It was a fun book (and a fun series) to read, but it was over faster than I expected. It was like it started to reach the crescendo leading up to the climax and then . . . it was done. Internally, I was 'that's it?' hahahah In one aspect, I was surprised by how it ended; it really should not have been a surprise, on the one hand, but it still was for me. The "ending" ending definitely left it open to the possibility of more stories, some of which could be told in other dimensions/realities (I'd be okay with that).

It was a good book; it was a good series. While not nearly as good as, say, The Chronicles of Narnia or The Fellowship of the Ring, I still enjoyed reading it and felt it was worth the time spent reading it.

[Tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have enjoyed the Door Within series of book and the final book provided an excellent closure to a well planned story. While the story of good versus evil is not a new one, I enjoyed the concept that the characters have "mirror" images of themselves that live in another Realm. A person and their mirrored image cannot be in the same realm together which made for some interesting plots. In this third and final book we continue the story of the King of Alebelle and the usurper to the throne, Paragor. The story becomes much more dark as Paragor unleashes great evil on the realm in his bid to rule all and to follow the scrolls of prophecy.

Aiden, Antoinette and Robby live in the world of today, but must come to terms with their beliefs in order to help the realm from the ravages of Paragor's armies. A main premise of this series is the belief in a higher power and is obviously targeted at Christian readers of which I am not one. It was though easy for me to take the "godlike" references and simply suspend my beliefs as is required in all fantasy books where there are things like mages, dragons, mystical powers, etc. So this didn't at all detract from my enjoyment of the books.

[Camden Mac Leod · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing. I first read the series a few years ago but I revisited them and found a huge passion for the series. The story is EXCELLENT. There's a lot of book series out there with sub-par endings and ehhh final battles. Take the Hunger Games for example. Great series, but the ending was absolutely terrible. This was not like that.

I was literally on the edge of my seat through the entire story and I loved everything about it. I loved the background Christian message behind the whole story, the evolution and growth of the characters, and finding everything resolved in a circular and complete way in the end.

The only *very small* critique I have is that throughout the book the author changed perspectives a little too much in my opinion. There were times where we would be following 5-6 different characters at a time! I like how throughout the whole series it switches between Aidan, Antoinette, Robby, etc. But when it kept switching between Aidan, Antoinette, Robby, Nock and Mallik, Drang, etc. it just felt excessive. It definitely helped tell the story, but sometimes it was unnecessary and I feel like sticking with the main three might've been a better way to go.

Besides that, EXCELLENT story and a great end to a great series

[Taylor Paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I said in my review of book one, it’s been years since I first read this trilogy. However, I reread them constantly, and they are definitely one of my favorite books on my shelf, this one especially. There’s the same characters and world that I love, there’s moments of joy, humor, fear, sadness, and the King rises above it all that just brings this overall peace to the story. It was so engaging, though it did have an ending I didn’t quite expect. Don’t get me wrong, it was still a great ending! It just wasn’t what I expected. This book, like the previous two, also had an amazing Christian theme of redemption and fully turning to the Lord. Book 2 touched on this a little bit, but this is where we really see the redeeming of characters who seemed so far gone. Not only that, but their realistic struggle to fully turn from their past life to their new one. It makes me so happy every time I read it to see that!
I love this trilogy, and I am sad that it’s over, but I don’t think there is anything I would change about it. Such a good series with amazing themes that I would recommend to any fantasy lover!

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall I didn't care for this series. I didn't connect with the characters at all and felt no sadness when anyone died. And after their death I couldn't even remember who they were. And in the short time between books I forgot who was who. I feel like a lot of the storyline was lifted from the chronicles of Narnia and that many of the names and places sounded like LOTR. I also don't understand how teenagers (and in Aidens case a teen with little to no athletic skill) could become dangerous and skilled knights. In the chronicles of Narnia the is explained by the Narnian air. but in the door within there just isn't any explanation. All in all pretty forgettable. I didn't care for or understand the ending very well. It reminded me to much of The Last Battle the final book of the chronicles of Narnia. Merging worlds and all the dead coming back to life in a new but similar world. I just don't get it.

[Zanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

i never know how to feel about this book because like on the one hand thank GOD aidan's back i missed him. on the other, not enough of alleble, almost no gwenne, and you expect me to believe aidan doesn't get to keep fury (reforged edition) but gets some new sword? no! i refuse. also if falon doesn't go to knockoff heaven with everyone else. i'm rioting. just putting that out there. it definitely has a lot of cool concepts but it would have felt less rushed if the three witnesses as a concept was introduced back in the first book. even if the wyrm lord was honestly. just passing mentions of harvest tales and figures of legend. instead it's like oh okay wait antionette can do WHAT. i do admittedly love aidan having zero (0) special powers just being Some Guy who also happens to be a witness. that was delightful. he's just a guy! despite its flaws....i do love this book. oh door within trilogy my beloved whatever shall i do with you.

