Quest for the King

Archives of Anthropos #5

by John White, Jack Stockman

It was supposed to be a big celebration. John McFarland (uncle to Wesley, Kurt, Lisa and Mary) and his long lost Eleanor were getting married. But a typhoon kept nearly every one of their friends and family from attending the wedding ceremony in Hong Kong. And by the time everyone did arrive for the reception at a downtown hotel, John and Eleanor had disappeared without a trace! While their parents and the Hong Kong authorities set about searching for the missing couple, Mary, Wesley, Kurt and Lisa begin their own investigation. Convinced that John and Eleanor have been transported to the mystical kingdom of Anthropos, the four amateur sleuths hit a dead end. How can they get to Anthropos? And once they get there, how will they know where to look? As Book 5 in John White's Archives of Anthropos unfolds, the sleuths are confronted with an even bigger challenge than finding Uncle John and Eleanor. In Anthropos an evil sorcerer plots the destruction of his eternal enemy--a tiny infant who (if he survives) is destined to become King of Anthropos and conqueror of Lord Lunacy.

Genres: Fantasy, Christian Fiction, Childrens, Fiction, Young Adult, Christian, Middle Grade

319 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1995

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

John White was an Evangelical Christian author, an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Manitoba and a pastor of Church of the Way.

Reviews

[Lydia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mary and the Friesen's are headed back to Anthropos; perhaps not when, or as, any of them thought they would be. Uncle John is marrying Eleanor, but just after their wedding they disappear! Mary had been planning to return to Anthropos anyway, as she has decided to accumulate power and become a witch, so with their vanishing as the final straw, she sets her plan in motion. The Friesen's believe that John and Eleanor have returned to Anthropos, but their parents won't hear "any of that nonsense" and are sure there is a logical earth based explanation... though they can't find it. Thinking they may also be in for this adventure, and worried about Mary, they set off on a hike to a remote mountain, hoping that they will go to Anthropos too. When the dust and magic settles, they are all in Anthropos, but Mary isn't with the Friesen's and they have all arrived in a world they don't recognize as it is several centuries before their previous visits! With no one they know, the children fall in with two different groups both headed for the troubled capital city of Bamah, where the Anthropos Queen has married the Playsion King, but their different religions are clashing. The King and his sorcerers are taking over the temple and attempting to take over the kingdom, while the Queen pursues the prophecies of the Changer hoping that the time has come for Gaal to be born and save him from the dark powers the King has let into the kingdom.

In many ways, I liked this story as well as the previous ones and the Anthropos parts felt more purposeful than some from before helped that much of the Friesen's journey was essentially the Christmas story, but parts were extremely jarring. The first chapter or two were particularly messy feeling, as we find out a lot of things suddenly about the main characters that don't line up very well with previous books, all the sudden the Friesen kids' parents are ambassadors and they've spent time in Hong Kong before, where, it just so happens John and Eleanor decided to have their wedding, even though all the other books have been set in Canada, and though less than a year is supposed to have happened in our world, we've gone from having old tube televisions and wall mounted phones to laptops? Seriously, though I don't remember any of the books giving a "date" I've always felt like they were set in the 50's for John's books and the 70's (maybe 80's?) for the Friesen's and boom! we're at least in the 90's, more like the 2000's, but it's only been a year... As I said jarring. However, the real kicker is the drastic changes to Mary; in less than a year she has not only one-eightied on her love of Gaal, but has knowingly started doing things she knows she shouldn't and is seeking to become like the witch that kidnapped her, set her on the path to being possessed and tried to kill her.. why?! (Imagine if you will, in C.S. Lewis' Prince Caspian if Edmund tried to become the White Witch in Aslan's Howe instead of helping end the hag, werewolf and Nikabrik when they tried to call on her power and you get an inkling of how awkward this character direction is.) So in the end? If you can get through the first time-bending three-ish chapters and realize that Mary's character choices are mostly so there can be a renewal scene without adding a new character, than you will probably enjoy the story.

