Amazon Birth Pangs Category:  Action/Thriller Publisher: Suzeteo Enterprises ISBN-10:  0979127653 Type: Fiction Pages: 332 Copyright: Dec 1, 2006 ISBN-13: 9780979127656 Following decades of foreign occupation, a devastating disease and limited nuclear reduce the United States to anarchy. Fidelis follows the path of a man waking up in a broken world that is pockmarked from nuclear strikes and still coping with the lingering effects of a terrible disease. In discovering the new landscape of America, he discovers the equally new landscape of his own soul. Filled with adventure and warfare, as equally compelling is its attempt to explore concepts of truth, valor, manhood, and destiny. In Fidelis the crutches of society have collapsed. In this setting, the intangible characteristics that make the human race indomitable are permitted expression. Indeed, they are encouraged. Also available in hard cover. Buy soft cover and hard cover of both Fidelis and book 2, Spero, direct from author. Excerpt Below is an excerpt of the excerpt. Sections have been omitted and are indicated using … The full excerpt is available in a pdf download available at www.birthpangs.com == Chapter 1 == “Hold steady, son,” his father whispered into his ear. Fides could hear the soldiers talking carelessly as they passed by on the road. Hidden in the weeds and grasses, the two of them watched the deadly parade. At last, the men were out of sight. Fides was fourteen years old. He and his father had been getting close to home when they heard several soldiers up and around the bend. His father pushed him off into the bushes on the side of the road and put his hands on his shoulders, both soothing him and holding him down. His father waited until even the sound of the diverse foreign talk was heard no more, and then lifted Fides to his feet. “Let’s get home,” he said. “Couldn’t you kill them?” Fides wondered. His father looked at him, surprised. “Do you think it is so easy to kill a man?” his father asked him, probing the intent behind the question. “But don’t you know how to fight?” Fides inquired nervously, worried that he had asked an inappropriate question. “That’s not what I mean. It’s one thing to have the skill, it’s another to have the will,” his father explained, deciding that Fides’ question was not meant to sound bloodthirsty, but as a question about his own character and the morality of the world. His father explained, “Some men kill because they like it. Those are rotten men, Fides. Whether or not there is ever a right time to kill, I don’t know. But I only… that is…” “Don’t kill unless you really have no choice, son,” his father continued after a pause. “If you can run, that’s a choice. If you can hide, that’s a choice. I know what men will say if you do that, but I want you to be able to close your eyes and not see what I see when I close my eyes, or see what I see when I look in the mirror. Do you understand?” Fides nodded. He didn’t know if he agreed, but he nodded. Of all the things his father had told him over the years, he thought he did understand this. + + + + + “Hold steady, son,” Fides whispered into his youngest son’s ear. He put one hand on his son’s shoulder while his other hand clutched the sharpened rod that served as his favorite means of self-defense. He and his son had been walking through the woods to their old shed only to find that others were already there. Five men seemed to have taken up residence in it. Fides had shoved his son to the ground behind some bushes. Thirty years had passed since Fides’ own father had protected him from a lurking threat by throwing him into the brush. Fides was acutely aware of the parallel and had vague recollections of what had been on his mind at the time. He pondered the parallel as the two of them peered through the leaves at the rough-looking interlopers. As Fides was trying to decide whether he should confront the men, another memory surfaced. + + + + + Away. He was running away. His mother had yelled, “Run!” and he had. His father had been off to war for some time by this point. Fides was only ten or eleven years old. He was overcome with great shame as he ran through the woods, two men not far behind him. He could hear them crashing through the branches. Fides was moving silently as he was very familiar with these woods. He knew that if he could get to the shed he could try to barricade himself inside it. An eleven-year-old fleeing two grown men is not shameful. That was not why Fides was ashamed. … While there were two men after him now, there were four others clawing at his mother. He had left her. In his fear, he had set aside his father’s charge and was