Our family really enjoys books about kings, knights and castles. I was introduced to a new series and author when I was asked to review The Terrestria Chronicles as part of the TOS crew. I received Book 1 which is the Sword, the Ring and the Parchment and Book 2 titled The Quest for Seven Castles. They are written by Ed Dunlop and are a Christian fantasy style of books. There are a total of seven books in this series. He also writes stand alone books, The Tales from Terrestria. All of the books are available individually for $7.99. You can also purchase the set of 7 for $47.99. There is also a study guide available if you would like to purchase that to go along with the series.
I have to admit I was thinking along the lines of Harry Potter when I started reading the first book ; but this is not at all what the books are like.
You are introduced to young Josiah who is a slave to Argamor in book one of the series. They live in the kingdom of Terrestria and this story tells of how Josiah becomes Prince Josiah, son of King Immanuel. I had a bad feeling when reading this but I think it is because of the allegory intended. There certainly is no subtlety about sin and darkness. There is a parallel between the book and the reality of what Jesus did for us that was really neat but very obvious. It reminds me a lot of the Chronicles of Narnia except for that series is more subtle in it’s intentions.
Book Two starts one year after Josiah is freed from slavery by King Emmanuel. Josiah has spent this year at the Castle of Faith and the King decides it is time for the Prince to go on a quest. He is sent to seven different Castles, Virtue, Knowledge, Temperance, Patience, and Godliness, Brotherly Kindness and Charity. He faces many dangers and learns that he only needs to use the tools that King Emmanuel has given him in order to survive.
The series is recommended for ages 10 and up. Personally, my children are too sensitive for me to read this to right now. But, I think maybe when my son gets older he may enjoy and understand it. The writing was a little intense for me, but many of the other crew members greatly enjoyed these books. The portion of the book that I finished was very graphic in it’s details about the sin in our lives. Not that this is a bad thing, just not what I enjoy reading.
Although I didn’t particularly care for these books, I do feel that there is a great need for Christian books of this kind for young men and women. There are entirely too many books that encourage things of this world and this is a refreshing change to what I see daily in my job at our local library.
Book one includes a glossary, a castle facts guide, and an ABC guide to salvation. You can go to the homeschool crew page to see a brief description of the other books and read reviews from crew members who received different titles.
If you are reading these aloud to your children and you need something to keep their hands busy, there are free coloring pages that you can print out.
You can get these books at the website www.talesofcastles.com.
** Please note that I received these books at no charge in exchange for my honest opinion in this review. No other compensation was provided. Thank you to TOS and Ed Dunlop for the opportunity to review these.
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