Book Review: "A Flight of Arrows" by Lori Benton

A Flight of Arrows by Lori Benton

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


In order to fully appreciate and understand the significance, depth, and meaning in the lessons and struggles of this story, you should first read book number one in the Pathfinders' set, "The Wood's Edge". Book two is much more powerful if you understand where the characters have come from - their 'paths', so to speak.

I have mixed feelings about this book, as I did about the first one.

(minor spoilers below)

The book started out (about the first 1/3 of the book) rather tedious... Sequence of events: crisis, relief, crisis, relief, crisis, relief - and it was the same 'crisis' over and over. It just got a little too dramatic. Maybe I'm being overly critical, but I work at an academy, and it was beginning to remind me of the social 'drama' of high-school.

In the area of romantic relationships, there seemed to be a lot of importance put on 'following your heart', versus taking in the whole picture and making the best choice overall. As if it's more important to struggle against the 'obstacles' (circumstances, people, etc.) so that you can eventually get your own way, instead of realizing that maybe it would be better for those around you, for future generations, and even for yourself, if you sacrifice what you want now for something later.

There are several instances of unmarried couples kissing.

A young man accidentally walks in on a young woman taking a bath. He retreats as quickly as he can, but before he does, she sees him and unashamedly rises out of the tub. She (the young man's sweetheart/girlfriend) is unfair to him in several other similar instances (though the one above was the worst). She acted in ways that were alluring and tempting to him, without seeming to realize (or care) the pain and struggle it is for a young man to remain in control of his desires while being alone with the girl he hopes to marry. He was definitely the honorable one of the two, reminding her of the importance of their purity, and respect to her father. Her father had not given his blessing to their relationship. The girl demonstrated disobedience, rudeness, and defiance of his wishes several times throughout the beginning of the story.

(end of spoilers)

Overall however, I'd say this second book was better than the first one.

The author's attention to detail was impressive. The research required for accurate depiction of life among the peoples and circumstances of that era would have to be extensive, to say the least. Yet the tone and words of the storytelling itself (not simply the dialog), as well as descriptions of culture, events, and practices, definitely take you to another place and time. The up-close-and-personal meetings of actual historical people was also an effective tool used to pull the reader right into the events the characters found themselves in. I didn't realize until nearly the end of the book how I'd grown to love the characters almost as if they were real people - friends I'd actually walked with through twenty years (the approximate time span the two books cover) of turmoil, struggle, and victory.

There were alot of characters to keep up with. Most of them were introduced in the first book, but there were a couple of new ones in this book. A handful of main characters, and a whole army (pardon the pun) of supporting characters. But they weren't too hard to keep up with. The author initially took turns writing segments of the story from the point of view of each of the main characters, until the paths began to join - a gathering of the loose threads of each individual's journey until they all came together. She did a beautiful job of weaving all the threads to a close.

The lessons, virtues, and Biblical principles demonstrated throughout the story were my favorite element - what's a good story if you don't come away having learned something lasting? Honor, courage, ingenuity, hope, loyalty, love, trust in the Lord, faith, peace, forgiveness, patience, humility, perseverance, sacrifice, joy - all these were met by the characters and/or demonstrated in their lives. It was a fictitious story, but the human emotion, the struggles of flawed people living in a broken and sin-filled world of war and loss, and the redemption offered by Christ were true to life and oh so very real. I do not often get emotional over fiction but, at what is probably the climax of the story, I wept with the pain and the glory of the power of God's unfathomable Love and how it can completely change a broken wrath-filled man into an incredible unwavering example of His grace. The pages blurred with the heart-rending account. But though so often the paths of God's children lead through dangers, toils, and snares, His grace will lead us Home. And what Satan means for evil, the Lord can turn into glorious good.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.

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