James R. Hannibal: Lion Warrior

By Kelly Bridgewater

About the Book

Book: Lion Warrior

Author: James R. Hannibal

Genre: YA Fantasy

Release Date: April 23, 2024

The dragon war has breached the barrier.

The forces of the Liberated Land are near to breaking. Without a heavy and rapid shift in the Assembly’s strategy, a dragon invasion will be unstoppable.

Connor and Kara have kept the full knowledge of the Red Dagger’s location secret for almost a year. A chance to destroy Heleyor and end the war is within the Lightraider Order’s grasp. They must now reveal what they know and call for action.

With time running out, Connor, Teegan, and Aaron attempt to recover the dagger, and Kara helps the Airguard train a new corps of soldiers—windfighters—in their own bid to change the war’s tide. Meanwhile, Lee and Zel search for Heleyor’s army of tortured Aladoth. This force, thousands strong, has vanished. They're heading for a hidden portal, and may emerge at the heart of Keledev at any moment.

Every path that lies before the cadets seems a great risk. The slightest misstep may cost them their lives, their loved ones, and their homeland. But to do nothing means certain failure. To succeed, they must charge ahead into dark uncertainty and trust the Rescuer.

 

My Thoughts:

Lion Warrior by James R. Hannibal is a unique and unpredictable young adult fantasy novel. As a word of caution, if readers are not familiar with the two previous novels in this series, I highly suggest readers those novels before reading this one. Also, if it has been a while since you have read the first two, then it would probably be a good idea to read them again to familiarize yourself with the plot. This edition featured much more dark magic and the effects that it can have on any of the characters. I liked seeing the redemption of some of the people they met as they were on the journey to finish the quest. The parallel between the overarching movement of the Bible vs. the overarching plot of this story is pretty obvious to readers who are familiar with the Bible as a whole. Stories with familiar characters are a huge plus because readers will come to know the characters and what to expect from them every time they start a new book. Plenty of action, heading toward the climactic moment at the end of the story. Overall, Lion Warrior and the other two previous novels by James R. Hannibal were a delightful story for young adults. I believe young men would love the adventure of the story and the quest for spiritual understanding as well as knowledge and magic.

I received a complimentary copy of Lion Warrior by James R. Hannibal from Enclave Escape  Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating:  4 out of 5 stars

Purchase Lion Warrior

About the Author

As a former fighter pilot, stealth pilot, and tactical deception officer, James R. Hannibal is no stranger to secrets and adventure. He is the award-winning author of thrillers, mysteries, and fantasies for adults and children, and he is the developer of Lightraider Academy games. As a pastor’s kid in Colorado Springs, he guinea-pigged every youth discipleship program of the 1980s, but the one that engaged him and shaped him most as a Christ-follower and Kingdom warrior was DragonRaid, by Dick Wulf—the genesis of the Lightraider world.

 

 

More from James

There and Back Again: A Game?

The transition from book to game and back again is no easy thing. I’ve been on a steep learning curve since the day I started writing Wolf Soldier, the first book in the Lightraider Academy trilogy. Lion Warrior is the third.

I should walk back a step. Lightraiders is a game. Did you know that? It began as DragonRaid, a 1980s fantasy adventure game designed for teaching Biblical learning and discipleship. DragonRaid had a huge influence on my Christian walk in my teens. I now have the honor of carrying the concepts designed by the game’s original creator, Dick Wulf, to a new generation through games and stories. Before he went on to be with the Lord, Dick was kind enough to write a foreword for Wolf Soldier.

The task, when it came to me, was monumental: take a highly allegorical game with isolated location details and expand it into a full-realm book series while also building a new version of the game designed for today’s teens and families. By His grace, God placed men and women in my path who came alongside me to help—fellow believers who are creators from the realms of Tolkien, Star Wars, DC Comics, and Disney. Without them, it could not have been done.

We’ve been building the game in the background for three years. At the same time, the books have served as a transition from the old to the new. Lion Warrior completes that transition, and the book and the new Lightraiders Adventure Bible System game for teens will release almost simultaneously.

If you read through the series starting with Wolf Soldier, you may get a feel for this transition. The first book is more allegorical and tightly focused, much like the original DragonRaid game. Fantasy terms used in that story draw from the original game, with only a few new terms introduced. Bear Knight begins to broaden that perspective. It stretches past allegory and introduces several new ideas that you’ll find in the new Lightraiders game. In Lion Warrior, my hope is that you’ll finally have a picture of the fully developed realm from the Liberated Land in the south to the frozen islands in the far north of the Dragon Lands. And that story is fully steeped in the new game with terms and game mechanics slipped in for astute readers to find.

So, we’ve come full circle. DragonRaid became the story world in Wolf Solder. Then, as I and the team God sent to me rebuilt the game for a new generation, new elements found their way into Bear Knight. And now we have Lion Warrior, fully based on the new Lightraiders discipleship game. If you read the full trilogy and check out the game, I hope you’ll see it all growing together.

I do love the idea of game to story or vice versa. Are there other game/story combinations you love?

Blog Stops

Becca Hope: Book Obsessed, April 25

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, April 26

Artistic Nobody, April 27 (Author Interview)

Simple Harvest Reads, April 27 (Guest Review from Mindy)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, April 28

Texas Book-aholic, April 29

Fiction Book Lover, April 30 (Author Interview)

Where Faith and Books Meet, May 1

Tell Tale Book Reviews, May 2

By the Book, May 3

For the Love of Literature, May 4 (Author Interview)

The Lofty Pages, May 4

Locks, Hooks and Books, May 5

Blogging With Carol, May 6

By The Book, May 7 (Author Interview)

Guild Master, May 8

Giveaway

To celebrate his tour, James is giving away the grand prize package of a signed hardcover copy of the book, three Starlots acrylic gem dice (diamond, sunfire, and ruby), a postcard with character art on the front and a map of Talania on the back, and Amazon $100 gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2b145/lion-warrior-celebration-tour-giveaway