Song of the Ovulum

DAVIS, BRYAN
SONG OF THE OVULUM

It has been fifteen years since Billy and Bonnie Bannister helped repel the demonic assault on Heaven. Now they and Ashley Foley sit in a maximum security prison where the authorities conduct experiments on them to learn the secrets of long life. Earlier, the world’s acceptance of dragonkind crumbled, and the Enforcers took the infant twins born to Billy and Bonnie and stole Excalibur, hoping to develop a weapon to battle the dragons that are sure to try to rescue their allies. All the while, a great secret from the past is being revealed to Bonnie through a dream. Joran and Selah, teenaged children of Methuselah, have been trapped in a strange world for centuries, yet still able to manipulate certain events in our world during that time.

Walter Foley finds the Bannisters’ son and hopes to use his dragon traits to help him rescue the prisoners. In the meantime, an ancient demon locates the Bannisters’ daughter and plans to use her to help him discover the hiding place of the most powerful ovulum in the world and squelch its protective song. With that ovulum in his possession, he will be able to conquer and control both Earth and Second Eden.

The fate of two worlds now rests on the Bannisters’ two teenagers who must use their dragon traits and their innate courage to battle demons, a sorceress, and soldiers in a military compound in order to rescue parents they don’t even know.

My Review:

While the first of a new series, The Song of the Ovulum is actually preceded by eight books from two other series. In the author's note at the beginning of the book, he suggests that it would be helpful to read all eight previous titles, or failing that, at least check out the 11 page recap at the end of the book. I opted for the recap and still found it difficult to grasp the characters and events at the beginning of the story. I would definitely suggest that this book is not so much the first of a new series, but the ninth in a longstanding one. Fans of Davis will be thrilled to reacquaint themselves with beloved heroes and heroines and despised villains but I'm afraid I found a good bit of their story confusing. This is not a standalone read.

However, Davis writes well, crafting intricate plots with myriads of twists and turns. His characters are multi-dimensional and that makes them interesting. I was particularly drawn to the Bannister twins and their adventures. I also loved the mix of fantasy and faith. I just wish I didn't have the feeling of trying to catch up the whole time I was reading. I'd definitely recommend starting at the beginning with the first series. Mind you, if you are a Christian fantasy lover, you probably already have!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Foundation Distributing, Inc and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from AMG Publishers".