Flight of the Eagles

The Seven Sleepers #1

by Gilbert L. Morris

Fourteen-year-old Joshua Adams wakes from a fifty-year sleep to find that he has escaped nuclear war—and that the genetically altered races of Earth now hail his awakening as the first fulfillment of an ancient prophecy.

For of old it was sung that the Seven Sleepers would awaken to unite their strength with Goél and join in battle against the wicked priests of the Sanhedrin. But the choice of Josh and each member of the quest is a dangerous one. He must survive not only the peril of the Sanhedrin but the doubt that threatens his faith and, ultimately, his commitment to Goél, his spiritual champion.

Genres: Fantasy, Christian, Fiction, Christian Fiction, Young Adult, Dystopia, Science Fiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1994

About the author

also publishes under the name Gilbert Morris


Gilbert Morris is one of today's best-known Christian novelists. He lives in Gulf Shores, Alabama, with his wife, Johnnie. He is the father to Lynn Morris and Alan Morris

Reviews

[Kyle Timmermeyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably the most obscure YA series I got into at that age. Goofy and preachy as it can be at times, this brings back plenty of good memories, and I'm sure it can still inspire fun times for younger teens today. This book would be best for the teen crowd who has already devoured the Chronicles of Narnia and needs another (more overtly Christian-slanted) fix.

[Shaun Stevenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember hearing my older brother talk about this series growing up. I never picked up the first book to read it, so I just skipped the whole series. Until now. On a whim I decided to see what my brother had liked so much about the Seven Sleepers series, and picked up book one, Flight of the Eagles.

"Not prepared" is exactly the phrase I would use to describe this fascinating, slightly edgy Christian fantasy novel. The story begins with nuclear war decimating the entire known world, and seven teenagers being left in stasis to wake up and one day save the world from darkness. I kept thinking while I read, "Gilbert Morris isn't going to go there, is he?" And then he would. Parts of this story are gloriously dark for a Christian fantasy series, and parts are obvious allegory. However, Morris weaves so many threads together so deftly, that I was genuinely pulled in throughout the entire book.

That said, the book does show its age. Some of the conversations from one character in particular venture on slightly racist, however, this character does grow and change throughout the book, and his attitude is portrayed as not one that is loving towards others. There is an underlying tension between the lone African American character and the Southern "cowboy," and in the climate of today's racial tensions, this seemed very real and yet uncomfortable. Parents should certainly read this ahead of time to determine what they think for their own kids with regard to some of the non-politically correct things characters say here and there on this topic. Nothing is in the actual narrative, and Morris seems to be working at portraying these characters as having attitudes that are their own.

All said, some of the final plot twists are somewhat apparent from the beginning, but other mysteries unravel in surprising ways.

Here's on to book two!

[thirtytwobirds · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuing to reread my way through my childhood bookshelf, I'm at the Seven Sleepers series. As a kid growing up in rural PA where the only bookstore in my town was a Christian bookstore these books were one of the very few complete fantasy series I could manage to get, so I read them quite a few times growing up.

Rereading them now I don't think I'd recommend them, even to kids. The internet has made it so easy to get your hands on far, far better books (e.g. Chronicles of Prydain) that it's just not worth wasting time on these.

That's not to say they're *complete* trash. There's a nugget of a good story here, especially in the first 1/3 of the book which is actually fairly good if you can ignore the complete disregard for how biology works. But after that the problems start to emerge:

1. Everything after the first 1/3 feels *incredibly* rushed (fitting 7 quests into this short of a book is just too much).
2. Basically no character development at all for most of the characters (probably a consequence of 1).
3. The romanticizing of the Confederate south is gross.
4. The Christian propaganda starts to get heavier and overbearing at the end.
5. The enemy isn't really explained at all, they're just generic bad guys with no motivations other than we-must-conquer-the-world.
6. There series as a whole uses really obvious tropes all the time. This isn't terrible as a kid, but now there's only so many times you can see the "No man may X? Well surprise, I'm a woman!" plot twist before it just gets painful.

[Kate Willis]

This was my one of my husband's favorite series when he was younger, so I agreed to try at least the first book.
I love me a good post-apocalyptic setting, so the world building was fun. I also enjoyed the quest-based storyline and the themes of God always providing.

Unfortunately, there were some outdated stereotypes and wording. There was also a Southern character who was very much into the Civil War and doubtful of the Black character. It was also very referential to other fantasy.

[Hanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Generally, I am not a fan of fantasy. However, the Seven Sleepers series is written by Gilbert Morris. So, why not? This is a different form of fantasy, in my opinion, though. Gilbert Morris contemplates what could happen in the end times. It's slightly unrealistic, of course, and a little confusing at times. Since I don't read too many fantasy books, I always get confused with those kind. (Except for the Narnia books) But I think that anyone who likes, say, Keeper of the Lost Cities, would enjoy these. And it can get you thinking logically about the end times, even though the Seven Sleepers books don't accurately portray life.

