Book Review: The Shadow Things by Jennifer Freitag

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Age Appropriate For: 15 and up for violence, intense content, and mild romance

Best for Ages: 15 and up

Description: The Legions have left the province of Britain and the Western Roman Empire has dissolved into chaos. With the world plunged into darkness, paganism and superstition are as rampant as ever. In the Down country of southern Britain, young Indi has grown up knowing nothing more than his gods of horses and thunder; so when a man from across the sea comes preaching a single God slain on a cross, Indi must choose between his gods or the one God—and face the consequences of his decision.

I started this book because I wanted to listen to something on my Kindle while I worked, and I am trying to read a bunch of books from the Homeschool Authors blog this year. I knew I was going to get a well written story, but I was not prepared to be amazed by it.

This story captured not only my imagination, but also my heart. I don’t think I have ever read a book with so many hard/sad events in it that I actually ended up loving. It pulled me back in time to ancient Britain, and made me feel like I was with Indi and his struggles.

I am not very familiar with this time in history, but I felt like the author did her research. The details of daily living and political structure seemed too real to have been made up. I would guess that this author spent hours learning about this time and place so that she could make her readers feel as if they were really there.

Indi was not only a wonderful character, but he also was one that tugged at my heartstrings. I felt as if I was there watching him through his struggles, finding faith, and witnessing the suffering of his people. He was so realistic as well as likable.

Christianity is the whole thrust of this story, yet without feeling fake. Watching as the little brown man and his message of a God of love changes the hearts of people and the lives of a village, my heart was touched.

This was not a light read; it was tough. Famine, abuse, suffering for your faith, and betrayal are not glossed over, but neither does the author go into so much detail. The story is very emotional and that is part of why it is so good.

I highly recommend this book to those who like Christianity at the center of their books, good historical fiction, and stories that make you feel like you are really there.

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The Shadow Things by Jennifer Freitag

The Legions have left the province of Britain and the Western Roman Empire has dissolved into chaos. With the world plunged into darkness, paganism and superstition are as rampant as ever. In the Down country of southern Britain, young Indi has grown up knowing nothing more than his gods of horses and thunder; so when a man from across the sea comes preaching a single God slain on a cross, Indi must choose between his gods or the one God and face the consequences of his decision.

Give a Warm Welcome to...

Jennifer Freitag!!

How did being homeschooled prepare you as a writer?

Being homeschooled doesn’t necessarily mean I had a fluid schedule.  My mother kept us at our work until the school-day let out at three in the afternoon.  However, our curriculum was heavily book-based and required a lot of reading, largely from historical novels, oftentimes from textbooks.  Additionally, my father has always been an avid reader.  Books and the love of reading books were always around us. 

These factors, coupled with my personality, started me writing at an early age.  Oddly enough, I detested my English courses and never progressed far in them; what I lacked in cold grammatical knowledge I made up intuitively by learning how to construct sentences, paragraphs, and ultimately stories from the authors I read for school.

What inspired you to start writing?

The English civil war.  My imaginary friend as a child was Oliver Cromwell, my real friend was the boy who would one day grow up to become my husband.  I mixed these two with an overpowering dosage of fantasy and began writing the most outlandish stories. 

What is The Shadow Things about?

Not the English civil war, nor fantasy, but it is based in England and it is definitely about faith.  I went clear back to the age of Britain after the fall of the Roman Empire (which, incidentally, was also made interesting to me by my homeschooling) and took up the story of Indi, a young British tribesman struggling to find the truth in his pagan gods and learning to suffer for the cause of Christ.  It is perhaps not exactly a happy story, but I sincerely hope it is a joyful and truthful one.

Where can people get your book?

There is one on my bookshelf, but that is mine.  If you want a copy of your own you can go on Amazon, or check your local bookstore, or buy it off my blog at The Penslayer—that way you can get an autographed copy!

Do you plan to write anymore books?

I have one more book in the editing stage, and one in the writing stage, and gobs more unwritten in my head.  When I die I will probably go out with an unfinished manuscript under my fallen forehead and people will be most distressed with me.

Do you have any final thoughts you would like to share?

I read a quote by Voltaire once which went “To hold a pen is to be at war.”  Not being intimately acquainted with Voltaire I do not know precisely what he meant, but my own pen knows what it is like to be at war.  The Shadow Things is not a book which is likely to be widely popular.  It isn’t fuzzy, it isn’t romantic; it can be grim and stark and sometimes jarring—even for me.  When I took it upon myself to write The Shadow Things I wanted, not to write a happy story, but a true one, one about faith and bearing one’s cross and the reality of the forces of darkness which truly hate the light.  I had a prevailing disbelief in the forces of darkness and the Kingdom of Heaven to war against with my little pen.  I am still warring against it.  It isn’t popular and it can be discouraging, but they do say the pen is mightier than the sword, and I am told the truth will set men free.