This is a great stand-alone book even though it is #16 in the Harbingers series. I have not read any of the others, so was clueless about the characters and plot. In the opening scene, we see a man waking up in a small room. He is lying on the bed while wearing a full tux, complete with shiny shoes. He does not know who he is or why he is in what looks like a cruise ship cabin.

He eventually meets a man and two women who are in the same state. They struggle to understand what is happening to them as they make their way through an abandoned ship. When they rescue a boy, he knows them and calls them by name. Emotionally, they all believe they know him as well.

The Harbengiers series is a collection of stories interconnected by one major plotline–specifically, the Book of Revelations. Each of the four authors takes a turn at writing the next segment. Bill Myers writes as Brenda, Jeff Gerke as Chad, Angela Hunt as Andi, and Alton Gansky as Tank. They always write in that order and each group of four stories makes up a full book. This story closes book 4. Harbingers 17 is now available.

I can’t judge the whole series by this one book, but I can say that Gansky wrote a captivating story.  He used all the tricks of suspense, There was little time to relax before the next problem hurtled toward them. Each chapter ended with a cliff-hanging question.

Without having read the preceding 15 episodes I did have a little trouble with the ending which introduced a couple of characters with little explanation. That did not detract much.

This is a good example of how to write a Christian story. The characters displayed true Christian attitudes even as they wanted to punch each other from time to time. All swearing was done off stage–“he swore.” Otherwise, real people.

Mike Lawrence