The Crescent Stone by Matt Mikalatos

Mikalatos gives readers a thought provoking fantasy adventure in the style of C. S. Lewis. There are allusions to Christian truths in the story and the plot contains many ethical decisions. There are unusual creatures inhabiting many kingdoms. There are intense battles and life and death situations. There are complex loyalties and underlying motives that made me wonder who the good guys really were. Perhaps like reality, the good and evil motives in beings were often hidden.

The characters are well developed and very interesting. One character, for example, is the King of Mirrors. He is always looking into one, when he is not fighting, that is. My favorite character was Jason. His truth telling and sarcasm brought humor to the narrative.

Mikalatos has included a number of moral issues in the plot. We learn about Angel Island and the historical woes of immigrants coming to the west coast of the U.S. We are informed about privatized prisons in the U.S. and the profitability of filling them, even if it requires made up charges. Most glaringly, we readers are faced with living our comfortable middle class lives at the expense of others.

This novel is in the young adult genre. I enjoyed it as an older adult too. The prevalence of social justice issues contained in the book makes me suggest the novel would be good for older teens. It would be a good choice for a teen reading group as there would be much to discuss.

I recommend this book to readers who enjoy an allegory with hints of the gospel and other spiritual truths as well as many social justice issues.

You can read an excerpt here.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

Matt Mikalatos began a life-long love of fantasy novels in the third grade. For the last two decades he has been working in a nonprofit organization. He has lived in Asia and served all over the world. His science fiction and fantasy stories have been published in a variety of places. His nonfiction has appeared in various places. He also cohosts the StoryMen podcast. He lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife and daughters. You can find out more at www.mikalatos.com.

Tyndale House, 448 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.