The land of Allon was a paradise until the fall of the Guardians paved the way for the rise of the Dark Way. Evil King Marcellus now controls the land as his forefathers did, with an iron fist and the help of the evil spirit, Dagar. But an ancient prophecy speaks of a time to come when the Guardians will return and Allon will be restored—lead by its rightful heir. All the while, the exiled teenage Promised Prince, Ellis, must prove himself worthy to be king through a series of supernatural trials that test his character, wisdom, courage, and his heart. The first in the Allon series, this magical tale of adventure, destiny, and faith will test the reader’s strength and awaken their spirit of adventure.
Shawn began her career as a screenwriter for children's television back in the 1980s. She received an award for excellence from the American Screenwriter's Association. Taking her knowledge and expertise, Shawn turned to fiction in creating "Allon", a Christian allegorical fantasy series for young adults.
From "Allon", came "The King's Children" for ages 8 to 10, and the prequel "Guardians of Allon", an double award-winning trilogy.
Other books include the "Eldar Trilogy" a fantasy for young adults, and three historical fiction titles. She currently has 25 books available.
Shawn travels the country as a guest at comic conventions, homeschool conventions, and book festivals.
Allon is the first in a fantasy/allegory series by Shawn Lamb. The biggest mystery is who you can and cannot trust. Lamb presents characters, some only briefly, but startles us with their motives and revelations of good or bad character, and the consequences of their actions. Beware of jumping to conclusions. Some things are predictable but details keep you guessing. I think my favorite character was Erin. She tries seduction, changing herself, even a very risky personal sacrifice to earn Ellis's love. Her changing character and motivations are worth the read. (By the way, this seduction is not at all explicit, nor is another seduction scene in the book. There is no objectionable sexual content.) The writing style and vocabulary are awkward. Sometimes the vocabulary used is plainly, to me, wrong word choices. One plot incident that I consider pivotal is the point where Ellis's relationship with Shannan changes. It involves the trust issue I mentioned earlier, and has something to do with a wild boar. But it is only briefly talked about and does not even make it into the action of the book. Shouldn't that be more important, if it changes their whole relationship? My second serious objection is to the handling of the Guardians, and it is twofold. Guardians are supernatural beings similar to angels or demons, interesting characters, both the evil and the heroic ones. But this is an allegory about humans and their growth and preparation for service to God. Shannan's interaction with the Guardians was frequently captivating but these things distracted from the story of Ellis and Shannan. The Guardians steal the focus from the human characters and the main plot time and again. Some Guardians rebelled against Jor-el, the God-figure in the story, but who did and who didn't rebel isn't always clear. Why are Guardians horribly imprisoned, tortured, maimed, even killed in such frequency and detail? If they are not humans, the focus of the story, what is the spiritual purpose for this? I am not against violence in books, even for younger readers, but I need to understand the reason for the gruesome description of one Guardian's mutilation during his imprisonment, and the manner of his death. He is portrayed as defiant and heroic in the face of torture, but he confesses to something the author simply does not explain as rebellion. Quite the opposite. This Guardian says in his dying "confession" that he followed the orders of Jor-el. Are all these imprisoned Guardians guilty of rebellion? Can they repent and be "saved"? Other Guardians who become free don't confess to wrongdoing, at least not clearly enough for me, and I am not a young reader. I know of no theology that teaches Angels will torture other Angels, no evidence that they fight or die much as we do except for being a little stronger and faster. Lamb insists that they don't "die," but we see them wounded and dying over and over. What teaching is this? It's worse than a distraction, it's a kind of heresy skewing the whole redemption and growth and preparation for service storyline. What chance is there for these characters we've grown to admire and love, who've sacrificed and suffered just like the humans? One good stab and poof! They just disappear. Were they saved? Were they lost? We have no idea.
I am reviewing this book for Glass Road Public Relations. About the Author: (from website) Shawn lives in Antioch, Tennessee. Married for 25 years they have a daughter, Briana. Shawn began writing in her late teens and eventually writing for the 1980s Filmation animated series “BraveStarr.” She won awards and earning recognition for screenwriting from the American Screenwriters Association. While pitching historical fiction to various publishers, her daughter asked her if she could write her a fantasy story. About the Book (from it's website-www.allonbooks.com) The Forces of Evil Grow Stronger...
