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The Seven Sleepers #10
The Final Kingdom
The battle is near! The Seven Sleepers have been sent on one last mission before the final battle with the Dark Lord. "Alert three more groups of my people," instructed God. "You must go to the Land of Ice, to the Centaurs, and to Celethorn, Land of the Magicians." Join the Seven Sleepers as they set out on their most dangerous mission ever. With Beorn, the mysterious dwarf, and Glori, the stunningly beautiful woman, as their guides, they trek over frozen tundra and plunge into deep, dark caverns. Yet somehow the Dark Lord seems to meet them at every move. Could one of them be a traitor? See how Josh, Sarah, and their friends hold fast to their allegiance to God in the midst of danger, fear, tragedy, and trickery. The end has come... but who will win the victory?
168 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1997
About the author
Gilbert L. Morris
25 books24 followersalso 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
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
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
June 10, 2025
I guess I get to summarize the entire series in this review.
I will start with the bad stuff so that this last and final review can be enjoyable.
CONS: Frankly, just bad writing. Gilbert Morris repeatedly proved why his books constantly have horrible reviews. His writing is not well thought out and has no deep connections to the reader. He doesn't take the time to describe surroundings, and instead leaves us confused. Even though I never like any of the places they went, he still could've given me more of a clue.
Sometimes he would spend too long explaining something, and other times he would take no time at all. He was consistently inconsistent, but I guess that counts for something. Reb is sometimes a Texan and sometimes from Arkansas. Apparently our cowboy hero has dimentia or something of the sort. At least he knows he used to live in the South.
Clearly Gilbert Morris does not know how to write good romance. That is very evident through all ten of his painstaking reads in this series. He has Josh and Sarah kiss, and then argue a few moments later. Let's not ignore the fact that he won the award for most cringy teen romance this side of Arkansas or wherever on earth Reb lives.
Abbey and Dave also decide to hop on the goosh train and get all lovey dovey. Rather nasty if you ask me.
While we are on the track of romance, let's not forget to mention that there is a new love interest for one of the Sleepers in almost every book. This world is stacked with good looking people. I mean, what can I say.
This leads me to have to bring up my most touchy subject yet. That of character development. There was none. Reb [undoubtedly Morris's favorite character] gets all the development and attention, while poor Jake and Wash are ignored and drown in their horrible character development. Josh and Sarah and Abbey are decently developed with pretty good development on the part of Abbey. Otherwise it was horrible. Gilbert Morris should have focused much more on this aspect.
Finally, the plan making. I've talked about this in most of my reviews. The character(s) gets a plan, and then can't share it with the reader. Somehow we guess the plan every time though, so we don't have to be told. It would still be nice to have a point of reference. Some of the plans are just plain cheesy. But, when you are focused on having Josh and Sarah getting all ooshy, I guess you don't have much time to focus on how they get out of tough situations.
PROS: There are few.. It felt like finding a nickel with and X on the back in a pile of trillions of nickels, but I found a few things that were moderately to genuinely good.
Like I stated previously, Abbey's development was good and I genuinely enjoyed her through the last books.
Beyond this, the last two books were pretty decent, and Escape with the Dream Maker was epecially good. So, I know he can write engaging books, he just needs to not write ten in the span of about a year.
He stuck with it, and I do admire him for that. He went through with all ten books, and kept it on the same track... Most of the time anyways.
THE FINAL KINGDOM: As a single book, it was reasonable. There were some really sweet and sad moments, and some good plotlines. The plot was still VERY predictable, but it wasn't a bad plot.
CONCLUSION: Through the long and arduous jorney, on which I have no doubt contracted hypothermia, ALS, and possibly turned into a hunchback, I realized the importance of spending time with your characters. Make them feel alive and relatable.
I didn't like this series... Like, at all. But, I did enjoy certain moments, and that's what counted. All in all, I probably give this entire series a 2.7 out of 5 stars. It was pretty rough, but books 1, 6, 9, 10 saved it from a dismal 2 stars or less.
