The Prince Warriors and the Swords of Rhema

The Prince Warriors #3

by Priscilla Shirer, Gina Detwiler

In this third book of The Prince Warriors trilogy, the Prince Warriors finally receive their last piece of armor—the swords they were promised when they began their adventure in the unseen realm of Ahoratos. And none too soon, for they must face the ultimate enemy, one who is gathering his Forgers and creating unthinkable new evil to stop the Prince Warriors from winning any battle ever again.

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

312 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2017

About the author

Priscilla Shirer is a wife and a mom first. But put a Bible in her hand and a message in her heart and you’ll see why thousands flock to her conferences and dive into her Bible study series’ and books each year.

A graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary, Priscilla holds a Master’s degree in Biblical Studies and considers it a privilege to serve believers from every denomination and culture by helping them to know the truths of Scripture intellectually and encouraging them to experience these truths practically by the power of the Holy Spirit.

In addition to Priscilla’s participation in many church and para-church conferences across the globe each year, Going Beyond Ministries hosts AWAKEN – an outreach event in their hometown designed to encourage and mobilize women locally. This free gathering brings together thousands of women from different denominations and backgrounds several times a year in an effort to stir revival.

Going Beyond Ministries also equips believers through books and Bible study resources. Priscilla has authored over a dozen video driven studies for women and teens on a myriad of Biblical characters and topics including Jonah, Gideon, the Exodus, discerning God’s voice, The Armor of God.

Her books include Discerning the Voice of God, God is Able, and two New York Times Bestsellers – The Resolution for Women and Fervent: A Woman’s Battle Plan for Serious, Specific and Strategic Prayer, which was named the 2016 Christian Book of the Year. Her latest offering is a 365-day devotional called Awaken: 90 Days with the God Who Speaks. In 2016, Priscilla ventured into the world of children’s publishing with The Prince Warriors, a fiction 4-book series and accompanying 365-day devotional (Unseen) designed to equip tween boys and girls for victory in spiritual warfare.

Priscilla has been married to Jerry for 20 years. Between studying and writing, she spends most of her time cleaning up after (and trying to satisfy the appetites of) their three growing boys – Jackson, Jerry Jr. and Jude.

Reviews

[Laura Costea · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this series, Shirer has done more than provide us with a safe alternative to vampires, witches and wizards…

She’s provided inspiration for the very real battles our youth are facing today. Her characters don’t just fight Forgers, and ride dragons, and get tangled up in the claw-like limbs of giant trees… they deal with heart issues like anger, and jealousy, and feelings of unworthiness.

The “Prince Warriors” trilogy tackles spiritual warfare — lies and deceit and faith and the disciplined use of the Word of God — as a key theme. But Shirer doesn’t just quote a few verses from Ephesians Chapter Six and expect her readers to “get it”…

The boots, and the helmet, the shield and the sword, are described so beautifully that you can’t wait to put yours on, too.

And though her setting is anything but ordinary…

She’s painted a picture of young people who are just like you and me, just like an anyone you might meet walking down your own block. Her characters aren’t airbrushed, aren’t perfect… but they aren’t afraid of their flaws. Because they’re learning to trust the Source who transforms, who heals, who provides.

In "The Prince Warriors And The Swords Of Rhema," Priscilla Shirer has used the power of a good story in the best way possible: to help us draw nearer to the greatest Storyteller of all.

[Ellie Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It went so deep and reminded me, more than anything else, that God overcomes anything, and we are nothing without Him. It had so many funny moments and such a great ending!
Characters:
All the characters were awesome! I loved watching them grow from falling into temptation into faith, and I also have to say it was awesome to see them get their swords.(Especially Evan. XD)
Plot:
Amazing! It was about going on the offensive, spiritually, as opposed to defensive, and I thought it was done really well! The final battle was also awesome But Rook!!
Theme/Allegory:
This was the best part of the whole book, with themes of faith, God's victory, and how every victory belongs to Him!

I loved this third book of the series- and in the end when the things of earth seemed to dim, compared with the spiritual things. It was beautiful, and something that I hope to never forget.

[Laura The Book Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series of books get better and better as they go. Great as a read aloud to your children with all of its creative bible analogies.

[Byron Hayhurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it!

I absolutely loved this book and all the others! I absolutely recommend this to any Christian kids and adults! I would love for Priscilla to make movies of these books!

[Anne Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

The characterisation continues to improve in this third book in the series. (Hardly a trilogy, since there is a "sequel"!) The Prince Warriors are drawn back into Ahoratos to receive their swords. They have to climb the Mountain of Rhema, a mountain misted with the breath of the Source, within a given time limit to succeed in this quest. The sword must be drawn from the breath before the sun sets.

The road is high and narrow and increasingly treacherous and, when the group is attacked by a black dragon that shoots poisonous spikes from its tail, only the intervention of the dragon Tannyn helps them survive the deadly assault. Despite the warning that the way down is more dangerous than the way up, Evan is so excited to get a sword at last that he begins to play with it—a move that puts all his friends into peril.