[Anne Hamilton · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was anticipating something with the subtle spiritual nuances of The Chronicles of Narnia, but the story seemed inordinately thin and the plot was a series of happenings, rather than a tapestry of conflict and resolution. Perhaps my expectations were simply too high.

[Toby Pitts · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been sleeping on this series for about 19 years (pun intentional). My best gal continually told me I needed to read them and I would try and retry, continuously dnf'ing it. Managing to get this first book down once as a child and now as an adult I have lots of thoughts. Since no one in this season is talking about these books to appreciate my excursion down memory lane I'll simply write to myself on this winding journey.
Bullets:
1. Josh annoyed me as a child. WHAT A Wet blanket.
2. Josh still annoys me as an adult. I think Josh is the reason I went into reading Percy Jackson or Harry Potter expecting to hate the Main Character. He is no Harry and incredibly hard to root for. I understand 14 is a difficult time, regardless of being placed in a time capsul and finding out your world is dead upon awaking. But, why is this kid so relentlessly whiney and immature?
3. Sara is not much better.
4....I think Jake was found third.... it is incredibly hard to remember when we meet Jake because it is essentially the first and final time we will ever see him.
(Maybe Reb was 3rd?)
5. >>>Speaking of Reb, I remembered there being a South vs slave plot, but it's handled incredibly poorly. It bothered me as kid and it bothered me now. I'm honestly sad about this. WIth having SEVEN books it is such a shame there couldn't have been a slow burn to the friendship of REb and Wash. We could have seen them fight and struggle to get along and then maybe in book six start to become aware of bias and hate. Unfortunately we instead are given a miraculous resolution to the racism by the conclusion of this book....which i should remind you is number one. It's hard to make this circumstance worse, however, REbs racism will raNdomly showcase itself due to influence of the dark forces in later books- again being messy . Its honestly unnecessary and unfortunate if you are not going to make it purposeful within the storytelling. If we are teaching kids about Remember the Titans we best be doing it well. THis, tragically is probably why this kids series fell off the earth a bit. I know anyone my age and younger is going to especially hate how there is oddly a confederate flag wielding feel, amidst the push to showcase racism resolution. Its ugly. It. will leave you sitting uncomfortable,...and not in the right way.
6. Josh and Sara get too much screen time, even for book one. I'm not sure how this will go as I read the rest of the series, but its clear that each book will have one focus on one sleeper. Regardless of that dynamic, these two are too dull to carry us forward.
7. I like the world, but I wish we had more story and character building before going to the sleep chambers. My assumption is there are big constraints to number of pages for this age range, but - kids are really willing to sit and read an epic story. Harry Potter is LONG and kids don't mind. This series has a GREAT concept but never enough time to build characters.
8. I hate the gemini twins. ...there i said it. As a kid they bugged me. as an adult they bug me.
I hope we don't see them till 7 hahahahaha
9. Kids shoved. into time capsules? Brilliant. Love it. just give me more....
10. I want the Stephen king or brandon sanderson version of this series. we deserve it. These books deserve a more legendary story. I actually highly recommended Fairy Tale (King) if you want a similar feel, just more adult and fleshed out.
I've genuinely wondered if this series was a "kid friendly version" of King's Dark Towers series. Although I haven't read Dark Towers, Many seem to believe Fairy Tale was within that same universe.
Concept 5/5
Setting 2/5
Characters 2.5/5
Spiritual System 3/5
Magical Objects/creatures 2/5
Plot 3/5
Coherence 5/5
Romance 1/5
Audio Reader -3/5 (great until the women come up)
Series so far.... we will see

Final Verdict- Josh needed a longer naptime

[Cora Rattle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I originally read The Seven Sleepers series growing up with my older sister and best friend. We’d take turns reading the chapters aloud and for that reason, this series has a special and fond place in my heart.

I remember enjoying the storyline(s) and characters and thought I’d revisit it for a quick, light read.

Some components held up and others didn’t.

The series is definitely YA (Christian), but some of the fish-based elements felt forced and a bit cheesy at times. Additionally, some of the character development and lack thereof was jarring.

Overall, I still enjoyed the reread. On to book two.

[Christina Sweeting · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific to share with my 8-year-old grandson. We loved reading it together!

[Oceane McAllister · Rating 4 out of 5]

The NOSTALGIA. Though to be fair, I haven’t read this series in a very long time.

[Peter Coffin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gilbert, Gilbert, Gilbert...what are we doing here?

Like many of the reviews here, I read about half of this series as a child, working my way through every fantasy series my small Christian school had to offer me. I remember the colorful covers and vaguely the idea of a group of teens going on cool adventures through a variety of fantasy settings. Now as an adult, my curiosity has gotten the better of me and I have returned to finish the series out and see how it ends.

