Monday, November 13, 2023

About the Book

Book: Steal Fire from the Gods

Author: Clint Hall

Genre: Science Fiction

Release Date: November 7, 2023

The Human Alliance knew the war was over when the machines started using magic to cast fire, shake the ground, conjure storms, and part the seas.

We fought back anyway.

22-year-old soldier Gunnar Graves lost his faith and his family when a platoon of AI-driven war machines—led by an android fire mage— destroyed his unit. Forced to live in a machine-controlled village and hiding a dark secret, he spends his days trying to learn elemental power so he can take his revenge. After years of failure, his ability ignites when he least expects it.

On the run and hunted by the war machines, Gunnar discovers that an ancient, life-based strength has awakened to help humanity fight back. Joined by the other life mages, Gunnar is thrust into a mad world of android overlords, cyborg clans, and evil forces bent on his destruction.

To protect his newfound family, Gunnar must discover the truth behind a power he doesn’t understand and wage a war he doesn’t believe they can win.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Clint Hall is a storyteller, speaker, and podcast host. He has been writing stories since middle school, where he spent most of his time in class creating comic books. (Fortunately, his teacher not only allowed it; she bought every issue.) Known for instilling a sense of hope, wonder, and adventure, Clint’s work has been published across multiple anthologies and magazines. Find him at ClintHall.com or “The Experience: Conversations with Creatives” podcast, available on all major platforms.

More from Clint

When I first heard the song See A Victory by Elevation Worship, I assumed the lyrics, “You took what the enemy meant for evil and You turned it for good,” were pulled verbatim (translated, of course) from the Bible, probably one of Paul’s letters.

Despite not knowing exactly from where they came, the words stuck with me. It’s inspiring to believe that God can take the terrible things that have happened to us – or even because of us – and use them to bring about something beautiful.

When I looked them up, I found that the lyrics are actually a derivation of what Joseph said to his brothers years after they sold him into slavery. “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” (Genesis 50:20 NIV)

Placing the words within the context of a story makes them even more impactful for me. It’s astounding to think about Joseph’s faith and spiritual maturity to not only offer forgiveness in this moment, but also to recognize the immense benefits that have arisen from such a horrific injustice against him.

It wasn’t until recently that I realized how much this passage is related to my book. That’s the funny thing about writing stories. You often don’t know what they’re about until you’re done.

Steal Fire From The Gods is the most faith-based story I’ve ever written. It’s also the darkest and certainly the weirdest. It’s an action-packed book in which AI has discovered the secrets of elemental magic and used that power to overthrow humanity.

But that’s just the concept. This story isn’t about magic robots. It’s about a person undergoing a crisis of faith. And you could hardly blame him.

Gunnar Graves and his family did everything the right way. They were faithful, devoted, and kind. They prayed, studied God’s Word, and followed His laws. Then, they were decimated. As a result, Gunnar is angry at God and even at his late parents for their blind faith that – from his perspective – ultimately failed them all.

Gunnar spends much of the story trying to harness magic for what he believes is a righteous cause. But despite his altruistic intentions, it eludes him, causing him even more anger and frustration. How could an all-powerful, all-loving God place such an awesome power into the hands of oppressive machines instead of mankind?

To make matters worse, Gunnar and other characters in the story have secrets that I won’t spoil in this blog. Suffice to say there are aspects of who they are and what they have done that would cause most people to cast them out if the truth became known. So instead, they hide themselves from God and other humans. More separation. More shame. More darkness.

It often feels that way for believers. In our weakness, we can simultaneously be angry at God for what we perceive as injustice – getting what we don’t think we deserve, or not getting what we think we do – while also being convinced there is something about us that will prevent us from ever connecting with His love, joy, and peace.

But there is always hope. God often reminds us of His presence by not only saving us from our circumstances but also using our weaknesses as tools to create wonderful outcomes. Paradoxically, good comes about not in spite of evil, but seemingly because of it.

As believers, we understand this is not a function of necessity. To bring about this good, God did not need evil to occur. But He will use it to demonstrate His ability to turn the enemy’s own weapons against him.

These occurrences wouldn’t make sense outside the knowledge that there is an all-powerful, all-loving Father. That reminder of His presence – that He must be with us because otherwise, such good springing from such evil would be impossible – is in many cases a greater blessing than the good itself.

But He will not force these blessings upon us. We are free to choose whether we will trust and accept them. We do so through faith, selflessness, and surrender.

That’s where we find the power. That’s where we find goodness. That’s where we find hope.

That’s what I want readers to take away from this book.

MY REVIEW

The very first sentenced stopped me in my tracks. “I stopped believing in God years ago.” That is what our main characters says as he witnessed a destroying of everything he loved. How would I feel if that happened to me? I would probably feel just like him. He lost his faith when everything was taken from him. That would be so difficult to overcome. It does remind me of Job in the Bible. The difference is Job never lost faith.

The story takes on an eerie theme when AI is in control. Gunnar knows that they are watching everything and hears every whispered word. What a strange sight to see everyone dressed exactly alike. The world he lives in now is so strange. AI even wants to match Gunnar up with a mate. I don’t know if I could ever adjust to this kind of control. As I begin to get to know Gunnar, I realize he has a secret. What will happen if someone finds out? Will he be shunned or worse?

The story is full of surprises where we find Gunnar given a choice that could make him a king. The question is does he want to have to bow to the machines. Think about the struggle faced before him. He doesn’t like the way he is living but has a chance to be king. The choice is where I wanted to think on for a bit. The enemy loves to entice us and we begin to struggle with making the right decision. Gunnar is now faced with the decision to stand or run. What will he choose?

There is a bit of magic and powers in the book which at times I didn’t care for. But I had to see if this “magic” represented something that would lead Gunnar back to his faith. “Our darkest secrets can be our greatest strengthens, if only we allow ourselves to see.” Will Gunnar start to open his eyes to the truth? God never left him and is waiting for Him to come back to Him.

Catriona is a unique character. She has caught the attention of Gunnar yet she has a dark secret that would destroy any feelings he has for her. They do work well together but what happens when he finds out the truth? Will he be able to forgive her? When she tells Gunnar the reason she is here with him , I was shocked. She tells him, “We are here because you don’t have faith in anything or anybody.” The author does such a good job explaining what trust means that I had to write it down in my journal.

The ending is action packed and will answer all the questions that I have asked . Within this fantasy world lies truth and a way back to God when you feel lost. There is hope and freedom when God’s power is felt. What happens to Gunnar? Does he find his way back to faith?

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.