Angelguard is a fictional novel written by Ian Acheson. I don’t normally read/review fiction, but when the author, Ian, approached me I could hardly resist, seeing as the theme of this book was spiritual warfare. I have to admit, for someone who is not into fiction that much, I had a heck of a time putting this book down. The plot was riveting from start to finish.

It all begins in London when a horrific bomb attack annihilates an entire football stadium full of fans. Shortly after, Los Angeles and Sydney experience similar attacks which take the lives of thousands. But this isn’t your typical terrorist attack. No, the plot is much deeper than that.

One of the main characters, Jack Haines, who survived the Sydney attack, finds himself at the center of a treacherous murder plot to take out the heads of the major rulers of the various countries around the world. But the battle he faces is not only in the physical realm, because as a Christ-follower, Jack understands the battle is also being fought in the spiritual realm.

Will Jack, with the aid of a few close friends, be able to stop this plan before it’s too late? Will the prayers of Christians from around the world be enough to rally the angelic host in victory over the forces of Satan? Or will one evil man’s greedy desires be enough to bring about a devastating loss of world leaders while ushering in a new world-wide state of chaos and destruction?

Overall I really enjoyed Angelguard, especially the scenes where angels and demons are being portrayed. The author did an excellent job of giving us, as the readers, and idea of what could take place in the unseen spiritual realm. The hardest part about reading a book like this, though, was the striking similarity in the portrayal of angels and demons found in Frank Peretti’s books, Piercing the Darkness and This Present Darkness, both of which I have read several times. It’s hard to separate them in my mind because Peretti’s books are practically the standard for writing such a spiritual tale. It’s a tall order to fill, which is probably why few have attempted it.

Obviously I enjoyed the book because I read it in only a few days, despite my hectic schedule. So, it definitely passed the test, as far as I’m concerned. However, I can’t give a fair review without mentioning the things I had problems with (which were very few). I’m hardly the expert on fiction writing, so take this opinion with a grain of salt; I probably don’t know what I’m talking about as much as a die-hard fiction reader would.

There were two things I guess you could say I didn’t care for. One was the use a few words that I believe could have been left out while still retaining the necessary dynamic the scene called for. The book isn’t littered with language by any means, in fact, there were only two scenes where questionable words were used (and what many may not even consider “bad” words), but nonetheless, I have to be honest and admit it bothered me a little coming from a Christian book, even though the verbiage was pretty tame compared to what you’d probably hear in a real-life scenario.

The other issue I had was with the ending. The book maintained such a high-action, page turning script that when all of a sudden it was over, I found myself asking, “What just happened, how did they do that?” Still, despite these two issues, I enjoyed the book a great deal, and would highly recommend this book to others who enjoy a fast-paced, action packed fiction read. The positive aspects of this book far outweigh the negative, so please don’t let my honesty in this review discourage you from buying the book. A lot of it has to do with personal taste as well.

The author has more books in the series coming out, and I will certainly be in line to buy them. If you enjoy fiction, do yourself a favor and grab this one up (buy it now on Amazon), I am sure this is only the beginning of a great new series of books. And while you’re at it, follow Ian’s blog, he’s a fantastic writer!

(I received a complementary copy of Angelguard in exchange for my honest review. The opinions expressed here are completely my own and have not been coerced in any way.)

Ian Acheson works as a freelance strategy consultant. he and his wife, Fiona, live in Sydney, Australia with their two sons. Visit his website at www.ianacheson.com.

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Rebecca Aarup is an author and freelance writer. She is a health columnist for The Christian Online Magazine, creater of S.E.R.V.A.N.T. Sisters online women’s ministry, and has written devotionals/studies/articles for a variety of publications including The Secret Place (Judson press), Evangel (Light and Life Communications), and Mustard Seed Ministries. She just released a new Bible Study The Word: Six Lessons from Psalm 119 which is available as a free download on her website or in print form from Amazon. Beyond writing, Rebecca is a wife, home-schooling mom, and Bible student at Liberty University. She lives in Glendale, Az with her husband Chris and 5 year old, Samantha.  You can read more from Rebecca by subscribing to her blog (it’s free) and following her on twitter and facebook._____________________________________________