About The Stonegate Sword by Harry James Fox
This tale is about a lore-man named Donald. He has been schooled in the old writings, which are the surviving works of the 21st-century culture. From this sheltered background he is forced to learn to be a warrior. He falls in love with Rachel, then loses her when she is kidnapped by a band of mercenaries. Because her captivity was his fault, he sets out alone to search the Rocky Mountains in wintertime to try to rescue her. In the process he finds himself in the centre of a war. An invading army is on the move, and conquest is their intent.
Recent review:
A wonderfully told story of character, faith, and military action set in the future…which seems like the past!
Harry James Fox scores with a unique story that blends the past with an apocalyptic future to produce an adventure of character, faith, and military action.
The “old way” (our time as we know it) ended, and what now exists is a world of swords and shields, reminiscent of Medieval times. The Black Prophet is the ultimate evil, and the lands he controls know oppression, heavy taxation, and ruthless enforcement by the Raiders. The lands outside his reach have an easier life, but the Prophet is always trying to expand his territory.
The beginning of the story details how the lives of two dissimilar characters (Donald and Phillip) are damaged irreversibly by the Prophet. As the book follows these two lives, they eventually come together when both are fighting on the outnumbered side of good. Only solid military prowess and planning, coupled with technologies from the old way which are not fully understood, can hope to defeat the Prophet’s armies. Donald finds his love, Rachel, but she is captured by the Prophet’s minions due to his bad judgment. His heart forces him to set off alone to rescue her in the mountains of winter, in the face of an invading army.
Book is well written, and the author shows his command of the English language well. It also has an obvious Christian influence, in a way that is refreshing but not heavy-handed. It is obvious the author researched heavily into cavalry warfare from Medieval times, and the book “feels” very real. It is not a short read, but is worth the effort and sets up well for a sequel.
Review by Rob Ballister Military Writer’s Society of America
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Author Bio:
Harry James Fox is from the USA, born in Colorado. He was raised on a cattle ranch in the western, mountainous part of the state. In many ways, his early life was much more like the 19th century than the 20th. He can’t remember not being able to ride, since he was thrown on a horse’s back when he was still crawling. His parents taught him to be self-reliant and responsible, and brought him up in the Christian faith. In some ways it was a hard life, with lots of bumps and bruises and early responsibility. There was no modern conveniences. But he would not trade that early life for another.
He served in the US Army and spent a tour Vietnam during the war. Nearly 48 years ago he married his love, Carroll, and they have two sons and six grandchildren. He spent a career in natural resource management with the U.S. Department of the Interior. Upon retirement, they served as missionaries and lived in the Philippines and Thailand for awhile, then he decided to spend more time with writing, which always was an interest of his.
He likes the outdoors, playing with grandchildren, patriotic parades, horses, coffee, Earl Gray tea, green chiles from New Mexico. He doesn’t like chocolate, sweets, long speeches or needing reading glasses.
The book was an award-winning finalist in the 2015 International Book Awards.
Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/4Th-a0yOdXc