Wayne Thomas Batson has woven a story of good and evil, magic and choices, and a land that is tied to ours in strange--and spiritual--ways.  
 

    Wayne Thomas Batson has created a rich fantasy world, complete with strange creatures, knights in shining armor, evil armies, deadly peril, and remarkable sacrifice.  While it is clearly an early attempt, the book nevertheless has enough excitement, surprise, and danger to see it through to the end.

    It starts slowly.  Aiden Thomas has been moved across the country when his elderly grandfather requires his parents' care, and the early part of the book mainly recounts Aiden's anger, frustration, and even a little fear at moving away from his home and his friends.  His strained relationships with his parents come across as slightly shallow, much like every other fantasy novel aimed at teens on the market.  But if you keep reading, I think you'll find that the book improves dramatically as it proceeds.

    The real story does not begin when Aiden stumbles across three mysterious scrolls in his grandfather's basement, or when he begins to read them, not even when he shares his discovery with his parents, but later, when he enters The Door Within—a gesture symbolic of faith—and finds himself in a strange land known as The Realm.  The Realm is peopled with a race of beings, like humans, but predictably stronger, paler-skinned, taller, and more beautiful—known as Glimpses.  Here, the author deviates from the normal in subtle ways; Glimpses are not merely clones of Tolkienesque elves with a different name; they're connected to our world in strange and clever ways that become more apparent as the story progresses.

    Another fun creation of the story world are the moonrascals, cute little creatures who actually have a purpose in the story beyond mere worldbuilding.  The author has heeded Orson Scott Card's admonition to 'call a rabbit a rabbit,' and moonrascals are not fantasy versions of any creature from our world that I've ever heard of.  Nor do they come suddenly to the rescue by swarming over the evil armies just when all hope seemed lost for the heroes; another refreshing change from standard fantasy.

    Religion in The Door Within is much like religion in most other Christian fantasy stories.  While the Messiah-figure doesn't walk around or interact directly with the characters in the story, as in some other stories, he does exist.  We see very few of the religious rituals within the story, which I thought was a shame.  I would have liked to see more of the ways the people of Alleble responded to their King.  As it is, however, the Christian element is present, which should please those who think there isn't enough Christian fantasy in the world.

    My biggest peeve with the book, actually, was the author's habit of using exclamation points when things became tense or exciting.  It added, for me, a comic element that pretty much ruined the tension.

    In the end, the book isn't perfect, but it's easily better than a lot of stuff being published today.  And it's worth reading for anyone who likes Christian fantasy.  Moreover, the book is sprinkled liberally with beautiful moments, beautifully written.  It's not Lewis or Tolkien.  But it beats The Archives of Anthropos all hollow.

ISBN #: 1-4003-0659-0