Some notes on this read-through:

- The map is almost entirely worthless. Why did I bother constantly turning back to it? Besides looking like it was drawn by a child it bears so little resemblance to the story being told its laughable. Half the named features on the map will never appear in the book at all (Old Trail, Darkwood, Mangos River, Murkwood, Lost River, High Places, The Gulf etc) while several of the main locations in the book are not placed on the map at all (The Roaring Horse River, which is the location for the novel's big fake-out death scene for the main character, is not drawn in), while yet others are simply out of place, such as the Tower, which is mentioned when the characters are near the place it is put on the map, but then the only Tower that appears later in the story is in the Sanhedrin City, (marked, "The Temple" on the map, though never called that in the story) Much like the prose in this book, it is filled with so many blanks and gaps that I guess you are supposed to fill them in with your own imagination.

- On that note, it is also unclear how large Nuworld is supposed to be. Is it the entirety of the United States in post-apocalyptic form? Is it a few square miles? The narrative rarely makes this clear as at times the characters seem to be making weeks long Tolkien-esque journies across a vast land, and at other times locations clear across the map from each other are reached in a matter of hours.

- The entire first chapter introduces both our main leads as struggling with pre-teen body issues and embarrassment due to puberty. It comes off exactly like you'd think someone in their mid-sixties trying to remember what being a teenager was like would write. Here's a gem from page two: "[Josh] was thinking how Sarah would be just like the other girls at school who made fun of him and his appearance. Now there were two things wrong with this. In the first place, the girls were NOT making fun of him. Instead, they were noticing that he was filling out and getting to be good-looking. In the second place, Sarah did not disapprove of him...she had just passed out of the leggy, coltish stage that some girls go through and knew very well Josh's feelings of inadequacy."

Gag me.

Luckily this never come up after the first chapter and has no real bearing on the already thin character development.

- Josh is hostile towards Sarah in the first chapter because her parents are missionaries. In the very next chapter he starts hearing the audible voice of God and barely even bats an eye. Also, since Sarah's parents are missionaries, you would imagine she would be a bit skeptical of Goel or at least ask him why he doesn't just call himself Jesus, since that's obviously who he is (He keeps saying, "You'll know me by other names someday," a clear Aslan copy, but with none of the style of Lewis), at the very least you'd think she would mention the real Christian ideas that the story analogues, but for whatever reason Morris never mentions.

- Are the dwarfs and giants and snake people all deformed humans? Crusoe, the Obi-Wan "kangaroo" like hunchback who is the kids mentor for the book (although he spends half the book in a coma, which he wakes up from periodically to issue some cryptic bit of advice), turns out to just be Josh's scientist Dad, so maybe?

- Why did Morris pick a fifty year gap in the first place? Was it just to have the surprise Dad reveal at the end (which really just begs more questions about why Crusoe wasn't more helpful for the entire plot of the book)? Most of the questions I find myself having that take me out of the story would be resolved if this was supposed to be taking place a thousand years later or some other number that would provide that sense of fantastical otherworldliness. But fifty years is just so ordinary.

- A lot of weird non-sequiturs in this book in service of its ham-fisted lessons. For instance one of the major plot devices is that characters sing songs that hold spiritual and semi-magical powers. All the doors that guard the Seven Sleepers are opened by singing to them. How does Josh figure this out? He remembers something his mother wrote in her journal about speaking to fear and telling it to leave...so he sings to a door and it opens for him. Growing up in a "word of faith" community this ideology feels familiar, but it is so jarring the way it is unceremoniously plunked down into this fantasy story I had to do a double take to make sure I hadn't missed some context. An action I performed many times while reading.

- Ah yes, Humphrey Bogart, an entirely normal piece of common American iconography that any teenager in the 90s would instantly have recognized as a "great film star".

- It makes sense how Josh's and Sarah's cryogenic chambers end up where they do, they seem to be government installations (an abandoned missile silo and a grounded submarine) but how did the other sleepers end up where they are, and why is one of them literally at the top of the evil city, completely unguarded?

- In general, the past lives and contexts for how the characters arrived in their chambers is completely unexplored. Seven times the reader is forced to swallow the idea that a teenager wakes up in a fantasy universe, makes a few character-identifying quips, then just enters seamlessly into the adventure, no questions asked, fully accepting not only everything they see, but the entire motivation for the story - to collect these seven people because of visions and voices in their heads. Also, you never get to see any of these explanatory dialogues, they, like most of the important pieces of character development and world building, are simply relayed in bullet-point like synopsis.

On the whole, entire book reads more or less like this. "First this happened. Then this other thing happened for no reason. Then a character felt something. Then they immediately got over it because they just moved on to the next plot point. Rinse and repeat seven or eight times over."

