The Caves That Time Forgot

Book: The Caves That Time Forgot by Gilbert Morris, Moody Publishers, 1995



Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Adventure/Futuristic
Target Audience: Boys and Girls 13-17
Subject: Teaching people new skills vs. teaching them God's way: love
Summary: Which is easier to do: teach someone how to build plows and bow & arrows OR teach them to treat people with love and kindness? The Seven Sleepers, especially Dave are about to learn the hard way that while it's definitely ALOT easier to teach new technology to people, it's not nearly as important as teaching the ways of Goel (the allegorical figure representing God in the series). Join Dave and the other six as they travel to the land of dinosaurs and cavemen in an attempt to win another people group for Goel and save them from the Dark Lord.
Notes: The lesson of this story is on keeping the right focus. Dave finds it easy enough to show the people how better weaponry or farming skills will help them, but when they want to use the new skills and tools to go kill the neighboring tribe, he realizes that Goel was right when He told them that those things wouldn't matter. What matters is teaching Goel's way of thinking to the people, and that is love for others rather than revenge or boasting.
The Seven Sleepers series is Science Fiction in that it is futuristic. It is not meant to be fantasy. It is meant to be realistic fiction set in the future, but it seems like fantasy most of the time! The story takes place after the earth has been almost destroyed by nuclear warfare. What's left has been genetically changed and messed up. All sorts of strange creatures and people exist now that didn't before. Whether it be giants, dinosaurs or something else, most of "Nuworld" is strange and seems like something that could only exist in fantasy. The sleepers are 7 children who were placed in sleep capsules right before the war began, then the capsules opened 50 years later to this genetically altered world.
Recommendation Scale: 4
Reviewer: J:-)mi