"Angelguard" by Ian Acheson

 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. Psalms 91:11 - King James Bible "Authorized Version", Pure Cambridge Edition

About the book:  Within a period of weeks, three horrific bomb blasts devastate areas of London, Los Angeles, and Sydney. No explanation is offered, no victory claimed for these acts of terror. Yet behind the scenes a Machiavellian European businessman, aided by the dark forces to whom he has sold his soul, is planning to bring the richest nations to their knees for his own evil purposes.

Jack Haines, an Australian academic, is grieving the loss of wife and children in the Sydney blast. Against his will, he finds himself thrown into a war that transcends the physical world, a conflict in which angelic guards have a special mission for him. But how will Jack respond when angels turn out to be more than precious porcelain statues? And will he accept that he has been chosen to fight for the future of mankind? (copied from Amazon.com)


My thoughts: Angelguard is a work of fiction and the reader must on every page realize that as pertaining to Scriptural beings the author has created angels and demons with personalities and traits rather human in nature.
 
Ian Acheson has written a very well developed and exciting story about an evil, Satanic plot involving depraved humans to create havoc, terrorism, and utter ruin of the political entities and systems of the World. Acheson also uses a brilliant university professor, Jack Haines, as the ultimate hero in the story.  But Jack's strength and decisions are guided by the Angelguard (yes, a host of angels protecting him and guiding him).  However, there is opposition and not just from depraved, power seeking humans.  Opposition from ultimate evil, Satanic demons.
 
The prayers of faithful Christians throughout the World give strength and power to God's Angelguard.  But it is truly God who is the Director and who is the ultimate victor.  The strength of the praying Christian is not to be missed in this story.

The story is fast paced, interesting, and covers a lot of territory - the United States, Belgium, London, Australia, etc. It involves high ranking political figures. The goal of the evil plot is the world-wide destruction of the political systems and ensuing chaos.
 
I enjoyed the intrigue, the overcoming of evil  by good, the characters, conversations, and descriptions. But as the saying goes, "....I have somewhat against thee."  There were a few uses of profanity that could have been left out (this is Christian fiction and as such readers expect a higher standard). It is quite understood that in the real world there are no holds barred as far as language and behavior are concerned.  I believe that Christian authors CAN give us the entire story without bad language or descriptions of bad moral behavior.  

This book was clean and decent except for the use of a few bad words.
 
I also have an issue with the portrayal of angels and demons with such inane humor and conversations and characterizations.  Angels are good and demonic spirits are evil - understood.  However, flippant conversations between angels or between angels and demons is a little too much for me. And, too, I don't "see" angels as beautiful women and strong men. To me they are "angels" and as such basically neutral in gender.  They are a different creation by God and not to be alluded to in human terms.  True, in the Bible they took on the "form" of men when visiting Abraham.  But this was not (my opinion, here) their normal form and I simply don't think they carry on flippant conversations.
 
The author has been compared the Frank Peretti in his writing of spiritual warfare novels.  I think each stands on its own merits. Ian Acheson has written a very good book and I would like to read his next.  I would like a little more dignity ascribed to the Angelguard, though.

About the author, Ian Acheson:  I'm a professional strategy consultant having been in the Corporate world for the past 25 years. I bring some of this experience into my stories. I've lived in Sydney, Australia, all of my life. I share my life with a most beautiful and gracious lady, my wife, Fiona. We try to keep up with two almost-twenty something young men who give us much joy and you know what else if you're a parent.
DISCLOSURE: I received a copy of Angelguard from Kregel on behalf of Lion Hudson Publishing and the author, Ian Acheson, in exchange for my honest review. Opinions expressed are solely my own.