Abby Sherman and Dylan Hatfield, former compatriots in the war against evil, are not speaking to each other. In his yearning for the action he previously enjoyed as a covert assassin and special ops agent he considers returning to a form of active deployment, a move Abby strongly disagrees with. After their argument Dylan accepts an assignment for a dangerous, top-secret mission – exploring an Afghani tunnel that Bin Laden disappeared from in 2001 without a trace. What he finds there, the evil and darkness is enough to shatter the heart and soul of a man who dares face it without God’s covering.

Meanwhile, Abby is off to Jerusalem where she receives a warning and a charge. The forces of darkness are rallying again, this time planning an attack against America of catastrophic proportions. The only way to prevent the foretold death and destruction is for Abby to find the summons, the call to war, and awaken the Warriors. Once she and Dylan are reunited following his failed mission they are swept into a desperate, unbelievable quest to find a way to stop an attack they know little of.

The Warriors is the second in an informal series of novels by Mark Andrew Olsen. While marketed as novels that can be read individually, I’d recommend that readers first peruse The Watchers, the first novel. A stronger basis for understanding the world of spiritual warfare that Abby and Dylan operate within will reward the effort.

Violent physical attacks continue to replace spiritual defenses. The romantic tension between Abby and Dylan fails to rouse any believable feelings, excepting one moment that borders on genuine in the closing scenes. Without needlessly repeating myself, I will simply say that my concerns with the first novel are still present in the second. For further details please see my review of The Watchers. While Abby’s father – Robert Sherman – was not a main character in the first novel (in fact I didn’t mention him in my review), he has disappeared without a trace from the series. There are no mentions of him whatsoever, but it would have been interesting to see his newfound faith develop further.

Despite my ongoing concerns with some of the content, The Warriors proved to be even more compelling than it’s predecessor. Olsen beautifully describes the lush scenery of various European locations as Abby and Dylan pursue their feverish goal. Olsen’s integration of the history of persecuted European Christians such as the Waldensian people was a welcome and unexpected surprise.  Their history was woven together with the geography during their ongoing search.

I was relieved to see Abby set to the side, relinquishing the stage and role of main character to Dylan.  In this series Dylan has always been the stronger character, and in The Warriors he truly has a chance to shine.  The final scenes are stirring; if I were to make a book trailer for this title I’d include some clips from them along with “What if His People Prayed” from Casting Crowns playing for soundtrack. There are truly some awe-inspiring moments to contrast the depictions of evil as the battle continues to rage.  Oddly, each description of a demonic presence is foul and grotesque.  In scripture we see Satan and his minions masquerading as angels of light in order to deceive.  It would be wonderful if Olsen would integrate this as an interesting twist in upcoming novels.

Similar to The Watchers, readers are not treated to a lengthy, expository conclusion. After tying up a few loose ends it is made eminently clear that Olsen plans to pen additional installations for this series. While many readers are enthusiastic about these novels I won’t be investigating future efforts in this series. It’s not Olsen that I have issues with; I have enjoyed other books bearing his name. Rather, it’s my own stubborn insistence that Christian fiction should be somewhat aligned with scripture on issues the Bible speaks to clearly.  Mark, it’s not you, it’s me.

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Publisher Info:

Title: The Warriors
Author: Mark Andrew Olsen
Format: Hardcover, 400 pages
Publisher: Bethany House (April 1, 2008)
ISBN-10: 076420274X
ISBN-13: 978-0764202742