I definitely won't be rereading this series, and I might not read any other Gilbert Morris books unless I am throughly convinced. I'd rather not be traumatized AGAIN by his romance.
Meanwhile, I leave you with the warnings: Don't be like Abbey, don't do anything Reb would do, and most of all: NEVER READ THIS SERIES!!
Farewell!!
I will start with the bad stuff so that this last and final review can be enjoyable.
CONS: Frankly, just bad writing. Gilbert Morris repeatedly proved why his books constantly have horrible reviews. His writing is not well thought out and has no deep connections to the reader. He doesn't take the time to describe surroundings, and instead leaves us confused. Even though I never like any of the places they went, he still could've given me more of a clue.
Sometimes he would spend too long explaining something, and other times he would take no time at all. He was consistently inconsistent, but I guess that counts for something. Reb is sometimes a Texan and sometimes from Arkansas. Apparently our cowboy hero has dimentia or something of the sort. At least he knows he used to live in the South.
Clearly Gilbert Morris does not know how to write good romance. That is very evident through all ten of his painstaking reads in this series. He has Josh and Sarah kiss, and then argue a few moments later. Let's not ignore the fact that he won the award for most cringy teen romance this side of Arkansas or wherever on earth Reb lives.
Abbey and Dave also decide to hop on the goosh train and get all lovey dovey. Rather nasty if you ask me.
While we are on the track of romance, let's not forget to mention that there is a new love interest for one of the Sleepers in almost every book. This world is stacked with good looking people. I mean, what can I say.
This leads me to have to bring up my most touchy subject yet. That of character development. There was none. Reb [undoubtedly Morris's favorite character] gets all the development and attention, while poor Jake and Wash are ignored and drown in their horrible character development. Josh and Sarah and Abbey are decently developed with pretty good development on the part of Abbey. Otherwise it was horrible. Gilbert Morris should have focused much more on this aspect.
Finally, the plan making. I've talked about this in most of my reviews. The character(s) gets a plan, and then can't share it with the reader. Somehow we guess the plan every time though, so we don't have to be told. It would still be nice to have a point of reference. Some of the plans are just plain cheesy. But, when you are focused on having Josh and Sarah getting all ooshy, I guess you don't have much time to focus on how they get out of tough situations.
PROS: There are few.. It felt like finding a nickel with and X on the back in a pile of trillions of nickels, but I found a few things that were moderately to genuinely good.
Like I stated previously, Abbey's development was good and I genuinely enjoyed her through the last books.
Beyond this, the last two books were pretty decent, and Escape with the Dream Maker was epecially good. So, I know he can write engaging books, he just needs to not write ten in the span of about a year.
He stuck with it, and I do admire him for that. He went through with all ten books, and kept it on the same track... Most of the time anyways.
THE FINAL KINGDOM: As a single book, it was reasonable. There were some really sweet and sad moments, and some good plotlines. The plot was still VERY predictable, but it wasn't a bad plot.
CONCLUSION: Through the long and arduous jorney, on which I have no doubt contracted hypothermia, ALS, and possibly turned into a hunchback, I realized the importance of spending time with your characters. Make them feel alive and relatable.
I didn't like this series... Like, at all. But, I did enjoy certain moments, and that's what counted. All in all, I probably give this entire series a 2.7 out of 5 stars. It was pretty rough, but books 1, 6, 9, 10 saved it from a dismal 2 stars or less.
I definitely won't be rereading this series, and I might not read any other Gilbert Morris books unless I am throughly convinced. I'd rather not be traumatized AGAIN by his romance.
Meanwhile, I leave you with the warnings: Don't be like Abbey, don't do anything Reb would do, and most of all: NEVER READ THIS SERIES!!
Farewell!!
