The Victor Review & Halloween Giveaway

Thursday, October 21, 2010


A benevolent King; ...his sword of power; ...a ruthless traitor bent on revenge; ...and the faithful son who stands in his way with the woman destined to share his throne. Who shall emerge as the victor in this epic struggle between good and evil to govern the lives of hapless men?
Taken from GoodReads.

The Victor follows the story of Eloth, King of Ellioth, Lucius, and the crown prince, Eloth's son, Joshua. Essentially paralleled with the God-head, the characters can be directly related to God, satan, and Jesus, respectively. Merging a medieval fantasy tale with Biblical allegories and the struggle between good and evil, right and wrong, and the pure and the wicked, The Victor leads you on an exciting journey of life, Judgment, and the human condition.

To be honest, I'd never heard of The Victor before I won it from the lovely ladies at I'd So Rather Be Reading. However, their review raved about the beauty and accuracy of this Christian, historical fantasy novel, which pretty much blends every genre I love. Now, I'll admit that Christian fiction tends to rub people the wrong way because it has a reputation of being rather preachy, but The Victor manages to portray the beautiful story of Lucifer being cast from heaven without inundating you with religious idealism. Both as a Catholic and a YA fantasy fan, I was able to connect with the rich imagery and detail provided by the talents of author Marlayne Giron.

That said, it took me almost three full chapters to get into The Victor. I think the amount of detail and historical set-up (though fantastic) made for a bit of a slow start. Determined to stick it out though, I'm truly glad I did. The story picks up, the beautiful time period and attention to both accuracy and detail amps up the story line and leads you on a fun, profound, and meaningful journey. And when I say meaningful, I mean - there's a legitimate theme and moral to this entire story.

I am pleased to say that I truly enjoyed this book, and I give The Victor a very strong 4 out 5, only dropped because of the slow start. I recommend it to fans of Christian fiction, fantasy, YA, and allegorical stories.

------------------------------------------------

Now, I'm super super excited to tell you all that I have a fantastic giveaway in which I will have three (3) winners...I know, awesome, right?! A big thanks and shout-out goes to Hachette Book Group for making all of this possible! Ready to hear the prizes?! Three lucky winners will win ARCs of four spooktacular Halloween-themed books, namely:

Dark Song by Gail Giles
Bloodthirsty by Flynn Meaney
The Witches' Kitchen by L. Williams
The Saga of Larten Crepsley - Birth of a Killer by Darren Shan

Time for the rules: US only, as the publisher will be mailing the prizes. You MUST be a follower of this blog. You get one extra point for spreading the word, but you MUST provide a link! To enter, simply leave your email in a comment below, and feel free to spread the word! This giveaway closes at 8:00 PM on October 27th.

33 comments:

  1. I haven't heard of this one but I really enjoyed reading your review (as usual). Glad to know it took you a couple chapters to get into, now I know to stick with it despite a seemingly slow start. And thanks for the giveaway!

    supernaturalsnark@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. This sounds like a really interesting book combining Christianity and historical fiction. I would definitely be willing to give it a try.

    Thanks for the awesome giveaway!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Woops, forgot the email!

    fictionfolio(at)gmail(dot)com

    Here is my tweet: http://twitter.com/TaraMQ/statuses/28028044688

    ReplyDelete
  4. I don't read Christian fiction but the book sounds great. Nice review =)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I had never heard of this one sounds pretty good. No need to enter me in the giveaway. Great review.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Book sounds interesting! Thanks for the giveaway!

    Kelsey O.
    kopsahl48(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  7. I liked it, but then I read more, and no, even if it's not preachy I would think about it too much

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks so much Melissa! These books seem great!

    ivy AT ivyhawthorn DOT com

    http://twitter.com/#!/ivyhawthorn/status/28052917670

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow. I must read this! Sounds fantastic. And thanks for warning me about the slow start. You rock.

    (not a contest entry)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Victor isn't something I would probably pick up on my own, but it truly sounds like something I would enjoy. I've only read a few books that are considered Christian fiction, but I think I'll have to add this one to the list. Thanks for the review :D

    ReplyDelete
  11. This book sounds great! Thanks for your review :)
    And thanks for the giveaway too!
    aprilxu2222@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  12. I am so glad you liked Victor. It sound lovely and a story I would enjoy. Thanks for the review. I will be looking forward to getting this one soon.

    Also thanks for the giveawy!
    vonharzj@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks for the awesome giveaway!! They look like great books.
    chickenherder@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thanks for the review! The symbolism and Christian ties sound interesting. I think the whole Christian-fiction-ick feeling some people get is mostly for contemporary fiction. Historical novels such as this one are really something else entirely.

