In the wake of a discovery of alien-written documents from the first century claiming that the life of Christ was a hoax, fallen angel descendant Grant Austin endeavors to prove that the documents are an attempt by Satan to discredit the true historical Jesus.
Jack Cavanaugh is an award-winning, full-time freelance author with twenty-five published novels to his credit. His nine-volume American Family Portrait series spans the history of a nation from 1630 to the present and is still in print nearly fifteen years following its release.
A student of the novel for more than a quarter of a century, Jack takes his craft seriously, continuing to study and teach at Christian writers conferences. He is the former pastor of three churches in San Diego County and draws upon his theological background for the spiritual elements of his plots and characters.
His novels have been translated into a dozen foreign languages, largely because of the universal scope of his topics. Jack has not only written about American history, but about South Africa, banned English Bibles, German Christians in the days of Hitler and Communism, revivals in America, and angelic warfare.
Jack’s current writing schedule includes motion picture screenplays and e-book serial fiction with Internet distribution. His novel Death Watch has been optioned to be made into a motion picture by Out Cold Entertainment, Inc.
Jack has three grown children and lives with his wife in Southern California.
AWARDS
• Silver Medallion Award (1995), Christian Booksellers Association • Christy Award (2002, 2003), Excellence in Christian Fiction • Silver Angel Award (2002), Excellence in Media • Gold Medal, Best Historical (2001), ForeWord Magazine • Best Historical Novel (1994), San Diego Literary Society • Best Novel (1995, 1996, 2005), San Diego Christian Writers Guild
Author, Jack Cavanaugh's follow-up book to "Kingdom Wars I: A Hideous Beauty" returns the main characters from the first novel in another spiritual boaut between the forces of evil and good. The main characters are given more depth and complexity with some surprises and personal developments . The new characters add to the story plot but stay in their lanes.
Semyaza, the demon and foe of Grant Austin, the nephillim son of Azazel returns to asail Grant. Another demon, Belial has a diabolical and unconventional plan to destroy the divinity and integrity of Jesus. He does this by introducing false historical documents and to introduce a false Messiah. The plot to destroy God's redemptive promise is contrived but countered by Abdiel and the DivineWarrior, Jesus. It is up Grant, Sue Ling, Professor Forsythe, and the emboldened Jana Torres to stand up against the demonic powers attempting to usurp gods's plan.
A major subplot is the developing spiritual warrior nature of Grant. He is mentored by Abdiel in girding himself for the coming battle against the Tartarans, the powerful demons imprisoned by God after their sin against mankind and God's balance. Grant's develiping nephilim abilities (dimensional travel, dematerialization, and having a spiritual sword are spotlighted and addressed. His position as a hybrid (angel & human) who is discovering and developing his abilities is a major concern for the demonic forces. Grant's stand against Lucifer's minions, his tutelege under Abdiel from whom he learns of the angelic wars, and his desire to address God areintegral to the plot.
There are times, this novel gets far-fetched and comical but the author manages to lasso it back to make this a good thriller. He inserts climaxes throughout the novel and develops his main characters to reveal their strengths and weaknesses. One of the best scenes are when Grant journeys to Shoel to battle the two demons determined to destroy him. Like all good Christian thrillers, this one has scripture and the ever-present benovolence of the Lord and His angels. In the hands of another this may have appeared shallow and trite but Jakc Cavanaugh is a master story teller. While I would not rank this book with his best, it is a satisfyingly good read. Overall, I would recommend this book but only to the mature Christian who appreciates fantasy.
The basis that made the plot of book one unique and interesting was taken too far in book two (this book). Lame ending, not as interesting character development, and kinda weird plot.
These books are normally shelved in the inspirational section at our library, so had this not been a newer book shelved in the recent releases section, I would probably not have ever known they existed. That being said, I really like this Kingom Wars Series. They are wel worth the read. I like Grant Austin's (main character) wit, sarcasm, willingness to admit that he doesn't know what he's doing, and determination to stay true to his principles, even if his ultimate fate doesn't seem to hold much reward for the effort.
I will definately keep tabs on this writer and look forward to the next book in this series.
This spiritual-warfare-themed sequel features an engaging story, a wonderfully imperfect hero, and some shocking plot twists. Where it falters is the ending, which seems a bit too pat. Still, I enjoyed it for the most part.
Content Concerns: I'll have to spoil the plot a bit, so be warned: The entire book revolves around a demon who takes on human form to impersonate Jesus. Also mentioned are a human entering Sheol and the son of a Nephilim, as mentioned in Genesis. If taken literally, much of the book could be disturbing to some.
As with the first Kingdom Wars book, I loved this one as well. It did weird me out a little with the false Jesus thing but it still was an amazing story.