-I also just want to say that the waking of each Sleeper, something that could read in a really engaging way for the target pre-teen audience, is always rendered in the most flat and bland way possible. Morris uses the same boring description involving the pushing of a big red button with the word "Awake" on it (Guess none of the Sanhedrin ever thought to just push it and kill the kid sleeping at the top of their tower?). The kid just sits up, we're told what their hair color is and how good looking they are, and then they blurt out their super generic and easily forgettable name. I mean, Josh Adams, Sarah Collingwood, Jake Garfield, Dave Cooper, what kind of sheet-rock bland names are those?

- There are no Ghosts in the Ghost Marshes.

- The "Uprising", a vague rebel group that is never really explored, but mentioned a few times, provides us with a handful of pointless characters the Sleepers meet when they are all inexplicably shoved into the same roomy jail cell, complete with bunks, food stores, and apparently some kind of cozy common area for a heart to heart chat between characters.

This is supposed to be the dungeon of the evil satanist cult villains.

Anyway, the characters they meet here do little but fill out their quest party to a whopping fifteen named characters. So large, two of the characters, the twins Rama and Amar, are given a single line of description (they're "pretty") and literally do nothing and are almost never mentioned again.

- On that note, what is up with the Gemini twins thing? It says something about how the apocalyptic disaster caused a lot of twins to be born, all of which are linked in such a way that when they are separated they become weak and die. This begins to happen to the main twins of the story, Mat and Tam, but its more of an inconvenience to the main Quest narrative than anything. Why is this piece of worldbuilding here? It does nothing for the plot, themes, or overt Christian messaging. What gives?

- Off screen at some point the snake charmer Hamar hypnotizes David. He makes a comment about how weak minds are seduced by the occult. This is obviously here to warn kids about the spiritual dangers of the occult, which is all well and good, but then flakes out on it by not actually including it in the story, just tacking it on as a PSA. I think this is the kind of thing some reviews referred to as "dark" or "going hard" for a kids series.

- Speaking of the Sanhedrin, I might be the only person who wonders this, but making the evil cultish villains of your Christian allegory fantasy world be the Jewish council of priests who condemned Christ to death on the cross, comes across as a bit...antisemitic? It leans a bit into the "evil secret order of Jews - you know, the Christkillers - that are plotting to take over the world" set of stereotypes that leave a bad taste in my mouth.

- One only has to read Morris' bio on the back to see why Reb, theoretically a modern teen, is hankerin' fer the glorious days of the Civil War south, and treats the only black character like its 1890, instead of 1990.

- Yes, there is some attempt to show Reb overcoming his prejudice. He shook a black kids hand for saving his life after all. See, they touched, racism solved!

- Reb has his Uncle's rubber billy club for some reason.

- David is supposed to be the Edmund of this book. He is cocky and full of himself, is tricked into being captured via mind control, is tortured off screen and gives the enemy vital information about where the group is travelling to, then returns, dies, and is resurrected miraculously by Goel. However, unlike Edmund, there is no explanation of how he returns from capture, he just does, and no one, not even the characters who joined the troop in the interim and had never met him before that point in the book, have any qualms about his mysterious return, but they unanimously and immediately forgive him and accept him back into the fold.

As with much of this book, Morris seems intent on taking every opportunity for tension and character growth that he presents himself to deftly avoid it at all costs and undercut every scene with lazy and vague exposition.

Somehow David returned...bleh

- "No MAN may pass through."

Oh brother.

Although I do think my favorite scene is the group of teenage boys slavering after the newly awakened Sixth Sleeper Abbey, "the most beautiful girl Josh had ever seen". She of course loves this kind of attention because, again, Gilbert Morris was a sixty year old man who really "gets" today's youth of the 90s.

- The title of the book is taken from one of the final scenes in which a rather confusing battle (why do the Sanhedrin bring "rolling turrets" to take out small band of defenseless teens in the middle of a desert?) is deus ex machinaed, a la Tolkien, by the arrival of giant eagles. Except they aren't actual eagles, they are apparently giant condors. Do yourself a favor and look up what condors look like. I want to see THAT version of the cover!

Anyway, these eagles disappear for no reason when the characters are battling on the top of a giant spire (again, pictured on the cover), when it would be most convenient to leave such a location by air.

Further, the whole final set piece makes very little sense. Just look at the picture on the cover. How does the enemy even get up there? Why do the characters act like this place is so indefensible? Why do they stay here for two weeks scrounging for food when they literally arrived on eagles? Is the stairway they go down in the end in some kind of hollow in the center of that spire? None of this is ever really made clear.

- The House of Goel is "for all people" as we are told when the one black character shows up. As long as "all people" are American, apparently.

