Song of the Ovulum-Bryan Davis

Song of the Ovulum is the first book in Bryan Davis' new series, Children of the Bard, which builds upon two past series, Dragons in our Midst, and Eye of the Oracle.  While it is helpful to read the other two series to get the maximum enjoyment out of this, I believe anyone can enjoy it nonetheless.

Description:

Song of the Ovulum follows two main sub-plots that work together to the conclusion.  Matt and Lauren are two sixteen-year-olds who begin to realize they have abilities that are unlike those of the normal human as they both find themselves in a strange prison that holds mysterious prisoners.  The second plot follows the story of Joran and Selah,  the children of Methuselah and grandchildren of Enoch as they travel through fascinating and dangerous lands in hopes to sometime escape the expansive prison they live in.

For more information on the book, visit the book's web page.

If you’ve read my reviews of previous Davis titles then you know that for some reason, I have had past troubles reading the author’s books straight through.  Something about them typically just makes it difficult to stay in the story continually.  I read this book digitally on the computer straight through.  It hooked me that much.  I very much enjoyed this novel.

The book starts with a prologue in first person explaining a tragedy that has befallen some of the original anthrozils.  It hooks the reader from the very first page and doesn’t let up.  The tale goes through various points in time and locations.  The book references events from past books and can be really rewarding for readers that have read both of the Dragons in our Midst and Oracles of Fire series’.   What I thought most interesting is how the world reacts to the dragons, anthrozil’s, and Second Eden.  The past books have left the world out of what’s really going on, but this book engages the rest of the world full on and it was definitely an interesting idea to explore.

The characters were very fleshed out, and while they kept their perfect characteristics that all of the protagonists of Davis books are known to carry with them, they still maintain their realistic nature.  Many might complain about this factor-that they don’t mess up-but I think Mr. Davis handles it well and doesn’t make the characters seem less real at all.  The characters are well developed, attachable, and realistic.

The writing in the book was outstanding, showing just how much the author knows his craft.  P.O.V.’s, while hard to discern sometimes, never switched mid-scene.  Description was wonderful and easy to see while also leaving room to the reader’s imagination.  The writing was done very well.

The majority of the time is spent in one place, which I found a little irritating.  I thought that the location was a little boring at first, but it soon because a set piece for a very nice plot.  I look forward to some more varied settings in the future books of the series, but I can definitely see the purpose of the location in this book.

Overall, I really loved the book.  It kept me engaged and wanting to return to read it again and again.  The themes are really beautiful-mercy, love, forgiveness, sacrifice-and they are displayed wonderfully.   I know at least a few people that will complain about the perfect characters, but it really didn’t faze me at all.  The characters were well done.  I really enjoyed the book and would recommend it to any fan of Mr. Davis’ or anyone looking for a nice piece of fiction for the summer.  I am highly curious to see what The Children of the Bard series has next.

I give this book a full 5 Pens[stars]

Song of the Ovulum is set to release July 1st.  To celebrate the launch of this new title, Mr. Davis is hosting a launch party on his Facebook Page which I would encourage you to visit and to engage in the launch party.  He's also holding a Christian bookstore blitz to help out local Christian bookstores in the area as well as add some more fun to the launch.  He is also has some prizes for those that participate at his blog and Facebook Event Page.
Lighthouse Christian book's has Song of the Ovulum for only $9.97.  Family Christian also has an exceptional deal, here.  For those preferring other places to buy, there is Amazon and Christian Book Distributors.

This book is definitely a Narrowing Road favorite and highly encourage anyone even slightly interested to consider pre-ordering it.  It's only $9.97 and I highly encourage it.