Shadowmancer

Rating:
Summary: An epic adventure
Review: In the 1700s, evil stirs in the village of Baytown, on the Yorkshire coast. Vicar Demurral has stolen a powerful religious relic called the Keruvim. When he attains the second Keruvim, Demurral will be omnipotent and able to become the supreme being of all creation. To that end, with the power of the first Keruvim, he conjures a tremendous storm, which wrecks a ship carrying the second sacred object. The other Keruvim, however, eludes him.

Thomas, a near orphan, is saved from drowning by Raphah, an African teenager surviving the shipwreck. Raphah recruits Thomas to help steal back the Keruvim, stolen from Raphah's people. Thomas hates the despicable vicar and is determined to help Raphah wrest from the vicar the power obtained through thievery. His friend, Kate, helps the two boys enter the vicarage through a tunnel. Thomas escapes from the vicar, but he and Kate run headlong into a gruesome battle with giant evil warriors called Varrigal. The two cannot even hope to win the fight against these horrific supernatural creatures. Yet somehow they triumph.

Meanwhile, Raphah is imprisoned by Demurral, branded as his slave, and sent to the shale mine. Thomas and Kate are offered a chance to help their friend, who is said to be otherwise "as good as dead." But are they walking into their own deaths? The ultimate fate of the earth and all its beings rests in the hands of Kate, Thomas and Raphah. Can they save earth and heaven from being lost forever to evil?

SHADOWMANCER is an exciting adventure with unforeseen plot twists and terrifying shocks, filled with blackest despair and joyous triumph. G. P. Taylor weaves a fine tapestry of earthly and spiritual battles, complete with characters and references seemingly biblical in nature (although ambiguous enough to possibly represent faiths other than Christianity).

SHADOWMANCER has been billed as "hotter than Potter"; its scope is much more epic, faith-based and disturbing than the Harry Potter novels. Fantasy readers who can handle significant religious symbolism threaded through a "can't put it down" adventure will welcome this first book of a planned trilogy as a future classic.

(...)

Rating:
Summary: Lame and limp "Shadowmancer"
Review: Take a cup full of "Harry Potter." Add a teaspoon of hokey religious thrillers, a sprinkling of Tolkien ripoffs, and a dash of the fantastical. Mix thoroughly, and heat to lukewarm. That's basically the recipe for vicar/author G.P. Taylor's debut novel "Shadowmancer," a lame and limp semi-spiritual fantasy.

Like many a fantasy villain, Obadiah Demurral wants to play God, and the corrupt vicar does so by trafficking with evil powers -- all-out sorcery and devil-worship. Enter Raphah, a mysterious man from Africa who is after a mystery amulet that will be incredibly destructive if evil people get their hands on it. (Wow, that's original)

Are our heroes going to let Demurral and the forces of evil win? Of course not. Troubled teen Thomas Barrick (who has quasi-religious visions) and his pal Kate team up with Raphah to somehow keep Demurral from becoming king of the universe with the help of that amulet. But can our heroes win out against Pyratheon (read: the devil)?

Original fantasy is hard to come by, and "Shadowmancer" doesn't improve the situation. It's your basic good vs. evil-forces-stirring-up-Armageddon story, with a heavy layer of religious allegory. Taylor manages to dredge up a few interesting mythical creatures, and a solid Yorkshire setting, but they're drowned out by the trite writing.

No way is religious fantasy a bad thing in itself -- after all, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien rooted their stories partly in religion. But Taylor's brand of Christianity is very watered-down, very generic, very politically-correct and VERY preachy. He lays this bland religious goo on so thickly that it's hard to read without feeling twitchy and uncomfortable. "Riathamus [God] stands at the door of your life and knocks. If you hear his call and answer him he will share your life and live with you always," Raphah announces. It's like he's reading from a pamphlet.

Nor can you expect much in the way of character development; everyone is a symbol rather than a person. Demurral is a cackling, mustache-twirling devil-worshiper. Saintly Raphah is as dull as the proverbial ditchwater, and so are the plucky kids who accompany him. There are no shades of grey here. A flawed person either is evil, or he's just waiting to be redeemed.

"Shadowmancer" is packaged as a thrilling dark fantasy for kids. But under the skin is a lame religious thriller with tepid writing and bland characters.

Rating:
Summary: I'm sorry...
Review: I never ever write a review for a bad book. I always only write for books that I give 5 stars. However I feel as if I am forced to write a review for this. I was at B and N and I saw a large cardboard figure of a man in a black cloak and glowling red eyes, advertising for a new book. And I thought, "If it has a scary cardboard man, it must be good." And it also said on the back "the book that's taken the UK by storm." (yeah. by a storm of horribleness.) And it was just a horrible book. It was one of the only two books I have ever not finished and I hate not finishing a book. It wasnn't necessarlily boring just whenever I started reading it I wanted to scratch my eyes out and I threw the book across the room (which damedged it a lot). I can't really describe how bad it is, if I would I could, only that is so bad. That's the only way to desrcibe it. I hate givivng bad reviews and I always feel bas about it afterwords but I just wanted to make sure that you were tricked by the cardboard man. So please do not go out and get this book, its just so bad! And if I could give it 0 stars I would.

