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The Seven Sleepers #1
Flight of the Eagles
Fourteen-year-old Joshua Adams wakes from a fifty-year sleep to find that he has escaped nuclear war—and that the genetically altered races of Earth now hail his awakening as the first fulfillment of an ancient prophecy.
For of old it was sung that the Seven Sleepers would awaken to unite their strength with Goél and join in battle against the wicked priests of the Sanhedrin. But the choice of Josh and each member of the quest is a dangerous one. He must survive not only the peril of the Sanhedrin but the doubt that threatens his faith and, ultimately, his commitment to Goél, his spiritual champion.
For of old it was sung that the Seven Sleepers would awaken to unite their strength with Goél and join in battle against the wicked priests of the Sanhedrin. But the choice of Josh and each member of the quest is a dangerous one. He must survive not only the peril of the Sanhedrin but the doubt that threatens his faith and, ultimately, his commitment to Goél, his spiritual champion.
192 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1994
About the author
Gilbert L. Morris
23 books24 followersalso publishes under the name Gilbert Morris
Gilbert Morris is one of today's best-known Christian novelists. He lives in Gulf Shores, Alabama, with his wife, Johnnie. He is the father to Lynn Morris and Alan Morris
Gilbert Morris is one of today's best-known Christian novelists. He lives in Gulf Shores, Alabama, with his wife, Johnnie. He is the father to Lynn Morris and Alan Morris
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
April 17, 2012
This is probably the most obscure YA series I got into at that age. Goofy and preachy as it can be at times, this brings back plenty of good memories, and I'm sure it can still inspire fun times for younger teens today. This book would be best for the teen crowd who has already devoured the Chronicles of Narnia and needs another (more overtly Christian-slanted) fix.
October 16, 2019
I remember hearing my older brother talk about this series growing up. I never picked up the first book to read it, so I just skipped the whole series. Until now. On a whim I decided to see what my brother had liked so much about the Seven Sleepers series, and picked up book one, Flight of the Eagles.
"Not prepared" is exactly the phrase I would use to describe this fascinating, slightly edgy Christian fantasy novel. The story begins with nuclear war decimating the entire known world, and seven teenagers being left in stasis to wake up and one day save the world from darkness. I kept thinking while I read, "Gilbert Morris isn't going to go there, is he?" And then he would. Parts of this story are gloriously dark for a Christian fantasy series, and parts are obvious allegory. However, Morris weaves so many threads together so deftly, that I was genuinely pulled in throughout the entire book.
That said, the book does show its age. Some of the conversations from one character in particular venture on slightly racist, however, this character does grow and change throughout the book, and his attitude is portrayed as not one that is loving towards others. There is an underlying tension between the lone African American character and the Southern "cowboy," and in the climate of today's racial tensions, this seemed very real and yet uncomfortable. Parents should certainly read this ahead of time to determine what they think for their own kids with regard to some of the non-politically correct things characters say here and there on this topic. Nothing is in the actual narrative, and Morris seems to be working at portraying these characters as having attitudes that are their own.
All said, some of the final plot twists are somewhat apparent from the beginning, but other mysteries unravel in surprising ways.
Here's on to book two!
"Not prepared" is exactly the phrase I would use to describe this fascinating, slightly edgy Christian fantasy novel. The story begins with nuclear war decimating the entire known world, and seven teenagers being left in stasis to wake up and one day save the world from darkness. I kept thinking while I read, "Gilbert Morris isn't going to go there, is he?" And then he would. Parts of this story are gloriously dark for a Christian fantasy series, and parts are obvious allegory. However, Morris weaves so many threads together so deftly, that I was genuinely pulled in throughout the entire book.
That said, the book does show its age. Some of the conversations from one character in particular venture on slightly racist, however, this character does grow and change throughout the book, and his attitude is portrayed as not one that is loving towards others. There is an underlying tension between the lone African American character and the Southern "cowboy," and in the climate of today's racial tensions, this seemed very real and yet uncomfortable. Parents should certainly read this ahead of time to determine what they think for their own kids with regard to some of the non-politically correct things characters say here and there on this topic. Nothing is in the actual narrative, and Morris seems to be working at portraying these characters as having attitudes that are their own.