[Abbey Phipps · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt like this was a good conclusion to the original trilogy. Really intense problem with the enemy, the Prince Warriors realizing their true power, and an epic final battle (with a dragon, no less). But...

Rook DIED?! I mean, I never felt very attached to him but STILL. On that note, the authors could have done a better job with helping us develop connections to Rook, Finn, and Ivy. It kinda seems like they were just thrown in there to have more characters.

Nevertheless, Priscilla Shirer did an amazing job with the biblical and spiritual parallels throughout this series. This is a series that will be revisited multiple times as my children grow.

[♡Lenka Kóšová · Rating 5 out of 5]

⚔ 📖

[C. Ditto · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE THIS BOOK! Yay for Evan!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Swords of Rhema is the third book in the Prince of Warriors series and I absolutely love this series. I highly recommend reading the first two books, although they can be read as a stand alone books, it is better if you read them in order to understand them completely. Ms. Shirer once again does a fantastic job at reaching not only Tweens, but adults too in an epic battle between spitural warfare and what is happening in the natural world. I Love how this book uses children to teach us that this earth isn't our home, but that Heaven is and she does such a great job at utilizing this amazing story line to draw such deep points across to the reader. I love that its a trilogy series that many children, Tweens or adults would not pick up, otherwise. If you haven't read these books, I highly recommend it. Thank you to Wynn Wynn Media for providing me a copy. A positive review was not required. I give Swords of Rhema 5/5 stars.

[Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was written for middle grades but I enjoyed it as well as a 57 year old woman. Priscilla Shirer originally wrote these for her own children to teach them about the spiritual battle, that the Bible says we are engaged in whether we realize it or not, and the armor of God. Priscilla also has a web site https://theprincewarriors.com/ that goes through each of the books chapter by chapter and shows the spiritual lessons contained in them. I also highly recommend her Bible Study called ,The Armor of God http://bit.ly/2GGe2pc .

[Tiah Varner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super easy read, I love that. Pretty god over all. 6/10

[Karina (Karina's Christian Reads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Number of pages: 294

Genre: Fantasy/Allegory

Series: The Prince Warriors #3

Age recommendation: 9-13

Summary: It’s time for the Prince Warriors to get their swords, but they must scale Mount Rhema to do so. Even if they can survive that trip, will they ever learn how to use their new weapons?

My thoughts: I know this series is supposed to be allegorical, and I love some of the connections I can make to the Bible/biblical truths I can learn or be reminded of while reading. However, it really annoys me that some of the allegory (such as who God is and where the spiritual and physical world connect) is very mysterious… I don’t know what word to use. I find it very jumbled and confusing what certain characters are supposed to represent, how spiritual battles can come to earth and physically kill people and how people can be gone from the physical world and in the spiritual world for weeks/months/years. I’m not sure if I’m just trying too hard to find the allegory, but I just found it confusing.
I did like the story though. It’s definitely not meant for my age group, but it was still pretty interesting. I like that all the characters have their own different struggles and none of them are perfect, but none are always the bad ones either. It just goes to show that we all have strengths and weaknesses and we need to help each other.
I liked that Manuel’s dad is possibly coming back to his original beliefs about Prince warriors. He set aside his faith years ago, and now his son is able to point him again to the truth.
My least favourite part of the book is when Rook dies. The first time I read this book, I didn’t think he was actually dead, but then he was and it was so sad.
I also like that the different characters are different ages but are still friends and can still help each other. I will say that Evan is pretty annoying sometimes though.
Overall, it was a good book that 9–13-year-old children would enjoy.

My personal rating: 3.5/5 stars.

Link to blog: https://karinaschristianreads.wordpre...

[Mark Buxton · Rating 4 out of 5]

My name is Levi, and we've finally received our swords from the mountain of Rhema. It was a treacherous climb, especially when the black dragons attacked us on the skinny ledge, but our weapons will now allow us to attack the agents of evil. The enemy is tricky and finds unexpected ways to spread chaos and confusion. Ruwach has always said we have everything we need to defeat them, but bad decisions have allowed the enemy to pass through portals to earth. Skypods have been popping up around the city, and Ents will attack if anyone finds a way to open them. Manuel's father is determined to do that very thing! I feel like the enemy has something extra devious planned, but I can't figure out what it might be. And, I don't trust that new kid Viktor; he's just too perfect at everything.

This book concluded the trilogy. The whole plot line was based on a religious theme with the characters constantly being told that they needed to have faith and they had everything they needed. The enemy became stronger when it was able to get characters to question or distrust their faith. It was Levi's turn in this book to have the strongest faith which allowed him to see things the other characters could not. It was interesting how all of the characters had their moments to display the strength needed to help the team succeed. The adult characters were a compelling cast. Levi's father and Brianna's grandfather were warriors, but they were minor characters. Manuel's father entered the story in this book, and he seemed disillusioned with faith due to his wife's death years earlier. This book was the first to fully engage the "normal" humans on earth. The war in Ahoratos finally spilled over into the earth dimension, and the series plot concluded in an exciting battle between the Warriors and the enemy. Once again, it all came down to the characters having faith in the Source and following the guidance from The Book. Sadly, a mainish character was lost. Overall, I've enjoyed the whole series and recommend you give it a shot.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

We didn’t finish this in a day! I just kept forgetting to add it here. We started it before Anne and then took a break from it to finish Anne.

