(This review may contain spoilers).
When I originally bought this book, I was immediately struck by the contrast between the cover and the title. Reading the book, the cover itself fit in near perfectly with the story and the other world Thomas Hunter found himself in.
I’ve always liked the idea of people travelling to or finding themselves in fantasy worlds and the fact this was a Christian fantasy immediately made me interested in reading this book.
I particularly liked the way both worlds were facing two very different but real dangers and I liked the fact that Thomas didn’t just accept reality in either world, even though the violent scene at the beginning added strongly to his sense of confusion. The only real issue with that was that the money owed to the mob was then never mentioned again and neither was his mother.
I found it an interesting twist that, although Earth being the history of the new world Thomas found himself in wasn’t a unique idea, it was clear enough that the histories were actually recorded. I liked seeing the parallels between the two world, though the transition of wounds only seemed to go so far.
What I especially liked about this book, or rather who, was Elyon. I enjoyed seeing the easy relationship the people had with him and the contrasting elements prevalent in my religion. The innocence of the humans there was really endearing, but I especially liked how Rachelle managed to confound Thomas at virtually every turn.
I also found it very realistic that it was nearly impossible for Thomas to convince the people of Earth about what was going to happen, even when he was able to show them near irrefutable proof. The threat on Earth felt real, while it wasn’t until towards the end of the book that the threat of the black bats felt like something more than an abstract concept. I did question what exactly it was about Thomas’ appearance that changed everything, though.
I have the other two books in this trilogy and have every intention of reading them in the near future, as this book has left me eager to see what will happen to Thomas and the rest of his people next.
Ink of Blood 