The Sword, the Ring, and the Parchment

The Terrestria Chronicles #1

by Ed Dunlop

The first book in the Terrestria Chronices young adult allegory series. Travel back in time to the kingdom of Terrestria, a land where knights and their ladies live in castles and where dragons still roam (occasionally). The Terrestria Chronicles allegory series was written with a three-fold purpose: to honor Jesus Christ as King, to challenge young readers to love and serve Him, and to teach them to guard their hearts for Him. The focus of the series is always on the King. This is not Narnia; this is not Lord of the Rings. The Terrestria Chronicles were written to honor Christ and be as true to Scripture as possible. Some readers have compared the Terrestria books to The Pilgrim's Progress, though this series is much more readable, relevant, and action-packed than Bunyan's classic work. Written for ages ten and up, the Terrestria series is ideal for family devotions, classroom use, or individual enjoyment. Young Josiah lives in the kingdom of Terrestria, the realm of good King Emmanuel. Yet the land is at war. Evil, cruel Argamor wants the throne. And he has loyal followers placed strategically throughout the kingdom. Who will win the battle for Terrestria, and on which side will Josiah find himself? Alive with fast-paced action in a medieval setting, Book 1 of the Terrestria allegory series encourages the reader to live as a child of the King.

Genres: Fantasy, Christian Fiction, Christian, Middle Grade, Childrens

189 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2006

Reviews

[Elijah Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty much your average allegory. It's a great read for young kids and will definitely help them think about the kingdom of Christ and their state before accepting him.

[Zachary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have given all the books in this series five stars. While, I understand that no Christian fantasy/allegory series has really come close since Narnia, Ed Dunlop does do a good job with these books. Writing a compelling Christian allegory series aimed at young people is extraordinarily difficult. No analogy is perfect. Dunlop works hard to make the analogies as clear as possible, occasionally at the expense of the plot. The beauty of the Narnia books is that a child reading them could be completely absorbed in the plot, never seeing the veiled symbolism. Looking back, after several times through them, I can't think of a single scene in Narnia that irrelevant to the Christian life. "The Sword, the Ring, and the Parchment" is a great book to read to your kids. It is substantive and it can engage them. Older readers can appreciate it, but would probably prefer Lewis. Dunlop's titles are infinitely superior to the trashy books that fill many of the shelves in libraries today. Dunlop's books are ultimately based in God's view of the world, instead of man's fallible opinions.

[Chesca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think it can’t be easy to write allegories well, so I think this one is very decent. It’s not brilliant, but it’s engaging and meaningful.

[Riley G. · Rating 1 out of 5]

My friends all love this author. I do kind of like his Sherlock Jones series, but to be honest, I just cannot get into this book. I just found it boring.
I almost want to say, "Meh, it's because I'm too old for this." But I know it cannot necessarily be that, because Children's Literature is one of my favorite genres ever! (Heidi, The Little Lame Prince, such good books!) I just think the prose is a bit too plain, the story a bit too bland and predictable. I'm not too much of a mideval (I cannot spell that word for the life of me...) fantasy person either, so that's slightly part of it too.
I have met the author, and I almost hate to rate his books badly, as he is a very nice guy, very wise and he has used the things he loves for God's glory, which is wonderful. I just can't find myself getting captivated in his books.

[Rachel Lemmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the words of my 7 year old brother, “That was the best ending of a book I’ve ever heard! I loved it, I loved it, I completely loved it!”

This was so fun to read with my brother! The writing at times was a bit above his level so I had to explain some words and phrases. But it’s a great middle grade (it’s said to be young adult) allegorical novel following Josiah Everyman and his adoption into the Royal family by King Emmanuel and then his journey and struggles with his new life. Great to read with younger kids to help explain the Gospel simply!

4 stars only because the prose was a bit wordy and long winded.

[Polly · Rating 3 out of 5]

So my 2nd grade teacher read this whole series to our class and I thought it was the best series in the whole wide world. I thought about it all the time and I begged and begged my parents to get it for me. When they finally did, I was in 6th grade and then I didn't read it again until 7th. When I did read it again, I thought it was pretty mediocre. Lots of passages were copied and pasted from one book to the next and this one particular paragraph was used in all 7 books. I rated it three stars because in 2nd grade it would have been a 5+++ and when I read it again it was a 2.5.

[Ilsa · Rating 5 out of 5]

the terrestria seiries is a really good christian series, but it has the bad guys always list their names to the good guys, and the good guys trust them. the bad guys names are things like 'disencouragement' 'jealousy' and the like. The people in the book need to get brains. so far they only have one, and that, they're sharing. (other than God, of course.) I know this is supposed to be plain and simple so people don't get confused, but really?

[Timothy Smallwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

With permission from the author, I read this book aloud, recording it for my daughter to use as an audio book. It was so convicting in places that I battled emotions through out several chapters. Pastor Dunlop does an amazing job of showing the goodness of King Emmanuel to his adopted son, Josiah, even through great failures on Josiah’s part. Pick this book up and read it to your kids. They will love it. You will love it.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though these are geared for children, no one should miss out on this series of books! They are vivid, engaging, challenging to your spirit and how you live. These are similar to the Pilgrims progress but set in the Middle Ages. Stimulating and motivating!

[Joah Pearson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not great writing, but fun and meaningful for kids! Author really knows how to illustrate biblical principles in a way that vividly gets the point across. This series had a big impact on me.

