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Reviewed by Sarah Westmoreland for Readers' Favorite
Through Emerald Eyes by Belva Rae Staples is a riveting Christian fantasy, the third book in the Kriterion Saga. Half of the book takes place in our world, telling us the story of George O’Dell, who is still reeling from a rough breakup with his girlfriend, Audrey, and the accidental death of his former best friend, Cliff. As George tries to balance his own depressing emotions, the all too frequent run-ins with Cliff’s bitter and resentful mother, and George’s own mother meddling in his love life, he also works to finish transcribing a hand-written manuscript which was left for him by Miss MacAlpin. The other half of the book is the story which is contained within the manuscript, which was written by Cole, the governor of Minorea: a realm in the land of Kriterion. The first-hand account tells how Cole and a band of characters, many endowed with supernatural abilities, are thrust into a conflict between Good and Evil, as the faithful followers of the Ancient Man defend themselves and the land of Kriterion from the evil Lucifer and his underlings.
Many times, Christian fantasy authors try too hard to make the Christian morals stand out against the backdrop of the story, often at the expense of the story itself. Belva Rae Staples did an excellent job of emphasizing the morals without over-emphasizing them. Her writing style is clear and her descriptions are incredibly detailed, without the amount of details being overwhelming. All of the characters, as well as the world itself, were fairly well developed. Some sentences did read awkwardly, and the tone of the writing would occasionally shift between formal and informal, but, overall, it was a pleasant read, with strong Christian values and faithfulness being a constant theme throughout. I would certainly recommend this book.
