Aidan lost everything he loved when his family moved to Colorado to take care of his aging grandfather. But Colorado holds more than he could imagine: Aidan finds three mysterious scrolls that tell of a kingdom in turmoil, of noble King Eliam and the treacherous Paragor, of a battle that echoes in Aidan's dreams. Had whispered through his dreams even before he picked up the scrolls. And when Aidan finds himself in The Realm itself, he finds the biggest adventure of his life.Solid action sprinkled with plenty of humor, the story delivers one good turn after another. Mystery shadows Aidan at home in Colorado, and unexpected things pop up every time he turns around. The story offers a small view of a kingdom ruled by love, a kingdom of peace although not at peace, set against the overwhelming forces of hatred, greed, and fear. Aidan's prowess is balanced against his fears and uncertainties, and in the end he conquers not by might but by faith.Technically, though, the story doesn't hold up as well. There are several places where Aidan's thoughts don't read like his thoughts, and the prose is littered with exclamation points that at times feel like overload. Sometimes the way people speak is odd, too, particularly Aidan's parents when they're disagreeing with him. Starting with a dream sequence was disorienting, particularly given the events foreshadowed in the dream only partially played out in the story itself (I have hope they may yet happen in the next two books, but as the first chapter of the first book, it really should have played out in this book). I was disappointed that the best name Batson could come up with for this alternate world was "The Realm", as well as "The Scrolls" for the story of that kingdom. Also, I hated how every time a new word came up it was presented in italics; it felt like a vocabulary lesson. (This is not against the foreign words, such as the names of the swords, although I wish those were consistently in italics, since they are most of the time but sometimes not).I wish more had been done with the concept of The Door Within, and King Eliam entering as much as Aidan had walked from his world to The Realm. The "Never alone!" motto wasn't explained until well within the book, and even then it didn't ring true because there was so little evidence to support it. It would have been interesting for Aidan to discover not only what he had rejected in accepting the King, but what he had gained.Overall it isn't a bad book, though it doesn't feel much like the start to a trilogy. The "never to return until his life's end" throws a very wet blanket over all the fun. I read the version with the Lost Chapters, and although it may have made sense to cut them, they really gave Robby and Aidan's parents a lot more humanity. Although it was a decent read, the technical problems grated on me. I rate this book Neutral.
When I first found out about The Door Within Trilogy while I was working at the local bookstore a couple years ago, I have to admit, it didn't grab my attention. For some odd reason, which I can't even recall now, I thought it might be a little too juvenile for me. Boy, I don't think I'll ever judge a book so quickly again. Being the Christian fantasy fan that I am, I finally got the books from the library and from page one I was completely hooked. The entire trilogy had me reading almost non-stop and when I'd finished, I had to buy my own set to read again. I don't think any fiction series has impacted me like The Door Within. I read the trilogy to my youngest brother who is not a big fan of fiction. In the beginning, I more or less forced him to sit down and listen, but soon he was coming to me, begging me to read more. Even now, months later, he still talks to me about different scenes in the book. Like me, he was deeply affected by the story. One of my favorite aspects of the trilogy is the characters and their growth. They are so endearing and diverse, and you really feel for them and their struggles. The allegorical and spiritual parts of the books are amazing. Once you finish, you have a deep sense of longing to be a knight for the one true King, to stand firm in what is right no matter the cost, and grow in your faith. The books are a wonderful example of friendship, sacrifice, faith, and growth. There is also a perfect amount of humor that had me and my brother laughing out loud numerous times. I recommend The Door Within to anyone of any age who enjoys a good adventure story with a great message woven in. And they are excellent read aloud books.
What do You think about The Door Within (2007)?
The book “The Door Within” was an outstanding book. The book starts off with a teenage boy named Aiden Thomas who is the short, plump, and unpopular. Everything changes for Aidan when his grandpa becomes sick because his family has to move to Colorado to take care of him. Aidan is miserable because he misses his friends, is lonely, and bored trying to find something to do. He decides to explore his grandpa's basement. He finds three old scrolls that tell a story of two kingdoms, Alleble and Paragory. Paragory was named after its evil ruler Paragor. Paragor has attacked Alleble and is fighting to get rule over The Realm. The story sounds so real to Aiden that he begins to think that The Realm and the kingdoms do exist. Aiden tells his father, but he doesn’t believe the scrolls and calls them myths, however, his grandpa says that the kingdoms are real, and believing in it will open a door to The Realm. As Aidan reads the scroll’s last line which says,” Believe and enter”, he gets into Alleble. Once he’s in Alleble he decides that he will follow the King of Alleble, but not Paragor because he is mischievous. The King of Alleble chooses Aiden to become a part of a special group of warriors who defend the land of Alleble. Aidan is trained by Captain Valithor and is told to go to the kingdom of Mithegard and persuade there king not to form an alliance with Paragor.
—Alex Beard
Upset with his family’s sudden move across the country, Aidan Thomas is friendless and bored. He seeks out adventure by exploring his new home which takes him to the dark and creepy basement. He finds dusty boxes of old toys, stacks of newspapers from the 1950s, and an old radio. It all seems to be a typical basement until a blue light grows out of the darkness leaving three clay pots in its wake. Inside them, Aidan finds three ancient scrolls.He takes his newfound treasure to his room and begins to read a story about a knight who betrayed his king. He also reads a poem that ends: Believe and enter. Achan tries to talk to his parents about his discovery, but they’re too busy at first, then they don’t believe him, assuring their son it is nothing but a story. But Aidan’s grandfather believes and encourages Aidan to trust in his own heart. That night, Aidan reads the poem again, decides to believe, and enters The Door Within.He is whisked into a medieval land of dragons, knights, and castles and discovers that the kingdom is in danger. A group of knights are getting ready to travel to Mitheguard, a city that has not yet taken a side in the battle for good and evil. They’ve only been waiting for the king to choose a twelfth knight, and Aidan is informed that the king has. Aidan.The Door Within is a fun allegorical tale that takes a regular kid into a medieval world where good and evil are struggling to win the faith of a kingdom, one soul at a time. I enjoyed the way Wayne Thomas Batson connected the real world with The Realm inside the door. Very creative and fun. Two thumbs up. Recommended.
—Jill Williamson
The Door Within is pretty typical Christian Fantasy, though well-written and with some original ideas. Boy finds link to fantasy world and goes through and saves the day--temporarily, this being part of a series. New is the idea that this world is a sort of alternate universe, with everyone having an albino duplicate. This book falls prey to two chestnuts of Christian writing: overly large and shallow cast, and the roles of good and evil. The expected Christ figure is decent, though typical. A standard I have noticed in Christian books is that people are one of three orientations: good, evil and future convert. There is also a theme in any fantasy book about being able to tell a person's level of goodness or even simple emotions by their eyes. These two cliches meet again here, with characters having blue, red or green eyes depending on where they stand. Why don't writers ever learn? We don't need fifty people involved to know this is a serious conflict, just pick a few and develop them so we can remember who you're talking about! If you need to include a "who's who," you have too many people. In summary, Wayne Thomas Batson is a fine writer, he just doesn't have anything new to say here. I recommend his pirate books for more originality.
—Michelle