Rating:
Summary: White Cracker
Review: A good book to read is Shadowmancer. It's about a orphan boy who lives in a cave. One day the priest had something really dangerous,called the Keruvim. It could do what ever you told it to do. The priest makes it tear up a ship so he can get the other half of it,and have it's full power.

Rating:
Summary: Get the Chills on a Hot Summer Day!
Review: I love this book, it is scary, fun, fast, and really takes you into another world. This book is so creepy, I would recommend that you read it by the fireplace in the winter so you don't turn into an ice sculpture. I had to check the doors and windows twice each time I started reading this book . . . Wonderful fun especially for kids or adults who like fantasy books, comic books, and video games.

Rating:
Summary: A tangled tale
Review: The writing and quality of this book is not even close to Tolkien, so any comparison to Tolkien did not even enter my head until I read some of these reviews. I was amazed some people even see a basis for a comparison.

Though the media is calling this book a "Christian Harry Potter," it is NOT Christian. In fact, the author, G P Taylor, has vehemently denied it being Christian in several interviews that you can find online. He said he wrote it for Christians, Muslims, and Jews, and that Muslims see Mohammed, Christians see Jesus, and Jews see the coming Yeshua. Those are his words. So to make all these groups happy, the God in here, called Riathamus, is very generic, as is the "King" who seems to be a Christ figure but has a very small role. In his encounter with Thomas, he tells Thomas he will forgive him but does not tell Thomas why or how this is possible. Two references to the "Battle of the Skull" (Golgotha where Christ was crucified) do not help. The crucifixion was not a battle anyway; Jesus willingly laid down his life to atone for humanity's sins.

The supposedly good guy, Raphah, has mysterious powers that are very occultic-like, and he turns out to be one of the "objects," but in the flesh, that the evil Demurral wants for his sorcery. So is he an angel, a boy, a statue come to life, or what? Identities are very confusing in the story and we are never sure who several mysterious figures really are. The story is more frustrating than anything.

There are also several quotes from the Bible but they are given in ways that make them mean something different than they do in the Bible. Also, some of the quotes are changed from the original words or mixed with other quotes that don't go together.

As far as the plot and characters go, I found both rather trite and stereotypical. There is not much creativity. The villain, Demurral, is especially implausible because he is so utterly evil that he is almost cartoonish -- much like the Dursley's and Prof. Umbridge in the Harry Potter books. Regular people who seem ordinary but give in to evil desires are much more interesting than someone who right off the bat talks about wanting divine power.

Most disturbing are several warnings and hints that Demurral could actually fight Riathamus (God) and get his power. Raphah tells Thomas and Kate that if Demurral gets the Keruvim (cherubim from the Tabernacle, but you have to figure this out as this info is not given), he could control the world and even the power of Riathamus. Later, Thomas tells Kate that Raphah told him that Demurral has a power that can call up the dead and control the wind and sea. Well, Jesus, during a storm, commanded the wind and sea to stop and they did (Matthew 8, Mark 4, Luke 8). He did this because he had the authority of God as the Son of God and God the Son. No man has this power. It's strange a vicar would put this in a story.

I would really give this book one-and-a-half stars but you have to choose one or two. There are so many good books out there, so choose another book to read.

Rating:
Summary: Not even in the same league as H. Potter
Review: I have read all the Harry Potter books and although they are considered children's literature enjoyed the story and loved the characters. I read a review of Shadowmancer and how wonderful the book was and thought the family would love it. As it wasn't in the US yet I had a friend bring it back from a business trip in the UK. What a waste of a favor! I have been trying to wade through this book for the past week and a half. Utterly boring. I feel like I am in Sunday School again just with different names but somewhat the same stories. Please don't waste your time or money on this one.

Rating:
Summary: C. S. Lewis meets J. K. Rowling
Review: Shadowmancer is a wonderful story, although it is a bit lean on character development and the Christian subtext is, at times, a little too preachy. But the story is rich and very well told, with a fast paced and exciting plot line. Fantasy lovers who enjoy The Chronicles of Narnia and Harry Potter will love this one. And at a mere 304 pages, seasoned Harry Potter fans will rip right through it. G. P. Taylor shows great potential as a writer and I look forward to the sequel.

Rating:
Summary: Poor character development
Review: No matter what some want you to believe, this book doesn't come close to the works of Rowling and Tolkien in readability, plot, and most of all character development. It might have worked had the author taken the time to paint a better picture of where and when it takes place, and given the characters much more of a history so we could get to know them and understand them. The book is very hard to get into because of these failings, and there's no real suspense or sense of awe or wonder in what occurs as the story unfolds. It could have been so much better, and I wonder if the author will make any attempt to correct these failings in the sequel or whether it will be worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: atmospheric and compelling
Review: 3 kids against the monster who wants to control their souls! Wow! Its exciting and compelling. I don't exactly like the wierd creatures so much, but I love the atmophere of the village where they live. It really takes you there to read it. Good job!. Also recommended is Prairie Whispers, another book with real atmosphere of a different time and place. And exciting story of a girl who takes a baby and no one knows it.