Review of SOUL'S GATE by James L. Rubart

Soul’s Gate

James Rubart

ISBN 978-1-4016-8605-5

Fiction \ Christian\General

Thomas Nelson

400 pages

$15.99 U.S.

“Not afraid, for His armor is the best

But even soldiers need a quiet place to rest.”

                                                                          Twila Paris

In James L. Rubart’s new book, Soul’s Gate, spiritual warfare has taken on dimensions of Biblical proportion.  Which is as it should be.  The quote in the fly-leaf of the book is one which Christians ought to take to heart: 

“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils.  One is to disbelieve in their existence.  The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.  They themselves are equally pleased by both errors.”

                                                                                               C.S. Lewis

In Soul’s Gate, Rubart contemplates what it would look like if a person could travel inside the soul of another human being, and wage war on their behalf “against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12).

Reese Roth could tell you, speaking from first-hand experience.  That was his life, until tragedy struck  and seemingly ended his destiny.  But God is the God of the second chance, and Reese is being called upon to train four new warriors to carry on the work.  Teach them to see the spirit world.  Train them to enter the spirit world.  And survive.

Keep in mind . . . every war has TWO sides, and this is no exception.  While the warriors train and prepare to carry the fight to the enemy in a way that even Reese has yet to fathom, the enemy is not twiddling his thumbs.  He’s determined to stop these young warriors.  At any cost.

Soul's Gate was a real eye-opener for me, as it reminded me that we really are in a spiritual battle, and Satan takes no prisoners.  Fast-paced, grittily real, Soul's Gate has very engaging characters and a solid plot, as well as what I believe to be a sound spiritual foundation.

5 stars

About Soul's Gate:  Book 1 in the Well Spring series. "Every now and then we get a break from reality. A glimpse into the other world that is more real than the reality we live in 99 percent of our days. The Bible is about a world of demons and angels and great evil and even greater glory." What if you could travel inside another person's soul? To battle for them. To be part of Jesus healing their deepest wounds. To help set them free to step boldly into their divinely designed future. Thirty years ago that's exactly what Reece Roth did. Until tragedy shattered his life and ripped away his future. Now God has drawn Reece out of the shadows to fulfill a prophecy spoken over him three decades ago. A prophecy about four warriors with the potential to change the world . . . if Reece will face his deepest regret and teach them what he has learned. They gather at a secluded and mysterious ranch deep in the mountains of Colorado, where they will learn to see the spiritual world around them with stunning clarity-and how to step into the supernatural. Their training is only the beginning. The four have a destiny to pursue a freedom even Reece doesn't fully fathom. But they have an enemy hell-bent on destroying them and he'll stop at nothing to keep them from their quest for true freedom and the coming battle of souls. Link to buy the book: http://ow.ly/eGyGA Meet Jim: James L. Rubart is a professional marketer, speaker, and writer. While being the owner of Barefoot Marketing certainly keeps him on his toes, his passion is writing fiction. Rubart is an ECPA best-selling author who has been positively reviewed by both Publisher's Weekly and Romantic Times. His first novel,Rooms, won a Best Books 2011 award from USA Book News, as well as a Romantic Times Book Reviews Reviewers Choice Award. His debut release was followed by Book of Days and The Chair. Soul's Gate is Rubart's fourth release. In addition to being an author, Rubart is also a photographer, guitarist, professional speaker, golfer and semi-pro magician. With all of this, he says that he barely sleeps. Rubart lives with his wife and sons in the Pacific Northwest. Find out more about Jim at http://jimrubart.com/.   ***To save the photos above to use on your blog, please right click on the photo and "save as".

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Landing page: http://litfusegroup.com/author/JRubart

Review of PLACEBO by Steven James

Placebo

Steven James

ISBN 978-0-8007-3425-1

Fiction \ Suspense

Revell

409 pages

$14.99 U.S.

Jevin Banks makes a living exposing people.  Bad people.  The hucksters, the charlatan’s, the grafters who make a living separating the fool from his money.  Along with a slightly seductive assistant, a typically paranoid pyrotechnics geek, and a stay-at-home mom who routinely assigns computer hacking projects as extra credit to her four children, Jevin’s latest assignment is to debunk a pharmaceutical firm’s contentions that mind-reading and extra-sensory perception are for real.  And maybe, Jevin will find the answers to the tragedy in his own life along the way.

This isn’t your typical Steven James novel.  You need to know that from the very beginning, because the very beginning is extremely disturbing.  It took me a couple of days to process the prologue to PLACEBO, before I could continue on with the book.

Once into the book, other differences showed themselves early on.  I was introduced to Steven James through the Patrick Bowers series, and avoiding the urge to make a comparison is difficult to do.  The “supporting cast” in the Bower’s series were more connected, more believable to the story line.  Patrick Bowers was more acceptable in his actions, due to his training and experience.  The plot lines in the Bower’s series were more authentic and true-to-life.  And the pace in the Bower’s series was much more pleasing.

To be honest, this latest Steven James novel was more along the lines of Clive Cussler.  The hero is slightly larger than life, and while allowances can be made for some of the action sequences, some situations are difficult to swallow at best.  There are some humorous moments, but it takes time to get to them, which in and of itself is a disappointment, as well.

2 stars