December 7, 2024
The last installment in Gilbert Morris’ The Seven Sleepers series is much like the series as a whole: choppy, inconsistent, and lacking that charm and profundity that would make it memorable. The Final Kingdom is a rip-off of a lot of other, better fantasy series and honestly doesn’t do very much to conclude the overarching storylines in The Seven Sleepers, but it does have a few moments that make it at least worth skimming to see what happens.
On the eve of the final battle in the Plains of Dothan between spiritual leader Goél and his ancient enemy, the Dark Lord Necros, the Seven Sleepers are tasked with an assignment that may turn the fate of the battle: to locate three different people groups and request their aid on the battlefield. The weary Sleepers are accompanied by two mysterious guides, a surly dwarf named Beorn and a beautiful archer named Glori, as they travel to the Aluk tribe in the freezing Land of Ice, the Land of the Centaurs near the fearsome Caverns of Doom, and finally Celethorn, the strange Land of the Magicians. However, the Sleepers soon become aware that there is a traitor in their midst, an informant of the Dark Lord, and they must discover the traitor’s identity before the final battle begins — or before all the Sleepers are dead.
It’s almost like Morris wasn’t sure what to do with The Final Kingdom. What should have been an epic buildup to the final fight between the forces of good and evil is instead turned into three rushed, mostly unimportant side quests that only serve so that the Sleepers can encounter a traitor in their midst. Beorn and Glori are cardboard cutouts from The Lord of the Rings (Legolas and Gimli, anyone?), Morris’ prose is a little stronger in places, but he falls into his Flight of the Eagles problem — cramming way too much storytelling into way too little time. The Land of Ice adventure lasts all of six pages, followed by a Centaur encounter knocked off from Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia. Throughout the book, stuff just kinda happens, and there’s never any room for emotion to take hold amidst the choppy, unimpactful sequence of events.
Morris also had an opportunity to incorporate some of the old familiar characters from previous books (we see Aramis and Jere, Elaine, Eena, Lareen and Sureflight, Beren, Ryland and Dawn Daybright, and Gaelan and Merle) but he mentions each of them exactly once before sending the Sleepers off on three very short, unrelated tasks. There are a few interesting plot points but there is never any significant character development or furthering of existing relationships. Morris’ tone is erratic and his pacing illogical, which tends to ruin the impact of supposedly emotional moments. The final battle is rushed as always, and Morris just doesn’t have the writing skills to pull off a battle of epic proportions in any way that feels meaningful or personal.
There are, of course, some things I really appreciate about The Final Kingdom. The Sleepers have a very real sense of pure exhaustion after two years of serving Goél, which leads nicely into the recurring theme of Goél restoring peace to them in the Eternal Kingdom. The relationship between Goél and the Seven Sleepers (Josh, in particular) is sweet and brings things full circle from Flight of the Eagles, with Josh being the first to bond with Goél.
Morris does attempt to teach some lessons throughout The Final Kingdom, mostly about how appearances can be deceiving and how you should try to understand where a person is coming from. Of course, Morris goes hardcore on the “good versus evil” motif, to the point that it becomes cartoonishly simple. And as always, I struggle with some of the choices Morris makes in portraying his characters. Some characters who practice mind control and magic are included in Goél’s house, using their gifts in his service: I’m not sure what mixed messages that might send when there seems to be no clear distinction between “black magic” and good Christian magic.
I really do wish we could have had some fulfillment on the themes Morris set up so many times throughout the series. Morris had so many opportunities to use The Final Kingdom to tie up all his loose ends, but it’s like he got distracted and had no idea how to end the story other than side quests and a big battle.
