The Second Sun (The Great and Terrible book 3)

The Great and Terrible by Chris Stewart is a series of books that piqued my curiosity when I first heard about them. For those that have heard of the Left Behind series this takes the same subject matter but addresses it from an LDS perspective. Not only is Chris Stewart LDS but he is also retired military, so many of the things that are addressed in these books are done so through a perspective that I can really relate to.

I find it very interesting to see what might happen in the future which is part of the reason I enjoy science fiction so much However when I read these books it is always with the notion in the back of my mind that I know there is no way these things will actually happen because they do not often correspond with my religious beliefs and how I understand that the last days will play out. To read a book that follows those beliefs has been very enjoyable if not a little scary.

This series starts in the Premortal life and describes some of the circumstances there in which Lucifer was thrust down to Hell. It also follows the experiences of four spirits who will have a great work to do in the last days. The second book Where Angels Fall introduces us to these characters in this life and begins to set the stage for the final war, Armageddon. These events are not only punctuated by the authors LDS views but also his military experience. These events are driven by politics and military actions which are greatly related to present day situations. A scene in which a foreign dignitary stands in front of the UN general assemble and publicly disparages the United States is reminiscent of many current events. This tie in not only makes this novel extremely interesting but frightening in that one can see these events happening any time now.

As in most novels there are some things that I enjoyed and some that bothered me. On things that I was not sure about in the beginning but grew on me throughout the books was the depiction of Lucifer and his minions tempting others. At first I thought this was weird but as things moved on I could see how this added to the mental anguish of many of the characters and it serves as a reminder of where the circumstances are heading. The thing that probably bothered me the most about this book was authors in depth descriptions of the specifics of flying airplanes. It offers a sense of authenticity but often comes off as unnecessary especially when one is impatient for the action to move on.

Overall this is an amazing story and I am very excited to pick up the next one.