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37th out of 417 books
—
326 voters
Prologue: The Brothers (The Great and Terrible #1)
Before the Great War, before so many sons of God turned away from their Father and walked knowingly into the dark, there was a choosing, a sifting, a contest of ideas and a battle for souls. Brother fought brother. Families were torn apart. Some fought to protect their homes, their freedom and peace. Others fought to destroy everything they had once held so dear. And as th...more
Hardcover, 224 pages
Published
December 28th 2003
by Shadow Mountain
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This book made me wonder if Deseret Book was unloading their low-end junk on the Time-out-For-Women-Book-Club, a commercial decision to get duds off their inventory and on to the bookshelves of faithful Relief Society Sisters across Utah Arizona and Idaho.
It's a speculative look at the pre-existence and the war that took place there between the followers of Jesus and the followers of Lucifer. Sort of a Saturday's Warriors with political intrigue, espionage, double agents, and a voldemort-style...more
It's a speculative look at the pre-existence and the war that took place there between the followers of Jesus and the followers of Lucifer. Sort of a Saturday's Warriors with political intrigue, espionage, double agents, and a voldemort-style...more
8 likes · like · see review
Since I'm actually not too fond of most LDS fiction, I was surprised to discover that I really enjoyed this book! The story takes place in the pre-existence during the great battle between "good and evil." Since we know very little about this conflict, it is obvious that this story is completely fictional. I've never been fond of the common worldly view that we spent our time "sitting on clouds playing harps" and this was the first time I've thought about the reality of what happened and the emo...more
May 19, 2008
Sheri
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone with an open mind
Recommended to Sheri by:
Carman
Not the most talented writer in the world, but still great. Like other reviews before mine, a few parts about premortal life made me a little wincey, if I may use the word. It was a great book to jump start your thoughts of premortal life if you don't have many. I actually look at my daughter a little differently now. I imagine her up there fighting for what was right. So if anything, it made me respect her and all the other people on the earth who fought for the Plan. It made me give myself a l...more
I read this book only because it was assigned for a book club review. It was incredible because of what it did for me. I believe in a pre-earth life and what I believe about it is what this story is all about. But admitedly, I never really thought about the role I played in it before reading this book. It made me think about my personality traits now and which of those are part of who I was then and which were shaped by my experiences in this life. Was I someone who watched casually and went wit...more
I read this one a while back, and I'm just not a big fan. Then again, it's LDS (Mormon) fiction, and I honestly can't think of a single Mormon book or movie I've actually enjoyed. No wait, I lied... Brigham City is an awesome film, a great murder mystery. Check it out if you haven't seen it. Other than that, I'm still holding my breath for those latter-day Shakespeares. Don't get me wrong, I love our people. We just can't write.
4 likes · like · see review
Book 1 was awesome. Really shines an interesting light on the pre-mortal life. It's got great characters and a
wonderful plot. Couldn't put it down!
On the series:
These books are fantastic! The series starts in the Pre-existance and is supposed to conclude with the Second Coming. They are wonderfully written and packed full of action and suspense! I love them because they are written in line with the Gospel and some of the main characters are LDS. There is nothing in them that is offensive, ie...more
wonderful plot. Couldn't put it down!
On the series:
These books are fantastic! The series starts in the Pre-existance and is supposed to conclude with the Second Coming. They are wonderfully written and packed full of action and suspense! I love them because they are written in line with the Gospel and some of the main characters are LDS. There is nothing in them that is offensive, ie...more
I loved the book...easy read...thought provoking. My 10 year old is reading it now.
2 likes · like · see review
If I could give this negative stars I would. Terribly written, boring story, predictable outcomes to every situation. Maybe the worst book I've read (and yes I read Twilight) Apparently Satan likes purple bows in his hair? Seriously?
Above all that I can't stand the way this book is written, the word "for" is not needed in every sentence. He looked out the window, for he was curious about the weather. She walked down the street, for she was bored. He stabbed his own eyes out, for this was so ter...more
Above all that I can't stand the way this book is written, the word "for" is not needed in every sentence. He looked out the window, for he was curious about the weather. She walked down the street, for she was bored. He stabbed his own eyes out, for this was so ter...more
I must admit that I'm not the biggest fan of reading books about Heaven. They never seem real. This book was no different. What's the difference between living on earth and living in Heaven? I'm not really sure. Apparently there are no cars and people just walk everywhere. It all seemed so... earthly.
There were parts of the book that confused me. For instance, there was a story about two boys trying to build a flying contraption (no airplanes in Heaven either). However, Heavenly Father was able...more
There were parts of the book that confused me. For instance, there was a story about two boys trying to build a flying contraption (no airplanes in Heaven either). However, Heavenly Father was able...more
This book delves into a world that not many novels go to: the pre-mortal world. The plays "My Turn on Earth" and "Saturday's Warriors" are the only other works of fiction I have seen use the pre-mortal life, but I'm sure that there are others out there. Unlike those plays the setting of this entire book (excluding the resolve) takes place during our pre-mortal life. Admittedly the story is kind of basic and the author uses a lot of literary licenses in the creating of this realm that may be a bi...more
This is the first of a series of at least seven books, but when I checked it out, the library only had the first three, so I thought it was the first of a trilogy. I listened to it on audio book, which was quite well done.
