Bruce Von Stiers
Harry Potter and the Hunger Games might not seem the book series to serve as a foundation for a writer of faith based fiction. But one author says that these two series influenced her own writing. All though her writing is faith based and stands on solid theological ground.
The author I am referring to is L.K. Malone. She wrote a faith based spy thriller called Divided Loyalties that garnered critical acclaim. But for this new novel she drew upon her love of Harry Potter and the characters from the Hunger Game series as partial inspiration for her characters and plot devices.
This new novel is called The Mirror of N'de. It was published late last year by Kregel Publications, a leading faith based publisher.
The story opens with a dream that young Hadley Mivana is having. A being is speaking to her, somehow hoping to guide Hadley to a mirror. This was a special mirror with magical powers. But once Hadley wakes up, she finds herself back in her parent's humble home in the city of Turris .
Hadley's family is of the Ramash clan. And as such are impoverished and basically downtrodden servants to the Oresed clan. The Oresed enjoy a favored status from the emperor of the land.
All of this is about to change when the emperor returns to Turris with his son. It is decreed that there will be new initiates to apprentice and serve the emperor and the prince. These initiates will come from the ranks of both Oresed and Ramash youth. And that the Oresed and Ramash people were now to be considered as equals.
But all is now what it seems. There is an underlying dread that Hadley feels as she is chosen as one of the Ramash initiates. And there could just possibly be a more devious and unworldly plan unfolding behind the scenes.
As I was reading the book several literary references sprung to mind. Among those was a sliver of likeness to the Dickens classic tale Oliver Twist. And due to the jealousy and infighting going on I also thought of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Hadley is chosen by the prince to be his special friend. She was helping take care of creatures that the prince had created by combining two different species of animals. This mixing of species plays a key role later in the book. As Hadley rises above her station in life, there was also a slight literary nod to Cinderella. Hadley continues to have dreams where a being is trying to guide her towards something.
But as I said earlier, all is not what it seems. The further along the story went, the stranger and weirder it got. What I thought was going to be just a moral lesson with biblical parallels ended up being more of a horror story. I was kind of expecting a moderate remix of the Harry Potter type of plot trappings. Instead, it was sort of like something that Tedd Dekker or Frank Peretti might have written, targeting youth and young adult readers. Not that I felt it was a bad thing. On the contrary, the core of the book is deeply rooted in biblical parallels. The being that keeps coming to Hadley in her dreams is definitely supposed to be God.
Hadley eventually meets a creature who helps her unravel the mystery of what's truly going on and how to rise above it.
The Mirror of N'de is fresh and exciting. L.K. Malone has done a great job with her foray into the world of faith based fantasy fiction.
The Mirror of N'de is available through most faith based book retailers and online at places like amazon.com. You can also order a copy through the publisher at www.kregelpublications.com .
To find out more about The Mirror of N'de and its author, L.K. Malone, visit http://lkmalone.com/
© 2012 Bruce E Von Stiers