Welcome to the cKotch.Com blog. I’m Christopher Kotcher, and this is a series which has way more kick than I ever expected.
Again, News Leads to Books
I have already mentioned my appreciation for the weekly news show The World Over. My favorite part of this show would be host Raymond Arroyo’s interviews with writers.
Though I did leave out one key detail last time. Arroyo is a writer himself.
Among news, biographies, and spiritual lessons, he has written the best religious fantasy series today. His young adult series Will Wilder.
Three books exist in this series so far. All of them tell tales of the young seer Will Wilder facing demons. He has a rare gift for seeing the demonic forces working in his hometown of Perilous Falls.
While characters and setting are a great part of Will Wilder, the main show here for me would be the books’ religious influences and sense of action. There may be something charming in Will’s mischievous antics, but I still prefer seeing a relic burn away at a demon.
The Religious Angle
The religious influence initially drew me to Arroyo’s series.
Catholic tradition underlies these books. And seeing as I am Catholic, I wondered if these books could make a good story in that framework.
For one, this religious element is seen in the books’ demonic foes.
Demons are heartless, totally self-centered monsters. The books support the Catholic belief that demons are ultimately just fallen angels.
Demons are those angels who refuse to live for God and others. They begin focusing entirely in on themselves and become corrupted. They hoard the light and the life they are meant to share only to lose it forever.
One demon even said he had a warped, twisted leg because he damaged it in his fall from Heaven.
Biggest sense of religious influence though comes from the relics. Blessed items belonging to saints now in God’s presence.
These relics are the most powerful possessions in the world of Will Wilder. Demons cannot touch these sacred objects. Still, they desire them all the same.
You have some of the expected items.
The helmet of famed French soldier Joan of Arc. The staff of Moses used to unleash plagues and part the Red Sea.
Then you have some crazier ones.
My favorite would be from the first book. The finger bone of St. Thomas the Doubting Apostle.
You see, Thomas was one of Jesus Christ’s Twelve Apostles. His closest followers. Still, Thomas doubted the claim Jesus rose from the dead. Thomas even said he would not believe until he saw the risen Jesus and could place his finger in Jesus’ wounds.
When Jesus then appeared a week later, Thomas found he had to own up to his words.
In Will Wilder’s world, touching Jesus’ wounds has blessed the finger of Thomas. Divine power rests even in the remaining bone.
And so, that relic is placed in Perilous Falls. The finger protects the town from flooding. Surrounding waters simply refuse to rise above something which has touched their creator.
I love all these relics and religious elements. They are built into the story’s world and connect it to beliefs and ideas I have learned my whole life.
These features can even be appreciated by those who may not be religious. Even if you do not believe these elements exist in our world they are baked into quality stories within Will Wilder’s world.
The Action Angle
Of course, the religious aspect is only half of what makes me a Will Wilder fan. The other half would be the sheer amount of action in these adventures.
You see, here is my typical reading pattern for a Will Wilder book.
I read a few chapters here and there. Twists, turns, and mysteries push me to maybe read an extra chapter each time.
Then the second-half twists start coming in. The demon is revealed, and the rest of the book becomes the next epic battle for Perilous Falls. I can now no longer put down the book until I am done.
Arroyo’s gotten me following this exact pattern for three books now.
First, there was a flooding town filling with smaller alligator demons. Their boss, the seven-headed water demon Leviathan, flees to a remote island to hoard the St. Thomas relic and keep the water pouring.
Then books two and three brought fire-breathing serpents, mutated minions, and undead hordes.
It is rare to find such action in books. Usually, their climaxes focus on crafty conversations or some sort of scheme.
Not for Will Wilder.
Getting back to the first book, the final fight features Will and his demon-hunting Aunt Lucille chasing Leviathan to its island lair.
The monster lunges and snaps at its foes. It throws them around with tentacles.
Will struggles to harness his powers and even see the beast at all. He must be the eyes for his aunt. She has the power to repel it, but not the sight to see it.
All through the chaos, the team must make sure the fighting does not damage the finger bone of St. Thomas. Without that relic, the town cannot be saved from Leviathan’s flood.
Most movies have not been able to grab me with their final fights quite the same way this book did. What a final boss.
The Inspiration Angle
As much as I enjoy the Will Wilder books, I can only imagine how much I may have enjoyed them growing up.
True, I never was much of a reader until I read Dante, but maybe these books could have turned me.
I have to wonder what it would be like to sit in religion class having read these books. To hear the teacher talking about St. Thomas or Joan of Arc and remember them from Will Wilder.
I have to wonder what it would be like to get nostalgic for these books. To grow up reading them then go back and discover they were greater than I thought.
Young readers blessed with these books are lucky.
Still, I do gain much from reading these books now.
For one, the action scenes are a great guideline.
As someone who got into gaming and writing far before reading, many of my works feature a bit of action. The Will Wilder series is one of the few sources I have for writing such scenes in books.
They show me how to balance attacks with witty comebacks. How best to break up paragraphs for a good sense of impact.
And while I do not specifically write religious books, it can be good to see how best to incorporate religious elements.
Catholicism has shaped many of my ideas and can therefore shape my writing, even if subtly. Will Wilder shows me ways to examine how I incorporate these ideas. How to best make them natural parts of my stories’ worlds.
Again, I would not be aiming to turn a good story into a bad sermon. I would be working to better incorporate any ideas in my stories which owe to my Catholic perspective on things.
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