Guns of the Lion

Faith and Freedom #2

by Douglas Bond

Douglas Bond’s sequel to Guns of Thunder: in which Gavin Crookshank has his first taste of battle at sea, when the HMS Lion engages in mortal struggle with the French allies of Bonnie Prince Charlie. A pawn in the hands of two opposing armies, Gavin attempts to act with integrity in a chaos of loyalties during the bloody Jacobite rebellion. He soon finds himself an unwilling conscript of King George II’s military service. It is the story of a maturing faith emerging out of conflicted loyalties in battles, within and without, wherein Gavin is forced to kill or be killed in bloody conflict during the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745 in Scotland.

Uncertain who is friend and who is foe, Gavin learns courage and duty and how to rely on God alone who makes wars to cease to the ends of the earth.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Christian Fiction, Childrens, Young Adult, Christian, Historical

272 pages, Paperback

First published July 21, 2008

About the author

Douglas Bond, author of more than thirty books--several now in Dutch, Portuguese, Romanian, and Korean--is father of six, and grandfather of eleven--and counting--is Director for the Oxford Creative Writing Master Class and the Carolina Creative Writing Master Class, two-time Grace Award book finalist, adjunct instructor in Church history, recent advisory member to the national committee for Reformed University Fellowship, award-winning teacher, speaker at conferences, and leader of Church history tours in Europe.

Reviews

[Amanda Geaney · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son (6th grade) read all 3 books in this trilogy in 3 1/2 days. This is his review of this title which was originally posted on ChristianShelfEsteem.wordpress.com.

Guns of the Lion, the second book in the Faith and Freedom series, was excellent! Gavin Crookshank, Ian McKethe’s cousin, is in a really, REALLY BIG WAR! I like how Gavin tries to do the right thing, follows the bible, and helps save lives while trying to figure out who’s side he really is on. My only two questions are how did he even get a letter out of the prison without the guards reading it (and what a letter it was!), and how he wasn’t hanged since he wasn’t actually conscripted? This book is seemingly longer than the first. My rating of this book is 4.5 out of 5.

[Moss Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have owned this novel since childhood and for some reason never bothered to pick it up and read it until recently. I appreciate Bond’s understanding of war being a messy business and often a gray area. Our seeking to put God first will often put us at odds with people on both sides of a conflict.

I also enjoyed the background of the Jacobite Rebellion being brought to life through his character Gavin. I am a descendant of several Jacobite soldiers and the imagery really made me envision what it must have been like for my ancestors.

[Naomi McCullough · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just have to say, I'm a little mad at the ending of this amazing story, but on the whole it was fantastic and I could hardly put it down. I'll read Robert Louis Stevenson's Kidnapped with a different set of eyes from now on!
(But please, Bond, for my sanity--give me a different ending next time!! :,) )

[Michael Huntsman · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was very good! Though, so far I have enjoyed the crown and covenant series much more.

[Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far, my favorite of the faith and freedom series! (not at ALL because it's set in Scotland with the Jacobite rebellion, *cough*)

[Wayne Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

We have read and enjoyed all three books in Douglas Bond’s “Crown and Covenant Trilogy,” Duncan’s War, King’s Arrow, and Rebel’s Keep, about the M’Kethe family in Scotland during the days when the English kings were trying to stamp out the Scottish Covenanters, ending in some of the M’Kethes emigrating to the new world. Book One, Guns of Thunder, in the sequel series “Faith and Freedom Trilogy,” deals with the involvement of Ian M’Kethe, who lives at Wallop, CT, in the French and Indian War. Book Two, Guns of the Lion, returns the attention to simultaneous events in Scotland. Ian is canoeing with his Native American friend Watookoog from his home in Connecticut to Elizabethtown, NJ, to enroll in Princeton College in 1847. On the way, Ian reads a letter from his cousin, Gavin Crookshank, who is still in Scotland.

