Rating: My bookshelf, Needs Parent Supervision

Reading level: Late Elementary, Middle School

Strong themes involving no fear in love. It is clear the author is a Christian, though I don’t know if all the theology is 100% correct.

Possible Concerns:

  • Evil Spirits. A boy gives in to fear and sin, and submits to the King of fear. The evil spirit speaks to the consciousness of all its followers, and it manifests and a large black dragon. Followers bow to the dragon, hold occult ceremonies to honor it, and tremble in fear of it.
  • Murder. A community of humans murders dragons who represent light and love. The humans are operating under the spirit of fear.
  • Peril. You know, that stuff like war, spears, killing dragons, blood gushing.
  • Manipulated scripture. The villain twists scripture-like references in ways that are perverted. It might be worth discussing where your child sees this happening, e.g. the king of fear says, “Well done my good and faithful son.” p.168.

Things I liked:

  • Healthy parent relationship. The boy and his mom are close and she teaches him to be a light.
  • Loving your enemy. The boy loves his enemies and tries to develop empathy for them.
  • Forgiveness. Yeshua, a Jesus figure, forgives the main character for crossing over and pledging loyalty to the king of fear. Yeshua promises to stay with him.
  • Battling Fear. The forgiven boy conquers fear with divine help.

See also my reviews of Book 1, The Boy Who Fell from the Stars, and Book 2: Journey to the Silver Towers.

Discussion Questions:

  • The Bible says fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. But it also says perfect love casts out fear. How do we reconcile these ideas?
  • When Jack meets with Yeshua, his scales disappear. What did his scales represent, and why do they disappear?
  • What (if anything) do you think the Scalar people under the spirit of fear were doing right, and what were they doing wrong? Why were they not aligned with the teachings of Yeshua? Do you ever operate like a Scalar in your interactions with God?
  • The king of the reds said Jack was his son, and he was well-pleased with Jack. Do you think his pleasure was unconditional, or was it based on Jack’s performance? How is that different from Yeshua’s pleasure in Jack?