I confess: I am a fan of Brian Godawa’s work. Through the eight novels of his Chronicles of the Nephilim series, Brian gave the biblical narrative familiar to most churchgoers an exciting new dimension. Building on the usually ignored fact that the Bible clearly identifies other “gods” as adversaries of Yahweh (see Psalm 82 for the most obvious example), Chronicles of the Nephilim takes readers on a whirlwind ride through 3,000 years of rebellion by the fallen angels (the Watchers), and their giant offspring, the Nephilim. Serving as God’s agents on Earth are flawed and sometimes fragile humans caught up in the supernatural conflict — just as they’re described in the Bible.
Brian’s new series, Chronicles of the Watchers (co-authored with Charlie Wen, the Head of Visual Development for such recent Marvel superhero films as Ant-Man, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor: The Dark World, and others), opens with The Dragon King: First Emperor of China. The Dragon King is not only the first of Brian’s novels to focus on a period of history not recorded in the Bible, it is also the first to move much of the action outside the lands of the Bible.
The authors draw on real history from the period around 220 B.C. and includes historical characters such as Antiochus the Great, his chief minister Hermias, Greek generals Molon and Xenoetas, the First Emperor of China Qin Shi Huang, his prime minister Li Si, top general Meng Tian, court sorcerer Xu Fu, and others. The Dragon King repeatedly drove me to Wikipedia to learn more about events described in the book, such as the rebellion against Antiochus, Qin Shi Huang’s obsession with finding the elixir of immortality, and the savage Xiongnu people who lived north of the Long Wall (who reminded me of the wildlings from George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones — including the giants).
The plot is compelling, the characters are engaging, and Brian’s experience as a Hollywood screenwriter comes through in action that’s described in a very visual style. And bonus points for continuing to write within the Watcher paradigm based in the biblical Divine Council research of Dr. Michael Heiser.
If you enjoy likable characters, a fast-moving story, and exciting plot (suitable for teen and young adult readers) that also examines the roles of the principalities, powers, thrones, and dominions the apostle Paul warned us about, then The Dragon King is highly recommended.
The Dragon King will be officially released on February 1.