Genre: Suspense
Description:
“The Youth For Peace Fresh Start
Initiative gathers ten Muslim and ten Christian youth from ten nations around
the world to learn new paths to peace. But the camp staff have some highly unorthodox
teaching techniques. And when one by one the youth start disappearing, some of
them wonder if the staff might not have an entirely different agenda. Those
left behind must work together to solve the mystery before they also disappear.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, the entire world is watching…
Jim’s third novel of the Peace Trilogy
confronts American prejudice head-on. Pursuing world peace today will require a
generation committed to a deeper level of trust and cooperation than ever
before.”
Author:
“Jim Baton has spent the last 20 years in the world’s largest Muslim
nation, building bridges between Muslims and Christians who both desire peace.
His speaking and writing call people out of fear and into authentic friendships
that can change the world.”
Appraisal:
A Violent
Light started out slow for me. The underlying political point was obvious
and something I agreed with. (I also assumed no one who disagreed with that
stance would be likely to even start reading the story and would abandon it
quickly if they did.) That the staff and the youth camp were not what the kids
expected (no matter how much they tried to rationalize a way for that to not
be) and the reason why seemed obvious.
However, as the story progressed I found it drew me in more and more.
I found myself struggling to decide who was thinking most clearly when
proposing ways to react to the situations they found themselves in. Their
struggles caused me to think more deeply about some of the more serious
questions facing the world today. By the time the story hit the climax the
intensity had hit a level I’d have never anticipated in the beginning. That
slow start was more than made up for coming down the stretch.
FYI:
Although a case could be made for this book being aimed at the young
adult audience since the primary characters fit in that demographic, some
portions might be too graphic or intense for some of the younger part of that
demographic. (It might be too intense for some adults, too.)
Although this is the third and final book in a trilogy, it can be read
as a standalone.
Format/Typo
Issues:
No significant issues.
Rating:
***** Five Stars
Reviewed
by: BigAl
Approximate
word count: 80-85,000 words
No comments:
Post a Comment