Resistance

“Bow before your gods,” the emperor repeated with more force this time. The words resonated against the walls. Kyrin drew in a slow breath and filled her lungs. No longer did her pulse thunder in her head. She lid her eyes over to meet the emperor’s, and her voice came out soft, yet strong with words never before uttered in the palace temple.
”They are not my gods… Elom in my God.”

Book: Resistance (Ilyon Chronicles) (Volume 1)by Jaye L. Knight, Living Sword Publishing, 2014

Genre: Speculative/Fantasy

Target Audience: Boys and Girls 14+

Subjects: Truth, Persecution, Family Relationships, Racism, Hope, Good vs. Evil

Summary: Twins, called out from childhood to train to serve the emperor due to their special giftings, Kyrin and Kaden dread the day their assignment will come. They have been secretly taught to worship and serve the one true God – something becoming more and more dangerous all the time. They’ve carefully avoided going to the temple and have two years left of school to get by. But when this year’s assigning comes, Kyrin gets assigned two years early! And worst of all – assigned to work directly with the emperor himself! The stress of being the emperor’s spy is draining but the day finally comes when she’s asked to choose between the one true God and the false gods of the emperor, to choose between life and death. Meanwhile, a young boy longs to be fully a part of the human race. Half Ryric – a race known for being so vicious some say they have no soul, Jace is tormented all of his life. He wants to believe in Elom but is certain Elom does not believe in him. After all, he’s been told all his life that he is worthless and has no soul. With the tragedies he’s seen, why should he believe anything different? Bitter and anguished he hides in the forest, closing himself off to all but one, the one who might just be stubborn enough to get through to him. Until tragedy strikes again.

Notes: The first in the Ilyon Chronicles, Resistance sets up the political environment – the king trying to increase his power to rule over the world instead of just one country and demanding all worship the false gods of the temple. It introduces two different sets of characters – the human twins with special giftings who have been raised in a school for most of their lives and know the truth about Elom – and the rebels hiding off in the woods, setting up a plan of resistance for all those who follow Elom and refuse to bow down to the emperor’s gods. The fantasy elements come in the different races of people that exist in the world – everything from giants to dwarfs to sort of animal-like people. There’s also mention of dragons. Then there are the special gifts that some have – like the ability to tell what others are thinking – not so much read minds as read emotions and discern truth from lies and perfectly remember everything ever seen or heard. The book does a great job with spiritual elements – it’s the whole point of the storyline. The two major threads running through the book are whether or not the twins will worship the false gods and whether or not Jace can put his trust in Elom instead of the lies he’s been told all of his life. Also of note, there is violence in the book, but it’s not overly intense or graphic most of the time. It’s a fairly safe book for younger teens to read. I highly recommend this one. It can challenge readers to consider how much they would stand up for their own faith in the face of persecution.

Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 5/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

John 15:19-21 – If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me.

Matthew 5:11 – "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

Thank you to the author for providing me with a free review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. I greatly enjoyed it!