All said, some of the final plot twists are somewhat apparent from the beginning, but other mysteries unravel in surprising ways.
Here's on to book two!
January 2, 2022
Continuing to reread my way through my childhood bookshelf, I'm at the Seven Sleepers series. As a kid growing up in rural PA where the only bookstore in my town was a Christian bookstore these books were one of the very few complete fantasy series I could manage to get, so I read them quite a few times growing up.
Rereading them now I don't think I'd recommend them, even to kids. The internet has made it so easy to get your hands on far, far better books (e.g. Chronicles of Prydain) that it's just not worth wasting time on these.
That's not to say they're *complete* trash. There's a nugget of a good story here, especially in the first 1/3 of the book which is actually fairly good if you can ignore the complete disregard for how biology works. But after that the problems start to emerge:
1. Everything after the first 1/3 feels *incredibly* rushed (fitting 7 quests into this short of a book is just too much).
2. Basically no character development at all for most of the characters (probably a consequence of 1).
3. The romanticizing of the Confederate south is gross.
4. The Christian propaganda starts to get heavier and overbearing at the end.
5. The enemy isn't really explained at all, they're just generic bad guys with no motivations other than we-must-conquer-the-world.
6. There series as a whole uses really obvious tropes all the time. This isn't terrible as a kid, but now there's only so many times you can see the "No man may X? Well surprise, I'm a woman!" plot twist before it just gets painful.
Rereading them now I don't think I'd recommend them, even to kids. The internet has made it so easy to get your hands on far, far better books (e.g. Chronicles of Prydain) that it's just not worth wasting time on these.
That's not to say they're *complete* trash. There's a nugget of a good story here, especially in the first 1/3 of the book which is actually fairly good if you can ignore the complete disregard for how biology works. But after that the problems start to emerge:
1. Everything after the first 1/3 feels *incredibly* rushed (fitting 7 quests into this short of a book is just too much).
2. Basically no character development at all for most of the characters (probably a consequence of 1).
3. The romanticizing of the Confederate south is gross.
4. The Christian propaganda starts to get heavier and overbearing at the end.
5. The enemy isn't really explained at all, they're just generic bad guys with no motivations other than we-must-conquer-the-world.
6. There series as a whole uses really obvious tropes all the time. This isn't terrible as a kid, but now there's only so many times you can see the "No man may X? Well surprise, I'm a woman!" plot twist before it just gets painful.
July 29, 2020
Generally, I am not a fan of fantasy. However, the Seven Sleepers series is written by Gilbert Morris. So, why not? This is a different form of fantasy, in my opinion, though. Gilbert Morris contemplates what could happen in the end times. It's slightly unrealistic, of course, and a little confusing at times. Since I don't read too many fantasy books, I always get confused with those kind. (Except for the Narnia books) But I think that anyone who likes, say, Keeper of the Lost Cities, would enjoy these. And it can get you thinking logically about the end times, even though the Seven Sleepers books don't accurately portray life.
July 27, 2015
I was anticipating something with the subtle spiritual nuances of The Chronicles of Narnia, but the story seemed inordinately thin and the plot was a series of happenings, rather than a tapestry of conflict and resolution. Perhaps my expectations were simply too high.
July 19, 2023
I've been sleeping on this series for about 19 years (pun intentional). My best gal continually told me I needed to read them and I would try and retry, continuously dnf'ing it. Managing to get this first book down once as a child and now as an adult I have lots of thoughts. Since no one in this season is talking about these books to appreciate my excursion down memory lane I'll simply write to myself on this winding journey.
Bullets:
1. Josh annoyed me as a child. WHAT A Wet blanket.
2. Josh still annoys me as an adult. I think Josh is the reason I went into reading Percy Jackson or Harry Potter expecting to hate the Main Character. He is no Harry and incredibly hard to root for. I understand 14 is a difficult time, regardless of being placed in a time capsul and finding out your world is dead upon awaking. But, why is this kid so relentlessly whiney and immature?
3. Sara is not much better.
4....I think Jake was found third.... it is incredibly hard to remember when we meet Jake because it is essentially the first and final time we will ever see him.
(Maybe Reb was 3rd?)