How cool would a seven book series have been where in each book our main character had to find a new sleeper by travelling across all seven continents? Think of all the room to world build, create character development, and dig deep into that part of the human psyche that wants to "collect them all" in a neat and organized fashion, especially in that middle school age range. You could travel to all the kinds of exotic fantasy locales that the other books in the series does and solve Christian themed problems in each, but all the while you be building the tension of what it meant to awaken the sleepers, which would ultimately build this allegory for filling the House of God full, since by the awakening of the seventh sleeper, they would have travelled the world, unlike here where the awakening of the seventh sleeper has all the fanfare of a whomp-whomp.


There is a fun kernel of an idea here that would make for a fun mid-grade exploration of Christ-centered concepts (the power of faith in the unseen, the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Scripture as a living and active part of the Christian life, and the overcoming of societal, cultural, and personal differences for a common purpose) through a fantasy lens. This just really isn't it.

Anyway, on to book 2!

[S. J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3 Stars*

A post-apocalyptic story concerning a young man named Joshua and a young girl named Sarah who are placed in sleeper pods after at terrible war threatens to destroy all life on Earth (this was printed in 1990, probably less then a year after the fall of the Berlin wall, thus the world destroyed by Nuclear holocaust is understandable as a story element). Joshua is woken a hundred years later to a world that is nothing like the one he remembers. Bows and arrows and swords are the weapons of the time and dwarves, Giants, and other 'mythical-esque' creatures are the norm. An ancient creature named Crusoe (no word pun there *sarcasm*) has woken him and helps prepare him for a quest: to wake the Seven Sleepers (minus himself now) and help bring about the beginnings of a revolution by the House of Goél (which will be the bane of my existence in future reviews because of that e). Along the way, the travelers meet up with the bads of this world, the Sanhedrin, who chases them across the world as their time runs out to get to the final Sleepers.

*The Gush*
This a quick, exciting read that should appeal to both boys and girls alike. The characters, even with the sheer volume of them that appears, are interesting and in most cases don't get lost in the story. Some we see longer then others, but each will shine in their own way as the series progresses. The character of Crusoe is wonderful, a classic mentor type who also understands that these are children and are struggling with the loss of their world and all those they loved. Joshua is a self-conscience, unsure young man who is thrust into a position and idea he never would have chosen for himself. While basically a good kid, he is a kid and makes mistakes. All of the characters do; they are very human and one of the strongest parts of this book. The story is a classic quest story filled with exciting near misses as well as coincidental happenings that move the plot along...except that they aren't coincidences. Goél is quite obviously Jesus (or Aslan - see below) who is gathering his people to him to battle the evil ruling the world. The Seven Sleepers are to help him, be his agents as he gathers the world together. The Sanhedrin is very stereotypically the bad, evil but there are interesting little tidbits. They have a sort of mind control and the head of them once states, "Don't you know that once in Oldworld a baby was born in a lowly place - just a common child like these - and that one child wrenched the entire world from our graps!" So clearly they are the descendents, maybe, at least spiritually of the Sanhedrin Jesus faced. The Christian message is very overt in this but I would not say it is 'preachy'. It is simply woven into the story so much that you can't separate it from the rest of the book.

*The Rant*
There is nothing really majorly wrong with this book. It does rather ring like a lesser brother of C. S. Lewis' Narnia series, because it does many of the same things but I would argue not quite so well. That is not to say it is bad or you shouldn't read it, but one can't help but compare the two. It is also a bit dated now. Since most of it takes place in 'Nuworld' that is not a huge problem, but it shows particularly in this one because it is the first of the series and as such partly takes place in 'our' world. The threat of Nuclear Apocalypse is perhaps again starting to be relevant with the current issues facing the world, but we are simply not as steeped in it as most people would have been who read this series when it first came out. As I said, it shows mostly in this book, and is only for a couple of the first chapters.

*Conclusion*
This a solid work of children's Christian fiction. If you have issues with Christian fiction, this is probably not for you, though the story itself is very interesting and I do recommend it. While not the best piece of children's fiction I've ever read, it is engaging and well worth the quick read it is.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gilbert Morris’ The Seven Sleepers series begins with Flight of the Eagles, which sets the precedent for silly dialogue, poor pacing, and simplistic morality that will define the entire series. However, Morris manages to hit a better stride about halfway through the book, and Christian kids will find a few good morsels here and there to sink their teeth into. Interestingly, the series (particularly Flight of the Eagles) is based on the ancient Christian legends of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus, who escaped Roman persecution by sleeping for centuries in a cave and emerging as apostles. Morris’ work bears little resemblance to the original folklore, but he certainly does a lot of something in 180 pages.