[Grace N · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my favorite series as a kid! I loved the books written by this author and these books are what really skyrocketed my love for reading.

I also love the representation of Christian living. Yes at times I was screaming at the characters like “It’s so obvious they’re not to be trusted!!! Just their name is sooo sketchy!!” But that’s also how we as Christians are, sin will be looking us directly in the face and everything will be warning “Don’t do it! It’s a trap!” But we’re stupid and carnal, we ignore the Holy Spirit and do it anyway.

I will admit, as a kid the first book was a bit slow starting out, but I definitely enjoyed it more and more as it progressed. Especially when it got to the sword practices and fighting lol

Overall, the series is realistic and very engaging and I believe every kid should be given the opportunity to read it.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

the girls and I read the first book in this series and found it to be a good allegory loosely based on Pilgrims Progress and Hinds feet on high places. it gave us plenty to discuss as far as biblical values and truths.

[Abigail Whitcomb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good idea and story line (Pilgrim's Progress -esque), but it's hard to live up to a classic. There were definitely good parts, but overall the writing and execution were only ok. That doesn't mean it was bad by any stretch - just not excellent.

[Daisy Paquet · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh. I did not like this book. It practically walks you through the analogy. And the conflict is... Not conflict. Just... Gah.

[Audrey Hofer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book series I'd recommend to any kids, ages 7 and up.

[Andre Lopez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was the only one in the series that I first had to begin with, so after I read it I knew that I had to get the others in the series. Totally recommend these books, especially for boys!

[Chrissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was contacted about this book set, I was excited. My children love books about kings, Queens, Castles, Knights and Dragons (well all but 1 does, the oldest girl isn't a fan Castles, Knights and that time frame). I love Christian based books and movies and teachings for my children. Wow this has it all the story's they like and the teachings mom likes. Needless to say I couldn't wait to receive this review in the mail.

When the book set arrived we dived right in to the first book ( The Sward, The Ring & The Parchment). The children were following on every word, they would often say just one more page when it was time to stop reading. Come on mom just one more page. I haven't ran into that in a while from the books we have read in the past. They wanted so much to find out what happens next with Josiah, King Emmanuel and the Evil Argamor.

My children really enjoyed the Castle Facts that were included in the back of the book. And I enjoyed "Becoming a child of the king" on page 189 it's as simple as A-B-C.

This Book series does come with a study guide for Parents, Teachers and Students. Although we didn't use the study guide while reading The Sward, The Ring & The Parchment this is a wonderful way to help the children better understand the meaning behind the book. This would be a great tool to have along with the book.

[Jeanette · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finished reading this book to my children (7.5 yo and 5yo) who have really been enjoying following the adventures of Josiah. The story is an obvious allegory, which makes the translation to our world and faith very easy with young children. I imagine that children up to about middle school might enjoy this, although that might be a bit of a stretch. Definitely up to late elementary, though. A word of warning to parents: The cruelty displayed by Argamor and his men may lead very young or sensitive children to violent imagery in their minds. You might consider scanning a few sentences at a time before reading sections having to do with Argamor and Josiah as slave.

We meet Josiah Everyman as a slave to Argamor, a cruel blacksmith, who is also the leader of the dark knights. They have rebelled against good King Emmanuel who rules over the land of Terrestria. King Emmanuel saves Josiah from his bondage, and Josiah's adventures in his new life as a prince (adopted into the family of King Emmanuel) begins. He makes missteps along the way, learning some very difficult lessons.

A great supplement to regular Bible reading to discuss our values and faith with our children.

[Danielle Espenshade · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book last year and loved it! This year I used it as a read aloud with the girls. Kassidy (age 5) actually picked up more than I thought, but the conversations that came out of Kiersten (age 11) were priceless. We are now reading book two in the series ❤

This series is an allegory set in the time of knights and castles, complete with the full armor and a wonderfully gracious King.

Parenting tip: It is always easier to talk to your kids about big subjects when they are not in trouble 😉 The main character, Josiah, gave us plenty to talk about... other people's faults are so easily seen, right!??! we are so quickly distracted 🤦 and our unbelief is the first step toward our own destruction.

This first book very clearly lays out salvation and tackles "new/young Christian" issues such as assurance of salvation, how to not loose the sense of wonder, how to overcome fear, and the warning of becoming indifferent. The books are written for 10+ but I highly recommend it for a read aloud and then you can go much younger.

[Andre]

This is another book that was brought to my attention by my dear wife. She approached me with the off the wall notion that this book in many ways rivaled Pilgrim's Progress, obviously I sought to have her institutionalized. However, after reading the first chapters alone and then reading it to the kids, I must say that I was hooked. While, time will determine its usefullness throughout successive generations and whether the label "classic" will be used alongside its title, I definitely recommend it to children and adults alike.

[Ru · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think this author wanted to write a book to teach children about Christian doctrine, but couldn't be bothered to actually write a good story along the way. The "characters" hardly deserve to be called that--they're not even cardboard-cutout stereotypes, they're just flat. At least one character (the giant Despair) was lifted straight out of Pilgrim's Progress.

[Kristy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kids' verdicts: "It was really good, it's a book for all ages. My favorite chapter was the fifth! "
"It was awesome! I think other kids should read it because it teaches them what Jesus Christ is like."

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great allegory on the Christian journey, just right for our 11-year-old grandson and his grandma!

[shylow · Rating 2 out of 5]

Alright, but I'm afraid I found it quite boring...