In this first book, the writer did something that frankly I am a little jealous about. (I tried really hard to make that last sentence not end in a preposition, but I was unable) He takes a world that many people believe in but know virtually nothing about, (our pre-earth life...more
In this first book, the writer did something that frankly I am a little jealous about. (I tried really hard to make that last sentence not end in a preposition, but I was unable) He takes a world that many people believe in but know virtually nothing about, (our pre-earth life...more
In the Pre-mortal life, there are three brothers, Sam, Ammon and Luke and their sister, Elizabeth. They are being prepared for the last days without really knowing it. What they know is that they live in a beautiful world where Heavenly Father loves them and has created a plan for them to become like Him. But many are not satisfied and begin to be drawn away by the flattering words of Satan, who has exiled himself from the light and desires support for his own plan. Even before the world is crea...more
I like this book and I will continue on with the series. I think the critics forget that this is one interpretation of what the pre-mortal world was like, as the author states in the beginning. But there is more than that. It reminds us of the choice we made. There was a war in heaven, the result was that Satan and a third of the hosts of heaven were banished to earth. The choice should have been clear, but how many of us lost loved ones to the adversary before he even left the pre-mortal world?...more
I LOVED this book! Chris Stewart is a wonderful writer and is very descriptive, which is something I really like. This book is about the war in heaven between Lucifer and Jesus (Good and Evil), and since we don’t know much more than simple facts about that time period, this book is mostly fiction. It made me think a lot about what it really could have been like. Developing characters was something Chris Stewart did very well; especially when it came to heavenly spirit personalities and how they...more
The Brothers is an interpretation of what might have happened during the great war in heaven. It was a time where families were torn apart and brothers literally fought brothers. In this particular book, there is a family of four, Elizabeth, Sam, Luke, and Ammon. When Beth, Ammon and Luke find that their brother Sam is missing they fear for the worst. Has he joined the dark side? can he still see the light? Now the children have to fight their own fears such as their fears of birth, pain, and al...more
This is a fictional six book series that follows the characters through the preexistance, life of earth, to the final hours of the last days. I bought this series through dessert book after my sister in law highly reccommended it. She also warned me that the first book was pretty cheesy, and I would have to agree, but said it got better as the series progressed. In spite of it's cheesyness, I found this book so thought provoking that I could only read a chapter or two at a time. I needed time to...more
It was hard to rate this book. I wouldn't give the "writing" 4 stars. It wasn't a book that I "couldn't put down" and honestly I just kept reading it because I've heard the series is incredible and I wanted to get to the next book. BUT because of the impact this book had on me, I gave it 4 stars and maybe should give it 5. It was a book that made me think NON-STOP about the war between Satan and our Savior. I believe this is a serious, real war that each of us face every single day of our lives....more
I was very skeptical about this book. I was hesitant to read it, because I didn't want it to be disrespectful toward sacred topics, and I was worried it would come across as irreverent. Especially since by necessity so many assumptions must be made about something so eternally significant that we know so very little about. It's about the life before this life, and so obviously has to include A LOT of speculation, and a lot of just accepting that we can't write a story about things as they really...more
In the beginning before the creation, there was a great war, a war that has been going on since the beginning of time. It is the war between good and evil. This book is an elaboration on what most of us already know. But it brings you to a realization that this was real and this did happen. It takes place in heaven a long long time ago, before anything was created. The main characters are Samuel, Ammon, Elizabeth, and Luke. They are all followers of the great plan of salvation, they all are gre...more
I like the idea of this book, but the execution is not all that it could be. The characters are very shallow, and the dialogue is really terrible. I also had some problems with some of the author's conceptualization of the pre-mortal world. The main characters are a sibling group, but it isn't clear what makes these 4 individuals more "sibling" than the billions of other souls who share divine parentage of their spirits. The thing that seemed the most doctrinally false to me was the depiction of...more
Jan 24, 2010
Tamra
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Mormons looking to think a little about the pre-existence
Recommended to Tamra by:
several of my Mormon friends whom I love dearly
I'll give this book an immediately-after-reading 2.5, but I know over time that score will diminish into a 2.nothing.
If you're not Mormon, don't bother with this book. You won't get it. That said, even for Mormons this is speculative doctrine land (which isn't an insult, since he says the same thing in his opening pages). Therefore, if you aren't clear, and I mean CLEAR, on the doctrines of the pre-existence, please don't read this book.
