Andrew Klavan’s recently concluded gritty fantasy trilogy is a series for adults, not teens.
Another Kingdom series by Andrew Klavan. Turner Publishing.
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended For: *Adults (see below)
As Another Kingdom begins Austin Lively is just a Hollywood wannabe closing soon on a has-been. Then, he stumbles through a portal into a kingdom where he is someone else. When Austin returns to Hollywood, no time has passed. His only clue is a manuscript he once saw that has since disappeared. Klavan spins an intriguing premise: a fantasy kingdom linked to this world. In the second book, The Nightmare Feast, Austin’s fantasy quest continues while another danger lurks in Hollywood. In The Emperor’s Sword, after an unexpected twist, all the pieces of the series come together in a pounding conclusion. But Austin’s excavation of our world and the fantasy kingdom unearth a dark and gritty underbelly of reality.
Austin is an unlikely hero as he stumbles between worlds. Despite growth he keeps stumbling into sin throughout the trilogy. Both the fantasy world, our world, and Austin and his friends are filled with darkness —foul language and violence mars the story. Sexuality in various guises occurs: lust, attempted rape, infidelity, implied child abuse, and outright adult sex scenes. Klavan is right in understanding the darkness of our world, and he shows it in disturbing ways that might provoke a self-examining. Still, the amount of violence, language, and sex will be too much for many readers. In the Another Kingdom series, hope and redemption are faint murmurs, overwhelmed by sin.
*Considerations:
- If this was tv series, it would be R-rated. See above review for details.
Overall Rating: 3 out of 5
- Worldview/Moral Rating: 3 out of 5
- Literary/Artistic Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Read more about our ratings here.
Related Reading From Redeemed Reader
- A Review: *MindWar: A Novel (The MindWar Trilogy, Book 1) by Andrew Klavan —We loved this YA series by Klavan.
- A Resource: Gift Books for Grown-Ups —For some of our favorite books for adults
- A Reflection: Christian Romance: part of a well-balanced “book diet”?
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I checked this one out from the library. Having observed my older teen son’s enjoyment of Klavan’s YA books, I thought this one might also be enjoyable. He was repulsed by the language pretty early on and did not finish it. He said that the f-bombs occurred with annoying frequency, not advancing the story line in any way. Sadly, I have trained my son to enjoy reading only to have him realize there are very few wholesome modern adult novels – even among Christian authors. I realize that language is not the totality of what constitutes good and evil. However, at the same time why should we send the message, after training them to avoid corrupt language, that being an “adult” makes it okay?
That’s one reason I still love children’s literature, Cheryl! Adult books can have so many issues, and they can also be just too long (I recently read a both humorous and insightful essay by Diana Wynne Jones about this very issue: Two Kinds of Writing.) For a reader who just wants to enjoy a good story, it can be frustrating! If your son enjoys fantasy to sci-fi, I’d highly recommend Brandon Sanderson, Timothy Zahn, and Andre Norton’s sci-fi books —three authors who tell a good story without depending on or invoking language.
Thank you, Hayley – thank you for the recommendations, and thank you for affirming my frustrations. It all underscores what a valuable ministry you and the RR ladies have!