5. >>>Speaking of Reb, I remembered there being a South vs slave plot, but it's handled incredibly poorly. It bothered me as kid and it bothered me now. I'm honestly sad about this. WIth having SEVEN books it is such a shame there couldn't have been a slow burn to the friendship of REb and Wash. We could have seen them fight and struggle to get along and then maybe in book six start to become aware of bias and hate. Unfortunately we instead are given a miraculous resolution to the racism by the conclusion of this book....which i should remind you is number one. It's hard to make this circumstance worse, however, REbs racism will raNdomly showcase itself due to influence of the dark forces in later books- again being messy . Its honestly unnecessary and unfortunate if you are not going to make it purposeful within the storytelling. If we are teaching kids about Remember the Titans we best be doing it well. THis, tragically is probably why this kids series fell off the earth a bit. I know anyone my age and younger is going to especially hate how there is oddly a confederate flag wielding feel, amidst the push to showcase racism resolution. Its ugly. It. will leave you sitting uncomfortable,...and not in the right way.
6. Josh and Sara get too much screen time, even for book one. I'm not sure how this will go as I read the rest of the series, but its clear that each book will have one focus on one sleeper. Regardless of that dynamic, these two are too dull to carry us forward.
7. I like the world, but I wish we had more story and character building before going to the sleep chambers. My assumption is there are big constraints to number of pages for this age range, but - kids are really willing to sit and read an epic story. Harry Potter is LONG and kids don't mind. This series has a GREAT concept but never enough time to build characters.
8. I hate the gemini twins. ...there i said it. As a kid they bugged me. as an adult they bug me.
I hope we don't see them till 7 hahahahaha
9. Kids shoved. into time capsules? Brilliant. Love it. just give me more....
10. I want the Stephen king or brandon sanderson version of this series. we deserve it. These books deserve a more legendary story. I actually highly recommended Fairy Tale (King) if you want a similar feel, just more adult and fleshed out.
I've genuinely wondered if this series was a "kid friendly version" of King's Dark Towers series. Although I haven't read Dark Towers, Many seem to believe Fairy Tale was within that same universe.
Concept 5/5
Setting 2/5
Characters 2.5/5
Spiritual System 3/5
Magical Objects/creatures 2/5
Plot 3/5
Coherence 5/5
Romance 1/5
Audio Reader -3/5 (great until the women come up)
Series so far.... we will see
Final Verdict- Josh needed a longer naptime
Bullets:
1. Josh annoyed me as a child. WHAT A Wet blanket.
2. Josh still annoys me as an adult. I think Josh is the reason I went into reading Percy Jackson or Harry Potter expecting to hate the Main Character. He is no Harry and incredibly hard to root for. I understand 14 is a difficult time, regardless of being placed in a time capsul and finding out your world is dead upon awaking. But, why is this kid so relentlessly whiney and immature?
3. Sara is not much better.
4....I think Jake was found third.... it is incredibly hard to remember when we meet Jake because it is essentially the first and final time we will ever see him.
(Maybe Reb was 3rd?)
5. >>>Speaking of Reb, I remembered there being a South vs slave plot, but it's handled incredibly poorly. It bothered me as kid and it bothered me now. I'm honestly sad about this. WIth having SEVEN books it is such a shame there couldn't have been a slow burn to the friendship of REb and Wash. We could have seen them fight and struggle to get along and then maybe in book six start to become aware of bias and hate. Unfortunately we instead are given a miraculous resolution to the racism by the conclusion of this book....which i should remind you is number one. It's hard to make this circumstance worse, however, REbs racism will raNdomly showcase itself due to influence of the dark forces in later books- again being messy . Its honestly unnecessary and unfortunate if you are not going to make it purposeful within the storytelling. If we are teaching kids about Remember the Titans we best be doing it well. THis, tragically is probably why this kids series fell off the earth a bit. I know anyone my age and younger is going to especially hate how there is oddly a confederate flag wielding feel, amidst the push to showcase racism resolution. Its ugly. It. will leave you sitting uncomfortable,...and not in the right way.
6. Josh and Sara get too much screen time, even for book one. I'm not sure how this will go as I read the rest of the series, but its clear that each book will have one focus on one sleeper. Regardless of that dynamic, these two are too dull to carry us forward.
