As per usual, I leapt into the middle of a series. I don’t mean to do this, but it happens (way more than I care to admit). And sometimes, I just add to the confusion of the story by not knowing what has happened in the previous book. But other times, a book from the middle of a series offers enough information that I can just run along with the current story. (Obviously, I like those ones)

The Assault, the second cycle of four novellas, flings you right into the current adventures of a strange team of characters. As far as I know, they don’t have a team name, but I suspect that the authors might call them the Harbingers.

Harbinger (n) – a person who heralds the approach of another or anything that foreshadows a coming event.

Book Recommendation: The Assault (Harbingers, Cycle 2)

There are only two rules to the Harbingers. Rule #1: Each author writes from the perspective of one of the team. Rule #2: Each author writes a separate novella that goes with the bigger story. They make the comparison of a television series with episodes.

[free copy received. opinions my own]

About The Assault

Cycle 2 of the Harbingers series continues the story of four gifted strangers brought together to fight a growing darkness.

In Bill Myers’s “The Revealing,” the team finds themselves in Rome trying to retrieve the mystical spear Hitler once owned–the very spear that pierced Christ’s side. This task will take them from hidden chambers inside the Vatican to a mysterious seaside cave with powers they could never expect.

Frank Peretti’s “Infestation” unleashes a microscopic evil on the world that deceives, blinds, kills, then spreads. The Harbingers team must confront a monster bent on seducing and destroying mankind.

In “Infiltration” by Angela Hunt, the team is wounded and barely holding together. Forced to split up, they realize their investigations have led them into dangerous waters.

Alton Gansky’s “The Fog” unleashes a supernatural mist unlike any other. There are vicious things in the fog that kill whatever they find. One team member realizes that the ultimate sacrifice may have to be made.

About The Authors of The Assault

A bestselling author and award-winning filmmaker, as well as the co-creator of McGee and Me, Bill Myers‘s books and videos have sold more than 8 million copies. He lives in California.

Frank E. Peretti is one of American Christianity’s best-known authors. His novels, including This Present Darkness, have sold more than 10 million copies. He makes his home in Idaho.

With more than 5 million copies of her books sold worldwide, Angela Hunt is the bestselling author of more than 100 works, including the Dangerous Beauty series and Risen: The Novelization of the Major Motion Picture. She resides in Florida.

Alton Gansky is the author of more than 20 novels. He has won the Angel Award and received the ACFW award for best suspense/thriller for his work on Fallen Angel. He lives in California.

Buy The Assault

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Bethany House Publishers

The Assault Struggles

• This is the problem of starting mid-series, but I didn’t catch a major characteristic of one of the main characters until the final novella. So I had major whiplash. As a reader, I’d already created an image of the characters, but then I found out this major detail. #characterwhiplash
• I struggled to sink into “The Revealing” by Bill Myers. I could never figure out which character was speaking, and I constantly had to flip to the front of the book to remember which character Bill Myers was writing as. This constant confusion took away from the story.
• As an English major with some editing experience, I’m a stickler for typos. Now, I understand the human condition for error. But, I noticed enough typos within the pages of this book that I was distracted and had to talk myself into ignoring them.

The Assault LOVEs

• The ideas and adventures laced throughout the pages of this book were something else. The story based on enough science to make it believable and imagination to explode the story was entertaining for sure.
• “The Revealing” by Bill Myers did a great job of leaving me disoriented and confused. If that’s what he intended for his reader, then he did a good job. The novella did instill in me the idea that their antagonist is mysterious and something to be feared.
• Frank Peretti’s “Infestation” grossed me out, but I couldn’t help but like it. I particularly appreciated how the Harbingers got into the mind of their opponent.
• “Infiltration” by Angela Hunt was the most slow moving, and yet, I think this novella did a lot for the overall story and team building.
• Out of the four novellas, I loved “The Fog” by Alton Gansky the best. Not only because he made time to give me an accurate visual of the team (correcting my erroneous belief about one of the characters), but the pace of the story felt the most comfortable, alternating between action and introspection.

Favorite Quote from The Assault

“Bravery is defined by what you do, not what you feel.” – Alton Gansky, “The Fog”