The Finale

Singer Trilogy #3

by Calvin Miller

There is a lovely quotation from the book on the back cover. It "He comes in power, Rejoice, the hour of jubilee is near. Life up the cry Before we die, our Singer will appear."

Genres: Poetry, Fiction, Christian, Fantasy, Christian Fiction, Religion, Christianity

174 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1979

About the author

Calvin Miller has written over 40 books of popular theology and inspiration. A former pastor, he is professor of preaching and pastoral ministry at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama. He and his wife, Joyce, have two grown children.

Reviews

[Laura (Book Scrounger) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this more than the second one, though at times I thought the descriptions felt less poetic than others. This is a "mythical" retelling of Revelation which is odd in the sense that the previous two installments have been mythical retellings of straightforward narrative events -- so retelling Revelation, a very fantastical book, using fantastical elements seems opposite (in this sense, a series like Left Behind seems more fitting). Having said that, it wasn't bad. I thought one of the strongest elements was the "Prince of Mirrors" (World-Hater again) who distributed hand-held mirrors so that everyone could gaze at them and see the hope of man (his own reflection). This seemed rather eerie considering how well it seems to parallel smartphone/selfie culture today, especially since this was published in the '70s.

[Isaac · Rating 4 out of 5]

The conclusion to Calvin Miller's Singer Trilogy, The Finale is an allegorical book VERY loosely based on its counterpart of Revelations. After reading all three books of the series is clear to see that Miller does his best when he is more at the wheel creatively, rather than following and transcribing directly from the source material. As far as the allegory is concerned, the only real connections are the end of the world, and persecution of "Singerians" in the end times. Because of the world building in the previous two books, The Finale can really stand on its own, creatively. My only issue is the real world tie-in, of the villain possessing a certain "death ore", a clear parallel to nuclear weapons, this allusion just falls out of place amongst a largely fantasy world. This book was so close to five stars, and after originally being apprehensive about the Singer Trilogy based on the first book, with the volumes to follow I can safely say that in some ways Miller's work does compare to that of Lewis and Tolkien.

[Ginelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the last book of the series, we are told of the build to, and the culmination of the battle between the Singer, and the World Hater. This book centers around the Dreamer, a miner for the City of Man who is a Singerian, and fights against the advances of the World Hater, now with the name the Prince of Mirrors.

This is very similar in style, length, and ease of reading as both THE SINGER and THE SONG. It is meant to tell the story of Jesus' triumph over Satan, I honestly don't know much of the Biblical book of Revelation though, so I can't say how Biblically accurate it is. I did feel like there were, again, some parts that were hard to follow because of the word choice. This is primarily with the many songs and choruses through the book - a little too artsy/ symbolic/ alluding for me to catch onto some of the ideas.

[Wes F · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 3rd part of Calvin Miller's Singer Trilogy. This one is said to mirror Revelation; it chronicles a/the great last battle between Satan (World Hater) and the Singer or Troubadour who returns to wrap things up with Terra One--bringing with him a new Terra Two. The War of Fire ends with the World Hater bound & chained and pushed over the cliff's edge into the abyss--where he will spend eternity.

I'm giving this a 2-1/2 stars in my Reading Log. I didn't like it as much as The Singer or The Song; I sort of wished it had followed a little more of Revelation. But, it was creative and definitely fit in with the mood & characters & on-going conflict & plot of the previous volumes.

The cry echoes down through the ages:
"He comes in power,
Rejoice, the hour of
Jubilee is near.
Lift up the cry
Before we die,
our Singer will appear."

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite the flame pile that was The Song, The Finale was an interesting way to end the series. It makes sense for his religious background and yet it's unique enough to feel different. The awkwardness is still ever present and his focus on the World Hater as a main character is still not good, but there's more of a plot to be had here and the battle sequences between the two armies were, despite their extreme lopsidedness, well-written and engaging. Miller couldn't decide if it wants to be fantasy (with dragons and winged horse), science fiction (alien invaders), or just religious fiction (for the obvious reasons). The cries of "Terra Two!" just made me laugh, which is not something Miller had previously done. Perhaps this book will be good enough in my memory to make me forget about how bad the first two were.

[E Morrison · Rating 2 out of 5]

This conclusion to the trilogy aims high by retelling Revelation in poetic form, and I admire the creative risk. But the result felt disjointed. The symbolism becomes so dense in places that it’s hard to follow what’s actually happening, and the story sometimes wanders into imagery so abstract that I stopped feeling connected to the characters.

There are some beautiful standalone lines and the short poems before each chapter are a highlight, but the overall narrative didn’t resonate. It felt more like a patchwork of ideas than a cohesive story. I was hoping for a strong, emotional finale, but instead it left me feeling detached.