7. I like the world, but I wish we had more story and character building before going to the sleep chambers. My assumption is there are big constraints to number of pages for this age range, but - kids are really willing to sit and read an epic story. Harry Potter is LONG and kids don't mind. This series has a GREAT concept but never enough time to build characters.
8. I hate the gemini twins. ...there i said it. As a kid they bugged me. as an adult they bug me.
I hope we don't see them till 7 hahahahaha
9. Kids shoved. into time capsules? Brilliant. Love it. just give me more....
10. I want the Stephen king or brandon sanderson version of this series. we deserve it. These books deserve a more legendary story. I actually highly recommended Fairy Tale (King) if you want a similar feel, just more adult and fleshed out.
I've genuinely wondered if this series was a "kid friendly version" of King's Dark Towers series. Although I haven't read Dark Towers, Many seem to believe Fairy Tale was within that same universe.
Concept 5/5
Setting 2/5
Characters 2.5/5
Spiritual System 3/5
Magical Objects/creatures 2/5
Plot 3/5
Coherence 5/5
Romance 1/5
Audio Reader -3/5 (great until the women come up)
Series so far.... we will see
Final Verdict- Josh needed a longer naptime
July 17, 2024
Terrific to share with my 8-year-old grandson. We loved reading it together!
April 20, 2013
*3 Stars*
A post-apocalyptic story concerning a young man named Joshua and a young girl named Sarah who are placed in sleeper pods after at terrible war threatens to destroy all life on Earth (this was printed in 1990, probably less then a year after the fall of the Berlin wall, thus the world destroyed by Nuclear holocaust is understandable as a story element). Joshua is woken a hundred years later to a world that is nothing like the one he remembers. Bows and arrows and swords are the weapons of the time and dwarves, Giants, and other 'mythical-esque' creatures are the norm. An ancient creature named Crusoe (no word pun there *sarcasm*) has woken him and helps prepare him for a quest: to wake the Seven Sleepers (minus himself now) and help bring about the beginnings of a revolution by the House of Goél (which will be the bane of my existence in future reviews because of that e). Along the way, the travelers meet up with the bads of this world, the Sanhedrin, who chases them across the world as their time runs out to get to the final Sleepers.
*The Gush*
This a quick, exciting read that should appeal to both boys and girls alike. The characters, even with the sheer volume of them that appears, are interesting and in most cases don't get lost in the story. Some we see longer then others, but each will shine in their own way as the series progresses. The character of Crusoe is wonderful, a classic mentor type who also understands that these are children and are struggling with the loss of their world and all those they loved. Joshua is a self-conscience, unsure young man who is thrust into a position and idea he never would have chosen for himself. While basically a good kid, he is a kid and makes mistakes. All of the characters do; they are very human and one of the strongest parts of this book. The story is a classic quest story filled with exciting near misses as well as coincidental happenings that move the plot along...except that they aren't coincidences. Goél is quite obviously Jesus (or Aslan - see below) who is gathering his people to him to battle the evil ruling the world. The Seven Sleepers are to help him, be his agents as he gathers the world together. The Sanhedrin is very stereotypically the bad, evil but there are interesting little tidbits. They have a sort of mind control and the head of them once states, "Don't you know that once in Oldworld a baby was born in a lowly place - just a common child like these - and that one child wrenched the entire world from our graps!" So clearly they are the descendents, maybe, at least spiritually of the Sanhedrin Jesus faced. The Christian message is very overt in this but I would not say it is 'preachy'. It is simply woven into the story so much that you can't separate it from the rest of the book.
*The Rant*
There is nothing really majorly wrong with this book. It does rather ring like a lesser brother of C. S. Lewis' Narnia series, because it does many of the same things but I would argue not quite so well. That is not to say it is bad or you shouldn't read it, but one can't help but compare the two. It is also a bit dated now. Since most of it takes place in 'Nuworld' that is not a huge problem, but it shows particularly in this one because it is the first of the series and as such partly takes place in 'our' world. The threat of Nuclear Apocalypse is perhaps again starting to be relevant with the current issues facing the world, but we are simply not as steeped in it as most people would have been who read this series when it first came out. As I said, it shows mostly in this book, and is only for a couple of the first chapters.
