The Realms Thereunder (Ancient Earth #1) DNF 3:44 pm 26 December 2013 This author, Ross Lawhead, is Stephen Lawhead's son, so I had high hopes.   However, I am sick and tired of main characters who are whiny, broken people. I get enough of that in my own life and in real life. I DON'T want to read about it in a book.   And when they are kids and then older teens/young twenty somethings, it makes it worse for me.   The story follows two 12/13 year olds who accidentally awaken 2 of Arthur's knights and apparently they have an adventure and save the world. The story splits between that time and "now", 8 years later. The girl is psychologically broken by the experience and barely holding on. The boy is now a homeless vagrant. As youngsters the girl is bossy but afraid and the boy is rebellious and stupid.   None of those circumstances appeal to me in any shape, way or form.   So goodbye young Lawhead, you blew your chance with me.     Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.com" ( )

I do not know how many people liked the character Freya Reynolds, but I do know that I absolutely was annoyed by her at almost every turn throughout this book. I mean, I can understand why she is the way that she is, or at least I think I understand it, but still...UGH!! At times she could be so brave, very rare times, but the rest of the time she was HIDING UNDER A BED! Okay, so that only happened once, and she exaggerated about her reasoning behind it later in the book, but...I just can't even talk about her without groaning and moaning in almost excruciating pain.

Whew. Glad that is out of the way. With all that being said, I actually enjoyed the premise of the story. It was actually kind of fascinating. I loved the past/present aspect of it, and I loved seeing how both characters have grown since their experience as children.

One of the most fascinating parts of this book to me, as much as it kills me to admit, did star Freya. It was when she was experiencing a sort of accelerated ageing process. Eventually it was revealed that it was all in her head, but every single time this part came up I was excited to see what new stage in her life she had reached. And then when she started rebelling against the outside force keeping her in her head, it became even more fascinating to see how she would escape.

I guess looking back on my reading experience with this book, I thought I understood the reason the older versions of the characters were the way they were. But finishing it, I don't think I understand at all. I mean, it kind of eludes me how Freya can be so paranoid, unless she begins to believe what she did not want to believe when it was happening. Guilt also could have been eating away at her. And Daniel, I guess I kind of understand why he is how he is, I mean I understand why he is homeless, but he acts as if all along he knew the evil of the underworld they found themselves in as children would seep into the human world. But with the ending given, it kind of doesn't make sense. He was told the evil had been vanquished. I would have loved a part that kind of explained this. His experience with the creature that brought back his knowledge that the evil had not been defeated after all and was growing stronger.

All in all, this was an okay read. I account part of that to the fact that this is the first book in a continuing story. Mostly this was just a retelling of past events and instilling in the main characters that they have a job to finish. There wasn't much story development, but I am going to read the second just to see what happens next. ( )

I am a big fan of Stephen Lawhead's books, so I was really looking forward to reading his son's book The Realms Thereunder. I was not disappointed. This book was so gripping. I loved the mix of fantasy and present day. The characters were well developed and compelling. I didn't want to set this book down, but sadly I have already finished it and now must wait for the sequel. I will absolutely be reading more by Ross Lawhead! ( )

Freya and Daniel are closer than they will ever want to admit. The are connected in many ways: they went to the same school, they were both born on the same day, and they both went on the same class trip that ended up changing their lives forever.

From the beginning, Mr. Lawhead knew just how to capture my interest and he wove such a fantastical story that I read it in two sittings (and that was only because I had to sleep). Crossing between time periods and worlds, this story reminded me a little of "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" yet with more of an adult appeal.

The story focuses on three characters: Freya, Alex and Daniel and jumps between them as well as past and present. I found this switching kept me on my toes and very interested of what was going to happen next and to whom.

Fast paced and full of action, this book may be even better than Lawhead's father's "Bright Empire" series. I could be biased though, as I love books that center around "special" children that have a specific task they must accomplish. I'm really looking forward to the next book in the series as I need to know what these three will do next!!

This book was provided by the Book Sneeze program and was used in conjunction with CSFF Tours. I was not required to write a positive review, but instead, one that gives my honest opinion. ( )

Ross Lawhead has taken his first step in fulfilling a fantasy-genre fictional based storyline that I will no doubt have to read the next book called The Fearful Gates according to the advertisement at the conclusion of this book, even though his blog site states that The Hero's Throne is book 2 so on that part I am a bit unclear which will come out first.

In The Realms Thereunder, the first book in the Ancient Earth series, he has a great storyline that you can relate to regarding a secret history of England and the sleeping Knights who protect the realms of ancient Earth before, during and after of any evil doing. I found myself immersed in this book for the first few chapters. I found the characters of Freya and Daniel to be compelling and well written. However, after the first 4 to 5 chapters I found myself being confused on the storyline where Freya is once in a chapter with Daniel and 2 other knights, then is all of a sudden pregnant and has a different story line altogether. I found myself disconnected with how it switched from past to present, one realm to a different realm and one story to another very distracting! I found myself being very confused between which part of the story line I was at and had to skip either back or forward to find myself figuring out where I should be.

Better time frame negotiation and chapter development should be given to better straighten out the story as most readers I feel would be very confused in this book. I feel like Ross who although has a great storyline, needs to define the chapters and stories within stories to better give understanding of where each character is at. I think that while he definitely has a great premise for storytelling, I was let down on many occasions trying to figure out where the characters were going or coming from. Chapter formatting and development needs to be well written and chronological instead of fragmented the way this book is structurally put together haphazardly.Now don't get my wrong, some readers may love the way this book is written but since I process my thoughts logically, I found myself getting lost in what was happening several times through this book and had to go back and re-read sections to see where I might have missed something.

I would rate this book a 3 out of 5 stars for The Realms Thereunder by Ross Lawhead.

For Ross’s first book however, he has a strong writing ability that will hopefully bring more fluidity and structure to his next series of books to come. It's also difficult to not be compared to your father's books and writing styles when you are just starting out as an author. Yet he has been published and I am quite confident that his books will only get better as he continues to write. I received this book compliments of Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy for my honest review. ( )