on Amazon or on A New Computer (Groan!)
I have a new computer. Heaven help me!
They changed everything. So at this writing I don’t know how to send email, or reply to email–and this new keyboard is the worst example of built-in silliness I’ve ever seen. Two days ago I could do all those things, and more. But now I can’t. I’ll have to learn everything all over again.
Wouldn’t it be great if they made cars like that? If every time they brought out a new model, you had to go back to driving school?
(I absolutely hate, loathe, and abhor this keyboard!!! It was obviously designed for elves, not human beings.)
All I can ask is that my dozens of readers please bear with me while I try to orient myself…
Ta-dah!
OK, I have finally finished writing Book #5 of my Bell Mountain Series, The Fugitive Prince. Meanwhile, #3, The Thunder King, is almost ready for release, and artist Kirk DouPonce has been tapped to create a cover for #4, The Last Banquet. I love the work he’s done so far.
The arc of the story demands another two books, at least. I wonder what they’ll be like!
Meanwhile, readers of this blog might enjoy my articles on News With Views, and maybe even the postings on my “Playground Player Chess Forum” on chessgames.com . There have been some pretty sharp discussions on that forum, none of which have anything to do with chess.
‘Fugitive Prince’ Coming Down the Home Stretch
Book #5 of my Bell Mountain Series, The Fugitive Prince, is finally heading toward completion. Whew! I think it’ll wind up with 55 chapters or so.
There’s nothing quite like watching these books take shape under my hands–often a surprising shape. You know I don’t map them out ahead of time, but rather rely on Our Lord to give me the story He wants me to tell. This can be nerve-wracking for the writer, but the rewards of this process far outweigh the drawbacks.
Meanwhile, Book #3, The Thunder King, should be published by the end of the summer. I think I can safely say the climax of this book will knock you for a loop! Oddly enough, the climax was the very image that I started with. Getting there, though, was quite a wild ride.
The Cellar Beneath the Cellar Review by Steve Wilson
Latest Review (7/9/11) – The Cellar Beneath the Cellar by Lee Duigon
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Genre: Christian Fantasy Recommendation: Excellent Originality: 5/5 Writing Style: 5/5 Plot: 5/5 Characters: 5/5 Aesthetics: 5/5 If you’re not reading Lee Duigon’s Bell Mountain series, you need to be! It’s absolutely one of the best out there! In this amazing second volume, The Cellar Beneath the Cellar, First Prester Reesh, the leader of the entire organized “Church”, is purposely misinterpreting Scripture to serve his own ends while a barbarian army streams into Obann, hungry for the slaughter. |
Meanwhile, the Bell has rung and God has continued to call His chosen ones to a great and final purpose. He is speaking through the Toddler Prophet, has gifted the Old Man Missionary, has strengthened the Flail of the Lord, has commissioned the Finders of Lost Scripture, and has anointed the Boy King.
With so much going on, The Cellar Beneath the Cellar can’t fail to be an intriguing read for any fantasy-lover. Lee’s writing is refined, his characters deep, his action non-stop, and his vision big. This is indeed an epic worth following.
It all starts with Bell Mountain, continues in The Cellar Beneath the Cellar, and then on into the soon-to-be-released The Thunder King. I can’t wait for it to come out!
Okay, I’m done gushing, but as you can tell, I’m giving The Cellar Beneath the Cellar a big recommendation of Excellent and personally guarantee that this will be one of the best series you’ve ever read. Check it out today!
The Cellar Beneath the Cellar is available in print from Amazon.com.
Bell Mountain Review by Steve Wilson
Recommendation: Excellent
Originality: 5/5 Writing Style: 4/5 Plot: 5/5 Characters: 5/5 Aesthetics: 5/5
God is at work in Obann.
A thousand years ago, King Ozias, the last king, placed a bell on top of Mount Yul. Scripture says that when someone rings that bell, God will hear it.
But no one ever has rung the bell.
Until now.
Many people, from the head priest to a small-town teacher, have felt God stirring their heart to ring it, but the only ones obedient enough to answer that call are two children – Jack and Ellayne.
Jack is a poor boy, a child of misfortune; Ellayne is a rich girl, child of the town’s chief councilor. Together they will make it to the top of the mountain and fulfill their calling.
Bell Mountain is such a fun read for people of all ages. It’s interesting and moves at a quick pace with lots of action and adventure. As you read, you’ll meet new creatures, an expert assassin, Helki the Rod, Obst the Hermit, and Wytt the…? (Well, you’ll just have to read about Wytt.)
It’s a perfectly clean read with a ton of depth and good Christian messages. One of my favorite themes was the question of how we should treat Scripture. Is it to be taken at face-value and treated seriously, or is it just a collection of myths and metaphors?
I give Bell Mountain an enthusiastic recommendation of Excellent and will look forward to diving into the sequel, The Cellar Beneath the Cellar.
Bell Mountain is available in print from Amazon.com.
Rabbit Legacy: Book II of Ellen Maze’s ‘Christian Vampire’ Series
Rabbit Legacy by Ellen C. Maze
(TreasureLine Publishing, 2011)
Just when you thought it was safe to take the garlic down from your windows…
Of course, if you’ve read the first book of Ellen C. Maze’s Christianized vampire trilogy, Chasing Beth Rider, you already know that garlic won’t do any good against these bloodsuckers. Nevertheless, by the time that story was finished, it seemed the vampires were pretty much finished, too. But no–in Rabbit Legacy they’re back, and they’re looking for revenge.