*Conclusion*
This a solid work of children's Christian fiction. If you have issues with Christian fiction, this is probably not for you, though the story itself is very interesting and I do recommend it. While not the best piece of children's fiction I've ever read, it is engaging and well worth the quick read it is.
A post-apocalyptic story concerning a young man named Joshua and a young girl named Sarah who are placed in sleeper pods after at terrible war threatens to destroy all life on Earth (this was printed in 1990, probably less then a year after the fall of the Berlin wall, thus the world destroyed by Nuclear holocaust is understandable as a story element). Joshua is woken a hundred years later to a world that is nothing like the one he remembers. Bows and arrows and swords are the weapons of the time and dwarves, Giants, and other 'mythical-esque' creatures are the norm. An ancient creature named Crusoe (no word pun there *sarcasm*) has woken him and helps prepare him for a quest: to wake the Seven Sleepers (minus himself now) and help bring about the beginnings of a revolution by the House of Goél (which will be the bane of my existence in future reviews because of that e). Along the way, the travelers meet up with the bads of this world, the Sanhedrin, who chases them across the world as their time runs out to get to the final Sleepers.
*The Gush*
This a quick, exciting read that should appeal to both boys and girls alike. The characters, even with the sheer volume of them that appears, are interesting and in most cases don't get lost in the story. Some we see longer then others, but each will shine in their own way as the series progresses. The character of Crusoe is wonderful, a classic mentor type who also understands that these are children and are struggling with the loss of their world and all those they loved. Joshua is a self-conscience, unsure young man who is thrust into a position and idea he never would have chosen for himself. While basically a good kid, he is a kid and makes mistakes. All of the characters do; they are very human and one of the strongest parts of this book. The story is a classic quest story filled with exciting near misses as well as coincidental happenings that move the plot along...except that they aren't coincidences. Goél is quite obviously Jesus (or Aslan - see below) who is gathering his people to him to battle the evil ruling the world. The Seven Sleepers are to help him, be his agents as he gathers the world together. The Sanhedrin is very stereotypically the bad, evil but there are interesting little tidbits. They have a sort of mind control and the head of them once states, "Don't you know that once in Oldworld a baby was born in a lowly place - just a common child like these - and that one child wrenched the entire world from our graps!" So clearly they are the descendents, maybe, at least spiritually of the Sanhedrin Jesus faced. The Christian message is very overt in this but I would not say it is 'preachy'. It is simply woven into the story so much that you can't separate it from the rest of the book.
*The Rant*
There is nothing really majorly wrong with this book. It does rather ring like a lesser brother of C. S. Lewis' Narnia series, because it does many of the same things but I would argue not quite so well. That is not to say it is bad or you shouldn't read it, but one can't help but compare the two. It is also a bit dated now. Since most of it takes place in 'Nuworld' that is not a huge problem, but it shows particularly in this one because it is the first of the series and as such partly takes place in 'our' world. The threat of Nuclear Apocalypse is perhaps again starting to be relevant with the current issues facing the world, but we are simply not as steeped in it as most people would have been who read this series when it first came out. As I said, it shows mostly in this book, and is only for a couple of the first chapters.
*Conclusion*
This a solid work of children's Christian fiction. If you have issues with Christian fiction, this is probably not for you, though the story itself is very interesting and I do recommend it. While not the best piece of children's fiction I've ever read, it is engaging and well worth the quick read it is.
August 7, 2016
Not the best Christian fantasy I've ever read, but I probably would have loved it when I was younger. It's kinda weird and takes a lot of suspension of belief, not many of the characters are very memorable, and there's lots of awkward or stiff wording, but the idea behind it is pretty unique (even if it's not very realistic, even for fantasy). The Christian message comes across strongly, but it doesn't feel like I'm being hit across the head with it. I'll continue the series, since my church library owns all of it, and the sequel series.
I loved the Gemini twins though, that was a really cool idea.
I loved the Gemini twins though, that was a really cool idea.
