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"Dark Halo" by Shannon Dittemore
Aug. 27th, 2013 08:56 pm
Almost exactly a year ago today my reading world was brightened with the introduction of Shannon Dittemore and her Angel Eyes trilogy. Angel Eyes and Broken Wings were both fantastic novels, and I have eagerly awaited this conclusion of Brielle's story.
Let's review: Brielle is the girl who can see beyond the Celestial veil and into the world of angels and demons. She and her friend Jake, who also has a special gift from God, found themselves targets of the enemy's forces in "Broken Wings," and the ending of that book set the stage for a final showdown over the town of Stratus, and hinted that Jake and Brielle would come face to face with the Prince of Darkness himself.
"Dark Halo" picks up only hours after the previous book leaves off. Brielle must pray and wait for instructions while worrying about Jake's fate. When word comes from the Throne Room, Brielle sets off on an adventure that does lead her into a conversation with Satan. He has an offer for her: he can make her unsee the spiritual realm if only she will wear his halo. When the battle for Stratus arrives and the lives of her loved ones are at stake, will Brielle be able to hold to the truth and resist the temptation to give up her angel eyes?
One thing I love about these books is how human the characters are. Brielle has come so far and learned so much, but she still gets conflicted over the hard things that God allows even in His perfect faithfulness. I can strongly relate to Jake's need to do something in times of crisis. On page 234 it says of Jake: "Having the ability to act, to do, to fix, frees him from [fear]." That sounds like me! It's when I'm unable to do something that I get discouraged and fearful.
I only had one issue with this book. Jesus Christ was never mentioned or even alluded to. While stressing the importance of prayer and worship as vital battle tactics, and mentioning the Bible more than the previous two books, I thought it a big mistake to leave out our Prince of Peace. It is only through Him and His blood that we are even able to take part in the fight against evil! There is talk of God, His will, and how He will always triumph over darkness, but there was a very definite void where Christ is concerned. While I want to believe that Shannon Dittemore left Him out because, as she explains in a recent blog post on her blog, the enormity of God often leaves her without words. Another part of me wonders if it wasn't an intentional omission to make the book more accessible to the general public. Nothing would be so offensive to them as a mention of Jesus Christ. I can't tell you why Shannon wrote it that way, but I would encourage every reader to keep Jesus in mind. He is key!
This book did make me want to be more aware of the spiritual world around me. I want to pray more, to worship more, in order to make more of a difference in this world. We too often forget how real that battle is. Thank you to authors like Shannon who come along every now and then to remind us to be alert and not passive bystanders in the fight.
I received my copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for this honest review. All opinions are my own.
