Chuck Black, Kingdom's Call

Kingdom's Call

Chuck Black

Multnomah, May 2007, $8.99, 160 pp.

ISBN: 159052750X

In the kingdom Arrethtrae in the city of Chessington, the Noble Knights are tasked with protecting every citizen in its borders because they are the King's chosen people and Kifus is the leader but Gavin is the most reverently devoted to the King. One day a stranger stops Kifus from cutting off the hand of a child who stole. He then defeated Kifus in a sword fight which angered Kifus and Gavin who watched as the imposter proclaims he is the Son of the King. The people are intrigued by him and some become his followers.

The Noble Knights feel threatened and have the imposter hung from a tree but that didn't stop his followers from believing in him or spreading his Word. Gavin, now known as the Butcher of Chessington, kills as many of the imposter's followers as he can find. One day in the woods he is attacked by Lord Lucius' shadow lords and left to die. The followers who now call the imposter the Prince take Gavin to heal. His feelings about the Noble Knights begin to change and he is both fearful and excited when he learns that the prince has an interest in him.

Gavin lived by the harsh Code and he believes he is better than the ordinary citizen and the out-dwellers. His hatred towards the Prince makes the people call him the "Butcher of Chessington" yet when he sees how the followers of the Prince are given to their enemies he begins to doubt his own beliefs. He undergoes a crisis of faith that changes him forever. Chuck Black has written a fantastic fantasy that uses biblical prophecies as the basis of his tense plot.

Harriet Klausner