January 30, 2020
This series is probably the first that I ever chose to start reading (The Chronicles of Narnia was my first, but mom read the first two to me). and for those of you who know me, this is the book that made me like to write poetic riddles. I enjoyed ever minute of these ten books and because I liked them so well, even read a civil war romance series by Mr. Morris as well. And for me, that's saying something!
July 31, 2011
SHUT UP! Does anyone else remember the Seven Sleeper series??? I want to read them all again!! This calls for a trip to the library.. very soon.
January 11, 2024
Alright. I really enjoyed the first 2-4(? can't remember) books in this series as a kid, and have remembered loving them all this time, but I never finished the series, so I've decided this is the year to do it. I'm committed to trudging through this task in its entirety despite what I've just experienced (for the first time in 20 years) reading book 1.
Wow. It's dated even for being written in 1990 - the author was 61 when it was released (unless my math is that bad, and, it could be) and it shows. I cringed at quite a few things even prior to a certain rebel Sleeper's awakening (who at least grew up a small bit in the story).
There's a few nuggets of Biblical wisdom throughout but nothing at all original - Morris was no Lewis, that's for certain. There's no character development and little to no real introduction to the main characters to paint an adequate picture of any of them, certainly not enough to connect or care that deeply, and it moves way too quickly, just constant movement > dialogue > movement > dialogue > movement > dialogue. There's PLENTY of excellent books with depth, beauty, and complexity at this reading level out there so that's not a viable excuse here at all.
It's an interesting idea to build a world based on the Christian/Islamic legend of the Seven Sleepers (found in the Quran or a quick Google search). I have always thought that about it. I'm just disappointed it seriously hasn't held the test of time and my 10/11-year-old self definitely thought this was better than it is.
Wow. It's dated even for being written in 1990 - the author was 61 when it was released (unless my math is that bad, and, it could be) and it shows. I cringed at quite a few things even prior to a certain rebel Sleeper's awakening (who at least grew up a small bit in the story).
There's a few nuggets of Biblical wisdom throughout but nothing at all original - Morris was no Lewis, that's for certain. There's no character development and little to no real introduction to the main characters to paint an adequate picture of any of them, certainly not enough to connect or care that deeply, and it moves way too quickly, just constant movement > dialogue > movement > dialogue > movement > dialogue. There's PLENTY of excellent books with depth, beauty, and complexity at this reading level out there so that's not a viable excuse here at all.
It's an interesting idea to build a world based on the Christian/Islamic legend of the Seven Sleepers (found in the Quran or a quick Google search). I have always thought that about it. I'm just disappointed it seriously hasn't held the test of time and my 10/11-year-old self definitely thought this was better than it is.
May 2, 2018
I read this series once a couple of years ago, and I didn't overly like it. I didn't remember it, so I decided to give it another try to see if maybe I would enjoy it more now that I'm a little older and have more varied reading tastes... Nope. I still wasn't really feeling the vibe for this series.
I find the characters really flat, kind of annoying, and way too happy-dappy. In some parts of the book when the characters are interacting, it feels more like a Barney episode than a couple of young teenagers trying to do...something (now that I'm trying to think about it, I don't believe the book ever really said exactly why they were put to sleep and stuff. Maybe it comes in later.)
I really wanted to bang my head when Crusoe turned out to be Josh's dad.
The plot was just eh. I felt like there was no real conflict. The characters never had to really do anything or show anything in order to get out of their predicament. I liked the Christian twist to the story, but I did feel like it could have been better done.
Swearing: None
Sexual content: None
Violence: Basically none. There's some fighting at the end (and I'm still not sure how young teenagers knew how to fight with swords and bows and stuff...)
Religious/spiritual/magical content: The book is written with a pretty obvious Christian theme throughout it.
I find the characters really flat, kind of annoying, and way too happy-dappy. In some parts of the book when the characters are interacting, it feels more like a Barney episode than a couple of young teenagers trying to do...something (now that I'm trying to think about it, I don't believe the book ever really said exactly why they were put to sleep and stuff. Maybe it comes in later.)
I really wanted to bang my head when Crusoe turned out to be Josh's dad.
The plot was just eh. I felt like there was no real conflict. The characters never had to really do anything or show anything in order to get out of their predicament. I liked the Christian twist to the story, but I did feel like it could have been better done.
