Dark Lords, Dark Sides, and Dark Creatures
It makes me feel a little uncomfortable to confess it, but I’m a Star Wars nut, a Lord of the Rings freak, and a total Harry Potter fan. I was slow about become a nut, freak, and fan for all three of these classic series, but when I did take the plunge, I was completely won over. It’s especially true of the Harry Potter series. I’d watched all eight movies a couple times before I read the books, but there is no fictional story line that has been more captivating and compelling to me than following the three main characters go from Hogwarts rookies to heroes of the battle to defeat the Dark Lord at the end of The Deathly Hallows.
I have mentioned to several people, that when I go several months without seeing Harry Potter, and I decide it’s time to watch the series again (usually when my wife is out of town visiting grand-kids), it’s the only DVD that gives me chills up my arms the moment the theme music starts.
A couple years ago, after watching all eight movies over a couple of cold winter weekends, I began to reflect on how similar those three classic series were when it came to who the “bad guys” were. In all three the antagonists belonged to the Darkness. In all three series, the Dark Side and/or Dark Lord was clearly evil, but we were never told were they came from. They just chose the Dark rather than the Light. They were just inherently evil.
I always understood that it was a classic battle between good and evil and not just bad guys against good guys. After all, the Alliance, Middle Earth, and the entire wizarding world, not to mention Muggles, depending on stopping them! But, who or what was The Dark, and who or what was The Light?
What if there was an action/adventure story where Light and Darkness competed and fought, but the reader clearly understood who it was doing the fighting? After all, the forces of Light have been fighting the forces of Darkness since Adam and Eve opened the door to the “Dark Side” in the Garden of Eden. We know there’s a battle going on between God’s forces and Satan’s forces ever since Satan won that first skirmish over what to eat for dinner.
I spent many hours outlining and jotting down ideas for a new way to tell the story of the battle that has been ragging in the spirit realm since the beginning of time. The Bible is clear about the reality of the war, but quite silent about the details of how, when, where, and who is doing the fighting.
The Judas Sword is the story of how, when, where, and who is caught up in this timeless battle for souls, for faith, and for all that is good. There is no question about who the Dark Agents and Light Agents are. It’s about Satan’s angels competing and fighting with God’s angels over whether goodness or evil will win the day and the world.
Through the eyes of one of the youngest people ever drafted to become an Agent of Light, we get to see through his eyes a new world, a timeless realm, a challenging mission to train for, a loyal team bonding and learning to use magically powerful tools to do the job, and desperate fighting for life, love, and all that’s good. We get to learn everything as young Matt Zampolos learns about it. And since it is timeless, some of the characters we get to meet and know, are people who have been there for many decades, and some – many centuries.