[Davidg · Rating 1 out of 5]

A weird book to finish this disappointing trilogy, but then it is based on the weirdest book in the Bible. The theology is again terrible. The presence of God in our lives is the “Invader” - how’s that for an inviting image of love! And God is of course, totally absent. Even in the final battle and the creation of the new earth, no God. Not like Revelation at all.

poor

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third one is far better than the first two. It remained consistent throughout the story. It wasn’t too allegorical like the first two, where God was mentioned several times. It maintained its elements of fantasy and mythology. It was set like it was on stage with its special effects. Yet towards the ending, it got a tad too corny. Still, it was enjoyable.

[Anthony Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sort of fell apart for me in the end, even though this was the most dazzling in terms of being a fantasy book. It just sort of really put the largest flaw of Christianity (that it's a hierarchy with us at the bottom of the Kingdom) as the thing we're supposed to love the most.

I sort of wish this trilogy was like a ninety minute animated film. There's the pulse of something brilliant in it.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this trilogy. The poetic prose of the short chapters was filled with great imagery, I particularly liked the short poems at the start of each chapter, little snippets of snappy wisdom!

There's something powerful about getting a familiar story retold in new words and metaphors.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit harder to follow than the other two, but still, a fitting end to a nice series! The book of Revelation, scaled down into poetic prose.

[Jo Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

love this interpretation of the biblical ideas

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again, the emotion and gorgeous allegory that make Calvin Miller's poetry unique amazes me! From the Singer to the Finale I enjoyed every last line.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite interesting reimagining of the book of revelation and return of Christ

[Joseph McBee · Rating 3 out of 5]

From a collection of poetry in the tradition of C.S. Lewis, or so the book blurb goes. I can see how it was inspired by Lewis, but this is something different. The trilogy is a retelling of the New Testament with the first volume being about Jesus, the second is about the growth of the church, and the third is about the end of all things. It felt a little heavy handed in places and in others there was far more depth. I don't know if I would call this "good" but it was interesting. And I enjoyed the art work.

[Mike Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Follow up to the Singer and the Song...remember that each book made me want to read the next one w/o fail even if I knew what was the story and what was the finale (see what I did there) punny stuff...part of my journey as a new Christian...worthwhile looking back and to re-read God willing...

[James Hogan · Rating 4 out of 5]

1st Review, May 20th, 2019:
Book 3 of the Singer trilogy. This one was...interesting. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I definitely didn't enjoy this one as much as the previous two in the trilogy. Might be the subject matter, but honestly - the subject matter should have been enough to thrill my soul, so I'm not quite sure why I didn't enjoy this one as much! As the first two books were rough poetic allegories of the story of Christ & the early church, this book was all about the apocalypse. Literally yes. This is the "end times" or "Revelation" allegory. And part of the difficulty of describing that is that this hasn't actually happened yet, and the imagery we get in Revelation is crazy poetic enough already! So to attempt to write a narrative poem around Revelation was never going to be an easy project. The author replaces the apocalyptic imagery and metaphors of the book of Revelation with...different apocalyptic imagery and new metaphors. A bit trippy, really. But as negative as my attitude towards this book appears, I still did enjoy it, I promise! Reading about the end of all things...and then the return of the Troubadour and the creation of the new earth...was uplifting and inspiring indeed. Even in the darkest times, we do yet have a hope - Christ shall return again and He shall one day make all things new. Someday, at the end of all things...we shall all be before our God in the place where there is no sun because Christ is there and His glory will shine beautifully and perfectly...forever and ever. Amen. I think this book suffers in comparison to the first two books of the trilogy, but it is still very much worth a read.

2nd Review, April 14th, 2021:
I've said this before, but this is probably my least favourite of the Singer Trilogy. For all that, I came into this re-read expecting to be disappointed, but you know what? Still a solid book. We should all reflect on the Second Coming of Christ far more than we do. We should all think on the new heavens and the new earth and the coming redemption of all things far more than we do. And reading this book stimulated my mind with such thoughts and I thought of the Lord who rules all things and I gave glory to God. As I indeed do now. This book is very much worth it. One other note that I don't think I've talked about in these reviews yet? The poems at the beginning of each chapter are one of the highlights of these books. Sometimes funny, sometimes tragic, always profound and weighty. They hit hard.

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Miller is known for his explicitly Christian fantasy in the books, like those in this series. He is also well known for his non-fiction and his Christian life application books.

This is the final book in The Singer Trilogy and it is an inspired book of poetry and story. This book is the fantastical retelling of the book of Revelation from the New Testament in a narrative poem. Miller writes in such a way that you cannot help but wonder if the Spirit helped guide the shaping of these books.

