CSFF Tour, Day 1: Sharon Hinck, The Restorer

Knights and Ladies, Hear Ye, Hear Ye! On this day, the 18th of July, in the year of Our Lord 2007, I bring you good tidings: The Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Blog Tour has rolled into town once more. And over the next three days, you will come to know an author and a book series that may change the Fantasy Genre forever.

Sharon Hinck and The Restorer

A brief introduction of Author and Story:

Sharon Hinck is one of those people you just instantly like. She's smart, she's genuine, and she has that unique kindness that can only come from the Lord. And though she'd no doubt blush and wave off such speech, being the humble one that she is, I want folks to know, you will not find a more sincere Christian in this world. She knows her own frailties, and she knows His voice. All these qualities are woven skillfully into the first books in The Sword of Lyric Series: The Restorer.

The Restorer borrows a thread from Narnia in that you have a portion of the story anchored in this world--reality, 2007, etc. But the bulk of the story takes place elsewhere. And I mean an elsewhere you haven't seen before. Very cool settings, crossing genres between scifi and fantasy in an innovative way. The story is about Susan, a soccer mom. She's got her hands full. She's struggling. She feels woefully inadequate to be a wife, a mother…or a Christian. But the most powerful aspect of Susan for me is that she reveals a side of Christian Life that most of us are afraid to reveal lest we be deemed less spiritual by our peers, or worse, branded "unsaved." You see Susan feels disappointed by God. She wonders about life, "Is this all there is?" Now, I'm a guy's guy, far from a soccer mom, but I found myself connecting with Susan on many different levels. And I wanted to cheer as I read about Susan's faith struggles because, people, faith is supposed to be a struggle when you live in a fallen world. I would go so far as to say that if everything seems to be going your way for a long period of time: a) watch out because life is about to fall all over you OR b) could it be that you are too close to the world? Jesus said we would struggle. And Susan lives the real world struggle right there for us, offering us hope that we're not alone in this.

Again, I think that Susan is this way because the author has lived it. And I have to tell you, open up The Restorer, and get ready for some late nights of reading! You won't be putting it down too soon.

I mentioned that I thought The Restorer could change the fantasy genre forever. More on that tomorrow.

One final Food-for-thought:

I was at the beach recently, and I brought four books with me: three New York Times Bestsellers, and Sharon Hinck's The Restorer. Out of the four, I read The Restorer.

Nuff said.