Swearing: None
Sexual content: None
Violence: Basically none. There's some fighting at the end (and I'm still not sure how young teenagers knew how to fight with swords and bows and stuff...)
Religious/spiritual/magical content: The book is written with a pretty obvious Christian theme throughout it.
January 2, 2024
The funny thing about being raised Christian is that while so many of your contemporaries are off reading Harry Potter, you are given these very niche weird little Christian fantasy novels. The thing is, so many of them slapped. Is slapped still a slang term? I don't know, only that it feels like the right word for this book in particular.
The premise is super dark. It quite literally starts with a nuclear war obliterating the entire world. Seven teenagers are saved when they are placed in sleeping pods--hence the name The Seven Sleepers.--and are each woken up during the series and are our heroes.
The characters are flat and the Christian allegory is not exactly nuanced, but I have thought about this series at least once a month for years and years. I don't know why. I guess reading a kid's book when you are eight that starts with the world being destroyed kind of sticks with a girl?
It's just a super weird story, and I mean that as a compliment. Gilbert L. Morris really didn't need to go this hard, yet I am grateful he did.
The premise is super dark. It quite literally starts with a nuclear war obliterating the entire world. Seven teenagers are saved when they are placed in sleeping pods--hence the name The Seven Sleepers.--and are each woken up during the series and are our heroes.
The characters are flat and the Christian allegory is not exactly nuanced, but I have thought about this series at least once a month for years and years. I don't know why. I guess reading a kid's book when you are eight that starts with the world being destroyed kind of sticks with a girl?
It's just a super weird story, and I mean that as a compliment. Gilbert L. Morris really didn't need to go this hard, yet I am grateful he did.
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April 10, 2024I read this absolutely surreal book when I was in fifth grade back in 2007/2008. I checked it out from my (Christian) school library and it kept me up many nights in a row thinking about the nuclear apocalypse that now seemed inevitable. Over the years I completely forgot the name of the book and couldn’t find it anywhere on the internet and became convinced it was just some weird fever dream I had when I was 11. But no. It’s REAL.
January 8, 2023
I picked this book because of the fantasy/apocolypse topic. I was not aware it was a Christian allegory. If that appeals to you, you might enjoy this YA novel. Personally, I thought the allegory was heavy-handed. and I felt as if I'd been beaten over the head with the point. It's the first in a series. It is a quick read.
October 26, 2020
Read this in middle school, enjoyed it then but its been a loooong time. I just remember loving the sci fi and fantasy elements of the story and being disappointed when I couldn't find the sequels in my school library.
November 24, 2020
As fast as the pace was and as much fun as some of the characters were, I was underwhelmed by the setup and subsequent world building and the numerous times the characters were saved from their situations by this universe’s version of God.
February 4, 2021
This series is great. I first read the series when I was 9 and is written for the younger teen age group but I reread it recently at 16 and still loved it. It is clean and teaches good morals. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys christian fantasy.
February 23, 2021
I'm reading this series to my youngest (six years old), after my oldest daughter (nine years old) read them. What an incredible series! The characters are likable, the adventures captivating, and their lessons amazing. Great read.
January 29, 2024
When reading this book I was a bit worried I wasn’t going to like the other books because in the first book they found all the people but the Aventures where Amazing which is why I finished the whole series
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 20, 2019
Very interesting plot, but intended for 12-13 year olds. Great book!
January 19, 2020
DNF
I'm not sure how I felt about this??
I'm not sure how I felt about this??
November 4, 2021
My 4th grade teacher read a few of the Seven Sleeper books in class and I was hooked. I had to have the whole collection! Now 20+ years later, I'm rereading the series to my 4th grader at bedtime.
November 14, 2021
Good story. My son liked it, and there are nine more in the series.
November 23, 2021
2 stars as an adult, maybe kids would enjoy it more 💕
November 29, 2023
Very interesting plot, but intended for 12-13 year olds. Great book!
February 13, 2024
Bishop: 5 stars
Brady: 5 stars
Brady: 5 stars
March 26, 2024
Kids' book. The twist that Caruso was his father and then died almost immediately was pretty lame.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 1, 2024
Good book for a family reading time together.
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