Review of The Serpent Slayer by Champ Thornton
A.E. Jackson Review Score: 3 / 5 Ravens
How was this review scored?
Get ready for a swift adventure with plenty of heart. The story acts as a survey of Biblical truth, on a path snaking its way through some of the most important moments found in the Bible.
The scroll found by the main characters is like a relic from an Indiana Jones adventure. The riddles the characters solve reveal just what’s needed for the very next step. This novel is an enjoyable middle-grade novel with heart and a message. It is a story suitable for every age reader.
Welcome, Traveler. You are on the Serpent Quest.
To move from start to middle,
Traveler, solve the riddle.
What is poison to the heart?
Find the answer. Make your start.
Emmet and Nomi flee from the neighborhood bully, and are pulled into an ancient quest. Now, they must escape powerful enemies and try to get back home in one piece. Readers will join the adventure as secret riddles are unlocked and the path of the Serpent Slayer is followed.
Champ Thornton and Andrew Naselli place the characters into Biblical events, and show that the Bible is far from being a boring book full of instructions. There are life-changing truths to be discovered!
Champ Thornton has put together a time travel story without any of the traditional risks of popping up the past. The main characters are able to travel deep into history, interact with those times and places, but never risk changing events - which might alter the future.
The story maintains exciting progress which keeps readers interested the whole time. Simple wording and swift pacing make the story a pleasure to read. The novel makes use of omniscient point of view and the voice of an observant narrator. Many readers today seem to prefer a deep point of view, and some of the incidents in Serpent Slayer might have had more profound impact if told through the the eyes of the kids living the moment.
There was a great story structure and development of the character arc. Everything adventure readers seek can be found in this novel. There is also a good presentation of Christ’s place in the human story. Running a break-neck speed from Genesis through Revelation is a major undertaking. Thornton is able to demonstrate how each individual has the chance to rely on Him as the serpent slayer in their own lives.
Champ and his wife, Robben, live in Newark, Delaware, have been married since 1996, and enjoy being parents to three energetic children.
Thornton is the author of numerous books for kids and families, including The Radical Book for Kids, Why Do We Say Good Night? When You Are Afraid of the Dark, Wonders of His Love: Family Advent Devotional, and Pass It On: A Proverbs Journal for the Next Generation. And he hosts “In the Word, On the Go,” a ten-minute podcast for families.
Since seminary, Champ has served both in Christian publishing and also in churches in South Carolina, Ohio, and Delaware. He also earned at PhD in Theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, in Kansas City, Missouri.
He has served as director of SOMA, a ministry training school in Columbus, Ohio. And he’s contributed articles to The Gospel Coalition, Parenting Life magazine, Charisma, Credo, The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, Matthias Media, and Today’s Christian Teen.
Champ enjoys hanging out with his family and friends, drinking coffee, listening to music, and reading theology, biography, and fiction. Some of his favorite authors include John Piper, D. A. Carson, Tim Keller, Michael Reeves, Marilynne Robinson, George Herbert, Robert Caro, David McCullough, Alistair MacLean, and C. S. Lewis. He has also been known to cheer for the NY Yankees and Tennessee Volunteers.
Read more from Champ Thornton at https://www.champthornton.com and find him on social media at Facebook(@champ.thornton.7), and Twitter(@champthornton).