One thing that really drags down The Final Kingdom (and the series as a whole) is the one-dimensional quality of the Dark Lord (whose actual name is only mentioned in The Gates of Neptune). I understand that Morris wants kids to have an unsympathetic villain to parallel the Devil / the personification of evil on earth, but Necros is such a cartoonish, clownishly incompetent and ineffective villain that we never take him seriously — and we certainly have no reason to fear his chickens-with-their-heads-cut-off minions. The Dark Lord and his minions are effortlessly and constantly outwitted by the Seven Sleepers and their allies, and the Sleepers never come face-to-face with him once in the series. Again, I get that Morris’ message is that God is the only true contender against Satan, but this allegory sure makes for boring reading. Necros never once feels impressive, intimidating, or even developed. The last battle is (as always) choppy and rushed, and Necros’ defeat has no impact whatsoever. Also, the Dark Lord’s Dread Tower must have either survived the nuclear explosion (is it a literal castle?) or been built in the last fifty-two years.
I’m also a bit confused about what level of allegory Morris is using in The Seven Sleepers series. Goél is revealed in Escape with the Dream Maker to be an incarnation of Jesus (a Christophany, if you will) rather than a symbol of Him. However, unlike The Chronicles of Narnia, The Seven Sleepers takes place on Earth in a futuristic, nuclear wasteland (more or less). The final battle between Goél and Necros is clearly supposed to represent the final defeat of Satan at Armageddon as described in the Book of Revelation, but if Morris is implying that his series is an interpretation of actual eschatology, he is not following any of the traditional Baptist interpretations: by that model, the Sleepers would have awakened during the fifth year of the Great Tribulation, but we see no evidence of the biblical end-times prophecies being fulfilled. Morris does include a weird “Mark of the Beast” style plot point for about two seconds in Flight of the Eagles which is never brought up again, and he has the Mark of Doom in The Final Kingdom which, again, has no biblical counterpart. Normally, I wouldn’t think this is such a huge deal, but I’d recommend that Christian parents discuss the relationship between allegory and reimaginings with their kids — it’s never completely clear how much is allegorical since some elements are very much not.
And for our final list of inconsistencies which Morris manages to include in every single book in The Seven Sleepers series:
• Lareen from Winged Raiders of the Desert is now Loreen.
• Gaelan from Attack of the Amazons is now Gavin.
• Reb’s trademark white Stetson hat is tan for a little while, then white again.
• Abbey can cook again after having the ability in Empress of the Underworld and losing it in Escape with the Dream Maker. Jake can also cook again, which he hasn’t been able to do since Voyage of the Dolphin.
The Final Kingdom is a bit of a disappointment, though I’m not sure what I was expecting after the other nine books in The Seven Sleepers. Morris has some good concepts and morals, but his execution is usually shaky at best. Kids would do much better to read The Chronicles of Narnia or The Lord of the Rings, which clearly inspired much of Morris’ writing and are vastly superior not only in literary quality, but in teaching kids about the nuances of good and evil. The Seven Sleepers is worth a read, but just don’t have your expectations too high.
And now, just for fun, a quick ranking of the series according to personal favorites!
1. Escape with the Dream Maker
2. Winged Raiders of the Desert
3. Flight of the Eagles
4. Empress of the Underworld
5. The Final Kingdom
6. The Sword of Camelot
7. The Gates of Neptune
8. Attack of the Amazons
9. Voyage of the Dolphin
10. The Caves That Time Forgot
On the eve of the final battle in the Plains of Dothan between spiritual leader Goél and his ancient enemy, the Dark Lord Necros, the Seven Sleepers are tasked with an assignment that may turn the fate of the battle: to locate three different people groups and request their aid on the battlefield. The weary Sleepers are accompanied by two mysterious guides, a surly dwarf named Beorn and a beautiful archer named Glori, as they travel to the Aluk tribe in the freezing Land of Ice, the Land of the Centaurs near the fearsome Caverns of Doom, and finally Celethorn, the strange Land of the Magicians. However, the Sleepers soon become aware that there is a traitor in their midst, an informant of the Dark Lord, and they must discover the traitor’s identity before the final battle begins — or before all the Sleepers are dead.
