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The Seven Sleepers #4
The Caves That Time Forgot
The Dark Lord's power has spread to the mysterious Caves of Mondar. The Seven Sleepers are called to free the people there by teaching them the virtues of honor, dignity, and generosity.
144 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1995
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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 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 7, 2024
The Caves That Time Forgot is riddled with the same flaws that plague most of Gilbert Morris’ The Seven Sleepers series — superficial writing, turtle-slow pacing, one-dimensional characters, and an overly-simplified message. It’s got a few passable moments (mostly stolen from Jurassic Park), but it’s forgettable and adds very little to the series as a whole.
As the Seven Sleepers begin their next quest assigned by their spiritual leader Goél, they venture into the land of Mordor (yeah, you heard me; it’s called Mordor), a wild land untouched by civilization and populated by cavepeople and dinosaurs. Dave Cooper is tasked with leading this expedition, much to his excitement and Josh Adams’ chagrin, but Dave’s assignment proves difficult: they must teach a tribe of fierce, uneducated cavepeople the meaning of dignity, generosity, and love. The Sleepers immediately come face-to-face with pagan gods, hungry dinosaurs, and warring tribes, but they find that their primary challenge is in helping the natives understand the value of progress and cooperation.
The Caves That Time Forgot is yet another example of Morris having an opportunity for a fantastic story (the prehistoric setting is audacious but fun). However, he squanders it by (1) refusing to attempt any original worldbuilding, (2) spending unholy amounts of time on meaningless escapades while neglecting a cohesive plot, and (3) delivering no spiritual message or moral. I wish Morris would bother explaining things like how fifty years have gone by after the apocalypse and some civilizations are so advanced that they can live underwater, while others are so backward they literally don’t have a word for “peace”. All the plot points are rushed, and there just honestly is no overarching plot at all. Things happen, but seemingly for no reason other than, “hmmm… guess I need another chapter.” Our villains are, once again, notoriously absent (is there still a Dark Lord out there somewhere?),
Morris’ dialogue continues to be halfway decent as of The Gates of Neptune, and I actually appreciate that he writes the 12- to 14-year-old characters pretty realistically as far as their issues, personalities, and maturity. Sometimes I catch myself saying, “That’s stupid; no teenager behaves that way,” but some of my high school students do indeed behave that way. Relationships between the Sleepers stay at the status quo, relationships between the Sleepers and their new acquaintances in Mordor (I can’t believe it’s actually called Mordor) end with the narrative, and The Caves That Time Forgot ends without any major impact on The Seven Sleepers series.
Morris clearly has favorites among his characters — he neglects Dave’s character arc to focus on Reb’s escapades building contraptions, lassoing dinosaurs, and creating agricultural systems. Jake Garfield once again gets zero characterization beyond spouting dinosaur fun facts in one chapter. The cavemen and cavewomen (that is, cavewoman) are about the worst one-dimensional cardboard-cutout characters you can find, though Morris clumsily tries to bring depth to them by retelling a story that has been done hundreds of times.
One thing that has really started to bug me about Morris’ writing (and something I didn’t really think about as a kid) is the way he objectifies all the young girl characters. He does attempt to give Sarah Collingwood and Abbey Roberts some depth (one is mostly strong with a few flaws, the other is mostly flawed with a few strengths), but so much of their characterization revolves around how attractive they are and which boy they are interested in. I especially noticed this preoccupation with sexuality in The Caves That Time Forgot, in which one of the central conflicts of the story is which of her four suitors fourteen-year-old Eena is going to choose as a mate — one of the cavemen wants to buy also-fourteen-year-old Sarah as his mate as well. Morris’ primary way of identifying all the teenage girls in the series (Sarah, Abbey, Jere, Elaine, Eena, etc.) is by how attractive they are and how appealing they are to men, even when they have other subplots like farming and battling. It just comes off as creepy having a middle-aged male author (especially a former high school teacher and pastor!) spend so much time mildly sexualizing the young girls of his series. I don’t think that’s his intent, and I’m certainly not trying to imply anything about Morris as a person: I just think you have to be really careful what and how you write.
Morris tries to teach a few lessons through The Caves That Time Forgot, but they’re so clunky and heavy-handed that they never hit home — they also never feel explicitly biblical, just vaguely moral. Morris shows the influence of evil through pagan worship and primitive religion, as well as the importance of dignity for human life and the acceptance of progress. Dave has to learn to have humility as a leader (again, doesn’t really happen that well), but also is schooled in being careful about the mere appearance of evil. Goél is very much an afterthought in this narrative, which is really unfortunate in a supposedly Christian allegorical series.
Also, continuing the list of little inconsistencies with previous books in which Morris just… forgets or changes what he’s written:
• Abbey’s name is now spelled as Abbie, but only in this one book.
• Reb is now from Texas instead of Arkansas (which has been a major plot point), but he’s also occasionally from Arkansas if Morris forgets. Presumably this is to make him more of a cowboy.
