The Seventh Door

Hey! It's here--the third book in the Children of the Bard series by Bryan Davis!

You may buy an autographed copy directly from Mr. Davis here - http://www.daviscrossing.com/SeventhDoor.htm

You may purchase autographed copies of the three Children of the Bard books in a three-pack for $30 - http://www.daviscrossing.com/BardCombo.htm

The Seventh Door is available from Amazon here - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0899578829







I'm not really sure how to describe this book, especially if you haven't read the ones before. It's good, of course--his books always are. Here's a review I wrote just after finishing it:

 
Once again Bryan Davis has led his readers on a wild ride. There are amazing ups and downs, crazy turns, and breathtaking chapter endings with heartstopping cliffhangers. You feel like you are really there with the characters, and shout encouragement from the sidelines. You hold your breath when they make their decisions and try to tell them to make the right one. And then, as always happens in one of Mr. Davis’ books, the characters slowly slide ahead, making decisions you would find difficult, making sacrifices and bleeding for those they love, and you find that they have pulled ahead of you and are now calling encouragement from the pages that comprise their lives. They lead by example, as Mr Davis’ characters always have.

Growing up with these books, I always look forward to them, wondering how he’ll make this one great. They always have such themes of godly character and such wonderful stories. This one was the same, but it had built on the foundations of the previous books. This one felt older and more mature, even while Matt and Darcy are still stretching their legs and gaining faith. It felt so right, along with all the previous books. It was a continuation, and its own story, and such a good stepping stone.

So many times during the book, I had to gasp and keep myself from turning ahead to see how it would turn out. This book tugged at my heart and it still hasn’t let go, which is a good thing. The Seventh Door has started working on me, and Mr. Davis has already taught me so many things about my walk with God. I can’t wait to read the next book and continue this journey with all these characters who I know and love so well.

Basically, READ THIS BOOK!!!!

Bryan Davis

Bryan Davis is wonderful at taking an idea and running with it. A dream about a boy who could breathe fire became a book that introduced us into a world full of dragons and dragon slayers, demons, sorceresses, giants, and portals to different dimensions. Oh, and it all takes place in contemporary times. I've yet to see such a seamless blend of sword and dragon with middle school and modern day. Of course, a large chunk of the books are about things that happened long ago--King Arthur's day and pre-Flood times, for one. Yet they're so believable and so well-written, that when a Sunday School teacher asks the kids, "Who was on the Ark?" my reaction is "8 people, two dragons, one wraith, and if you're technical one baby giant." This series is Dragons in our Midst, followed by the sequel Oracles of Fire, then the sequel to that which is still being written, Children of the Bard.

And that's just one series. He has two other series that are so woven together and detailed, not to mention full of sub plots and plot twists and other things that just make your head spin in a delightful attempt to make sense of the puzzle and figure out what's going to happen in the next book. These are Dragons of Starlight, which is the young adult series, and Tales of Starlight, which is the adult series (but mostly because the main characters in that one are the adult characters, and it's a tad darker as a result. But if you compare it to even 'teen' fiction out there, I'd say it's a far better read.)

He didn't just 'try' sci-fi, either. He dove into it and wriggled around and created entire worlds and wove them together in a fascinating and complex trilogy of portals and time and ethics and morals. This trilogy is Echoes From the Edge.

Call it believable characterization or deliberate subterfuge on the part of the author, but he's made several characters with such complex and intertwined goals and morals that one of the greatest delights of reading his books is divining the characters' motivations.

All together, these series are a wonderful addition to your bookshelf, ones you'll want to read again and again. (So far I've re-read them about four times each.) These characters grow on you--and you cry with them when they hurt and you laugh with them when they rejoice.

Bryan Davis has had a huge influence on my life, not only because of a desire to be able to write like him--*cough as if cough*--but because of the true elements he's woven into his books. They are Christian, and good examples, even if they are fictional characters. =D

An Anniversary

Well, yesterday was the six-year anniversary of my introduction (friendship?) to Bryan Davis. (via Dragons in our Midst.)