It’s almost like Morris wasn’t sure what to do with The Final Kingdom. What should have been an epic buildup to the final fight between the forces of good and evil is instead turned into three rushed, mostly unimportant side quests that only serve so that the Sleepers can encounter a traitor in their midst. Beorn and Glori are cardboard cutouts from The Lord of the Rings (Legolas and Gimli, anyone?), Morris’ prose is a little stronger in places, but he falls into his Flight of the Eagles problem — cramming way too much storytelling into way too little time. The Land of Ice adventure lasts all of six pages, followed by a Centaur encounter knocked off from Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia. Throughout the book, stuff just kinda happens, and there’s never any room for emotion to take hold amidst the choppy, unimpactful sequence of events.
Morris also had an opportunity to incorporate some of the old familiar characters from previous books (we see Aramis and Jere, Elaine, Eena, Lareen and Sureflight, Beren, Ryland and Dawn Daybright, and Gaelan and Merle) but he mentions each of them exactly once before sending the Sleepers off on three very short, unrelated tasks. There are a few interesting plot points but there is never any significant character development or furthering of existing relationships. Morris’ tone is erratic and his pacing illogical, which tends to ruin the impact of supposedly emotional moments. The final battle is rushed as always, and Morris just doesn’t have the writing skills to pull off a battle of epic proportions in any way that feels meaningful or personal.
There are, of course, some things I really appreciate about The Final Kingdom. The Sleepers have a very real sense of pure exhaustion after two years of serving Goél, which leads nicely into the recurring theme of Goél restoring peace to them in the Eternal Kingdom. The relationship between Goél and the Seven Sleepers (Josh, in particular) is sweet and brings things full circle from Flight of the Eagles, with Josh being the first to bond with Goél.
Morris does attempt to teach some lessons throughout The Final Kingdom, mostly about how appearances can be deceiving and how you should try to understand where a person is coming from. Of course, Morris goes hardcore on the “good versus evil” motif, to the point that it becomes cartoonishly simple. And as always, I struggle with some of the choices Morris makes in portraying his characters. Some characters who practice mind control and magic are included in Goél’s house, using their gifts in his service: I’m not sure what mixed messages that might send when there seems to be no clear distinction between “black magic” and good Christian magic.
I really do wish we could have had some fulfillment on the themes Morris set up so many times throughout the series. Morris had so many opportunities to use The Final Kingdom to tie up all his loose ends, but it’s like he got distracted and had no idea how to end the story other than side quests and a big battle.
One thing that really drags down The Final Kingdom (and the series as a whole) is the one-dimensional quality of the Dark Lord (whose actual name is only mentioned in The Gates of Neptune). I understand that Morris wants kids to have an unsympathetic villain to parallel the Devil / the personification of evil on earth, but Necros is such a cartoonish, clownishly incompetent and ineffective villain that we never take him seriously — and we certainly have no reason to fear his chickens-with-their-heads-cut-off minions. The Dark Lord and his minions are effortlessly and constantly outwitted by the Seven Sleepers and their allies, and the Sleepers never come face-to-face with him once in the series. Again, I get that Morris’ message is that God is the only true contender against Satan, but this allegory sure makes for boring reading. Necros never once feels impressive, intimidating, or even developed. The last battle is (as always) choppy and rushed, and Necros’ defeat has no impact whatsoever. Also, the Dark Lord’s Dread Tower must have either survived the nuclear explosion (is it a literal castle?) or been built in the last fifty-two years.
I’m also a bit confused about what level of allegory Morris is using in The Seven Sleepers series. Goél is revealed in Escape with the Dream Maker to be an incarnation of Jesus (a Christophany, if you will) rather than a symbol of Him. However, unlike The Chronicles of Narnia, The Seven Sleepers takes place on Earth in a futuristic, nuclear wasteland (more or less). The final battle between Goél and Necros is clearly supposed to represent the final defeat of Satan at Armageddon as described in the Book of Revelation, but if Morris is implying that his series is an interpretation of actual eschatology, he is not following any of the traditional Baptist interpretations: by that model, the Sleepers would have awakened during the fifth year of the Great Tribulation, but we see no evidence of the biblical end-times prophecies being fulfilled. Morris does include a weird “Mark of the Beast” style plot point for about two seconds in Flight of the Eagles which is never brought up again, and he has the Mark of Doom in The Final Kingdom which, again, has no biblical counterpart. Normally, I wouldn’t think this is such a huge deal, but I’d recommend that Christian parents discuss the relationship between allegory and reimaginings with their kids — it’s never completely clear how much is allegorical since some elements are very much not.