The plot follows 14-year-old Josh Adams, who is saved on the eve of the end of the world by being put into a cryogenic sleep capsule, only to awaken fifty years later and find the Earth completely changed into a nuclear wasteland filled with strange creatures. Josh learns that he is the first of the prophesied Seven Sleepers, who will supposedly bring an end to the evil Sanhedrin priests and the dark forces at work, but all Josh receives as guidelines are ancient riddles and the mysterious help of a spiritual man named Goél. As Josh and his ragtag group of survivors search for the other six Sleepers and navigate the trappings of the Sanhedrin, Josh must learn to rely on Goél and to find courage within his insecurities.

Even as a thirteen-year-old, I recognized that Flight of the Eagles was goofy. Morris’ writing is so painfully simplistic, always relying on “tell” instead of “show.” His writing lacks the cleverness to make the simplicity charming. The exposition is rushed, the dialogue is painful (humans don’t speak that way and never have), and the creativity is horrendously lacking (Nuworld? Oldtime? Forbidden Land? The Quest?). So much of Flight of the Eagles is like a much-worse version of better works of fiction like The Chronicles of Narnia, The Pilgrim’s Progress, and The Hobbit (and honestly even The Dark Tower). Morris’ worldbuilding is lazy and uncreative, relying on trite tropes, and the few creative elements he includes (like the lake tower and the Snakepeople) are not used or explained in any satisfying way.

Morris also attempts a bit much in the second half of the novel, though that half is certainly the stronger part. Josh has to find the other six Sleepers in their various hidden locations, but Morris only fleshes out a few of these Sleepers, saving the rest for later novels. The Sanhedrin, though intimidating and ruthless, are such laughably one-dimensional cartoon villains that their incompetence is almost hilarious. Flight of the Eagles is, unfortunately, filled with these unintentionally hilarious moments. The depiction of Goél is a major highlight of the second half of the novel, but even his miracles feel rushed and unacknowledged beyond a simple “huh.” Flight of the Eagles is just painfully predictable (are we supposed to take Hamar seriously?), and the dichotomy of good and evil is clumsily depicted as entirely one-dimensional.

Capitalizing on the fear of nuclear war so prevalent in the 1980s and 1990s, Morris uses the vaguest possible “science” to explain a totally illogical premise for the entire novel: seven young teenagers are cryogenically frozen using advanced technology, then are tasked with quite literally saving the world fifty years later. Morris’ rapid-fire exposition is full of plot holes a mile wide, including but not limited to: Why were these teenagers chosen and by whom? If the government had cryogenic technology, why just seven kids? How has the entire landscape, populace, and language transformed into a full-on Dungeons and Dragons-style fantasy world in just 50 years? Why does Crusoe (later revealed to be Mr. Adams, who hid Josh in the first place and designed his capsule) not know any more about the other six Sleepers? Why does he not tell Josh who he is? Why did he not do any doomsday-prepping beyond “magic necklace” and “journal of riddles”? How does Josh not recognize him after months of companionship? What are the Sanhedrin and why do they have mind control powers? Is Morris implying that Nuworld is in the middle of the Great Tribulation, since Dedron apparently refuses to get the Mark of the Beast? That’s about one-eighth of the questions I wrote down while rereading Flight of the Eagles.

Naturally, there are things to appreciate about Flight of the Eagles. Morris writes with an earnest simplicity that can be grating at times and endearing at others. The Song of Goél as the driving force of the narrative is a good concept (though of course it will never be brought up in the series again), and the depiction of Goél as a wise leader and spiritual savior is a nice touch to the allegorical elements. Josh Adams is a surprisingly good protagonist — constantly struggling with his self-worth and immaturity, dealing with his home being gone forever, having to kill for the first time — and his growth into a leader is excellent. Sarah Collingwood is a warm complement to Josh, and though their romantic attraction is a little stilted, it at least plants the seeds for a relationship that will blossom later. The various Nuworld characters are one-dimensional but fun, though Crusoe is definitely the standout..

Though the character dynamics are overly juvenile, there are a few good relationships (like Josh and Crusoe as confidants, and Josh and Dave Cooper as rivals) that come to compelling conclusions. The fifth sleeper, Bob Lee “Reb” Jackson, is an obvious standout character with his colorful dialogue and golden retriever energy. Morris, however, adds a surprising level of depth by characterizing Reb as a Southern bigot with a racist streak, something that Morris thankfully highlights as problematic (you never know with these 1990s Christian authors). I wish Morris had let the tension between Reb and the only black Sleeper, Wash Jones, play out a little more through the series though, as their quick resolution of racial tension is a bit iffy. Morris sets up a few relationships, influences, and dynamics that will come into play later in the series, but he stays mostly on track by focusing on a few Sleepers at a time.