• Jake is explicitly stated as Jewish, which doesn’t necessarily contradict previous books but has never been brought up before and never will be again.
The Caves That Time Forgot is probably a book in The Seven Sleepers that’s worth skipping. There’s no clear message, and it just feels like we’re seeing more of Morris’ preoccupations the more of The Seven Sleepers I read — his inability to focus on the main plot, his sensualization of the young female characters, his obsession with guns and the Confederate South, etc. I definitely suggest searching elsewhere if you’re looking for a fun, Land Before Time-inspired fantasy novel for kids.
As the Seven Sleepers begin their next quest assigned by their spiritual leader Goél, they venture into the land of Mordor (yeah, you heard me; it’s called Mordor), a wild land untouched by civilization and populated by cavepeople and dinosaurs. Dave Cooper is tasked with leading this expedition, much to his excitement and Josh Adams’ chagrin, but Dave’s assignment proves difficult: they must teach a tribe of fierce, uneducated cavepeople the meaning of dignity, generosity, and love. The Sleepers immediately come face-to-face with pagan gods, hungry dinosaurs, and warring tribes, but they find that their primary challenge is in helping the natives understand the value of progress and cooperation.
The Caves That Time Forgot is yet another example of Morris having an opportunity for a fantastic story (the prehistoric setting is audacious but fun). However, he squanders it by (1) refusing to attempt any original worldbuilding, (2) spending unholy amounts of time on meaningless escapades while neglecting a cohesive plot, and (3) delivering no spiritual message or moral. I wish Morris would bother explaining things like how fifty years have gone by after the apocalypse and some civilizations are so advanced that they can live underwater, while others are so backward they literally don’t have a word for “peace”. All the plot points are rushed, and there just honestly is no overarching plot at all. Things happen, but seemingly for no reason other than, “hmmm… guess I need another chapter.” Our villains are, once again, notoriously absent (is there still a Dark Lord out there somewhere?),
Morris’ dialogue continues to be halfway decent as of The Gates of Neptune, and I actually appreciate that he writes the 12- to 14-year-old characters pretty realistically as far as their issues, personalities, and maturity. Sometimes I catch myself saying, “That’s stupid; no teenager behaves that way,” but some of my high school students do indeed behave that way. Relationships between the Sleepers stay at the status quo, relationships between the Sleepers and their new acquaintances in Mordor (I can’t believe it’s actually called Mordor) end with the narrative, and The Caves That Time Forgot ends without any major impact on The Seven Sleepers series.
Morris clearly has favorites among his characters — he neglects Dave’s character arc to focus on Reb’s escapades building contraptions, lassoing dinosaurs, and creating agricultural systems. Jake Garfield once again gets zero characterization beyond spouting dinosaur fun facts in one chapter. The cavemen and cavewomen (that is, cavewoman) are about the worst one-dimensional cardboard-cutout characters you can find, though Morris clumsily tries to bring depth to them by retelling a story that has been done hundreds of times.
One thing that has really started to bug me about Morris’ writing (and something I didn’t really think about as a kid) is the way he objectifies all the young girl characters. He does attempt to give Sarah Collingwood and Abbey Roberts some depth (one is mostly strong with a few flaws, the other is mostly flawed with a few strengths), but so much of their characterization revolves around how attractive they are and which boy they are interested in. I especially noticed this preoccupation with sexuality in The Caves That Time Forgot, in which one of the central conflicts of the story is which of her four suitors fourteen-year-old Eena is going to choose as a mate — one of the cavemen wants to buy also-fourteen-year-old Sarah as his mate as well. Morris’ primary way of identifying all the teenage girls in the series (Sarah, Abbey, Jere, Elaine, Eena, etc.) is by how attractive they are and how appealing they are to men, even when they have other subplots like farming and battling. It just comes off as creepy having a middle-aged male author (especially a former high school teacher and pastor!) spend so much time mildly sexualizing the young girls of his series. I don’t think that’s his intent, and I’m certainly not trying to imply anything about Morris as a person: I just think you have to be really careful what and how you write.
Morris tries to teach a few lessons through The Caves That Time Forgot, but they’re so clunky and heavy-handed that they never hit home — they also never feel explicitly biblical, just vaguely moral. Morris shows the influence of evil through pagan worship and primitive religion, as well as the importance of dignity for human life and the acceptance of progress. Dave has to learn to have humility as a leader (again, doesn’t really happen that well), but also is schooled in being careful about the mere appearance of evil. Goél is very much an afterthought in this narrative, which is really unfortunate in a supposedly Christian allegorical series.
Also, continuing the list of little inconsistencies with previous books in which Morris just… forgets or changes what he’s written:
• Abbey’s name is now spelled as Abbie, but only in this one book.
• Reb is now from Texas instead of Arkansas (which has been a major plot point), but he’s also occasionally from Arkansas if Morris forgets. Presumably this is to make him more of a cowboy.
• Jake is explicitly stated as Jewish, which doesn’t necessarily contradict previous books but has never been brought up before and never will be again.