And for our final list of inconsistencies which Morris manages to include in every single book in The Seven Sleepers series:
• Lareen from Winged Raiders of the Desert is now Loreen.
• Gaelan from Attack of the Amazons is now Gavin.
• Reb’s trademark white Stetson hat is tan for a little while, then white again.
• Abbey can cook again after having the ability in Empress of the Underworld and losing it in Escape with the Dream Maker. Jake can also cook again, which he hasn’t been able to do since Voyage of the Dolphin.
The Final Kingdom is a bit of a disappointment, though I’m not sure what I was expecting after the other nine books in The Seven Sleepers. Morris has some good concepts and morals, but his execution is usually shaky at best. Kids would do much better to read The Chronicles of Narnia or The Lord of the Rings, which clearly inspired much of Morris’ writing and are vastly superior not only in literary quality, but in teaching kids about the nuances of good and evil. The Seven Sleepers is worth a read, but just don’t have your expectations too high.
And now, just for fun, a quick ranking of the series according to personal favorites!
1. Escape with the Dream Maker
2. Winged Raiders of the Desert
3. Flight of the Eagles
4. Empress of the Underworld
5. The Final Kingdom
6. The Sword of Camelot
7. The Gates of Neptune
8. Attack of the Amazons
9. Voyage of the Dolphin
10. The Caves That Time Forgot
July 6, 2008
This series is great if you're a parent and you want to train your children to love long fantasy series.
As an adult, it's kind of stupid. Still, it entertained me as a child.
As an adult, it's kind of stupid. Still, it entertained me as a child.
May 13, 2009
This book was like 30% LotR, 40% Narnia and 30% Made up by the author. Rather dissapointing.
July 22, 2021
First I will review this book, and then the series.
There are spoilers both for the series and the final book.
This book being the final kingdom and quest was a disappointment. I found the first 3 quest that the sleepers went on unnecessary to the story, bad timing, and too rushed. How much better this book could have been if it was much more detailed of the actual battle and the days leading up to it, why send the sleepers on another quest and then spend 2-3 chapters on the final battle? Just silly for a 10 book series.
The death of the sleepers wasn’t treated respectfully IMO, they just died (especially Abby.) I found this annoying after they are supposed to be so integral to the final story.
The ending of the story was very vague and didn’t conclude, so abby and josh get married? What about Dave and Abbey? Does Reb get to go back to the medieval times? This story could have ended better than just a “new world.”
Overall my thoughts on the series:
I found this series semi-interesting. The author rushed his stories and didn’t take the necessary time to develop some thoughts, but I understand it is a YA book, so I can deal with that.
I wish the series were more consistent:
-In the first book it is said that it was 50 years from the end of Oldworld and then later on it states hundreds of years.
-I believe it states that Dave was the tallest sleeper, but In a different book all of a sudden a different sleeper (perhaps Reb?) was the tallest.
-The Giant Volkar in book one and seven size seems to be inconsistent. He was 10 feet at times and other times he seemed to be 20+ feet. This could easily be defended saying he has magical growing powers, but the author should have been consistent.
-Crusoe being Josh’ dad was literally outrageous, I thought perhaps because of this maybe all of the Nuworld creatures were just remakes of the old and that the final kingdom would fix this problem, but nope. How did Crusoe live? If he was able to live why couldn’t others?
-Goel is going to send these guys on more quest after book 10? How does that work. IMO-it doesn’t unless space travel exist.