Long ago, the land of Allon was a paradise until the fall of the Guardians paved the way for the rise of the Dark Way. King Marcellus now controls the land as his forefathers did, with an iron fist and the help of the evil spirit, Dagar. But an ancient prophecy speaks of a time to come when the Guardians will return and Allon will be restored—lead by its rightful heir. At sixteen, Prince Ellis is forced to flee from the life he has known, pursued by the King’s soldiers. With help from two mysterious strangers he meets in the forest, he must find a way to defeat the evil forces and prove himself worthy to be king if Allon is to have any hope of salvation. Along the way he will face trials that test his character, his wisdom, his courage, and ultimately, his heart. My Thoughts At first I wasn't sure if I'd be able to "get into" this book, but that uncertainty was quickly dispelled .I really enjoyed the book. Allon is a wonderful mixture of Lord of the Rings, mixed with Indiana Jones with a dash of the Bible thrown in. Shawn Lamb does an excellent job on integrating the themes of faith, endurance, and commitment through out the book. The characters are real and believable. I felt like I was on the journey with Prince Ellis to become King of Allon. If there was one thing I would change-it would be to add a character list to the beginning or end of the book. There are so many different yet similar character that at times it was hard to keep track of who was doing what. The story was very suspenseful . Once I got started reading I didn't want to put the book down. It also challenged me in my faith. Stick to following God and His word no matter what happens. God will reward your faithfulness. I would definitely recommend this book to others. I can't wait to read the sequel to Allon.
31/2 stars if I could. I enjoyed the story. It took me to a different place and time, where good and evil dwelled side by side trying to usurp one another. The evil or Dark Ways had grown strong since the Great War and Allon was suffering at its hand.
Fantasy is always full of characters with different abilities and interesting names. I found the cast a bit full and hard to follow. The author said that in future books there will be a list of characters for those of us who need a reminder of who they all are. The map in the book was helpful to know where the characters were traveling.
This is the first in a series and much of the book was devoted to setting the scene and introducing characters. The story revolved about the Guardians and the mortals fulfilling a prophecy. Draga, the creator of the Dark Ways, is finding a way to emerge from his prison to rule the land again. He’s a good bad guy, you love to hate. Kell, the good guardian, is full of love for the mortals and wants to take Draga down. Ellis and Shannon are well matched mortals, who encounter many trials in their loyalty and lives. Both of these mortals are surrounded by a host of helpful friends and Guardians. The book leads up to the battle and I don’t want to tell you what happens.
I think the author could have gone a bit deeper into the characters and into the challenges that faced Ellis. I felt I didn't really understand how the Guardians worked exactly and I wanted a more clear back story. The concept is great and with a bit more work the book could be fantastic. But overall the book was interesting. I hope for more from the next one.
If you enjoy fantasy and the host of creatures and characters that come with it, then you will enjoy this book. The story gives you hope for the good of our lives. We all fight our own battles, and I think fantasy helps us realize that we are not alone in that.
Allon is an exciting new adventure series by Shawn Lamb. This book combines fantasy, Knights, Princes and evil vs good.
This book reminds be of alot of different books having elements of them all, Lord of the Rings, Eragon, King Aurthur.
I will admit that I was a bit lost at the beginning as the characters were introduced as there are alot of characters and at times I found it hard to keep them straight. This is probably why Fantasy adventure is not usually my cup of tea. But I found that after a bit the story sucked me in and I got the characters sorted out.
Prince Ellis is the true ruler of Allon appointed by Jo'rel. Shannen is the Daughter of Allon his soul mate. He must prove himself worthy and that he is the true ruler and in the process gather his council together. He is helped out by Guardians supernatural beings that work for Jo'rel.
King Marcellus is the current king who is influenced by Latham (who is the servant of the supernatural being Dagar). They are helped out by Shadow Warriors (Guardians who have been reconditioned).
I am looking forward to the next book to find out how this struggle turns out. My daughter loves these types of book so I will be turning this over to her to read.
You can check out more about Allon at the interactive site Allonbooks.com. There you can see a trailer for the next exciting book and read an excerpt of Allon.
I wish to thank Shawn Lamb and Rebeca at Glass Road PR for a copy of the book. I was not required to write a favorable review.
This was a good young adult fantasy but I would probably market it, as YA/Christian/Fantasy.There is a definite Christian feel to this book, which I don't normally enjoy although I did enjoy this book. I did however find it had way to many characters and it was hard to keep track of them all.
It is an epic battle of good and evil to save the “country” of Allon. The rightful King of Allon Ellis and the Daughter of Allon are to rule under the protection of Jo’Rel (God) with the help of the Guardians they are to battle the sitting King Marcellus who is using the Dark Ways of Dagar (The Devil) to stay on the throne. They talk a lot about a Great Battle in the past and I wish there would have been a prologue telling us a little more about that battle and who was who in it. Maybe then all the characters wouldn’t have been so confusing it felt like the author introduced a new character every page and you weren’t sure which ones you needed to remember for later. This may have been a 4 star book other than the fact of too many characters and it needs to be marketed as Christian fiction. I did like this book well enough to read the next book in this series.
I would recommend this book to Young Adults, Fantasy Lovers, and Christian Fiction Readers.