The good news is that the sequel has built on the first book’s strengths. It has more depth of feeling, more insight into character, and more boldly faces hard questions of faith and theology. It is in every way a better book.
Can the vampire be saved?
Again, we aren’t dealing with “real vampires” in the Bela Lugosi sense of the word, but rather with a cryptic race called “Rakum.” We learned in Book One that the Rakum originated with a demon and have lived in secrecy among the human race for thousands of years. Maze’s boldness in throwing out all the vampire story conventions has allowed her to do interesting things with plot and character development.
Continue Reading “Rabbit Legacy: Book II of Ellen Maze’s ‘Christian Vampire’ Series”
A Superb Sequel Takes Bell Mountain Readers on a Wild Ride by Robert Knight
Sequels rarely equal the first book in a series, with notable exceptions.
Lee Duigon’s The Cellar Beneath the Cellar is one. Duigon, one of the most cogent and entertaining Christian cultural columnists, picks up where his earlier fantasy novel Bell Mountain left off.
It’s fair to say that Cellar might even top Bell Mountain – no easy task. Like any worthy sequel, The Cellar is intriguing enough to stand on its own, although I would recommend that readers start with Bell Mountain. As with its predecessor, this new book is geared to young readers but does not coddle them. Thus, it is a joy for adults to read as well. It could even serve as a guilty pleasure for secular reviewers who set out to trash Christian novelists. But beware, if you are one of them. You just might be bewitched by Duigon’s character-rich adventure and lose some of your armor against the Hound of Heaven.
Since the plot is full of surprises, I will do my best not to spoil it here. And those who want first to read Bell Mountain should stop here, since that book, too, is full of plot twists.
Our young hero Jack and heroine Ellayne are once again immersed in a mysterious mission that might free their country of Obann from the grip of a false religion and evil overlord. Along the way, great and small battles are fought, hearts change and characters grow in wisdom. Trust – or lack of it – is a central theme. Lord Reesh, the faux keeper of the faith whose manipulations are superbly crafted, demonstrates why villains are so entertaining.
Faced with savage threats not only from their own rulers but from invading hordes of pagan tribes, Jack and Ellayne take us on a wild ride. They are aided and abetted by the reformed heretic and assassin Martis, plus the lovable and still somewhat savage and tiny manlike creature Whit, who wields a sharpened stick with the efficiency of a Samurai. Also, Helki, a giant of a man with a warrior spirit and a father’s protectiveness.
Questions abound. Can the young adventurers trust Martis? After all, he was initially sent to kill them to stop them from ringing the ancient bell atop Bell Mountain. And what exactly is so important about a “cellar beneath the cellar?”
The benevolent hand of God is palpable throughout the novel, even as the Great Story is told in allegorical terms. Like J.R.R. Tolkien, Lee Duigon weaves Christian sensibility into his narrative without being heavy handed. Like Tolkien, Duigon knows that the most effective apologetic isn’t compelling without a great story. So he delivers one. Again.
A Progress Report
First, welcome to all the new visitors who came here via newswithviews.com . You can also find me at http://www.chalcedon.edu ; and if you’re really interested, visit http://www.chessgames.com and check out some of the discussions on my forum, “playground player.” And now to business:
Book #3 of the Bell Mountain Series, The Thunder King, is in its final cycle of proofreading and should be out in late summer or early fall. I think most of you will find you’ve never read anything quite like it.
Book #4, The Last Banquet, is still being proofed and still waiting for a cover. I can’t wait to see what Kirk DouPonce comes up with this time.
I’m still writing #5, The Fugitive Prince, and I expect to be at it for a while longer. The tricky thing about these books is that I have to wait for the story that the Lord gives me; I can’t force it. As the plot of this involves a great deal of treachery, it gets kind of complicated. And I can already see that regardless of how this story climaxes, I’ll need to write a sixth book.
Which suits me just fine!
Bell Mountain Review by Adam Ross
The first in a series of five (thus far), Bell Mountain marks the fantasy debut of author Lee Duigon, and it is an enjoyable debut too. The story follows two children, Jack and Ellayne, as they attempt to make their way across the corrupt kingdom of Obann to climb Bell Mountain and ring the legendary bell that sits atop its peak. Long ago the bell was built by the last good king, King Ozias, but not many believe in the story any longer.
Prompted by haunting dreams of the bell and a mysterious promise made by God in the ancient Writings, Jack and Ellayne believe that the ringing of the bell will reshape the world forever. This call to climb the mountain and ring the bell is not a quest they would want to do, either. It is believed by many that the ringing of the bell will mark the ending of the world. Will they find their courage to ring it? First, of course, they must get there; the road is fraught with many dangers, like child slavers, barbarians, outlaws, and bizarre creatures emerging from the mists of legend, as well as an assassin sent to prevent them from ringing the bell by the corrupt First Prester of the Obann church.
The book is a solid one, set in a fantasy world that borders on being an alternative, or parallel, world to our own. Duigon is a Christian, and so leans heavily on events and ideas taken from the Bible. This is tastefully handled, however, and he always shifts the stories enough to make them original, while maintaining their familiar echoes. King Ozias, for instance, is something of a King David figure, and I caught allusions to other biblical stories such as Adam and Eve, and Cain and Abel.