A few things I found weird and frustrating:
-the authors fondness of the confederate army and trying to force American history too much
-the authors fondness of McDonalds. Like really, that’s the food the sleepers missed the most? They were literally eating seal, and wishing for McDonald’s? I think not. Why not just a hamburger, or a home cooked meal? Or something halfway decent. At least Reb had some imagination with food
-The authors treatment of Wash was off, but I couldn’t place my fingers on it.
Spiritually as a Christian novel set:
-This book series has too many weird correlations that semi-parallel the Bible and then things that don’t. If you are looking for something that will also teach doctrine (or even kind of teach doctrine) then this book is not for you.
-It needs to be seen as more of just a fictional fantasy series and nothing else.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading my review!
There are spoilers both for the series and the final book.
This book being the final kingdom and quest was a disappointment. I found the first 3 quest that the sleepers went on unnecessary to the story, bad timing, and too rushed. How much better this book could have been if it was much more detailed of the actual battle and the days leading up to it, why send the sleepers on another quest and then spend 2-3 chapters on the final battle? Just silly for a 10 book series.
The death of the sleepers wasn’t treated respectfully IMO, they just died (especially Abby.) I found this annoying after they are supposed to be so integral to the final story.
The ending of the story was very vague and didn’t conclude, so abby and josh get married? What about Dave and Abbey? Does Reb get to go back to the medieval times? This story could have ended better than just a “new world.”
Overall my thoughts on the series:
I found this series semi-interesting. The author rushed his stories and didn’t take the necessary time to develop some thoughts, but I understand it is a YA book, so I can deal with that.
I wish the series were more consistent:
-In the first book it is said that it was 50 years from the end of Oldworld and then later on it states hundreds of years.
-I believe it states that Dave was the tallest sleeper, but In a different book all of a sudden a different sleeper (perhaps Reb?) was the tallest.
-The Giant Volkar in book one and seven size seems to be inconsistent. He was 10 feet at times and other times he seemed to be 20+ feet. This could easily be defended saying he has magical growing powers, but the author should have been consistent.
-Crusoe being Josh’ dad was literally outrageous, I thought perhaps because of this maybe all of the Nuworld creatures were just remakes of the old and that the final kingdom would fix this problem, but nope. How did Crusoe live? If he was able to live why couldn’t others?
-Goel is going to send these guys on more quest after book 10? How does that work. IMO-it doesn’t unless space travel exist.
A few things I found weird and frustrating:
-the authors fondness of the confederate army and trying to force American history too much
-the authors fondness of McDonalds. Like really, that’s the food the sleepers missed the most? They were literally eating seal, and wishing for McDonald’s? I think not. Why not just a hamburger, or a home cooked meal? Or something halfway decent. At least Reb had some imagination with food
-The authors treatment of Wash was off, but I couldn’t place my fingers on it.
Spiritually as a Christian novel set:
-This book series has too many weird correlations that semi-parallel the Bible and then things that don’t. If you are looking for something that will also teach doctrine (or even kind of teach doctrine) then this book is not for you.
-It needs to be seen as more of just a fictional fantasy series and nothing else.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading my review!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 3, 2016
This was a good series. I was a little unhappy with the ending because I expected a better reunion of the characters but overall was a good series.
April 26, 2022
The series has been leading up to the final Battle, but this book spends most of its pages still collecting soldiers. Add to that, a less than adequate final confrontation and a jump cut, and I just didn't feel this series ended strong.
February 23, 2026
I expected this book to be more about the end of everything. It contained three other small quests before it even got to the “last battle.” I enjoyed it, though I may have liked it better if it had focused more on the end of the whole story. I was disturbed that Glori was a traitor and Goél told them she was trustworthy. It seems such a being as him should have known she was a betrayer. The Author lightly remedied this by saying she turned after they left on their journey, but it seemed like it was a quick fix to cover his tracks. The terror, in its description, seemed too vague and hard to picture.