    Thanks for the giveaway, too! :)
    I tweeted: http://twitter.com/renkellym2/status/28067738487
    Email: 365DaysReading(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  15. I don't think I would've come across this book either if you hadn't brought it to my attention. The cover reminds me of Graceling but wow, that synopsis sounds awesome. And I've been wanting to read something with meaning lately; it makes it so much more satisfying when you finish a book.

    And the fact that the beginning is a little slower so that the rest of the story has amazing build-up and detail makes this even more appealing. Not entering the contest since I don't live in the US, but wonderful review!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Of course I follow! I've got your button on my blog, and here is my tweet: http://twitter.com/Missie_Bee/status/28360577771

    Thanks for the giveaway!

    Missie, TX
    missie at theunreadreader.com

    ReplyDelete
  17. hmmm...Unfortunately, I haven't read much Christian fiction, and I hadn't heard of this book either. Based on your review, it does sound like a very interesting story and one I'd like to check out.

    Before this year started, when a story was slow for me, I usually would give it up. This year, I made a pack with myself that I would finish every book I start. So far so good. And it helped me discover some really good stories that I might have missed out on. :D

    ReplyDelete
  18. Bummer that the story starts off a little slow. Some people might not make it through the first few chapter. I'm really happy to hear that it picks up from there. Thanks for the review!

    I'd love to be entered into your contest. My email is AmberInBlunderland@yahoo.com.

    ReplyDelete
  19. i haven't heard of the victor and it's not my usual read but it sounds interesting just the same.

    i'm not entering but i urge everyone to check out bloodthirsty (one of the prizes). that was a super humorous read--really liked it :)

    ReplyDelete
  20. I think it's kind of funny that there's a giveaway for a bunch of creepy books along with a review of a Christian historical fiction/fantasy novel! :)

    The Victor sounds great; like you, I think a good Christian fiction novel should be able to get it's point across without being too preachy in order to hold the attention of most readers, and this one sounds as though it accomplishes that (and I love historical fiction, too, so ... oh! and fantasy! LOL!)

    Thanks for the giveaway!

    Julie @ Knitting and Sundries

    knittingandsundries(at)gmail(dot)com

    P.S. I follow as jewelknits

    ReplyDelete
  21. This book sounds really good. Thanks for the review! (not an entry)

    ReplyDelete
  22. Enter me!! *raises hands* sounds very in-ter-est-ing...

    jtheunknown{at}gmail{dot}com

    Jen
    In the Closet With a Bibliophile

    ReplyDelete
  23. Thanks for the awesome review and giveaway, Melissa!!

    +1 I tweeted here: http://twitter.com/in_the_hammock/status/28408687143

    inthehammockblog at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  24. Also a huge thanks for letting us know that we might have to suffer a bit tell we get to the goodness. *fans self* that might me a bit dramatic but it is nice to know not to give us.

    What a scrumptious giveaway.
    +1 for posting about it. http://madsteampunkery.blogspot.com/2010/10/garden-walk-with-friends.html

    Mad Scientist
    madsteampunkery@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  25. Thanks for having a great giveaway! I'm a new follower. Found my way here from a link the Mad Scientist posted.

    autumn.crochet (at) gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hey, Thanks for the giveaway, the ARCs are all brilliant! Melissa, I don't live in India but will have my cousin's address sent to me...I wish the publishers would think about these things and just ship it to more places.

    +1 for my tweet - http://twitter.com/deepratap/status/28488790009

    deepalipratap at gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hey Melissa! I'm so glad you enjoyed The Victor! It does have a slow start but ended up being so so good! :)

    ReplyDelete
  28. I look forward to reading these! Please enter me :)

    pinkdaddysgirl[at]msn[dot]com

    ReplyDelete
  29. Please enter me in the giveaway. My email address is: smartin_90(AT)yahoo(DOT)com

    I tweeted: http://twitter.com/#!/sarah_3m/status/28635083593

    ReplyDelete
  30. I so want to win this! I need some new fun reading material.

    maggie(at)thesaladgirl(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  31. I tweeted too: http://twitter.com/#!/TheSaladGirl/status/28653513090

    maggie(at)thesaladgirl(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  32. Wow, this is awesome! Some great titles!

    stephaniet117 at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for taking the time to comment! I always do my very best to return the favour :)

Please note that this blog is an award-free zone!

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Pin It button on image hover