This was my favorite so far of the three we’ve listened to. The connection between the physical and the spiritual world was clearer in this one. Chapter 34 was especially great!! It paints a picture of a battle that looks like certain defeat, but then one of the Prince Warriors is able to see what the others don’t…

If you want to try a non-commitment option for listening to these, the first 3 books of the Prince Warriors series are on Audible Plus and so can be listened to without using a credit (if you have an audible subscription).

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this on audiobook with my three younger siblings. They all appreciated it.

I loved the fact that they were learning important truths about God and his relationship to us while still being able to enjoy a good fantasy. When we finished they looked at me and said, "Is that the end?!" and when I told them it was, they were very upset. The book ends on a note of continuing an adventure, so I told them that it meant that Shirer is trying to tell us that God's adventure is never over. They still weren't satisfied. :)

I did not like the narrators on the audiobook, though. There were random pauses here and there that kind of interrupted the flow of the story.

[Manette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the nuisances of biblical truths throughout. I give it a 5-star rating on spiritual values, if were possible to I would give more than five stars for the biblical truths presented in these books.

The target audience is geared to middle school boys but girls can also enjoy this series and gain from reading them or having the books read aloud to them. The latter is beneficial because it provides lots of opportunity for discussion and life application.

I read this series aloud to a teenage girl who couldn’t get enough. We both looked forward to reading time.

[Michelle Voran · Rating 5 out of 5]

You never know how a series is going to be as it continues. This third “Prince Warriors” book encouraged me spiritually so, so much. Not even sure words do it justice. I am so thankful for this series and super thankful that my kiddo convinced me I needed to read them. It puts spiritual battle in an easy to understand and easy to read way. I seriously love these books. Each one has been even better than the last one. Strongly recommend.

[Jenna Duhaime · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally - one coherent story instead of several mini episodes!!

I feel like there are too many main characters. It’s hard to learn a lot about them when the story is so spread out. I felt like the last book did that a bit better, but still too many.

Overall, I’ve become a lot more endeared to this series than I expected at first. Solid ending, though this book suffers from the rushed resolution problem. The climax happens probably 3 chapters from the end of the book.

[James McIntosh Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good end to the series, especially after you get past the first few chapters or so. Very exciting. I'm sure even more so for kids. I was a bit confused by the imagery at the end and what was trying to be said in relation to what had already happened to the characters previously, but still encouraging.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The girls went to church camp and the theme was the Armor of God and having everything you need through Christ. That is the theme of these kids' fantasy books.
This one is another fun adventure and I cried at the end. Like Narnia, it is nice to think about our faith and beliefs through analogies of another world.
We own these if anyone wants to borrow them.

[Patrice Doten · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve really enjoyed all the books in this series, but this one is my favorite. A fast-paced page-turner with several twists and surprises. Seeing the characters grow through adversity and really come into their own was super satisfying. And lots of reminders of the grace constantly available to us — so encouraging and inspiring.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook - love listening to these with the kiddos. We all appreciate the multiple voices, though my younger ones still get confused sometimes since it’s only 3 voice actors for sometimes dozens of characters, but really, it’s fantastic. The story is great, too, as it creates great opportunities for discussion. Looking forward to more.

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

This booked ended up being pretty good. The first half was so slow and excruciating boring the way it developed the plot. The second half finally took off and was good to read. Average out to a 3 star review. Our son enjoyed it, which is the most important thing.

[Eugene Pahomsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for elementary/middle school kids

I wish there were more books like this to read to your kids. Thank God for such wonderful writer. Enjoyed reading it every evening before bed to my kids.

[Susan Highfill · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far the best book in the trilogy. I was very engaged with the characters and what was going to happen. I was unsure how certain things were going to turn out and interested in finishing it quickly to find out.

[Rhonda Jayne Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent insight into Spiritual Warfare for Children & adults alike! Great way through storytelling and battles that the Prince & Princesses face, to share spiritual truths and the enemies ways to seek to deceive us and draw us away from what is right and true. Captivating read.

[Alexia · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book, our prince warriors get their long-awaited swords and learn how to wield them as they face their toughest battle yet. As . always there are plenty of Biblical symbols to find and lessons to learn. I really enjoy the Prince Warrior series!

[Angelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing - Wonderful for Adults and Children

Great way of seeing the power of God, we have been created for purpose, and that we have everything we need to defeat the enemy. Rise Up Warriors........Fight!

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the Warriors grow in their faith and experience, the challenges they face become harder. The story deals with difficult issues, but it also shows how God leads us through them. While the series does end here, I'm looking forward to the sequel.

[E. Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this final story, the Prince Warriors face their biggest challenge, the Enemy himself comes to Earth to deceive and trap them. Yet they also receive their greatest weapon. The Swords.
An action-packed finale to an epic series. Highly recommend it to any middle-grade readers out there.