Written By: Marvin Olasky
Note: I received a copy of Echoes of Eden in digital format for this review from Kingstone Media.
Echoes of Eden is a multi-faceted thriller akin to the incredibly successful The DaVinci Code. The graphic novel follows a professor who believes his brother, a celebrity archeologist, may have been murdered by a secret cult once believed to be myth. With the help of a young woman who works with the International Justice Mission, the professor travels across the globe in search of answers.
Echoes of Eden succeeds in regard to the basic beats and rhythms one would expect from a research-thriller; and thanks to adequate art and overall design, the book can be read as quickly as any work of suspense should. On more than one occasion the reader has no idea how the heroes will survive their quest, and one bold story choice at the end gives the book a different type of surprise ending, one that many conventional thrillers lack.
This final choice withstanding, Echoes of Eden is not necessarily breaking new ground. For most of the work it is serviceable entertainment, but no more so than the thousand similar stories that came before it.
However, it does have two major aspects going for it that other thrillers do not. Echoes of Eden contains a spiritual component wherein the hero's arrogance is challenged by unexplainable phenomena and an answer to that phenomena in the form of God's moving. Whereas the average reader will dismiss this dynamic (despite the tendency of readers and moviegoers to blindly accept coincidence or "luck" in these stories), the spiritual reader likely will value the story's conceits and assertions. The other major aspect is the nature of the content, which is relatively clean for the teenage crowd. Though one panel of violence against a woman is shocking and some of the art feels sexualized (though fully clothed), the overall book is suitable for the 13 and older crowd.
However, it does have two major aspects going for it that other thrillers do not. Echoes of Eden contains a spiritual component wherein the hero's arrogance is challenged by unexplainable phenomena and an answer to that phenomena in the form of God's moving. Whereas the average reader will dismiss this dynamic (despite the tendency of readers and moviegoers to blindly accept coincidence or "luck" in these stories), the spiritual reader likely will value the story's conceits and assertions. The other major aspect is the nature of the content, which is relatively clean for the teenage crowd. Though one panel of violence against a woman is shocking and some of the art feels sexualized (though fully clothed), the overall book is suitable for the 13 and older crowd.
For this reason, I think that Echoes of Eden will work well for a certain type of reader who will enjoy not only the successful thriller conventions but also the spiritual touches. For other readers, I think the experience will be mixed--particularly if they are unwilling to accept the book's spiritual connective tissue. Regardless, I challenge anyone to predict the book's final pages, and I certainly applaud it for such an ending.
Echoes if Eden is available in both print and digital formats from Kingstone Media.
Other 3LC reviews of Kingstone Media products:
Job and Jonah standalone issues
Book of God Graphic Novel
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