Darden North, MD

Seal of the King by Ralph Smith My rating: 5 of 5 stars In the early 1800s, Samuel Taylor Coleridge defined skilled fantasy as writing to “invoke a willing suspension of disbelief.” The premier installment of the “Seal of the King” Christian fantasy series by Ralph Smith does just that—masterfully weaving human decency and truth into a tale of supernatural deceit and evil. At the first crackle of air and explosion of light, David finally meets his beautiful Aurora, a young woman who is as appealing as she is a fierce warrior, an expert in archery with deadly aim (and reminiscent of Katniss Everdeen of “The Hunger Games”).  David, a handsome young man, a simple farmer left alone after his parents’ mysterious fiery car accident, has dreamed of Aurora as she has dreamed of him. But it is when they share an iron clad bond of determination to find and destroy the Dark One that David’s true physical strength emerges: Simple as slicing butter with a knife, the guy can wield a dagger w...

Shards of asphalt ripped the barricade against the thin-walled trailer, throwing Brad from his bunk and a near-comatose sleep. He scrambled for his watch as the burst of sandbags outside pre-empted the claxon’s late warning . Another mortar shell erupted on the pavement, the sound muffled by a voice from the radio: Your butt OK? Better be, ’cause I need it, or there won’t be anything alive to transport outta here tonight. “Damn, Elizabeth, I think that makes number 38, doesn’t it? Thank God for that wall,” Brad said. “Enemy’s been busy, Major. But this one’s over, gotta be. And, like I said, I need you here at the hospital.”  Brad sat up on the bare floor, leaning his head against the bed, still below the level of the sandbag barrier outside. Another look at his watch: he was due two hours of daylight sleep, and last night’s flight transporting military patients had drained him. “Come on, it’s only 3:00 PM , Cossar, and I was down pretty hard.” “But that’s why you doct...