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Monday, October 19, 2009

HAUNT OF JACKALS by Eric Wilson JERUSALEM'S UNDEAD TRILOGY

Haunt of Jackals by Eric Wilson
Book 2 of Jerusalem’s undead Trilogy

3 DAY REVIEW FOR THE

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY BLOG TOUR


CLICK HERE FOR A LITTLE INFORMATION ON THE AUTHOR. MY POST FROM YESTERDAY.


CLICK HERE for Eric Wilson’s Web site
CLICK HERE for The Undead Trilogy Web site

HAUNT OF JACKALS - My synopsis:

Born of the blood left behind by Judas Iscariot upon his death -- The Collectors. In most every way the Collectors resemble what we now call vampires. Immortal, living but dead. Passionate for the carnal, lust bursting from their undead flesh. Drinking the blood of the poor human victims, and tormenting as demons do.

Now, when Jesus rose from the grave he walked the earth, and at the same time, many others were raised. 36 of those humans raised from their dark slumber still walk the earth today. They are called the Nastarim. Human guardians of the world.

Thus the conflict between the blood suckers and the immortal protectors ensues. The goal of the Collectors is to speed up the coming of Armageddon by tormenting the children of God and helping humans give into the slavery of their flesh.

At the heart of the war between good and evil lies a battle between Natira, a Lead Collector, and Cal Nichols, a fallen Nastarim. Cal lost his position as one of the Nastarim the day he allowed himself to love a human woman. Natira killed Cal’s son, forcing Cal to now spend his energy hiding and protecting his daughter(and his adopted grandson) from the hungry vamp-demon. All the while Cal Nichols must continue his real purpose - protect the Nastarim and rid the earth of all collectors, especially Natira.

This book is bursting at the seams with stuff. History, geography, archeology, vampire legend, Jewish folklore, biblical history, Jesus, the Bible, faith, the New Testament, and little echoes from the Screwtape letters by CS Lewis. All this is interwoven into a tapestry of speculative fiction.

How can I touch on all that is going on in HAUNT OF JACKALS? It is impossible. The best I can do is give you a snapshot of what I think the plot looks like, and paint a picture of my favorite story lines. Come back tomorrow for more.


Don’t forget to check out what others on the tour are saying about HAUNT OF JACKALS.

MAKE SURE TO TOUR THE FOLLOWING LINKS:

Brandon Barr
Wayne Thomas Batson
Jennifer Bogart
Justin Boyer
Keanan Brand
Amy Browning
Karri Compton
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Beth Goddard
Todd Michael Greene
Timothy Hicks
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Julie
Carol Keen
Dawn King
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirtika
Nissa
John W. Otte
James Somers
Speculative Faith
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Jill Williamson
KM Wilsher

4 comments:

Rachel Starr Thomson said...

Thanks for your comment, KM! I replied at my site, but I wanted to give my answer here as well just in case you don't check back ;). I'm glad to see such a mix of positive and negative reviews on the tour -- I think everyone's doing a great job of presenting different perspectives and things to think about :).

I agree that Jesus' blood was always there -- but that's where I had a problem with the story. How much was Gina actually asked to look at who Jesus was? Did she have to grapple with her sin and realize the love and mercy and justice of God in the sacrifice of Christ? Was she being called to a walk of trust and faith? Or did she just need to break open an earring and drink some holy blood so she could live forever? To me this echoes the idea that many people have that taking communion will guarantee them salvation -- even if there is no personal repentance, faith, or relationship with Christ in their lives.

LynnRush said...

Wow. Lots packed into that story it sounds. Great post, KM

KM Wilsher said...

Maybe so Rachel, but I don't think Eric left that out on purpose. I didn't notice that this was a gaping hole. I think he tried to incorporate a lot of the struggle with FAITH/SALVATION/SIN into both FIELD OF BLOOD and HAUNT OF JACKALS. That is where I think Eric missed the mark a little bit. Trying to encompass too many avenues and not being able to exhaust one or two of them.

In the first book, FIELD OF BLOOD, Gina struggled much with sin and its punishment - her mom "bled her" as a child, cutting her with a knife, just in case she was sinning. (Jewish Folklore) She questioned her faith, the afterlife and Jesus. Maybe the second book didn't cover it enough.

I still think a nonbeliever would get plenty of opportunity for the Spirit to stir his heart. :)

Just my opinion and I do see yours.

Rachel Starr Thomson said...

Cross-posting again ...

Eric Wilson definitely tried to cover a LOT in these two books. I'm not sure how well it worked, but good for him for trying. I did enjoy the scope of "Haunt of Jackals." And I think he's done a great job of showing the reality of sin, just not the nature of salvation.

Thanks for carrying on this conversation! I'm glad to hear your viewpoint on this.