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ngreads's review against another edition
5.0
One of the best allegories I've read. Unique ideas, fun to read, and a well woven plot. Very well done!
aggressive_nostalgia's review against another edition
I found this book—in fact, the whole series—extremely compelling and quite creative. I really enjoy the names the author chooses for his characters (Aidan, Antoinette, Gwenne) throughout the books, and the unique parallel worlds are clearly defined and developed, as are the characters in both. Humorous, adventurous, and a solid bit of Christian fantasy! I read these on a whim after a friend handed them to me, and I blew through the entire trilogy in a day and a half. They were excellent, and I plan to look into the other books series Batson has written as well.
what_ella_reads's review against another edition
5.0
Pros: 'The Door Within' series has been on my tbr for YEARS. I wish I started reading it sooner!!!
The description of this first book in the series makes it sound your run of the mill Christian fantasy. It is totally not, though! There are several things that set this book apart. The author did a great job of taking classic elements and giving them a new feel.
An example of this is how the author incorporated faith into the story. He did so in a seamless way, that did not make it cheesy or forced.
Cons: The first few chapters drag on a little. They are necessary, however, to the plot. After that, the book really picks up.
My rating: 5 stars
The description of this first book in the series makes it sound your run of the mill Christian fantasy. It is totally not, though! There are several things that set this book apart. The author did a great job of taking classic elements and giving them a new feel.
An example of this is how the author incorporated faith into the story. He did so in a seamless way, that did not make it cheesy or forced.
Cons: The first few chapters drag on a little. They are necessary, however, to the plot. After that, the book really picks up.
My rating: 5 stars
perilous1's review against another edition
3.0
Mixed feelings on this one. Not something I overall enjoyed as an adult, but could see being enthralling for a fairly narrow age range (preferably lower Middle-Grade males).
The comparisons to Narnia are, in this reader's opinion, unfair--both to readers expectations and to the authors. Unlike C.S. Lewis (who gave youths quite a lot of intellectual credit back in his day) Batson's word choices are very simple and his sentence structure basic, though a great deal of violence and tragedy are mentioned in minimally-graphic detail. This leads me to believe this was written strictly for the aforementioned narrow target audience.
It does share some small amounts of similarity in the parallel universe premise, and the heavy-handed Christian allegorical elements. Admittedly, I'm not much a fan of allegory... and in my youth, I never caught on to what Lewis was doing with Narnia. So I can't say it will be obvious (or obnoxious) to current early middle-graders.
Aiden isn't the most inspiring main character, and it's his perspective we are exclusively given. But he does show a fair amount of character growth by the end. (Too much at times, in fact. What with him going from overweight, sedentary, and devoid of any physical skills... to apparently competent knight material with just 1 week of training!)
Hopefully, early middle graders are more able to suspend disbelief than I am.
Hands down, my favorite character (creature?) was the mortiwraith. A strange, dragon-like creature with some truly novel and vividly described features. HERE we see some real creative promise that I hope grows and expands with each of the author's successive works.
There's plenty of potential here. Not sure I'll go on in the series, but I might be willing to give one Batson's more recent books a go.
The comparisons to Narnia are, in this reader's opinion, unfair--both to readers expectations and to the authors. Unlike C.S. Lewis (who gave youths quite a lot of intellectual credit back in his day) Batson's word choices are very simple and his sentence structure basic, though a great deal of violence and tragedy are mentioned in minimally-graphic detail. This leads me to believe this was written strictly for the aforementioned narrow target audience.
It does share some small amounts of similarity in the parallel universe premise, and the heavy-handed Christian allegorical elements. Admittedly, I'm not much a fan of allegory... and in my youth, I never caught on to what Lewis was doing with Narnia. So I can't say it will be obvious (or obnoxious) to current early middle-graders.
Aiden isn't the most inspiring main character, and it's his perspective we are exclusively given. But he does show a fair amount of character growth by the end. (Too much at times, in fact. What with him going from overweight, sedentary, and devoid of any physical skills... to apparently competent knight material with just 1 week of training!)
Hopefully, early middle graders are more able to suspend disbelief than I am.
Hands down, my favorite character (creature?) was the mortiwraith. A strange, dragon-like creature with some truly novel and vividly described features. HERE we see some real creative promise that I hope grows and expands with each of the author's successive works.
There's plenty of potential here. Not sure I'll go on in the series, but I might be willing to give one Batson's more recent books a go.
annaaugustineauthor's review against another edition
5.0
What do you get when you cross C.S. Lewis and modern day writing? The Door Within Trilogy, that's what!
brandi81reads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
lisanussd's review against another edition
3.0
Read with my son. Enjoyable, a little confusing at times
haleybeck's review against another edition
3.0
Good book for ages 9-13. I really enjoyed it when I was that age. It impacted me in its allegorical retelling of christianity. Reading it now though, the writing isn't very good.
shicklin's review against another edition
5.0
What a wonderful fantasy/allegory, rooted in eternal truth! While it may not be The Chronicles of Narnia, it has so much to applaud and was thoroughly satisfying. An adventure that tugs at the heart of every boy and a call to arms in honor of the ONE TRUE KING. (Can you tell I just finished it, and feel overcome?) I experienced the swelling of emotion that I felt during parts of Narnia.
I can't wait to read this with Elijah. I think it will make a good Christmas or birthday present.
I can't wait to read this with Elijah. I think it will make a good Christmas or birthday present.