I liked that it made me think about the pre-existence in a...more
If you're not Mormon, don't bother with this book. You won't get it. That said, even for Mormons this is speculative doctrine land (which isn't an insult, since he says the same thing in his opening pages). Therefore, if you aren't clear, and I mean CLEAR, on the doctrines of the pre-existence, please don't read this book.
I liked that it made me think about the pre-existence in a...more
1 like · like · see review
this was a painfully boring read for most of the book, plus I had a hard time getting past all the physical sensations the characters were having (ie. cold, tired, in physical dannger), since LDS doctrine says we came to earth to get a mortal body to experience these things for the first time. In terms of studying Satan's tactics for tempting us, I'm a much bigger fan of The Screwtape Letters. I don't like that members of the LDS church think that they are learning truth from this book. Until th...more
I had a hard time getting into this book in the beginning. But when I picked it up again later, I was hooked. Really made me think about how things could have been in Heaven before coming to earth. It really helped me to reconnect with the fact that we all knew each other in the pre-existence and we cared for one another. How important it is for us now on Earth to look out for, find, love and support one another. We are all Brothers and Sisters of our Heavenly Father.
I don't usually read LDS fiction books. But I had started in on the first chapter before I caught on. I ended up reading it. I would have to agree with Jen N. Great concept. Well written??? Sort of.
I usually avoid reading LDS fiction due to is overly dramatic tone, cheese ball and unrealistic dialogue, and sticky sweet story lines. This one fell into a bit of the same. Many of these types of books make it seem that being a believer is so much a burden and that their heart is almost always in pa...more
I usually avoid reading LDS fiction due to is overly dramatic tone, cheese ball and unrealistic dialogue, and sticky sweet story lines. This one fell into a bit of the same. Many of these types of books make it seem that being a believer is so much a burden and that their heart is almost always in pa...more
The first of a series, "The Great and Terrible," I really enjoyed it. It was a quick read, very speculative, but very plausible to one of the LDS Persuasion. I bought and read the whole series very quickly, because I enjoyed them so much and thought some of my grandchildren would appreciate them in the same way. Allas, those grandchildren, who generally are quite receptive to my reading suggestions, didn't make it through the first book, let alone the series.
It was somewhat appocolyptic, includ...more
It was somewhat appocolyptic, includ...more
I tried, I really tried to like this. I just can't do it. . I can't like a fictional book about premortal life with speculation about the conditions there. For crying out loud, if you're going to write a book about it, maybe including so many details isn't the way to go. He wrote about the color of the flags whipping in the wind that Lucifer used. . . . .. (more rant & rave go here).
To those who love it - that's great. I just can't do it.
To those who love it - that's great. I just can't do it.
1 like · like · see review
I'd give this book a 3 for the writing style. I also think there were some missed opportunities in explaining how people came to decide which plan they wanted to follow and why. It could have been developed a lot more. In that way, it seemed like a young adult book to me - is it?
After the first 73 pages (almost halfway through), Grove asked me how the book was and I said, "I don't know - nothing happened yet." so I think it was slow to get going. Maybe because there are so many books in the seri...more
After the first 73 pages (almost halfway through), Grove asked me how the book was and I said, "I don't know - nothing happened yet." so I think it was slow to get going. Maybe because there are so many books in the seri...more
This was highly recommended to me by one of the sister missionaries living with us this winter. Like Gerald Lund's "The Work and the Glory," which gave a thorough and well-researched look at church history, this series is attempting to lay out the plan of salvation with characters you can follow from pre-earth life to their return to heaven. The concept is good, the characters appropriately flawed, sympathetic, and admirable, but I can't wholeheartedly recommend it for a couple of reasons. First...more
1 like · like · see review
Very speculative with someone rightwing American apologetics thrown in, but still fun so far if you keep firmly in mind how speculative it is. It does treat the topic respectfully and attempt to be meaningful, despite being a little over-the-top in parts.
OK, I finished it. I have very mixed feeling on this one. I often hate religious fiction that is too speculative, and this has plenty of that. But his rabid (and doctrinally false) Ameri-centrism in this book and the beginning of the next one bu...more
OK, I finished it. I have very mixed feeling on this one. I often hate religious fiction that is too speculative, and this has plenty of that. But his rabid (and doctrinally false) Ameri-centrism in this book and the beginning of the next one bu...more
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| Scared Straight | 3 | 79 | Jun 26, 2012 08:11am |
Chris Stewart is a bestselling author and world-record-setting Air Force pilot whose previous military techno-thrillers have been selected by the Book of the Month Club and published in six different countries. He is the author of the highly acclaimed series The Great and Terrible, as well as A Christmas Bell for Anya, which was performed with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir during their 2005 Christma...more
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“God can't force his children to become like him. It's something they have to want, a blessing they have to fight for and be willing to sacrifice to attain.”
—
10 people liked it
“Your salvation would be hollow if you don't help each other come home. Remember we are family, and families leave no one behind.”
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9 people liked it
More quotes…
Aug 06, 2010 05:27pm