The Pillar of Light

The Pillar of Light is a Christian fantasy novel that begins in Brazil, South America. Two missionaries are having a difficult time reaching their local native tribe. They’re about to give up when, in the middle of the night, a little girl is provided to them and the native townspeople start to warm up to them. A group of teens is redirected to help this could put on a roof, but when they go out to get the supplies they find themselves transported to a different land where they find that the Nani, the girl that was brought to the missionaries, is actually a long lost princess that has been gone for many years. This book starts the adventure of Nani figuring out who she is, why she has returned, and the state of the land that she was destined to lead.

Starting out reading this book, with the setting in Brazil and the introduction of the characters, it’s hard to believe that you’ll spend the next part in a totally different world. Unlike Narnia books, which give the same type of feel, a lot of time is spent setting up where the teens come from, and the author does a good job of walking you with them as they explore this new area. This fog of not knowing how the new world works and having to discover it with the characters can make it feel a little slow between the events, but for anyone that enjoys picturing where the activity is taking place, it’s a treat. Walls of water that you can travel through, the way that marriage and linking happen in this world, all are interesting and reflect back on our own world.

Unlike Narnia, this book (and the subsequent parts) are designed around one or two main events and dealing with the aftermath, rather than having self-contained stories. The action is not always predictable, and that’s helped by the fact that you don’t know the rules of that world. In any case, I recommend it for the young adult/adult who likes fantasy, and I have purchased all the subsequent parts that have followed.