Content notes: No language issues, though Mary is frequently careless in her speech causing many people unnecessary pain and she generally doesn't notice or tells herself she doesn't care. It is heavily implied that Mary was sexually abused by one/some of the men in her step-mother's life (which was another "wait, WHAT?!" moment, as in previous books she in passing mentions that she liked one or two of them and stayed away from the others), and part of the reason she is behaving badly now is from the pent up shame she feels because of this. A few battles against men and monsters with basic fighting mentioned, some cuts, slashes and bleeding but not graphically detailed and I don't remember any dismemberment or gory injuries, though deaths do occur on both sides; at one point in the temple, they have to work their way over large piles of human bones and earlier one of the characters shares that his daughter was killed as a sacrifice on the alter.

[Melinda Yoho · Rating 3 out of 5]

I adore the first four books of the Archives of Anthropos series. I read them over and over as a child, until two of them disappeared from my church library and they were out of print. When we saw they had been published again, my librarian picked up copies of the missing ones and surprised me with this new novel in the series. I was so excited to read another tale of Anthropos, but Quest of the King left me disappointed. I'd spent years making up stories in my head based on this world, and I found in the end I preferred my stories to the later additions of the author. To be fair, this book is a pleasant children's novel, but I just can't recommend it with the same enthusiasm as I can the first four.

[Christine Ottaway · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Archives of Anthropos are a wonderful series of middle-grade Christian books, full of Christian truth and thoroughly recommended. There is such a shortage of Christian literature for this age group and though these are quite old, they are still relevant.

This one is a weaker contribution because, although full of Biblical analogy, it is a little 'clunky' and obvious without the subtleties of the previous books. All of the characters from 'other worlds' are together in Anthropos at the birth of Gaal. There is the expected fight of good over evil, a variety of characters and plenty of exciting action.

Though not his best, this book should not be dismissed but added to this enjoyable series.

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked this one okay, but there was nothing special that stood out about it. Each of the books before this had some allegorical moments that struck me, but this one just felt repetitive from those before it.

[Seeker of Truth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. I like the way that it is continually showing that Gaal/Changer will always forgive you. Hope there is another book!

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

John White is better known for his Christian life books than for his fantasy stories, which are intentionally in the Narnia mode.

Quest for a King is the fifth of six in the series, and is a parallel story to the nativity and the coming of the Magi. It also can be seen as the equivalent to 'The Magician's nephew'in Narnia.

When the three wise men are philosophers, the enemy is Lord Lunacy and the author's day job is in psychiatry, we might well expect heavy dialogue (some but not too much)and little action. However, there are great battles, and the best is the description of Duke Dukraz and the Queen's castle. Here John White manages to convey sleaziness and rude politeness without making the characters seem unreal or succumbing to the awkwardness of some other Christian writers.

This isn't allegory, and some familiarity with the characters is a good idea, so reading book one at least is a good idea.

As a bonus this also contains an appendix with an account of how the stories came to be written.

This was reread this Christmas 2011

[Stevie Roach · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn't as good as others in the series. I feel that John White started to take shortcuts. Too many times characters would have life-changing moments "off-screen" - that is, they would go off and come back and describe an experience they had. In previous books White did a pretty good job of showing the actual moments, whereas in this book we are simply told that they happened. Still a good book, but a step down rather than up.

[Jennifer Zartman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the whole collection of The Archives of Anthropos. This book is a delightful retelling of a very familiar story. I loved meeting Gaal as a baby, and the honest way in which the cast of characters react to some of the experiences that are beyond their understanding. They are a good mirror to our souls. My daughter always wants to read this in December.

[Bonnijean Marley]

I stayed up very late reading this so it could be returned to the library. Interesting how they went to a different time, but there was no mention of that in the books where the action comes later. Exciting and satisfying conclusion to the series.

[Carli Vander · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

[Sandiva · Rating 5 out of 5]

I so enjoyed this series, that I think I will read them again sometime.