Full Disclosure: I received this book from the author Actually 3 1/2 Stars
I love a good YA fiction and this book is one of them. I was taken away to the land of Allon where life is not as it should be. An evil king is in charge, though really a puppet king to Dagar and his henchman Latham. The good have had to go underground but now prophecy has lined up with reality and Prince Ellis has come back to take his rightful place and unite the kingdom against Dagar and the Shadow Warriors. It will involve finding the Daughter of Allon and helping her bring the Guardians out of hiding and that is just the beginning.
This book is intense from start to finish and the story is engrossing. It is geared toward slightly older YA, I'm not sure my 12 and 13 year olds would follow it really well yet, but their getting close. There are just a lot of characters to follow, 12 different areas of Allon and keeping it straight isn't easy but well worth the effort. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to the upcoming books (I'm assuming there will be more since this is book 1).
"Allon" is a brilliantly written book that captivated me from the beginning to the end. It's good vs. evil theme had me at the edge of my seat more than once. To me the storyline is classic fantasy, with knights, kings, queens, gods.... and of course, magic - everything I look for in a fantasy.
The characters are well developed and I couldn't help by cheer on Prince Ellis and Shannon. They are good and righteous and want the best for all. The Guardians were interesting creatures - much what I would think angels to be, and of course, Dagar and the Shadow Warriors I likened with Satan and his fallen angels.
I adored this book and I found it to be a wonderful read. I am anxious for the next book of the series to come out. I am highly recommending it to both young adults and adults. "Allon" is a wonderful book to escape with and would make a wonderful summer read. Both of my teens are looking forward to reading it this summer. I know they will love it!
COMPLAINTS: sometimes there was too much describing and not enough showing of landscape and background; a little too much combat for me -- though those with a Y chromosome will not object, i'm sure; and there were a lot of characters to keep straight...sometimes i'd be like, "wait! who is that??" and would find myself skimming back a couple pages only to be unable to figure it out.
COMPLIMENTS: loved the original mythology and world-building, with the emphasis on faith in a higher power -- to be honest, i had not felt the lack of that in other high fantasy type books, but i like it! the main characters are good in the traditional religious sense, with lovely moral development along their way to adulthood; i really liked the Guardians, both as individual characters and as a concept; lots of humor and joking, witty dialogue
A well-written young adult fantasy with distinctly Christian overtones to it. It combines elements of fantasy and magic with the knights, kings and lords of medieval times. It's a classic battle of good vs evil and shows us the unshakeable, unbreakable power of faith, friendship, loyalty and love.
It was difficult at times to keep all the characters straight because it seemed a new one was being introduced at an alarming frequency that tended to be somewhat confusing. But, since Ellis and Shannan were gathering together all the Guardians of old to help in their cause, that was probably the author's intention; to introduce as many of them as possible. This made for a bit of a lack in some of the characters' development, but the main characters were pretty well done.
All in all, a commendable debut novel for Ms. Lamb and I will definitely read the next book in the series.
I started reading Allon, but ended up not able to finish it because it was just too predictable and cheesy. The author introduced every character in the same exact format and summarized the passing of years in a dull way. I like an all-out fantasy book every now and then, and I read the first chapter of this book and thought I'd like it. But the good part ended at the first chapter, and I just couldn't make myself get through this one.
It's allegorical, so be prepared for that--you'll pick out characters that will make you think angels or demons or prophets, etc. The language isn't tough, so if you like YA allegorical fantasy with knights and hardy maidens, then this shouldn't take you too long to read. But I like books that don't make me feel like I've read them before, so this didn't ring with me.
Allon is a neat fantasy story that gives great detail about the power of faith. It is reminicient to me of Prince Caspian for some reason, although I cannot quite put my finger onto what exactly. There is suspense, romance and battle scenarios. This was not a favorite read for me, but it may quite be the book your teen is looking for in a fantasy fiction. I must admit that I love the trailer and the interactive website, they are awesome. *grin*
*Thanks to Glass Roads PR for providing a copy for review.*
Nicely done for a first novel. I prefer my fantasy with more character development (this one had so many characters that development of them all would have been ponderously difficult) and fewer battle scenes and torture so it wasn't exactly my cup of tea but I appreciated the author's attempts at portraying worthy heroes, her moral compass, and the world she was trying to create. If you like action-packed battles and skirmishes combined with a moral anchor in your fantasy reading, you may like this one.
I would have given this book 5 stars except that I felt it was too brief a read. This story was great but there could have been so much more. I kept finding myself wanting to know more details, and it felt more like I was just skimming the surface. I also think were a lot of characters that became confusing, and there were even a few I would've have like way more back story on. Other than that I really enjoyed this book.
Probably 3.5 stars. A fantasy story that I enjoyed - but it got bogged down due to too many characters. I had a really hard time keeping everyone straight. Still a very enjoyable read I would recommend.
Content: no sex or language but a lot of battle like violence - ages 16+