There was not enough focus on the end. It was leading up to a better world the whole time and we barely saw what the end would be like for them. Did Josh and Sarah get married? What was the point of defeating the Dark Lord if they were just going to poof to a new world. In my opinion, the nuworld should have been perfected and the sleepers given a life it in. Reb was going return to Camelot. What of that? Too many unanswered questions.
The whole series review:
I enjoyed it and would recommend it to others with disclaimers. It had its issues. Sometimes, I felt like I was reading his first draft and it was not polished and detailed enough. He could have put more thought, creativity, and depth into the stories and plots. There were some minor inconsistencies which annoyed me. If I as a reader find inconsistencies throughout, you would think the Author would catch them, unless he was not absorbed with the story himself.
I felt like I had to use my imagination too much. Imagination is great, but I enjoy it when an Author puts me in the world with their words and I can see and feel what is around me. I had to stop reading and imagine too many times, rather than being carried along.
Having said that, I did genuinely enjoy these books. He had a good story, though he should have taken more time to develop it.
Book review: 4 stars ⭐️
Series Review: 3 stars ⭐️
There was not enough focus on the end. It was leading up to a better world the whole time and we barely saw what the end would be like for them. Did Josh and Sarah get married? What was the point of defeating the Dark Lord if they were just going to poof to a new world. In my opinion, the nuworld should have been perfected and the sleepers given a life it in. Reb was going return to Camelot. What of that? Too many unanswered questions.
The whole series review:
I enjoyed it and would recommend it to others with disclaimers. It had its issues. Sometimes, I felt like I was reading his first draft and it was not polished and detailed enough. He could have put more thought, creativity, and depth into the stories and plots. There were some minor inconsistencies which annoyed me. If I as a reader find inconsistencies throughout, you would think the Author would catch them, unless he was not absorbed with the story himself.
I felt like I had to use my imagination too much. Imagination is great, but I enjoy it when an Author puts me in the world with their words and I can see and feel what is around me. I had to stop reading and imagine too many times, rather than being carried along.
Having said that, I did genuinely enjoy these books. He had a good story, though he should have taken more time to develop it.
Book review: 4 stars ⭐️
Series Review: 3 stars ⭐️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 9, 2012
I loved the beginning of the book where they're going on their adventures. It was really affecting to me when the first Sleeper was killed, especially since they were still out on their travels. But when the battle started & more of them started getting killed, it was almost passed off as just par for the course, without what I would consider due pause, & only the closest Sleepers to that person seemed affected. It was weird to me that more people weren't upset.
Besides that, at the very end when they got to "heaven", the ending was super bizarre. At first heaven seemed really cool & then they started journeying up a mountain to more adventures or something, but I didn't get how there was more stuff to fight for if they'd already made it to paradise. At any rate, it kind of seemed like the author just wasn't sure where to end it, & should've ended it with them getting to heaven & finding each other.
Besides that, at the very end when they got to "heaven", the ending was super bizarre. At first heaven seemed really cool & then they started journeying up a mountain to more adventures or something, but I didn't get how there was more stuff to fight for if they'd already made it to paradise. At any rate, it kind of seemed like the author just wasn't sure where to end it, & should've ended it with them getting to heaven & finding each other.
April 17, 2012
A truly disappointing end to a better-than-expected series. By the end, it is far, far too preachy, and, especially with that in mind, the final battle and depictions of heaven feel altogether underwhelming.
September 12, 2008
The ending was different than what one would expect, although very fun for Christian parallels... their work had hardly begun, and many more adventures to take place.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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April 27, 2010F MOR ss bk.10
March 31, 2011
slightly predictable...even before I looked at it, I was pretty sure what it was gunna be about and how it would end. So it was one of 'those' books...pretty predictible but kinda interesting
October 27, 2021
Three adventures compressed into one plus the finale. It’s a lot for one book and you cannot help drawing parallels with more famous contemporaries of allegorical fiction.
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