Official Review: Majesties of Canaan by Chayil Champion

LivreAmour217 · Post by **LivreAmour217** » 22 Apr 2017, 14:46

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Majesties of Canaan" by Chayil Champion.]

3 out of 4 stars

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In the not-so-distant future (the year 2035, to be exact), a cunning Syrian politician--Tanwar Terah--will implement drastic political and economic changes at a global level. While some leaders embrace Terah's New World Order, others question his motives. In the Middle East, Terah forms a union of other nations against Israel, one of his chief dissenters. Known as the Caste Republic, this alliance plans to make an example of Israel for the rest of the world. As they plot a large-scale attack upon the Jewish state, the Israeli government implements elite military teams to locate Terah and put a stop to his plans.

Peter Carmoni, a Jewish-Italian soldier, leads one of these units. When their latest mission goes awry, Carmoni and his team find themselves hiding within an underground cave. While attempting to find a way out of the subterranean tunnels, they discover a mysterious substance that grants each of them with a unique superhuman characteristic. Along with their newfound talents, the team's mission takes on a new dimension when they learn that Terah wields far greater power than anyone can imagine. With time running out, the team must make their way back to Jerusalem before Terah can unleash his forces upon Israel.

Majesties of Canaan is the second book in author Chayil Champion's Dark Spores series. This series is geared toward young adult readers, and can best be described as a superhero story with a Judeo-Christian twist. The book opens with an introduction that provides the reader with a detailed backstory of Tanwar Terah and the global political landscape in the year 2035. As someone who has not read the first book in the series, I was grateful for this explanation, as it set the stage perfectly for the actual story.

This book is not long (only 165 pages), and the plot moves at a breakneck pace. There is an enormous amount of action, and the writing is descriptive enough to get an idea of what the characters and settings look like. At times I did feel like the plot was moving too quickly, or that some scenes could have had more detail, but the story was engaging enough to hold my attention from beginning to end.

There were some typographical errors within the book, but they were not too much of a distraction and could be easily fixed. But my biggest complaint has nothing to do with the writing, and everything to do with the cover. This book epitomizes the saying that you should never judge a book by its cover! I strongly suggest that the author find new cover art, as the current illustration is lacking and doesn't tell a prospective reader anything about the story.

But overall, I believe that Majesties of Canaan is a unique superhero story, and I give it 3 out of 4 stars for its originality. This book would be best suited to younger readers who enjoy fast-paced stories with plenty of action.

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Majesties of Canaan
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Shreyoshi Sen · Post by **Shreyoshi Sen** » 23 Apr 2017, 04:43

Excellent review. Terah's character seems extremely shrewd and cunning. The plot is very interesting. I would love to read this book.

LivreAmour217 · Post by **LivreAmour217** » 23 Apr 2017, 04:57

Shreyoshi Sen wrote:Excellent review. Terah's character seems extremely shrewd and cunning. The plot is very interesting. I would love to read this book.

Thank you! It is a very original superhero story!

bibliognost · Post by **bibliognost** » 23 Apr 2017, 05:26

As a big fan of YA (I think the genre is in its Golden Era right now) I was happy to find your review. Young Adult books often deal with complex issues, so I was not thrown by your description of the book as "Superhero with a Judeo-Christian twist." Thank you for sharing your review. I'll be adding Majesties on Canaan to my growing list of "Want to Read" YA books.

Post by **kandscreeley** » 23 Apr 2017, 07:02

I also am a fan of young adult. I agree about the cover. I wouldn't have thought the book was something i would enjoy from the cover.

Amagine · Post by **Amagine** » 23 Apr 2017, 07:57

A superhero story with a Juedo-Christian twist? That phrase alone caught my attention and made me interested I'm the book. The fact that there are descriptive action scenes makes it sound even better.

Great Review! ?

LivreAmour217 · Post by **LivreAmour217** » 23 Apr 2017, 11:03

bibliognost wrote:As a big fan of YA (I think the genre is in its Golden Era right now) I was happy to find your review. Young Adult books often deal with complex issues, so I was not thrown by your description of the book as "Superhero with a Judeo-Christian twist." Thank you for sharing your review. I'll be adding Majesties on Canaan to my growing list of "Want to Read" YA books.

Great, I hope that you like it! Thanks for reading my review!

-- 23 Apr 2017, 12:04 --

kandscreeley wrote:I also am a fan of young adult. I agree about the cover. I wouldn't have thought the book was something i would enjoy from the cover.

I hope that the author changes it, and thank you for backing me up on that!

-- 23 Apr 2017, 12:05 --

Amagine wrote:A superhero story with a Juedo-Christian twist? That phrase alone caught my attention and made me interested I'm the book. The fact that there are descriptive action scenes makes it sound even better.

Great Review! ?

Thank you! I hope that you get to read it!

Chrys Brobbey · Post by **Chrys Brobbey** » 24 Apr 2017, 15:20

I find it quite imaginative that the author uses the Middle-East situation to scheme a fantasy/sci-fi novel. It shows that there are many situations writers can use as a theme/plot for novels. A good review.

LivreAmour217 · Post by **LivreAmour217** » 24 Apr 2017, 17:00

Chrys Brobbey wrote:I find it quite imaginative that the author uses the Middle-East situation to scheme a fantasy/sci-fi novel. It shows that there are many situations writers can use as a theme/plot for novels. A good review.

Yes, this provided an element of realism to the story. Thank you for reading my review!

Jaime Lync · Post by **Jaime Lync** » 07 May 2017, 17:53

The story sounds somewhat cliche to me but if it is well written it sounds like a very promising read. Sadly, I often judge a book by its cover. Great review.

LivreAmour217 · Post by **LivreAmour217** » 07 May 2017, 20:04

Jaime Lync wrote:The story sounds somewhat cliche to me but if it is well written it sounds like a very promising read. Sadly, I often judge a book by its cover. Great review.

Thank you. I suppose that superhero stories can be cliche, but this one has some unique elements.