Eye of the Oracle-Bryan Davis

If you haven’t read the Dragons in our Midst series then you can still read the Oracles of Fire series.  They draw off of each other.  However, if I had a choice, I would read Dragons in our Midst before reading this.  Either way I think you’ll deeply enjoy the series as in drawing off each other they delve into the world of the unknown.

A Word of Caution:

The author of this book writes fiction mixed with Biblical events.  While I cannot find anything that would compromise a young believer’s faith, I would still suggest being careful.  In another sense, it encourages the reader to read their Bible to verify certain things.

Description:

What ancient mysteries lurk behind the amazing stories in the Dragons in our Midst series?  Eye of the Oracle takes the reader back in time to the days when dragons abounded.  From the era just before Noah’s ark, through the battles between dragons and mankind in the times of King Arthur, and to the haunting presence of dragons in our day, this stunning prequel reveals the mysteries that led to the bestselling fantasy adventure that began with Raising Dragons.

How did dragons survive the flood?  Who helped preserve an ancient evil force that led to the dragons’ demise in the days of King Arthur?  What heroic sacrifices kept that evil from exterminating the dragon race forever?  If you enjoyed the heart-stopping action and spiritual depth of the first four books in this series, you won’t want to miss the astonishing story that began it all.  Eye of the Oracle will captivate young and old alike, and it will challenge every reader to search deep within for answers to the mysteries in their own hearts.
(Taken from back cover).

Plot:

Bryan Davis handles the plot exceptionally well in this novel.  It’s a little more history then the average plot.  This is, of course hard to not do when the timeline spans some five thousand years.

Even with the ‘history’ factor of the novel, the author still manages to draw you in and keep you there until the end.  While Mr. Davis may have done very well at keeping the reader, he also established many sub-plots.  The main plot itself was almost the collection of sub-plots and I think it depends on the reader whether it is a good thing or a bad thing.  I somewhat enjoyed it.

The amount of detail put into this book is superb.  It revealed many of the mysteries of Dragons in our Midst while creating some of its own.

Characters:

With some fifteen to twenty main characters in the books cast, I had no trouble distinguishing any.  Even two characters who were supposed to be completely identical, I could recognize because of their slightly differing characteristics and behavior.

I can only imagine how tedious the task must have been creating so many characters over the book’s timeline.  It being four/five thousand years long many characters were born and many died.  Yet with all the characters, they all have unique personalities.  I fell in love with each and every character even though it becomes clear who the protagonist is in the story.

Writing (Quality):

Mr. Davis knows his craft.  I can honestly say I saw no writing issues in this novel.  To hook a reader for, in a sense, four thousand years you have to have a lot of things-loveable and realistic characters, exciting plotline-but you really have to be able to bring it all together with good writing.  And Bryan Davis does just that.

Conclusion:

Whether you’re a long-time Dragons in Our Midst fan or you’ve never read anything by the author before, you will love this book.  Eye of the Oracle is a great book with Christian values and is a welcome addition to my shelf.
My Rating: 4.5 Pens

Genre: Young Adult Christian Fantasy
Intended age group:  12-15 (but can easily extend in either direction)
First in four part series (More reviews forthcoming)
Where to buy:  Amazon, ChristianBook, or authors website (signed if requested).
You can get in contact with the author by going to his website where you can go to the very active forum, check out fan art or go to his blog.