The Caves That Time Forgot is probably a book in The Seven Sleepers that’s worth skipping. There’s no clear message, and it just feels like we’re seeing more of Morris’ preoccupations the more of The Seven Sleepers I read — his inability to focus on the main plot, his sensualization of the young female characters, his obsession with guns and the Confederate South, etc. I definitely suggest searching elsewhere if you’re looking for a fun, Land Before Time-inspired fantasy novel for kids.
October 30, 2019
The Seven Sleepers, seven ordinary kids in an extraordinary post-apocalyptic world, find themselves sent by the mysterious but good Goel to the island of Mordor, a place no one wants to talk about, and fear few to tread. However, the Seven Sleepers are needed to fight the Dark Lord on the island, because an entire race of people are on the brink of destruction unless they can stop it.
Book four, The Caves That Time Forgot in The Seven Sleepers series picks up right where book three, The Sword of Camelot left off, sending the Sleepers into another adventure where they must fight the forces of evil in Nuworld. This entry in the series was more interesting than book three, but not as earth-shattering as books one and two. Dave is the lead character in this book, and while he has a "development" of sorts, by the end he seems somewhat the same as he was in previous books.
There are dinosaurs and interesting plot developments here which will definitely be fun, if not reminiscent of other dinosaur fiction, such as Laura Martin's The Ark Plan Series or Madeleine L'Engle's Many Waters, with a touch of Don Richardson's Peace Child. However, a few other plot elements are seen a million miles away, and are fairly guessable. What is missing here is further development of the overall universe the sleepers now inhabit. We gain no further insight into the Dark Lord or Goel, although the allegories are fairly clear at this point.
The other interesting plot development to note is the discussion of courtship throughout the book. The characters seem somewhat young to be talking about courtship in view of marriage. If the conversations are stayed to dating that might have made more sense, but the courtship conversations for fourteen and fifteen year olds came across somewhat creepy.
While The Caves That Time Forgot certainly held my interest more than the previous book, it still fails to hold up to the stellar introduction this series had with book one. Here's hoping the next entry, Winged Raiders of the Desert proves to be more engaging.
Book four, The Caves That Time Forgot in The Seven Sleepers series picks up right where book three, The Sword of Camelot left off, sending the Sleepers into another adventure where they must fight the forces of evil in Nuworld. This entry in the series was more interesting than book three, but not as earth-shattering as books one and two. Dave is the lead character in this book, and while he has a "development" of sorts, by the end he seems somewhat the same as he was in previous books.
There are dinosaurs and interesting plot developments here which will definitely be fun, if not reminiscent of other dinosaur fiction, such as Laura Martin's The Ark Plan Series or Madeleine L'Engle's Many Waters, with a touch of Don Richardson's Peace Child. However, a few other plot elements are seen a million miles away, and are fairly guessable. What is missing here is further development of the overall universe the sleepers now inhabit. We gain no further insight into the Dark Lord or Goel, although the allegories are fairly clear at this point.
The other interesting plot development to note is the discussion of courtship throughout the book. The characters seem somewhat young to be talking about courtship in view of marriage. If the conversations are stayed to dating that might have made more sense, but the courtship conversations for fourteen and fifteen year olds came across somewhat creepy.
While The Caves That Time Forgot certainly held my interest more than the previous book, it still fails to hold up to the stellar introduction this series had with book one. Here's hoping the next entry, Winged Raiders of the Desert proves to be more engaging.
June 15, 2021
This book was a good mixup in the series. It developed a different character and did a good job at it. Overall
This book (and this series) is certainly YA, but I’m enjoying it.
This book (and this series) is certainly YA, but I’m enjoying it.
June 10, 2025
Still cheesy romance. Still. It drags to the climax and then it resolves in three pages. Not great. Much better for young readers. Actually, their young, innocent eyes shouldn't have to read this. Keep them safe. I still have to make it through six more. Pray for me.
February 23, 2021
Loved it! Reading this to my daughter, 6, and she loved it! This one takes a different turn when Dave takes the leadership role. She was sad to see Josh step aside, but loved the dinosaurs, the adventure and the characters. She can't wait to read the next book.
December 30, 2021
My son is still loving this series. We are on to book 5.
June 8, 2024
Brady: 4.75 stars
Bishop: 5 stars
Bishop: 5 stars
March 15, 2017
4 stars for nostalgias sake, and because when I have kids I'll be so happy if they read these. I loved them as a kid, and it's such a great way to introduce them to fantasy while also giving them something clean and full of life lessons. As an adult it's pretty basic, but I'm still having fun reading these again and remembering how great it was to be a kid who loved to read these books.
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.
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April 27, 2010F MOR ss bk.4
July 9, 2012
Another good one from a series I adored growing up.
May 27, 2021
It’s monster-of-the-week, middle-grade, allegorical fiction. This time, David takes center stage in the land that time forgot. But the kids still love it, just as much as I did at their age.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews