Allison Wilson reviewed for several years with Road to Romance, has judged contests and critiqued for more than 10 earning the nickname of “Eagle Eye.” As Conference Administrator for ACFW, personal writing time has taken a backseat to helping writers get their opportunity to learn the craft and make connections. Married to the love of her life with three great kids, a dog and a cat. Life is never dull!Carol Award: Speculative Fiction: Winner: König’s Fire
Title: König’s Fire
Author: Marc Schooley
Publisher: Marcher Lord Press (Jeff Gerke and C.L. Dyck, Editors)
ISBN: 9780982598757
Category: Speculative Fiction
Reviewed by: Allison M. Wilson
As the Speculative Fiction Category winner in the 2011 ACFW Carol Awards, König’s Fire holds tight to your interest. I’m not usually drawn to WWII era books, but the mystery of the jungle setting and the furnace’s pull turned the pages of this book.
A finely crafted story with depth and twists I did not see coming.
Sascha König battles real demons as well as his own spiritual ones. Faces haunt him and the things he sees in the mine threaten to shred his sanity. The draw of evil is intense. Opposition to that evil requires deep sacrifice with little hope for reward.
The book is dark, but the subject matter requires it. In some places the writing is almost lyrical, but the dynamic changes with the scenes taking the reader on the highs and lows with the characters. Some scenes may be disturbing for many readers due to the depictions of the evil of the Nazi army. I do not recommend this book for youth or impressionable readers. Those who can handle it will find a complex cast of characters who each have their own demons—real, imagined, or self-inflicted.
Believable human characters bring the book to life. Those speculative characters are well thought out and add a surreal dimension to the story of how good and evil truly cannot exist together without conflict. What you believe to be bad may not be what you think once you realize what is happening.
A finely crafted story with depth and twists I did not see coming.
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