See, six years ago on my thirteenth birthday my mom got me the first two books in the series.

 

 

My life was never the same. I devoured them both that night--I think I even got to the end of the second before midnight.

 



I can remember scrutinizing both covers, trying to figure out what they were about from the images I could see. (It's a dragon--it appears to be about dragons--but why is it modern? Is that some high-tech lab? WHAT'S GOING ON?)
Then I dove in and was blown away. I've always had a fondness for fantasy, but reading those "modern teen finds out something in his life is because of a whole other world" books were usually kind of odd. Not so here. These were seamless, masterfully told. They say the fantastical King Arthur legends are because each scribe added to what was before him, spinning his own tale and growing the legends until we get where we are now. The same thing happened here.

Dragons! And realistic dragons and--I'm not even sure how to start. These characters are wonderful. (Walter is the best best friend ever. Just sayin') The villains are marvelous. (And each series adds another, better and badder one.) The plots are intricately woven.

And I don't care if you're an adult or a teen or a pre-teen, these books are wonderful. Bryan Davis doesn't (ever) fall into the old rut of thinking that if you're writing for a younger audience, it doesn't have to be as good, they won't notice. Oh, we notice. We notice much more than you think. Actually, it's harder than writing for an adult because you have to keep our attention.

And he does. Still does, actually. And, now that I'm 19, I suppose I can't be put in the kids' section anymore. But these are still good. I feel like I've grown up with these guys (when it starts they're 12, I was 13) Their spiritual journey is one I can emulate.

And the writing has been educational for me as well. Being an aspiring writer, seeing someone put so much spiritual truth into fiction is extremely inspirational.

Bascially, if you're above the age of...like 6...possibly 4...then these books are good. No matter what you do or who you are, I highly recommend these. Here's a little thing written by the author himself:

~*~

Do you enjoy fantasy/adventure novels? I recommend that you try out books by Bryan Davis. Here are links to his web pages:



His website - http://www.daviscrossing.com/

His book buying page - http://www.daviscrossing.com/shopping.htm

His Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/BryanDavis.Fans

If you order a book from his shopping page, please let him know that you heard about it from me. I get a better chance to win a contest if you do.

~*~

 

Oh yeah, forgot to mention. This was sort of kind of pulled into being because there's a contest in which we need to put the above in. But I've been wanting to do one of these anyway. Now just seems like a better time. Now, especially, because it's been 6 years. And a day. Happy Anniversary!

From the Mouth of Elijah

Bryan Davis' newest book in the Children of the Bard series is here! Woot!
Well...actually, it isn't here. Not yet. BUT! It is available for pre-ordering, which I have just done. The link to do so is...http://www.daviscrossing.com/MouthElijah.htm <-- there.
As far as I know he doesn't have a specific release date, but sometime around July or August.
I do believe I'll have to have two counts on my calendar now: how many days till the Hobbit (249) and how many until July. Ah well. :)

So here's to hoping publishing goes well.

(a word which here means extremely fast)

Killed off Characters

While aimlessly wandering around YouTube, I recently stumbled across an interview with Bryan Davis. It was a relatively old interview, put up in 2009, but still good. After one question which it appears I have forgotten, Mr. Davis stated, "All my stories have a theme of redemption." Which is VERY true. Anyone who has read his books knows that, and I blurted out, "Translation: he kills off our favorite characters." (whether or not that's exactly true is open for interpretation)
However, that got me thinking about another great Author, one who effectively 'killed off' the main character.
I'm talking about the Bible and Jesus. Do we ever think about how it actually is one story, and one in which the main character dies? And yet! And yet it's so much more than that, because this main character came back to life!
I don't know where I'm going with this, but it is food for thought, I suppose. The Bible is THE most AWESOME book ever, and God is THE best Author EVER.
So here's a book recommendation: A book that has it all, the book that is so cool it has a Greek word for its title, one that simply means The Book.