Betsy Kerekes reviews a fun adventure story by Jake Frost.
I have two teenage daughters, voracious readers, who are stuck in the middle-grade section of the library. I won’t let them stray into the more age-appropriate young adult section because I care about their souls. Though The Light of Caliburn by Jake Frost is technically an adult story, I’m grateful to find something my big kids can read. This book is not only clean, it’s wholesome in that the characters are chaste and take the time to pray.
The premise of this story is that the legend of King Arthur and Merlin lives on in present time. The setting, islands around Lake Superior and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, is enchanting. Most intriguing is the research the author has clearly done regarding the various legends surrounding Arthur, Merlin, and their assorted cast of characters. Learning more about them was an adventure in itself. There are also photographs throughout of real-life places: ruins, ancient rock wall paintings, etc. that make you wonder if some of these stories of knights and dragons and explorers from far-off lands could be true.
The book centers around Geo, who discovers a long-lost Book of Merlin which bestows on its owner various supernatural (and quite cool) gifts. Naturally, these gifts come with a price in the form of dragon men set to destroy him and the love of his life in order to claim the book and its gifts for themselves.
The Light of Caliburn is quite the imaginative adventure, fast-paced, and exciting. If you’re looking for a good clean mythical romp that you can share safely with older children, this book is for you.
Copyright 2021 Betsy Kerekes
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