Description:
Last of the Nephilim, the third installment in the acclaimed Oracles of Fire series, picks up the exciting Dragons in Our Midst story where Eye of the Oracle and Enoch's Ghost ends. A single lie is spoken, allowing the Nephilim, a race of giants from ancient times, to invade Second Eden, a peaceful civilization in an alternate dimension. While Earth and Hades are locked in a catastrophic merging of their two realms, the prophet Enoch works to gather an army of humans and dragons from each world to go to war against the Nephilim. Included in that force are a small girl with prophetic power; Billy Bannister, the heir of Arthur and hero of the Dragons in Our Midst series; and Bonnie SIlver, his fellow warrior.
The two Oracles of Fire, Sapphira and Acacia, are called upon to protect the forces of good, including Bonnie, who is being purued once again by the most powerful of all dragon slayers, Sir Devin, the dragons' bane.
With giants battling dragons, and a rogue dragon taking the side of the forces of evil, a catclysmic battle erupts, endangering every life in the land of Second Eden. Another of Nephilim, the most powerful of all, rises from the dead to join the battle. But whose side will he be on?
Abraham, the leader of Second Eden, has a choice, either execute a grieving widow, the woman responsible for the entry of the evil giants, or face the greatest of sacrifices by which he can only delay the inevitable, the ultimate war that could lead the evil forces to the gates of Heaven itself.
Plot:
As usual with Bryan Davis' novels, the plot was fast-paced.
It keeps you on your toes even though you may be sitting down. If anything, Mr. Davis knows how to write an intense plot.
On the flip side, for some it may not be the best. With all the books I've yet read in The Oracles of Fire there have been at least two sub plots. Sometimes more. I'm still deciding whether I like how it's done or not. The thing is, it is sometimes hard to discern the actual plotline. To focus on tis book's plot instead of the series, it isn't until the end that we get a solid plot. The only reason I say a 'solid plot' is because at the end, most of the characters come together. And that, to an extent, is short-lived.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the plot very much, but I think it could have been improved if one plotline just stood out a little more then the rest.
Characters:
While I've always loved Bryan Davis' plots and almost everything else about his books, there are a few books where his characters are lacking. This was, sadly, one of those books.
I couldn't attach myself to one character was the biggest issue. Like I said in the plot section, there isn't one plotline that stands out above the rest. Likewise, there isn't one character that stands out above the rest. I might say Walter was the main character but even that is debatable. Without one main character to connect with I subconsciously chose another character to be my personal protagonist.
Since there wasn't any more focus on that character then any other I didn't feel deeply for that character like I might in another book where I am attached to a protagonist.
Other then that issue, the characters were well created and developed. The characters were very numerous. Some twenty characters that took an ongoing part in the book. For twenty characters though, I would say the author handled them very well. Characters from both Dragons in Our Midst and characters introduced in the past two novels come together to form a great cast.
Writing:
Mr. Davis has the writing nailed. He's a great example for anyone learning to write. Other then problems already stated, there was no major writing flaws. Nothing that stood out enough for me to write down or take a mental note.
Conclusion:
Bryan Davis writes a fascinating tale of love, war, and fighting for survival while keeping the focus on God. This is a book to keep you up at night checking the page count left, not that you want it to end, but so that you can get to the end.
My rating: 4 Pens
Intended age group: 12-15 (but can easily extend in either direction)
Third in four part series
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.
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