It seems that Gavin was impressed, quite against his will, into the army of King George II to fight against the forces of Charles Stuart, better known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, who is coming from France where he has been in exile to claim not only the Scottish throne but the rule of England too. After serving on the H.M.S. Lion and helping to defeat a French ship carrying arms and supplies to the Prince, Gavin is recruited to become a spy for King George in Charlie’s army. Then, when he joins with them, he is sent by Lord George Murray who Charlie’s general, and Dugald MacDonald who has thrown his support to the Prince, to spy on King George’s army! As a double agent, Gavin is in constant danger for his life as the conflict continues, culminating in the fateful Battle of Culloden Moor. Will he survive the battles? Or will he try to escape and return home? And will he ever decide to whom his allegiance belongs—King George, Prince Charles, or someone else?

Not only does Guns of the Lion present good historical fiction related to the Jacobite rebellion of 1745, but it also examines important ethical questions as to how Christians should relate to the political and social struggles of this earth given our dual citizenship. Of course, God must always come first, but how to apply this principle to specific situations is always the big question. Ian knows that he must honor the king—but which one? It is always good to read stories, even fictional ones, about people who strive to live their lives according to Biblical principles. The euphemistic adjective “dashed” is used once, as is the term “hell,” though not as a curse word, and a singular blanked-out curse word occurs. Otherwise, there is nothing objectionable. Robert Case, director of the World Journalism Institute, wrote, “Douglas Bond continues with his Faith and Freedom trilogy to challenge Christian families to raise godly sons and grandsons. Bond refuses to give in to the anti-boy culture as he stresses the obligation of boys to be young men of responsibility and integrity." The final book in the series is Guns of Providence.

[Gloria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ian M'Kethe's life-long dream of going to college is finally coming to pass. Before he leaves, his grandfather gives him a letter from a relative in Scotland....
Gavin Crookshank, a loyal covenanter, is captured by dragoons while tending his sheep and conscripted into King George's navy. After distinguishing himself as an excellent marksman, Gavin is sent back to his beloved Scotland... but as a spy for the king. Torn between love for his country and the desire for peace, Gavin embarks on his most dangerous mission yet: spy for the king's army while secretly spying on the king's army as well.
Read the rest of my review here: http://gloriakluth.blogspot.com/2017/...

[Peter Bartausky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book captures the conflict of the main character perfectly. The book is written in such a way that you feel the characters feelings. You cringe when he when he gets in a hard situation, you feel happy when he feels happy, etc. The love story in this book is very refreshing. It was not the love story of today's books, it was not flashy, it was not "worldly". It was a pure relationship. And I find that really refreshing. The morals in this book are also really refreshing. This book could be read by and ten year old or an one hundred year old. I highly recommend this book.

[Rachel L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than Guns of Thunder. This is the first-person narrative of Ian M'Kethe's distant cousin Gavin Crookshank. Gavin, from the Scottish Lowlands, is conscripted into the British army just before the return of Bonnie Prince Charlie to Scotland. He's caught in the middle as Charles tries to re-claim the kingdom and George I defends it--who is really king?

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was rather disappointing. Rather than continuing the story in Guns of Thunder, Guns of the Lion jumps back to Scotland, where a conflicted MC goes through awkward situations and falls in love with a beautiful girl he doesn't know. The ending is abrupt, unexpected, and unresolved. Perhaps most of these are fixed in the next book?

[Josiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book and I can't wait for the series to be completed!

Douglas Bond excels at this style of first person adventure. Realistic, humorous, and well paced, this is the story of a young Scottish man, conscripted into the British army, forced into the war of the Jacobite rebellion and stuck trying to survive while working through his temporal and spiritual loyalties.

[Frode · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good boy's book, told via a long letter to a cousin. I enjoyed it. I learned some history regarding Bonnie Prince Charles's war.

[Jonathan Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent family reading! Douglas Bond does a great job of continuing the story of the Covenanters who came from Scotland in his Crown and Covenant trilogy.