The Ninth Generation

by John L. Owens

THE NINTH GENERATION Conquering the Giants In the preflood world of unspoiled beauty, a Sethite tree-village is gripped by a strange terror. Another daughter has vanished from the valley. Tracks point to the south-a mysterious continental island-the land of the Nephilim giants. Methuselah's son, Lameck, is forced into a desperate rescue journey that turns romantic, but encounters supernatural opposition unleashed by the angelic adversary, Lucifer. Only Enoch-the one who walked with God-could free Lameck and prepare him to face and overcome the fortresses of evil. ____________________ For those who have ever tried to imagine what the earth was like before the Biblical flood- Step back into Genesis-the antediluvian earth that once existed-walk among the behemoths with Lameck, the father of Noah, who lived at the time of Adam. Learn wisdom through the creation, and faith from the fathers, while considering the mystery of the Nephilim and the most dreaded creature, Leviathan. Through Enoch, the glory of Heaven and horror of Hades are also glimpsed. But the greatest revelation to be gained is what the fathers knew about the blood sacrifice that continued from Eden to Calvary-the coming of the Conqueror. The Ninth Generation is more than a suspenseful adventure set in an epic time-frame of history. It contains the classical elements that are found in memorable stories-tragedy, love and redemption. While categorized as historical fiction, it follows the Genesis account and includes additional insights from early historical records and creation / flood research. It is a novel that is designed to entertain and reward in an edifying way.

246 pages, Paperback

First published January 7, 2008

About the author

John L. Owens has a diverse background including oceanographic and rescue duties with the U.S. Coast Guard and Christian missionary service in the former U.S.S.R. He is a graduate of Florida State University and Luther Rice Seminary and has been a pastor, teacher, and seminar speaker. His home is in Coastal Georgia where he continues to teach and write. His two published novels are The Ninth Generation and Anomaly. His last non-fiction book is As You See The Day Approaching: Preparing for Earth's Final Hour.

Reviews

[Tracy Krauss · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is set in a pre-flood world and centres mostly around a man named Lameck, the father of Noah. Owens has done a fabulous job of painting a very descriptive and believable picture of what the earth was like at that time. His imagery is rich and thorough. It is obvious he has done extensive research on the topic, and he presents the earth, as it would have appeared under a young-earth model of creationism, in a detailed and imaginative way. I also appreciated the way he constructed an explanation for the presense of the Nephilim - the giants of old. There is lots of debate among Biblical scholars about who these 'men' really were, but Owens takes a stand on the side of the supernatural, which gives his version that sense of fantasy not unlike those metaphoric 'giants', Tolkien and Lewis. I also saw glimpses of Frank Peretti's classic This Present Darkness, as he delves into the spirit realm, although Owens treats the existance of spirits and angelic beings in a much more literal way. Early humans could apparently see and interact with supernatural beings on a daily basis. This aspect of the book certainly appealed to me since I do love the fantasy/Sci-fi genre and Owens delivered on that score. One other thing that I noted was how Owens integrates an explanation for our plethora of mythical creatures like satyrs, mermaids, etc. It came near the end of the book, and was quite subtle, but very effective. It was a thought I had never considered before and I was duly impressed. (If you want to know what happens you'll have to read for yourself!)

On the negative side, I sometimes found the writing style itself getting in the way of the story. It comes across as quite expository at times - a.k.a. Writing 101's Rule # 1: less telling and more showing. There was just too much explaining in certain spots, as if the author really wanted us to get all of the information (very good information, mind you) instead of letting the story unfold. Its like he really wanted us to understand the young-earth creationist point of view, which fortunately I do have an interest in, but it did cause almost a disconnect while reading. "Oh, so we're taking a break from the story part now, and we're going to have a bit of a lecture on pre-flood zoology..." As I said, my interest in the topic kept me reading, as did the fact that the story line itself was really quite intriguing and I wanted to get back to it to see what would happen next. I just wish there would have been a way to marry the two more cohesively.

I also thought the dialogue could have been fleshed out more. Again, what could have been showed to us through dialogue and interaction among characters was sometimes just explained so that we could move forward to the next scene. In that regard, I could easily see this story as a trilogy rather than just a single novel. I think that kind of treatment would have allowed more character development and also, there were plenty of climactic moments on which to end one novel and start another. Because of its Tolkien-esque qualities, I could definitely see this story written in that way. I know thats a tall order, but it's just my opinion.

My final criticism has both good and bad points. The book is absolutely evangelistic without a doubt. Owens spends a lot of time expounding on the magnificence of God and His future plans for the redemption of mankind. As a Christian, I was able to read and agree wholeheartedly, but I couldn't help but think that for a non-Christian, or even someone nominally searching in their faith, it just might be too much. I hope and pray that there will be people reading this book who come to a saving knowledge of Christ, but I almost doubt that they would get that far in their reading. Its a little too preachy in places. It definitely targets a solid Christian market (not that that's a bad thing) and I do think it is very timely in explaining creation and all its bumpy questions, expecially to a generation that has been so bombarded with other teaching and that is very ungrounded in the fundamentals of the faith.

My final recommendation? Read this book! The story itself is engaging, imaginative and exciting. It is full of Biblical truth and is well researched. It explains very concisely the events leading up to the flood and gives plausible explanations for all kinds of natural phenomenon that might be confusing because of the evolutionary teaching that most people have received. It has an imaginative supernatural element which adds excitement and intrigue. Finally, I am impressed with the author for taking on such an epic topic which also has the potential to be quite controversial. His thoughts deserve to be shared.

[Tisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read two novels centering around pre-deluvian times within a few days of each other and this one was okay. It tendended toward to much detail in spots, but it had a decent story line. It wasn't a book to get excited about but more than sufficed as in-between reading.