Michael: Last Days Lightning by Terry James

---

Michael: Last Days Lightning by Terry James
Series: Book 2 of the Revelations series
Publisher: CKN Christian Publishing on April 14, 2021

REVIEW BY STACI TROILO

Michael: Last Days Lightning by Terry James is listed as Christian Fantasy/Christian Futuristic Fiction. I found these categories to be more appropriate than those for the first book in series (Revelations). Regardless of the genre’s appropriateness, I’m really enjoying the series.

In this second-in-series book, protagonist Tyce Greyson has moved on from prior events and is working as a journalist without the pressures of the unwanted attention he’d found in the first book. It’s not long before he once again finds himself swept up in global intrigue, and most of the time, there is an enigmatic figure at the center of it all. A man only he can see. His name? Michael. His identity?

Tyce’s friend Dr. Randy Faust posits he is the archangel himself.

A mysterious sarcophagus and its contents have captured the attention of global powerhouses. Some say it could forever change our history and belief systems. Others want to use it to further unsavory agendas. Maglan (the elite reconnaissance group of the Israeli Defense Forces) Chief Morticai Kant enlists Tyce and Randy to help them with their precarious position on the global stage. There are plots to discredit Israel (terrorist attacks that they will be framed for) that could tip the balance of power in the world. Tyce is their secret weapon against these nefarious acts.

Unfortunately, Israel’s enemies have leverage over Tyce, and he’s stuck in an impossible situation.

The understanding crawled inside him, like a parasite gnawing at him from within. They would never free him.

Terry James, Michael: Last Days Lightning
POV: Tyce Greyson

The way the characters and plot lines all come together in the end was beautifully handled. There are a lot of threads, but things get tied up nicely. Or, as nicely as possible in an on-going series.

There is a romantic subplot in this story that I found a bit distracting. I embrace the idea that love, even in the end of days, is what life is all about. In this case, the relationship was instrumental in a crucial way, so I suppose it did need to be given ample page time. But I found it to be a little unbelievable. It happened too fast and too easily, and it felt immature for adults. I guess it was supposed to come off as divinely ordained and pure to the point of almost holy, but I don’t think it hit those notes. I’d either want less of it or a better development of it. That said, it wasn’t distracting enough to dislike the story because of it.

As I mentioned in my review of book one, the author is blind and writes with technological assistance. I thought that might have impacted the number of grammatical errors in the first book and hoped (based on the new covers for the rest of the series) editing would have addressed these issues in the sequels. I can’t speak for the third book yet, but book two did show a marked improvement. The author is still way too fond of ellipses, but this story was much easier to read than the last one. Because of the fascinating story being told, I overlooked the majority of errors I saw.

As I stated before, the premise reminded me of the Left Behind series, and that series was again mentioned in this book. I think the similarities are easy to spot and liked seeing a bit of homage being paid to the work of LaHaye and Jenkins. Terry James is known as a biblical prophecy expert, and he draws on that knowledge in creative and compelling ways in this series. I really enjoyed book two and can’t wait to dive into the next one. 

Four enthusiastic fish. (One was subtracted due to the grammatical issues.)

_{I read Michael: Last Days Lightning through Kindle Unlimited.}