christian fantasy and allegory from RA Denny

Refugees, book 1 of 6

RA Denny

Young Adult Inspirational fantasy

2017

Free ebook

 Buy on Amazon

About The Book

"An epic journey of a lifetime." That's what three young individuals from three different corners of the world have dreamed about. They were destined for greatness since the moment they were born. But what if they don't want it? What if they're not ready? What if their desires no longer align with the prophecy?

The problem is, they have no choice. The star has appeared. Their destiny has already begun to unfold. 

It's not the send-off that they've been dreaming of. Forced out. Banished. Raided. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. Now they must discover who they really are while embarking on the most exciting journey of their lives. One star. One impossible task. One chance to save the world they love.

My review

Denny’s inspirational fantasy is quite intriguing. Four unique sentient species, one of them predator, make up Denny’s world, which is full of rumor and suspicion. One special cult of wise men who worship one true God must draw these clans together when the prophetic star of destiny appears.

Working for generations behind the scenes, non-webbed humanoids and others of varying species, the webbed-footed, armor-plated, and extraneous-skinned gliders, have been secretly teaching them each other’s languages, besides the lessons of the Creator. At the sign of the star, the predator humans begin the backlash by slaughtering as many of the others unlike themselves as they can in surprise gruesome attacks. They even convince some of armor-plated beings to turn on each other.

Of the three sentient species, one young adult of each has been groomed to fulfill the prophecy. Each is given a talisman and instructed to find each other in the capital city, to which they travel under great peril. Barely able to escape, let alone understand the other races are sentient, let alone exist, the three must travel in great faith to complete their mysterious mission.

Readers familiar with the Bible will recognize frequent references to Scripture and its use. Fill with song and poetry similar to the classics the author admits influenced her, readers of epic questing stories and fantasy will be intrigued.

The copy I received had text that was bolded and centered. I’m not sure if all of the copies are set up that way, but while unique, was somewhat distracting. Giving the three heroes first person voices was also interesting, but until the reader gets a good feel for what is going on, this introduction to the story, mostly because of the rapid switching of viewpoints, often scene by scene and no evenly dispersed, can be confusing. A good summary would be more helpful than a character list, because after the first couple of chapters, the character list isn’t very useful anymore.

This free book is the first of six which are all available at $2.99 each.

 

About the Author

R.A. Denny started writing epic fantasy novels when, after watching the first Hobbit movie, she began excitedly spouting off information about C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien’s writer’s group called the Inklings and how their greatest fantasy novels were created. For several years, she continued her day job as a criminal prosecutor and escaped by night to the world of the Tzoladian Empire. Then, she decided to just do what she loved. She completed writing her six-book epic fantasy series: Mud, Rocks, and Trees. The series should be read in this order: Refugees, Seekers, Captives, Warriors, Visionaries, and then Deliverers. 

R.A. enjoys ancient history, board games, and LEGO. She rides horses, raised flying squirrels and lives with two cats. Learn more about R.A. on her website or you can find her on Facebook@R.A. Denny author