Morris’ primary Christian lesson in Flight of the Eagles is to trust God’s voice, even when it doesn’t seem to make sense, and to be careful what voices you listen to. It’s basically an allegory with the sheer amount of Christian symbolism, though I take issue with how simple Morris makes the process of decoding prophecies… and how he implies that everything in the Bible should be taken literally (at least in some cases). Still, Goél’s choosing and commissioning of the Seven Sleepers is nicely done, as is the implication of the power and intimacy of being specifically chosen. Goél and the Seven Sleepers all encompass elements of the Messiah theme, and we get a baptism and saintly-vision theme with Josh and Sarah. Morris also chooses to highlight the trappings of mysticism for curious young people, though, of course, it’s a blink-and-you-miss-it sort of deal.

Flight of the Eagles isn’t a great book, but it certainly isn’t horrible either. Morris does make a genuine effort at differentiating the dialogue between characters, but his writing is still clumsy, simplistic, and rushed, even for young readers. Don’t read this one for the worldbuilding or the creativity: read it to kill some time and enjoy a few decently-executed plot points, especially if you’re under twelve years old.

[Kendra Ardnek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the best Christian fantasy I've ever read, but I probably would have loved it when I was younger. It's kinda weird and takes a lot of suspension of belief, not many of the characters are very memorable, and there's lots of awkward or stiff wording, but the idea behind it is pretty unique (even if it's not very realistic, even for fantasy). The Christian message comes across strongly, but it doesn't feel like I'm being hit across the head with it. I'll continue the series, since my church library owns all of it, and the sequel series.

I loved the Gemini twins though, that was a really cool idea.

[Samuel Hinkle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is probably the first that I ever chose to start reading (The Chronicles of Narnia was my first, but mom read the first two to me). and for those of you who know me, this is the book that made me like to write poetic riddles. I enjoyed ever minute of these ten books and because I liked them so well, even read a civil war romance series by Mr. Morris as well. And for me, that's saying something!

[Melmo · Rating 4 out of 5]

SHUT UP! Does anyone else remember the Seven Sleeper series??? I want to read them all again!! This calls for a trip to the library.. very soon.

[Patrick S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not read these as a child but did read them as part of a book discussion with a group from the Periapsis Press site that plans to review the series. While the initial start of the book appears to be more sci-fi in nature, with the nuclear apocalypse, this book reads more like a fantasy novel. I can see the appeal to the reading audience of teenage boys and girls who grew up Christian, albiet in 1994 - and this, this reads very much of the time of the 90s YA. There is that charm to it that doesn't know the weirder world to come post-2000s.

Having normals characters of Josh and Sarah as the main focus of the boy and girl, the fact that they are just normal is odd with the YA (and YA post-apocalypse) genres in the post-2016s. But with seven characters to find in this book Morris flies through the story so fast. Having the puzzles to solve is fun but there's not time for the reader to "help" in the discovery before the characters figure it out as quick as Robin always figured out the Riddler's very specific riddles in the '66 Batman. But without a doubt, the inclusion of Reb is the best character. He has the best lines. He has the best takes. Those that view him a "problematic" don't realize the time period from where these characters came from to turn into different characters after learning their lesson. But reading anything with Reb is a hoot.

The rest of the plot is pretty bland. I have no clue who the bad guys really are or what they want. There is no "Aslan is Jesus" here it's just "Jesus is Jesus" here. However, what's odd about this story is the lack of people mentioning God or Jesus; no conversion moment; no one talking about the Bible or cringe storytelling found in 90s Christian fiction. Which in one sense is quite interesting here but Morris does nothing with it as there are too many characters, too little on the plot, too little of the pacing, and some too straightforward deus ex moments.

However, it's not a bad book just a bit too bland story. From other readers, it seems like after book one things pace themselves out more and the bad guys get more fleshed out. As for this one, it falls into the "meh" category. Final Grade - C-

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Alright. I really enjoyed the first 2-4(? can't remember) books in this series as a kid, and have remembered loving them all this time, but I never finished the series, so I've decided this is the year to do it. I'm committed to trudging through this task in its entirety despite what I've just experienced (for the first time in 20 years) reading book 1.

Wow. It's dated even for being written in 1990 - the author was 61 when it was released (unless my math is that bad, and, it could be) and it shows. I cringed at quite a few things even prior to a certain rebel Sleeper's awakening (who at least grew up a small bit in the story).

There's a few nuggets of Biblical wisdom throughout but nothing at all original - Morris was no Lewis, that's for certain. There's no character development and little to no real introduction to the main characters to paint an adequate picture of any of them, certainly not enough to connect or care that deeply, and it moves way too quickly, just constant movement > dialogue > movement > dialogue > movement > dialogue. There's PLENTY of excellent books with depth, beauty, and complexity at this reading level out there so that's not a viable excuse here at all.

It's an interesting idea to build a world based on the Christian/Islamic legend of the Seven Sleepers (found in the Quran or a quick Google search). I have always thought that about it. I'm just disappointed it seriously hasn't held the test of time and my 10/11-year-old self definitely thought this was better than it is.

