Allies of Majesty: Chronicles (Vol. 1)
Summary
Allies of Majesty: Chronicles is a collection of short stories based on the Allies of Majesty RPG game by Anthony Diastello. Written by various authors, the stories seek to tell imaginative stories about supernatural warfare using the RPG’s system of angelic hierarchy and powers. Heavily inspired by Dr. Michael S. Heiser’s in-depth research into the unseen realm of spiritual warfare, Allies of Majesty imagines angels and demons as beings a lot more familiar to us through short stories and poetry.
Assessment
Allies of Majesty is an anthology of short stories highlighting the goings on of the supernatural realm, using fiction to pull back the curtain on the concepts of spiritual warfare. With a clever framework tying each story together into a single narrative, the anthology presents angels and demons in an approachable way without sacrificing any theological potency.
In terms of theology, the supernatural realm has plenty to debate among Christian denominations and beliefs, which may cause some friction for some believers when they read this anthology. However, the story’s “meta” message is entirely rooted in God’s love for His children — and how He uses angels to protect them. While some artistic liberties have doubtless been taken on exactly what spiritual warfare looks like and how angels and demons act and operate, the theological core of each story is always to point back towards God.
For cleanliness, the stories are mostly clean. There is action as the angels and demons fight, there are also some intense themes, — particularly with how the demons influence their victims — and a few of the stories have what might be considered light gore. There are also some references to sexual temptations and sins, but these are presented in a diplomatic way. Overall the stories should be suitable for teens and adults; middle schoolers and younger children may not grasp the themes and concepts as well.
Light-o-Meter
Overall — 6 out of 7 Little Lights (average)
Stories: 6 out of 7 Little Lights (average)
Prose: 5 out of 7 Little Lights (average)
Quality: 6 out of 7 Little Lights (average)
Theological Message: 6 out of 7 Little Lights (average)
Age Appropriateness — Suitable for teens and adults.
Talk
Yeah, okay, I’m going to need the epic stories about angels and demons to make me cry just a liiiiiiiiiittle bit less, thanks.
Jokes aside, this was an absolutely wonderful set of stories.
First of all: the quality of the storytelling is amazing. Anthologies can be a bit of a mixed bag in terms of both how well the stories are told as well tone, audience, and themes. This — despite featuring many different authors from different backgrounds — was incredibly consistent across the stories. There were obviously stylistic differences in how the stories were told and the types of characters the authors depicted, but overall everything was cohesive across the entire book.
(Also, bonus points for being one of the only pieces of fiction where I didn’t absolutely lose my mind in frustration over its depictions of Enoch and the Watchers.)
Now, I know spiritual warfare can be kind of a tricky subject depending on your theological background. What I would recommend is checking out this anthology regardless of any specific theological opinion when it comes to the supernatural. Then, take the approach that this isn’t necessarily a set of stories about how spiritual warfare goes on literally. It’s a set of stories about how God loves and protects us. Even if the angel types and exact formula for how they work doesn’t quite mesh with your personal views or is a bit of stretch, look for the overarching messages of God’s love and protection. View the stories as symbolic, not true fact. I know I’m a bit particular on a few supernatural things regarding angels, but this anthology’s overall message really cut right to my heart.
I also might recommend this book if you are just getting started in understanding the spiritual elements of your faith. Once again, its not a literal interpretation of what is actually going on or how angels actually operate, but the core concepts of:
there is a spiritual war being waged all around us;
God protects us and loves us through the midst of this battle.
Are things that every Christian should seek to understand. It makes a lot of the smaller, pettier issues of this life seem even less significant in the grand scheme of things.
That said — as always — take my recommendations with a grain of salt and follow the convictions of your conscious and the Holy Spirit within you!
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