The Final Storm by Wayne Thomas Batson Published by: Tommy Nelson (2006) 320 pages Rating: 10/10 Buy it Now:    Also by Wayne Thomas Batson: The Door Within The Rise of the Wyrm Lord Isle of Swords

The conclusion to Wayne Thomas Batson's Door Within trilogy has arrived, and it does not disappoint in the slightest.

The second book, The Rise of the Wyrm Lord, set the stage, broadening the scope of the storyline and hinting at an approaching climax that would be far larger than than what might have been expected from the earlier parts of the story. The hints are now fulfilled, as The Final Storm erupts and the Betrayer, Paragor, launches his full-scale assault on the Kingdom of Alleble.

From the title, you might expect something similar to The Last Battle of the Chronicles of Narnia... and you'd be right. There are more similarities than you'd guess until you read the final pages. But there are also similarities to the conclusion to the Left Behind series, and rightly so, as this Final Storm is, in effect, the "end times" for Alleble. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that the conclusion to the Door Within trilogy is much more satisfying than the conclusion to the Left Behind series. It's everything that Glorious Appearing should have been, but wasn't.

High praise indeed, for what, at first glance, is "just a children's story," right? But Narnia was once regarded as just children's stories, as well, and it's been shown to be so much more.

There are some plot points that are extremely obvious, to be sure. There's a prophecy about "Three Witnesses" and this trilogy involves three children from Earth. Hmmm. Who could the witnesses be?

Aside from that, the story explodes with suspense and valor, as each hero called by the King must face their doubts and fears and accept the tasks for which they've been called. I will forever be exceedingly happy with the final page of this book and its glimpse of something we all should be ardently anticipating. Highly Recommended.