[Kaitlyn Krispense · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whoa. Wow. Yikes. Okay. Um.

What...what just happened?! (Also, it's been SO LONG since I've said that after reading a book and it feels *so good*)

The trilogy just kept getting better and then I started this one and I'm immediately like OKAY THATS IT, I'M HOOKED and I'm so glad I listened to the audiobook, because I genuinely would not have been able to set it down.

All of it just...*flaps hands* yes. So much yes. So good. So amazing.

Also, I was told that Robby was so precious and amazing and I didn't believe it until I read this book. Robby deserves all the love.

Also, I freaking love Kaliam. And Nock. And Aiden. And just...the entire cast of characters.

I'm not usually a huge fan of allegories (and I admit that it'll be awhile before I pick up a Chosen One trope again), but I absolutely love how this entire trilogy emphasized the importance of unity despite disagreements. So good.

[Gene Coatney · Rating 4 out of 5]

ok. I wasn't overly impressed with the first two books of this series, mainly the writing style, and while it wasn't really improved upon in my personal taste, the story that comes out in this book is really quite good. Batson proved to have a pretty good understanding of what the christian life is and what it is about. The last third of the book, based upon Revelations, was actually very well done and we see even why things are allowed to happen as they do, not for our own personal glory, but for Him alone. On a personal note, after finishing this book my thoughts were on things like the glory of God and how it overshadows everything and within a few hours I was thrust into a situation that was much easier to deal with because of where my focus was. Amazing how God can use even kids book to carry us through tragedy.

[Brooklyn Reinke]

The amazing, breathtaking wrap-up of The Door Within!! One of the best books I have ever read, apart from The Door Within book one! I only meant to read one chapter at 3am, but let me just say I didn't go to sleep, whoops (it was worth the headache, though!) I literally could not put this book down. Every moment had me rooting for the characters and fighting right alongside them! Robby was an awesome addition to the characters too, and I really enjoyed his scenes, they even brought tears to my eyes more times than I care to say. This book will have you crying and cheering along with Aiden, Antionette, Robby and Kaliam as friends are lost, new ones are made, and the looming battles are softened by warmth and laughter! Highly recommend and definitely would read it again in a heartbeat! Wrapped up the series so nicely, truly was a breathtaking book.

[Kim Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Mixed feelings about this book. There were times I felt Baston was trying too hard to get "old" language in. There were also times when I felt like the book didn't so much drag as I just wanted to get to something else. (Don't know if that makes sense or not -- the story was fast-paced, but there were themes I felt went on too long.) The ending was supposed to be happy, but it left me sad instead. There was one thing that bothered me in this book that should have bothered me in the other two, but didn't...we had teenagers killing (as part of war, but still) and it didn't seem to affect them at all.

All of that said, I did like this one better than the second one (as is often the case with a trilogy), so I gave it 4 stars instead of 3.

[Carina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This trilogy really left a good impression on my middle school self. I fell in love with the characters and the story right from the start, and the biblical parallels only increased my love for this series. Rereading these books several years later was difficult because I have come to like different styles of writing. However, the story was just as good as I remembered and I would not hesitate to recommend these books to my fellow bookworms.
The books offer wholesome storylines,free from all mature content, that parents can confidently allow their children to read, and exciting plots that include lots of adventure, castles, knights, dragons, and much, much more.

[Conner Beckstrand · Rating 3 out of 5]

This 402 page book was filled with dragons and castles. It is about the three witnesses coming together in the realm, so that they can fight for King Eliam. When Paragor releases all of his tricks, including the Wyrm Lord, the Seven Sleepers, and the death reapers, Allebel can barely stand by, but between all of it's allies and Falon, they are able to fight back. Even though many people died in the end they became triumphant and Kaliam and Lady Merewen are rulers of Allebel. Even those who died in the battle including the three witnesses get to go on adventures with King Eliam in the Sacred Realm Beyond the Sun.

[Ella J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pros: Wow! This was a fantastic end to "The Door Within" series.

"The Final Storm" was jam packed full of action and suspense. It was anything but a dull read!
It brought the events from the first two books to full circle. I felt like I got to know the three main characters, Aiden, Antoinette, and Robby, and other side characters better. There were several touching scenes that brought tears to my eyes.
Overall I really, really enjoyed "The Door Within" trilogy.

Cons: Nothing much, really. It was great!

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars