The King

Reluctant Demon Diaries #3

by Linda Rios Brook

 Ancient language expert Samantha Yale returns to translate a new batch of scrolls written by the fallen angel from Lucifer’s Flood .

Samantha Yale has taken on a daunting translation project. A set of scrolls, delivered by a man she knows nothing about, tells a fascinating and frightening tale of what went on behind the scenes of biblical history. What is even more incredible is who is telling the tale--a fallen angel who immediately regretted his decision to side with Lucifer.

In book three of The Reluctant Demon Diaries series, we find that the mysterious Wonk Eman has disappeared. Fearing the remaining scrolls may be lost forever, Samantha is determined to find him. Her search leads her an old church where she finds Wonk and convinces him that he must overcome his fear and allow her to examine the remaining scrolls.

This new volume of writings begins with the time of the judges over Israel as the nameless angel continues to watch and report to Satan on the progress of humanity as God leads them forward through the reign of King David.
 

Genres: Christian Fiction, Spirituality, Religion, Fiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Linda Rios Brook, President of the RiosBrook Foundation, believes the answers to issues of social justice and righteousness lie in the proper alignment between the church, the marketplace and media and entertainment. She is a sought out speaker and teacher on matters relevant to cultural restoration.

Linda worked as a media executive for over 20 years in the field of broadcasting serving as President and General Manager of television stations in Texas, Florida, and Minnesota and was President and part owner of KLGT-TV in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota.

Linda has served on several national boards and community organizations and is listed in Who's Who of American Women. She is an ordained minister and has a Doctorate of Practical Ministry from the Wagner Leadership Institute.

Linda is also the author of Lucifer's Flood. She is a teaching Pastor at Covenant Centre International in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida and is married to Larry Brook, who is the Executive Director of the RiosBrook Foundation.

Reviews

[Christy Trever · Rating 4 out of 5]

The King by Linda Rios Brook is the third book in the Reluctant Demon series. Samantha Yale has received another series of scrolls for translation from the mysterious source, Wonk Eman. He warns her that no one else must see or know about the scrolls, but forces are searching for both the scrolls, and Dr. Yale. Her translation picks up the continued story of an unnamed demon who works for Satan observing the humans and reporting back to the fallen angel about their doings. This demon is putting together his case to present to God as to why he should be allowed to return to Heaven, having no desire to continue in slavery to Satan, he uses his observations about the humans to attempt to understand God himself. The book covers the Old Testament books of Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel with the time of the judges and the Saul and David's kingships. Brook has created one of the most unique works of biblical fiction on the market. Much of the story comes directly from the Bible, but Brook inserts a bit of humor with the demon as narrator. He asks the same questions that readers have been wondering about for millenia, and inserts a sense of immediacy to each story because of his presence. She makes these age old stories very real and understandable for today's reader, while cautiously touching on deeper topics as they relate to the tale. I truly enjoy this series, because Brook gives new insight to stories I've heard my entire life, plus the framing story is really beginning to ratchet up the tension. The Reluctant Demon series should have strong appeal to both young adults and older readers.

[Francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some absolutely hilarious lines in this third book of the series. I actually did laugh out loud on more than one occasion. What I’ve found with this series is that the biblical stories are accurate, but that by telling the story from a fallen angel, I am much more engaged and interested than at other times. Now I have to track down the fourth book in order to finish the series in its entirety.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

That ending almost made up for this series, just enough for me to want to read the last book.

[Jennifer Profitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series! Little bit of bible, little bit of funny!

[OpenBookSociety.com · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review brought to you by OBS staff member Annabell

Beware of spoilers

In the third installment in the Reluctant Demon Diaries features Samantha Yale translating a new set of scrolls from the erratic Wonk Eman. He warns Samantha that no one must find out she has the scrolls or what they are about. There are forces searching for Wonk Eman and the scrolls, and they are closer than he realizes. The new set of scrolls ventures into the stories of Saul and David from the Old Testament. The unnamed and abused angel continues to narrate the novel. He is building a case to present before God as to why he should be allowed back into Heaven. He is using the way God interacts with humans to build his evidence and gain a better understanding of how God works. The unnamed angel wants to leave the slavery he is bound to with Satan and he is hoping through his getting closer to the humans he will find a better way to get closer to God.

The King is by far, my most favorite one out of the series so far. I have always loved the story of David from the Bible. It was a lot of fun how he took down Goliath, the way he behaved with Saul even though Saul was always trying to kill him, and is relationship with God. David was kind, humble, true, and an amazing war strategist but he was also impulsive, naive, and prideful. I liked how the book explores all sides of the characters and Biblical stories. The unnamed angel is still adding his two cents as to what God should have really done and still attempting to steer the humans he watches over in the right direction—even though technically he is a demon and isn’t supposed to be helping them, plus, they can’t hear him.

Some of the dialogue was still crude and didn’t fit in well with the time or other dialogue present in some scenes but that can be overlooked because of the good storytelling by the author. So much of the story deals with questions many people have about God and how he works. God is shown as a father who cares and therefore he disciplines out of love like any other parent. There is also really good suspense building up. There are two new characters introduced outside of the scrolls that are attempting to get to Wonk and Samantha. The ending was great! Completely confused me and is a total cliffhanger but I liked it because it was very surprising!

Author Linda Rios Brook has done a marvelous job of bringing Biblical scripture to a much wider audience without making the story feel overly religious or preachy. I think the novel will appeal to both adult and young adult audiences.

If you have yet to read any of the books from the Reluctant Demon Diaries, you should give them a chance, you may end up being wonderfully surprised *wink*

http://openbooksociety.com/article/li...

[Dakota Bragdon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The King is probably one of my new favorite books it was amazing. What I liked about the book was the nameless fallen angel character. He is a shy, useful sort who told to shut up (mostly by Satan) and to get out of the way. He does not want to be a demon, and believes that his downfall was a mistake. While on the job, he becomes friends with Samuel, one of the great prophets of Israel, and David, who becomes future King. What I didn't like about the book, was when the fallen angel character seems to come off as being condescending, a bit whiny towards other people, and somewhat demanding when it comes to decision making. Overall however, the character was indeed likeable, which was one of the reasons why I finished the book (the book is character based).

The book chronicles the events of Judges and 1 Kings of the Bible in a new and exciting way. An historical fiction story told from the eyes of a fallen angel whose job it is to watch humanity and report to Satan, documents his account and viewpoints of events from the time when Israel was ruled by judges and was threatened by war and violence. It is also about humanity, wanting redemption, and seeking out answers for unanswered questions. It talks about fairness, justice, and decision making, as well as the different opinions on these things by the different characters. What makes the book interesting is the fact that the characters are so diverse in personality and divided among opinions, that it makes the characters more humanlike and thus more relatable.

The reason why I gave this book a five star rating was because of it's originality, the presentation of the characters, the characters themselves, and the ending which was surprising, shocking, and unexpected which is comparable to most thriller and action novels.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was better than the first two in the series, but I still felt the author took too much poetic license in her retelling of Old Testament stories. It's an interesting idea: one of the fallen angels believes he was wrongly thrown out of heaven because he didn't mean to be standing on Lucifer's side when he rebelled. It was all a misunderstanding. So the book is basically his narrative telling the stories of humans as he sees them and reporting back to Satan, all the while wishing he could convince God to let him back into Heaven. However it at times felt quite sacrilegious, as this demon thinks he knows better than God how to make things better and likes to point out mistakes, like the impossible laws God makes, knowing weak humans can't possibly keep them all, or causing humans to have such a short life and often die just when they've gained enough wisdom and experience to be useful to Him.

But the author makes the subplot (a modern day woman who has come across ancient scrolls written by this demon telling his stories), and the retelling of history interesting enough that I do want to keep reading. I believe there is one last book.

[Keenan]

I like the thought pattern for the fallen angel that it revolves around. However, I was vastly disappointed with the discrepancies of some of the Bible happenings. She altered a few. Also, the way the people talked was 21st century. She lost the feel of how they should talk before A.D. And thirdly, she's obviously feminist. It shows through the entire book. I agree that in older time people were too hard on the women, but she took it too far in the other direction going to the point where everything is the mens fault and the women were never wrong!
I did however like her slow progression of the demon in thought. The best scenes are when he tip toes around satan with his words in satan's throne room, and long intervals of thought when trying to figure out something.
A very interesting book.

[Jeanette Crump · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this entire series now and have only one thing to say--READ IT! Brook is awesome! She adds just the right amount of suspense and makes the story hit home. This series adds a personal touch to the old testament stories we have heard all our lives. While this is fiction it is wonderfully written while sticking to the basic story. You will recognize your favorite Biblical characters and see them in a whole new light. I will be reading more from this author in the future! Highly recommended--although you really should read all of the books in order.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

3rd book in a 4 book series....covered lots of information and can't wait to get into the next book...The Redeemer by same author... like the scripture says...."Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?" Luke 24:32 First time in my life to really understand how all scripture all fits together.....and how much God is seeking us....seeking ME!!

[Erin Upshaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I wasn't quite as familiar with the Bible history covered in this book, I still enjoyed it thoroughly. I'm excited to learn more about Samantha and Wonk and what's going on in present time, as well as hearing the continuing tale of the unnamed demon. I also love how Heaven and Hell have been incorporated in to the book at this point, and how it was done. I'm eagerly anticipating the next volume!

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like it enough that I will be getting the 4th. I can't stand not finishing a series. It is an interesting twist to the Bible stories I know. A little bothersome that the setting is Bible times but the language is very current day and filled with slang sayings and meanings but that makes it an enjoyable and entertaining read.

[Christinabrown72 Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

this one isn't as good as the first two..at least not yet. just not as funny. i like it when she portrays lucifer as a smoldering moron often. LOL! she's got a way of painting a picture of him to be quite the goob and did so very well in the first two.

[Ursula Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved these 4 books...the author has a gift in enabling you to understand and enjoy the bible. Books 1 and 4 were my favourite as I found them more 'page turners' than books 2 and 3, especially book 4 as the reader finally finds out the ''Reluctant Demon's'' story :-)

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't wait for the next book! Love this series.

[Stacie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely not as good as the first two. But I am looking forward to reading the Redeemer to see how she finishes the series.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

These books are so awesome. I love the demon's voice. And what a cliffie!

[Jordyn Redwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this series by Linda Rios Brook. Though I don't agree with everything theologically- it did open my eyes to spiritual warfare and how active evil is in our world.

[Darlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is getting better with each book I read. Worth getting through the first few books and reading through the series. Even though book one is a little boring they do improve!

[Coleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a twist on the first and second book!

[Chas Funderburg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book as much as the first two. Would highly recommend.

[Candace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really loving this series. Great to see the world through the perspective of a "reluctant demon"