Avalon: A Christian Allegory

By: Valerie Howard

Narrated by: Chiquito Joaquim Crasto

Length: 4 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

A slave since childhood....

Mara awaits the death penalty.

But when the prince she betrayed arrives at the prison, promising freedom in exchange for allegiance to him in marriage, Mara agrees to his terms.

Her hasty decision is soon tested.

The journey to the palace is riddled with difficulty, but Mara has nowhere else to turn. As she presses on in the face of fierce wolves, violent lightning storms, and the threat of being captured by the rebel army she deserted, can the unlikely princess learn to trust her lifelong enemy?

Avalon is the first book in Valerie Howard's Kingdom Journey series, and is perfect for fans of light allegorical Christian fantasy like Pilgrim's Progress.

Books in the Kingdom Journey series can be enjoyed in any order, and are great for anyone ages 12 to adult:

Avalon: A Christian Allegory

Voyage: A Christian Allegory

©2019 Valerie Howard (P)2023 Valerie Howard

I Loved the Story...

But.
I actually did love the story; allegory has to be your thing, of course, but you know it's an allegory going into it. It was done as beautifully as the other books I've listened to by this author and you will "get it" if you are familiar with the New Testament at all. The "but" comes from one thing that I had to listen past: the narrator, who does a beautiful job in all other ways, pronounces one word all the way through the listen in a way that will be irksome to some people--at least I found it irksome. That being said, I will still give this a high recommendation. The allegory is lovely and the writing is excellent and lives up to what I have come to expect from a Valerie Howard book.

Redemption

What a beautiful picture of salvation and redemption! Loved it! I hope to read more by this author.

A Meaningful Christian Allegory

Avalon is a Christian allegory.

The main character is a young woman. She is imprisoned in a horrible labor camp, and awaiting the day when the King will come to execute her from her crimes. Then the Prince comes and offers her complete forgiveness for her crimes as well as adoption as the King’s daughter and an engagement to the Prince. It seems too good to be true, but she accepts and begins a long, dangerous journey with the Prince to the royal city.

The book was short, but it was rich with depth and meaning. It was most definitely a Christian allegory, showing the deplorable condition of our souls before believing in Christ, the utter amazingness of what Christ’s death and resurrection did for us, and the continuing journey with Christ through life after salvation.

The allegory of this book was well-done. It provided wonderful reminders to me of the sins or struggles I often fall into even though I’m trying to follow Christ — legalism and pride, materialism and distraction, unbelief and fear, and others. Each one was vividly demonstrated in allegorical fashion, and as I said, they were great reminders to me not to fall into those lies but to believe the truth of Christ.

The book was short and sweet. I think it could have benefited from going into a little more depth with the various struggles, but as it was, the book was well-done. I think I will go back and listen to it again sometimes when I need more reminders.

Speaking of which, I listened to it as an audiobook. The voice actor did a good job, and it was an enjoyable listen. I really enjoyed it as an audiobook, even more than if I had read it.

I would recommend it to teens because it was written with easy language, but though it would be readable to preteens, I would caution parents that there are some difficult things dealt with, for example, persecution.

I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook from the author. I received no compensation for posting it and was not obligated to do so. All options are my own.

Loved it!

I loved this story.
I found this allegory to be a perfect picture of Christ's love !
The story was well written, I could picture the story as it happened.

wonderful simple but effective allegory!

This was a lovely story, and a great allegory.

Mara’s story illustrated the story of Jesus and how he loved us even when we were sinners.
It showed the love of Jesus, and how anyone can be restored, if only they would put their trust in him..

The narration was very good. I thought the narrator had a nice interesting accent.

I would highly recommend this book.

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Truths within

Very good. Definitely makes you think about that which we already know deep down. Loved it

Move over Pilgrim's Progress

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It reminded me of Pilgrim's Progress except from a woman's point of view. It reminded me to examine my personal relationship with Jesus to be sure I appreciate what He did for me.
It took me a little while to adjust to the narrator. It's obvious that English is not his first language but soon I started overlooking mispronunciation of a few words. He had a wonderful range of voices for the characters and his narrator voice is very pleasing.

Fun Allegory

I enjoy Christian allegories and princess stories, and this one was definitely fun! The beginning had me intrigued and wondering who were the good guys and who were the bad guys, and I loved seeing the main character’s growth through the story. The only issue I had with the story was that there was a rather strong theme of eternal security, which I don’t believe to be Biblical.
I also really enjoyed the narration! There were a few spots where I could hear mistakes that hadn’t been edited out, but even so, the narrator was so good I didn’t mind!
This was a fun story and I think I’ll be listening to it again!

A Beautiful Allegory

I found myself in so many parts of this story. It's well worth the read, and presents the gospel in a fresh way. I recommend this to teens and adults alike.

Loved!

I love a great allegory. This story shows the love that Christ has for us all.