[Lizzie J · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this series once a couple of years ago, and I didn't overly like it. I didn't remember it, so I decided to give it another try to see if maybe I would enjoy it more now that I'm a little older and have more varied reading tastes... Nope. I still wasn't really feeling the vibe for this series.

I find the characters really flat, kind of annoying, and way too happy-dappy. In some parts of the book when the characters are interacting, it feels more like a Barney episode than a couple of young teenagers trying to do...something (now that I'm trying to think about it, I don't believe the book ever really said exactly why they were put to sleep and stuff. Maybe it comes in later.)

I really wanted to bang my head when Crusoe turned out to be Josh's dad.

The plot was just eh. I felt like there was no real conflict. The characters never had to really do anything or show anything in order to get out of their predicament. I liked the Christian twist to the story, but I did feel like it could have been better done.


Swearing: None

Sexual content: None

Violence: Basically none. There's some fighting at the end (and I'm still not sure how young teenagers knew how to fight with swords and bows and stuff...)

Religious/spiritual/magical content: The book is written with a pretty obvious Christian theme throughout it.

[Lucius Malfoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The funny thing about being raised Christian is that while so many of your contemporaries are off reading Harry Potter, you are given these very niche weird little Christian fantasy novels. The thing is, so many of them slapped. Is slapped still a slang term? I don't know, only that it feels like the right word for this book in particular.

The premise is super dark. It quite literally starts with a nuclear war obliterating the entire world. Seven teenagers are saved when they are placed in sleeping pods--hence the name The Seven Sleepers.--and are each woken up during the series and are our heroes.

The characters are flat and the Christian allegory is not exactly nuanced, but I have thought about this series at least once a month for years and years. I don't know why. I guess reading a kid's book when you are eight that starts with the world being destroyed kind of sticks with a girl?

It's just a super weird story, and I mean that as a compliment. Gilbert L. Morris really didn't need to go this hard, yet I am grateful he did.

[Zavi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. I realize it’s a Christian genre of fiction which is new (ish) for me, but it was a quick read with uplifting moments. The reviews on good reads were very critical so I was bracing myself but it was a satisfying story. Good to read about youth taking on a quest! Lots to think about and characters captured young people’s awkwardness/development. For sure could have been longer with more world building and detail but it was kind of fun that it was left to my own thinking and imagination. Perhaps the remainder of the series develops the world and characters more. There were a lot of characters!!

[Chrissy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this book. I like the dystopian theme, the nuworld beings and changes to the world. I like the idea of the 7 sleepers saving the world but Goel is way too much like Jesus. I don’t have any issues with reading religious books, this just kinda feels taboo in a sense. I don’t think I’m going to read the rest of the series… if it wasn’t this super similar to religion saviour type I think I would have read the rest of the series but I’m going to DNF unfortunately.

[Miri]

I read this absolutely surreal book when I was in fifth grade back in 2007/2008. I checked it out from my (Christian) school library and it kept me up many nights in a row thinking about the nuclear apocalypse that now seemed inevitable. Over the years I completely forgot the name of the book and couldn’t find it anywhere on the internet and became convinced it was just some weird fever dream I had when I was 11. But no. It’s REAL.

[Marji Morris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this book because of the fantasy/apocolypse topic. I was not aware it was a Christian allegory. If that appeals to you, you might enjoy this YA novel. Personally, I thought the allegory was heavy-handed. and I felt as if I'd been beaten over the head with the point. It's the first in a series. It is a quick read.

[Byron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this in middle school, enjoyed it then but its been a loooong time. I just remember loving the sci fi and fantasy elements of the story and being disappointed when I couldn't find the sequels in my school library.

[Matt Starr · Rating 3 out of 5]

As fast as the pace was and as much fun as some of the characters were, I was underwhelmed by the setup and subsequent world building and the numerous times the characters were saved from their situations by this universe’s version of God.

[Nate Croft · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is great. I first read the series when I was 9 and is written for the younger teen age group but I reread it recently at 16 and still loved it. It is clean and teaches good morals. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys christian fantasy.

[Mandy Boerma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm reading this series to my youngest (six years old), after my oldest daughter (nine years old) read them. What an incredible series! The characters are likable, the adventures captivating, and their lessons amazing. Great read.

[Isabella D’Agata · Rating 4 out of 5]

When reading this book I was a bit worried I wasn’t going to like the other books because in the first book they found all the people but the Aventures where Amazing which is why I finished the whole series

[JeLy · Rating 2 out of 5]

An allegory that was pushed too far for me. No content issues (except 12 and 13 year olds noticing how pretty / handsome the other one is, etc.). I didn't really like how the "dwarves" were described or Wash (sp?)-- seemed to lean slightly into stereotypes. Just wasn't for me.