My reveiw of Byron
It is rare that I buy a book before reading it. I hate to waste money on something that I may not like. Among the books that I new I would like before reading them, Lord of the Rings, Aragon, The Sillmarillon and finally, Byron. I can’t say what exactly made me think I would like Byron. Especially as I’ve never read very many supernatural thrillers. But recently liking Angel and Buffy, I decided to give it a try. I also think knowing the author helped. I knew from her journal entries that Charity was a good writer. So when she said she had some copies she was selling, I took her up on the offer.
When Byron arrived I was already deep into the His Dark Materials Trilogy and expecting Eldest any day. So Byron sat on my desk, staring at me, and I looked longingly at it.
I finally began reading it in spurts. 10 pages here, 10 pages there, enough to know that I was intrigued. Finally on my trip to New York, I knew I would need a book to read on the plane and Byron seemed a logical choice.
The further in I got, the more I enjoyed it. The darkness, the light, the mystery, everything. Toward the end, I could hardly put it down.
Byron begins almost as I would have expected. A dark and stormy night in the little town of Greyhaven. Most of my images of Byron are those in the rain. Not that Charity often describes the weather; it just seems to fit for me.
We first meet Byron in his home, an old firehouse, when a young teenage girl named Raven comes asking for his help. We soon figure out that Raven isn’t quite who she says she is and that Father Byron has been through some hard times. Their adventure begins with the death of a close friend on Byron’s and trip across the sea to England. There, mysteries begin to unravel and begin as well. Who really is Raven? Can she be saved? For Byron is a mystery, a complex one at that.
I found I was able to connect with many of the main characters. Especially Raven. Not that I think I’m like her, maybe it’s a more, I could be like her. “Yet for the Grace of God there go I.” Both she and Byron are complex characters. Even at the end, mystery still surrounds the two of them and their lives, but not so as to leave you unsatisfied. There is a great twist in the book about Raven that I never saw coming. I won’t give it away, but it was great!
There is darkness in Byron, it follows Raven like an evil shadow. But yet there is always the hope of light, the hope of Christ and His saving grace. There are some beautiful passages about this. Here is one of my favorite passages-
“Sunlight peered over the hilltop, unfurling golden fingers to caress his pale hands as the rested before him, in the damp, twisted dry stems of the grass. It brought meager warmth to his huddled form, caressing the contours of his face and slowly embracing the weariness of his soul. God hugged him in that hour, eroding away his discontentment and bringing peace to a troubled mind.” - Byron by Charity Bishop
It is that light that keeps this book from being a scary. Knowing that God is always there. Something I have always found comforting, is no matter what, I can always turn to Him. In the darkest of times, Christ is there to bring light. And that is something Byron shows beautifully.
I don’t know whether to say if it was scary or not. Books don’t tend to scare me, images do. Which is why I don’t watch horror movies. :-) Byron does describe some frightening things, but I think it is done in a manner that wouldn’t leave you with nightmares.
I encourage you all to pick up a copy of Byron and read it. Journey with him and Raven as they discover the Truth and the Light. Byron is among one of the best books I have read this year. I look forward to reading it again and picking up what I missed.
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