Colors And Glory
Auralia’s Colors
By Jeffery Overstreet
Waterbrook Press
It’s here! Jeffery Overstreet’s long awaited fantasy novel has finally hit the shelves, and I highly recommend that you pick up a copy.
“Auralia’s Colors” is the first in what will hopefully be a series of works from Overstreet called “The Auralia Thread”. The story takes place in the Expanse, a land of fantasy which, we are told, is ruled by four houses. As the story moves forward, we find that the forces changing The Expanse for good and evil are much more complicated.
This first novel takes place in House Abascar, a land in the northwest forests of the Expanse. Tragedy and greed rule there in the subtle form of a Proclamation decreeing that all colors and treasures in the land be gathered to adorn the castle, so that it might compete in glory with the riches of neighboring lands. Enter Auralia, a stubborn Jane-The-Baptist who is guided by different, but nonetheless mysterious forces. Tension mounts as Auralia becomes a hero of the forced labor camps, who receive not only strange and wonderful gifts, but also acceptance and love from her hands and heart.
Early on in the story, the reader becomes aware of distinctly Christian overtones in the tale, most obviously in the form of the Keeper, whom the children all dream of and the adults almost all deny. This, however, should not keep Auralia’s Colors from broad interest, as Overstreet skillfully and responsibly engages with questions of philosophy and ethics that are universal to rational inquiry.
House Abascar’s quandaries are epistemological and ethical: Are the universal dreams of children to be trusted more than the empirical observations of the old and hardened? Does the learner choose only the evidence that will re-enforce his worldview, and suppress the evidence which does not? Under what conditions should law-breakers be allowed to re-enter society? How can they prove their merit? These questions occupy not just the mind-space of Christianity, but of humanity in general.
Auralia’s Colors is exciting and dangerous, packed with betrayal, transformation, and discovery. As each wonderfully realized character is confronted by a paradigm shaking “other”, their actions and reactions are revelatory, causing a glorious picture to emerge from the devastation that ensues. By the time the story has reached its tremendous climax, many a reader will be filled with awe at the beauty, power, and creativity of one who could weave with such skill and perfection.
