An enjoyable tale of dragons, but best for mature readers because of violence and sexual content.
Plot
(Eye of the Oracle is volume one in the Oracles of Fire series and is the prequel to the Dragons in our Midst series.)
For thousands of years from before Noah's flood to the beginning of the twenty-first century, an epic war has been raging. On the side of evil are the Nephilm, demon Seraphim, and one woman who has the most ambitious plans of all. To stand for Light and truth, God calls on humans, dragons, and the underborns, those born in darkness by the hands of evil to be brought into God's glorious light. Some He uses for centuries, while others enter briefly to complete His purpose. But throughout the twisted and dark threads of time and life, God's people stay true to Him, and His Word is proclaimed.
Morality
The enemy deceives many people so that he can have permission to go after the dragons. Dragons are the good guys. Good guys don't hesitate to sacrifice their lives for the lives of other.
Spiritual Content
The enemies use magic to create a wall of darkness, among other things. Good and bad characters change forms and are only spirit at times. There are many things that would be considered magic in the real world, but are not addressed as such in the book. Characters go to different dimensions and also see Hades. Lucifer's demons (known as the Watchers) roam the earth in the time of Noah.
Many of the main characters have strong relationships with God, and learn to trust Him even through centuries of darkness and evil. Serving God, even when His commands seem insane and evil seems to triumph, is another key theme.
Violence
Swords. The Flood. Fire-breathing. Some dragons are stabbed in the stomach by the enemy. Some main characters are beaten, wounded, poisoned, and killed. Infants are sacrificed by one of the villains. A main character commits a wrong, and a relation dies because of it. A character was forced to watch a boy be beaten to death.
Drug and Alcohol Content
Noah drinks too much wine and goes to bed uncovered. His son Ham sees him and makes fun of him, while his two other sons, Japheth and Shem, go in and cover him up.
Sexual Content
The bad guys (around and after Noah's time) are trying to make a special breed of giants. The head bad guy chants a spell that implants the first giant baby into another evil character. There are several loving husband and wife relationships. A couple bad characters are prostitutes, and one of them references it at least five times in veiled language (using the word "customers", mentioning her room, twirling her skirts, etc.). A woman tries to seduce a boy, beating him when he wouldn't comply. A girl is threatened to be given to the "temple worshipers." A woman subtly tries to seduce a man.
Crude or Profane Language or Content
None. The "thank God!" and "Oh God!" phrases are all sincere two-word prayers.
Conclusion
Very enjoyable story that, although occurring before the Dragons in Our Midst series, should be read afterward. It has a lot of suspense and made dragons seem to come alive. The spiritual and moral content is good, but because of the violence and sexual content, it should be read by more mature readers.
