Review: Last Light Falling - The Covenant - Book I by J.E. Plemons

Author: J. E. Plemons
Series: The Covenant
Published By: Dog Ear Publishing 
Released: March 5th, 2014

Official Synopsis: 
Fifteen-year old Arena Power blindly accepts her destiny in a world filled with tragedy, chaos, and a lingering wickedness that will tempt every man's soul until the last days on Earth. Set in the United States in 2053, America, like most of the world, has undergone catastrophic earthquakes, famine, and an economic collapse, which has rendered the nation hopeless. It has turned other nations, like Russia and China, to help restore what was once a world power. Unfortunately, the new America has grossly caused civil unrest that will eventually be the precursor to a much bigger war of biblical proportions.

Orphaned at the age of nine, Arena and her twin brother, Gabe, have learned to rely on each other through the toughest times. Not only do they share the same birthday and the tragic loss of their parents, they both have a birthmark on the backs of their necks in the shape of the crucifix. This is only but a small sign of the destiny that will follow. On their fifteenth birthday they receive a mystery letter and key from their estranged Uncle Finnegan. This key will unlock their fate, and it will be up to a priest, who has vowed to protect them since birth, to unfold the layers of their destiny-to undo the evil that has spoiled the world, and to help unleash God's wrath upon those who have turned from Him in there last days of history.

My Review:  

Last Light Falling opens up with a verse from Revelation that speaks about the end of the world which is one of the key points in the book to me.  The book is very action packed with twists and turns around every corner keeping you on the edge of your seat and wanting to know more!

The book describes a world that we are not accustom to.  It is set in America in the year 2053 and describes the world in shambles after a virus spread across the countries and killed billions of individuals!  In 2053, the government is more corrupted than ever and has put into place a shocking new system and way of life for everyone.  This system is divided into three classes: the rich, the poor, and the Watchers and is based on a point system for food, pay, etc.  Everyone's way of life has been completely flipped upside down and everyone is learning how to survive in new ways.  America is worse off now then it has ever been before as the people are no longer 'free' to be themselves, no longer have high standards of living, and no longer have the right to come and go as they please.

The main characters of the book, Arena and Gabe Power, are twins, fifteen-years old, and are called upon by God to carry out His fury; killing the evil and saving the holy.  The two were orphaned at the age of nine and become foster children of a couple who loves them as if they were their own.  Throughout the book you get to learn more about how the two where orphaned and get flashbacks of their lives before the tragic death of their parents.

Arena and Gabe have astonishing gifts.  Gabe is a genius techie who can make anything involving electronics.  The gadgets referred to throughout the book are described in a way that you can actually envision them being possible!  Arena on the other hand is highly skilled in combat which she was taught by her uncle and a martial arts instructor.  The two also share something together that many people could only dream of - they speak many languages!  As with any book, you come to love the characters and such is true in this case, even the not so main characters.  All the characters have an important role to play throughout the book and there is not one person that you think should not be included in the story.

The book is set up in a way where the descriptions give you enough detail to picture the scene, but not overly describing the scene to make it drawn out.  With the government being so different than what we are used to in real life, you would think that understanding the government in the book would be difficult, but it is not, the author lays it out so well that it makes complete sense.  Since the book is centered around carrying out the fury of God, it has violent scenes, but nothing too extreme or out of line.  

My favorite parts of the book were reading about Arena and Gabe's growth in their faith and within themselves, their decision to fulfill their calling from God, and their devotion to their faith.  The book is a young adult genre so the biblical facet of this book was unexpected, but very refreshing for something new.  I highly recommend this book and cannot wait for the second book, Into the Darkness, to come out!

I give this book: 5 out of 5 stars!