I saw the title of this and thought it might be suitable for Christian teens. I rarely read fantasy but made an exception due to the Christian content.

I read this through in one sitting. It is engaging and there are enough twists and turns that it isn't entirely predictable. However, I was surprised that although the author acknowledges that his book is a reimagining of The Pilgrim's Progress, he uses so much duplicated content. I have not read the latter since I was a youth but could still recall some details and am sure that if I re-read it there would be more that matched up. I also detected elements of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe--the use of a healing ointment and emerging into different lands.

The book tells the story of Kadin who sets off to reach the Celestial City and, much like Pilgrim, faces diversions and temptations along the way. The problem with this version is that the redemption message is not clear. If an author decides to bring fantasy into the message of salvation they really need to make the underlying theology watertight or it just doesn't work.

There were a few areas that bothered me in this narrative--it wasn't clear that the man who died (the Prince) was atoning for sin or dying in the place of anyone, maybe he wasn't, I really don't know. The biggest error in my view was when the author suggested that the King (God) had sent His Son (the Prince) to die for love rather than justice or that He was being punished for sin. This is a popular false teaching in contemporary church circles and I feel it is dangerous for the atonement to be misrepresented even in fiction.

I also felt that some of the violence was quite graphic and also some of the descriptions of the horrors/devils that were encountered along the way. I don't think this would be suitable for younger teens as it might give them nightmares. But, mature audiences will be able to cope with the level of gore! There is no bad language and no sexual content although there are suggestions that one of the characters was raped--there are no details of this. I didn't like the way the main character temporarily became a womaniser when given the opportunity as I felt it suggested that this was acceptable behaviour for any normal man...

Having pointed out the negatives, I believe that some may still enjoy this, it is an easy read and has some good points. I recommend it for adults who enjoy Christian fantasy. ( )