A Hideous Beauty: Kingdom Wars I

My 27 year old daughter brought this book to me after she read it. It has inspired her to get back to praying and to God's word. I read the book and was inspired. This is on the order of Perretti, you can actually see what is happening and it is so understandable because it lines up with what the Word says. Amazing and well worth the read, you won't want to put it down. We definately need the #3 book in the series to be written and beyond.

Grant Austin is a Pulitzer Prize winning author who is widely lauded for his authoritative biography of the sitting President of the United States. But he finds out from a former high school rival (who happens to be a demon incarnate) that much of what he wrote is wrong and that Douglas is not the man he thought he was. Moreover, this world is not what he thought it was, and the forces of evil are plotting to kill the President and use Grant to advance their evil schemes. Grant refuses to believe at first, but as time goes on, he realizes that there is a spiritual battle happening in the universe, and he must choose sides. Along the way, he learns a great deal about himself, his past, and his destiny. He is helped along the way by some resourceful friends and curious characters. At first, I thought the story was too weird. But it grew on me as I kept reading, and I even arrived late for an appointment because I couldn't put the flipping book down. Another winner from the pen of Jack Cavanaugh, who makes the transition from historical fiction to thriller fiction quite nicely.

Kingdom Wars I - A Hideous Beauty - Jack Cavanaugh Grant Austin is back in school with a Pulitzer to rub in the face of his High School nemesis Myles Shepherd. Problem is, Myles Shepherd is not really Myles Shepherd and Grant Austin has become the invisible man to everyone he used to know. "A hideous beauty. Wondrously alluring. Incredibly evil." "Dedicated insidious soldiers" from a supernatural realm have infiltrated the American boarders, and their current intent is to kill the President. Despite his own experiences, Austin has a hard time buying into the whole idea of an invisible war and continues for some time to work by his own efforts to undo the plot. He is foiled each time by his now-dead old friend, Shepherd. To top it all off, Austin is himself the tool by which this hideous beauty will accomplish its task - using his Pulitzer winning Presidential biography and the President himself. Why Austin? Why his book? Why now? Why this President? Those questions are raised and some tantalizingly answered, building anticipation for the next installment of the Kingdom Wars series. As for the opener in the Kingdom Wars, it is a great rollicking suspenseful action thriller full of fascinating, unexpected characters who may or may not be who they appear. Bus loads of children teetering precariously from a bridge, daring helicopter rescues and possessed fighter pilots round out the white-knuckle climax as Austin learns that he is a threat to the spiritual world that they can not ignore. In the end, he must choose whom he will serve - even when there is no salvation available to him. Cavanaugh is at his best with Kingdom Wars I. This is a don't-miss-it series with a remarkable opener! An angel, a wheelchair bound professor, and three very angry but capable women join Austin at the heart of this effort to frustrate spiritual influence over human history. The battle between good and evil has not ended and is only gaining momentum in Cavanaugh's don't-blink-can't-put-it-down series opener.

Do you like Frank Perreti, Ted Dekker, and yes, Tolkien? Well, this book is for you. Fast paced, well written, and theologically intriging only begin to discribe how I view this story. I don't want to overinflate expectations, but I can't wait to read the next volume coming in the spring. It is certainly rare for me to not be able to put a book down. If you enjoy novels, like I do, please, do yourself a favor, and purchase this book.

If you are a Jack Cavanaugh fan, you are in for a treat. A different kind of a treat, though, Jack's new series is a Spiritual Warfare/Fantasy. Proving that a good, respected-in-his-genre storyteller can cross into another genre and do it right, too. My husband and I read Hideous Beauty over the weekend while we drove to Minnesota and back home. We both loved it. I struggled with the first several pages, trying to figure out exactly what was going on, but my hubby didn't. We both loved the main character, Grant Austin, who narrates with sarcastic humor and experiences a wild story full of intriguing friends and enemies. Several times, we found ourselves laughing out loud as Grant encountered one issue after another with witty thoughts and comments. The feel is very lad lit, complete with some serious relationship mess-ups. Another small issue was a bit of tweaking with our theology. Both of us wondered a time or two if we agreed with the possibility of this or that event playing out quite like it did in the book. But this is fantasy fiction. I hope no one bases their theology on something they read in fiction. If you don't struggle with differing opinions of the faith, then you shouldn't get hung up on...well...on speculative differing opinions. Hideous Beauty is going to appeal to Hines, Liparulo and Wells fans, as well as Cavanaugh's faithful readers. If you love Spiritual Warfare, Fantasy, and great stories, you might want to get your hands on a copy.