The Door In The Dragon's Throat

“What do they think they’ll miss?”

“Oh, some want to see the great treasure that will make our country – including them – very rich. The others… well, they have come to see you die.”

Dr. Cooper was getting a little tired of such talk. “I don’t intend to die,” he stated matter-of-factly.

Gozan laugh uproariously, as if Dr. Cooper had told a joke. “You intend to tamper with the forbidden Door, doctor! That always brings death!”

Book: The Door in the Dragon's Throat (The Cooper Kids Adventure Series #1) by Frank Peretti, Crossway Books, 1985, republished in 2004

Genre: Suspense, Adventure

Target Audience: Boys and Girls 13-19

Subjects: Fear, Superstition, Greed, Spiritual Warfare

Summary: Everyone dies. Anyone who dares to mess with the door at the bottom of that cavern dies. None have ever opened it. Only the most foolish dare to try. But the president wants that door opened! Something that cursed, that big, the powerful must surely contain great riches. Every team he calls in to try to open it fails though. They die or run away in fear and terror. This team is different though. Only the archeologist, his two teenagers and three workers. Surely if the powerful confident, teams of forty men with all the best equipment could not penetrate the door, this small group won’t be able to either. Or is their faith somehow the key to opening this. Despite earthquakes, poisonous snakes, desert shamans, and explosions, they are still alive! Maybe their god holds the answer after all!

Notes: The first in a series for young teens by Frank Peretti, an author known for his books on spiritual warfare and suspense, the Cooper Kids Adventures series tells about a father and his two children going on various archeological adventures where they strengthen their trust in God and share His greatness with others. In this book, the author sets up the idea that the “locusts from the pit” mentioned in Revelations, may actually be a pack of demons truly bound up somewhere waiting the day when they will be released on the earth. He speculates about what would happen if someone dared to open that door before the appointed time, or more accurately, what would happen if someone tried to do so. It’s a great look at how much more powerful the one true God is than any other power in the world. The natives of the land greatly fear the door, but the Coopers approach it in faith, asking God for His protection and survive when all others have failed.

Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 5/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

Romans 8:38-39 – For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.