About the Book:

A shattered man.
A wounded land.
An ancient prophecy links their fate,
balancing destiny
on the edge of a knife.

GIDEON, a shattered loner from our world, finds himself in a wounded land where an ancient prophecy has cast him as the catalyst for the doom or deliverance of an entire people…maybe even an entire world.

Trapped between mystical forces with powers he doesn’t understand, he tries to escape, tries to tell them they’ve got the wrong guy. But no one believes him, and everyone wants a piece of him. Those who don’t want to proclaim him as a great deliverer want to kill him as a harbinger of doom.

He’s got no way home, and nowhere to run. But it’s too late to escape now anyway. The dark lords know his name, and have unleashed their incredible power to hunt him down and destroy him, along with anyone who gathers around him.

Is he a pawn, or a prophet?

Only time will tell.

But time is the one thing he no longer has.

Side Notes:

I first picked up Gideon’s Dawn back in 2003 and immediately started tracking with the author’s blog (though “following” as it is today wasn’t really a thing back then). That “tracking” has been a deep blessing in my life in many ways, but that’s another story all together. I am thrilled that a new and updated version of Gideon’s Dawn is being released in anticipation of the very long awaited completion of the series.

This book comes with a content warning that reads: “This story contains occasional coarse language, depictions of racism, classism, and other forms of prejudice, violence using fantasy magic, and direct references to childhood trauma, sexual abuse, incest, and animal abuse.”

To be honest, if the book had contained that warning back in 2003 it is unlikely that I would have read it and that would have been my loss. I’ve grown a lot in the last twenty-two years. I’ve healed a lot in the last twenty-two years. The themes that sent me spinning emotionally then didn’t have the same disorienting impact now. But they are there and you know you. But I will say that the trauma, the evil, doesn’t get the final say and there is hope here, a lot of hope. The content isn’t gratuitous. This is a book about a journey of healing, a journey of becoming, and I think it is very much worth reading even if you find the content to be hard. Though if you are a trauma survivor it wouldn’t be a bad idea to plan to talk through the story with a trusted friend or counselor. I’m forever telling my friend’s about all the things the stories that I am reading stir inside my soul.

My Thoughts:

Gideon’s Dawn is the beginning of an epic tale, which is my very favorite type of story. Gideon isn’t a likeable character when we first meet him. He’s not Bilbo or Frodo or Samwise. He’s you. He’s me. He’s broken. He’s hurting. He’s self-focused. He’s hiding from the world and from himself. He’s just existing. And he’s about to have his entire life turned upside down so that he can start to really live.

The world-building in this epic is detailed and creative. The characters are real and believable. The reactions, the battles, the desires, the many layered aspects of the narrative are masterfully shaped and formed.

The evil is real. But so is the hope.

Even though I had read the book before, more than once actually, I still couldn’t put the updated version down. I carried it around with me for days reading whenever I had a spare moment.

If you are looking for a well crafted fantasy epic with a focus on redemption then look no further.