Many unique characters such as The World Hater - Satan, Elan Lord or Ellanor, Dreamer and others are encountered in this volume. This story tells an epic tale in a powerful way. Miller is a master wordsmith who weaves a tale that you cannot put down and will not soon be able to forget.

The Finale is also excellently illustrated by Chicago artist, Joe DeVelasco. The drawings done in pen and ink style add to the power of the story by transporting you into the events, events both on earth and in the heavenly realms, and bringing the characters alive.

Each time I read and reread these books, they are always fresh and new, and draw me into the story of Christ in a different way. They are true Christian classic and a treasure for any bookshelf. This book will draw you into the final epic battle between good and evil.

Miller also has a Symphonic trilogy that retells different stories from the book of Genesis. The two I owned were A Requiem for Love and A Symphony in Sand. As far as I can tell, there are also two stand-alone books by Miller in this style, that are often compared to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Lewis's Narnia. They are The Valiant Papers, an account of a guardian angel's experiences, and The Philippian Fragment, the retelling of the book of Philippians from the New Testament. I have owned most of these and lent them out to not be returned. I now have The Singer Trilogy, Valiant, and Singer trilogy 3-in-1 hardcover. Over the next few weeks I will review those I still have, but cannot encourage you strongly enough to pick them up if you find them in a used bookstore. They are all great.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This whole series by Calvin Miller is amazing. All three sucked me in and I couldn't put them down for long. I must say though, The Singer was my favorite out of the three. The Finale was an interesting retelling of the events in Revelation. The Singer and The Song were a great build up to the epic battle of The Finale in which the Singer puts World Hater in his final place of punishment and the faithful Singerians join the Singer on Terra Two. What I loved most about these books is they all pointed me to Christ. Miller captures His character and displays it well in the Singer. He captures the majesty and power in the Finale. I loved the books, but I love the story behind them far more and I'm happy that Miller, although he retold the story, still kept the characters true to how they're displayed in the Bible. Recommend this book to everyone! If you've never read The Gospels, Acts, or Revelation, it may help to read through those first and you'll be able to see where these wonderful books originated.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably one of the more difficult to read of the three as it takes a very symbolistic book of the Bible, (Revelation) and then proceeds to break it down and then continue one with the narrative style of MORE symbolism and allegory.
That being said Miller certainly did not go into ALL of Revelation and the key points key took from it were illustrated here nicely to keep up with his short, sweet and symbolically complex writing style throughout these three books.
It's said that the book is written in the spirit of C.S. Lewis and Tolkien, to which I can see inklings of such, but as a whole I feel like Miller's work stands on it's own as it is FAR more complex and much more rooted in allegory than either Lewis or Tolkien ever were.
Still very good and a short interesting poetic read.

[Tristan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this was the weakest of the three books in this series. It was okay, but not even as good as The Singer. The allegory was decent, probably the least literal interpretation of the source material, which is a plus. (And yes, I have read Revelation). I thought the poetry in this one was fair, but the least inspired of the three. It had some actually flawed sections like The Singer, but was missing its sections of brilliance.
A bit preachy, with a fair but far from fabulous sense of poetry, but not a terrible read. If you really liked the first two, you'll probably enjoy this one as well, but if you only thought they were mediocre, you can do without reading this one.

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is good just like the two other books but not as good as The Singer. The whole trilogy was great and was so beautifully written! The writer really was good to write this kind of beauty and put it on books. The Finale kind of confused me at times but as the story goes on it becomes more and more beautiful. It is somewhat a more attractive version of the book of Revelation. The whole trilogy was indeed a great read!

[Caleb Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Finale was the worst of The Singer Trilogy. That is not all a bad thing. The Finale was easier to read than The Song. The Finale wraped up the book by sending The World Hater in the bowels of Hell, which was the best part of the book.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

From my notes at the time:

This, the final volume, Miller tells the story of the Singer's last battle with World Hater and envisions in dynamic prose-poetry the winding up of history on Terra One, and the creation of Terra Two. The Finale is an artistic retelling of the book of Revelation.

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice conclusion. The Volkar reminded me of the Winged Beasts of the Nazgul.

[Aidan Ashby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cataclysmic fantasy with bewildering surrealism

[Kevin Casto · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful retelling of the book of Revelation...all though it is not really a retelling. More like the Lord of the Rings or a C.S. Lewis novel. It gives your mind legs to walk through a story.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I found the Singer Trilogy beautiful to read, Miller is weak in his theology, which interferes with my enjoyment of his books.

[Carol L. Caldwell · Rating 2 out of 5]

The third book in a set was harder still to make sense of. The language became more symbolic to the point I had trouble following what was happening and who was who.