You thought it was over...
Hang on to your seats as the heart-pounding adventure of Harry Hawkins and Meagan Sorenson in the land of Jerusalem and the world of the Romans races toward its thrilling conclusion.In a nightmarish twist of events, Harry finds himself in the midst of unforeseen enemies who seek to separate him from all he holds dear. To make matters worse, Garth Plimpton and Meagan are forced to make choices that could leave Harry permanently lost in time.
Harry's father and Meagan's mother enter the fray to save their families, while Harry knows that to survive he must somehow reach a land where resides a true apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. "We're all on a golden journey," Harry comes to learn, "inspired by golden dreams, and at the end awaits a golden crown of righteousness."
Tropes:
- Against My Religion:
- Aside from traditional examples, Micah refuses to perform labor on the Sabbath, which is a problem when he's a slave.
- Courtroom Drama:
- The last third of the story is this, as Athenian Christians are being put on trial by a corrupt government.
- Diabolus ex Machina:
- Harry, Megan, Garth, and Gid are all set to return to their times safely ... but then Gid and Harry run into a gladiator Gid pissed off two books ago. The resulting scuffle sees Gid imprisoned and Harry enslaved, requiring drastic action from Megan and Garth to rescue them.
- Girl in the Tower: Mary ends up being this in the last act.
- Happy Ending Override:
- The Lost Scrolls ended with Mary, Symeon, and Jesse getting on a boat to Epheseus, confident that they would deliver the scrolls to John the Apostle in good time. The third act reveals that they had to reroute to Athens, Symeon then became seriously ill, and by the time he'd recovered, the Athenian crackdowns on Christians had begun, and Symeon was crucified in the streets as an example. They never even made it there.
- Heroic Sacrifice:
- When Micah doesn't want to work during the Sabbath, Harry volunteers to take his place, even though he's still recovering from broken ribs.
- Gidgiddonihah also sacrifices himself during the climax to save the others.
- Implausible Hair Color: Micah has sandy blond hair, which is very unusual in Israel. Since the Roman empire spans several northern countries, it's plausible that a parent came from a region with fairer complexions.
- One-Man Army: Apollus takes on four men at once at one point.
- Prophetic Dreams: Harry has one of the ship coming to save him.
- The Reveal:
- When Megan, Garth, and the Hawkins family return to Isreal, they discover it hasn't been just a few days or weeks there ... it's been three years.
- Robinsonade: Harry, Micah, and twelve other men end up stranded on a desert island.
- Saw "Star Wars" Twenty-Seven Times:
- Harry uses the movie Ben-Hur as his reference point for being a slave on a rowing ship. It turns out to be pretty accurate.
- Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome: Symeon ends up getting killed off, although the timeline of events means it happens a few years later, not immediately.
- Super Drowning Skills: Micah spent his whole life in a desert refuge and never learned to swim. Harry has to save him when they're swimming to safety.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
- Harry and his friends could light a fire to attract rescuers at any time, but don't since they're still slaves who could be sold back into it if they're picked up by Roman-affiliated parties.
- Harry is confident he can swim a quarter mile, since he swam a whole mile to get his swimming merit badge. But not having proper nutrition for months, recently healed ribs, and no pool wall to bounce off of every ten meters makes it very tough going.
- Time Skip: Harry and his friends end up stranded on a desert island for two years and nine months.
- Two Lines, No Waiting: The narration switches between Harry in captivity and Megan as she and Garth head to the present to get help.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: When Harry's slave ship is raided by pirates, he assumes they'll be taken captive, since they're valuable cargo. Instead, the pirates leave them there and set the ship on fire, leaving them to die. It turns out that slaves aren't worth much if they'll drain your resources.
