About the Book

Book: From Sky to Sky
Author: Amanda G. Stevens
Genre: Christian Suspense/ Fantasy
Release Date: February 1, 2020

Zac Wilson can’t die.

Daredevil Zac Wilson isn’t the first celebrity to keep a secret from the world, but his might be the most marvelous in history: Zac doesn’t age and injuries can’t kill him. What’s more, he’s part of a close-knit group of others just like him.

Holed up in Harbor Vale, Michigan, Zac meets two more of his kind who claim others in their circle have died. Are their lifetimes finally ending naturally, or is someone targeting them—a predator who knows what they are?

The answers Zac unearths present impossible dilemmas: whom to protect, how to seek justice, how to bring peace to turmoil. His next action could fracture forever the family he longs to unite. Now might be the time to ask for help. . .from God Himself. But Zac’s greatest fear is facing the God he has run from for more than a century.

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About the Author

As a child, Amanda G. Stevens disparaged Mary Poppins and Stuart Little because they could never happen. Now she writes speculative fiction. She is the author of the Haven Seekers series, and her debut Seek and Hide was a 2015 INSPY Award finalist. She lives in Michigan and loves trade paperbacks, folk music, the Golden Era of Hollywood, and white cheddar popcorn.

My Review

From Sky to Sky
by Amanda G. Stevens
Book 2 in No Less Days series
Rating: 3/5

Now I’m usually very generous with my book ratings. I am usually spot on when I choose a book to read that I will enjoy it. Unfortunately, after reading 100 pages, I was still not hooked. I went on Goodreads to see what others were saying and found one review that said it got better after the first half so I kept reading to the end. The story does get better during the second half but I dragged my feet reading through the first half. At first, I could not relate to the characters and was so confused by everything that was happening. I probably should have read the first book in the series first but I didn’t realize that until stuff was happening that I did not really understand. The entire mood in this book was a bit depressing but the ending is a bit more hopeful.

The concept of this book was so intriguing that I thought it would be right up my alley but I’m not so sure now.

Zac Wilson is a daredevil and is semi-famous, but he has a secret: he cannot die. Given a serum over 100 years ago when he was dying, he now has the ability to heal from any life-threatening illness. Luckily, he is not the only one of his kind to stop aging. When two more people intend to join his “family”, there seems to be another threat to their kind. He must find out the truth at all costs while also dealing with all the ghosts from his long ago past.

What I liked: once I got past being confused and not really liking the characters, I found that Zac was a very genuine man suffering from demons of his past. What would it be like to live for so long with all your sins and not be relying on a Savior? This story is a journey of redemption and forgiveness. Zac is someone who is a super empath and that makes him carry even more burdens. He is someone who can see everyone’s perspective and feel their emotions. He is a mediator but he is imperfect and needs a life buoy for himself.

What I didn’t like: not understanding what was happening in the beginning. I would have liked a better synopsis in the beginning of the story to help prepare me. Maybe even a character list to help with backgrounds?

This book is still well written but just wasn’t my cup of tea. I still am a fan of this author and will continue to read what she writes but I’ll have to make sure to read books in a series in order.

My thanks to the publisher, NetGalley and CelebrateLit for an ARC of the book. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own. No positive review was expected and no compensation received.

More from Amanda

For years, the theme of immortality has intrigued me. I love the Elves of Middle-Earth, the “happiest and saddest” of the peoples Tolkien created as they watch the ages pass. I love the exploration of aged sorrow in Tuck Everlasting. I’ve stuck with TV shows which shall remain nameless (but, ahem, a few feature vampires) because I’m always wondering how did this writer tackle immortality? Anything new? Are the characters convincingly old and young at the same time?

The thing is, while some of these fiction works satisfy me more than others, I’m always left with a tug of incompletion. Eventually I figured out this tug was a story in my own head and heart wanting to come out, a contemporary story that included the gospel. What might God’s plan be for those whose earthly days seem unnumbered? How would their age affect their interactions with humanity and with faith? These questions were the springboard for the No Less Days series, and of course the answers vary with the individual. Ultimately this is why I write: to explore people, their inner selves, their relationships. My goal is always to create characters that breathe from the page.

In From Sky to Sky, we get a look into the head and heart of Zac Wilson, who has been on the run from God longer than any of us could imagine: a full century playing the prodigal. I always try to be honest about how much life can hurt, “even” for the Christian; if we had triple the number of years to accumulate hurt in this broken world, we’d have a lot of it. That’s true of all my ageless characters, including Zac. To scratch the surface, this man fought in two world wars and has outlived all his children.

But the sum of Zac is much more than his collected wounds. He is a deep-feeling, fun-loving, generous guy. He enjoys music and physical activity. He has an insatiable sweet tooth and a need for open spaces. He’s not afraid to laugh at his own expense, and he has a boundless love for people and the stories of their lives.

My hope is that readers will grow to love this young old guy as they journey with him through some dark times toward redemption and light.