instead rushing headlong through the brush. He was too young to be able to imagine what his mother was enduring, but old enough to know it was terrible. And he had left her to face it alone. The men were catching up. … “Think you’re faster than us, boy?” one of the men sneered. “Made us run! You’re going to pay for that!” the other man gasped, out of breath. Fides found himself pulled to his feet, but only for a moment. The first man slapped him so hard that he fell onto his back and had the wind knocked out of him. He tasted blood and wondered if he was going to die. The man hauled Fides to standing again, but this time took him by the arm and threw him across the clearing. He rolled awkwardly over his arm and yelped in pain. The two men laughed. … “Come on, finish him. We want to get back and see Mom, right?” one said to the other. Fides didn’t know what that meant, but he knew it couldn’t be good. … He bent his head and waited for the blow. “Picking on a boy? Is that the new mark of a real man?” a silky voice washed over the clearing. The man paused and decided to delay his execution of Fides, but he didn’t want the boy running off, either. He struck Fides on side of his head, sending him reeling. Fides lay stunned on the ground, struggling to gather his awareness. He struggled to determine the gender of the voice of his savior and concluded it was probably a woman’s voice. … “Who are you? Where are you? Come out and I’ll show you the mark of a real man!” one of the fiends declared. “Oh, I believe that. Why slay a boy when you can slay a woman!” the silk voice replied. “Oh, you won’t get off that easy, my dear,” the other man snarled. The two were patrolling the inside of the clearing, peering into the woods around them in an attempt to find the origin of the voice. Fides was peering, too. … There was a loud crack. Fides thought he saw a man fly through the air near him. The other man’s mouth opened in shock, but another cracking noise followed on the heels of the first one and the man found himself knocked to the ground. The first man rolled over, holding his head. He scanned the clearing to try to find his assailant. Seeing no one, he deduced that he must have been struck by a rock. “Are you just going to throw things at us? We’ll find you soon enough and I doubt your aim will be so good with my hands around your neck.” “Big talker,” the voice said smoothly. … The men seemed nervous. The first man gathered up his courage, “Yea, that’s right. I’m a big talker. Give me a chance to show you I’m bigger than talk, and you’ll regret it.” “Or,” countered the voice, “you could let the boy go and simply walk away.” The men snickered in response and maintained their slow patrol of the clearing. “We’ll find you. It is just a matter of time,” he countered. Having no luck finding the source of the voice, the man ordered his friend, “You go finish off the boy, and I’ll find the woman,.” His friend turned toward Fides. Fides could vaguely make out the form of the man approaching him. He grimaced in anticipation of the man’s arrival, but his grimace evolved into awe. Fides could see the man approaching him, but then it seemed as though the air between them began to quiver. … There appeared to be a woman in the clearing… with a sword? The men chortled greedily, but the lady only coaxed them into attacking. Fides heard the sound of the struggle, but his vision could not be trusted. The woman was evading every blow. The men were angry. It seemed to Fides that the shadows of the shed were ill-defined. He struggled to make sense of what he was seeing. She really did seem to have a sword! She plunged it into the soil and was engaged in hand-to-hand combat. There was a loud snap. One of the men now had a broken arm. He howled in pain and rage and fell to the ground, writhing. The other man had turned around in time to see his friend fall to the ground but did not see the cause. Fides could see that this one had his knife out. “Shall we have a battle of blades, then?” Fides heard her ask the man softly. She had her sword in her hand, now. The man was determined not to be intimidated by a woman, though. He mustered up whatever contempt he had left in his body and lunged at her. From Fides’ perspective, she did not appear to move at all. It was as though the man simply threw himself onto her blade. He made a final noise, gave a last gasp, and fell to the ground, dead. The other man was still in agony but stood up, furious. He reached for her, but only briefly. He met a slashing blow and he, too, fell to the ground, finished. The woman looked down on the men with sadness. Fides sat up again and gazed at her. Finally, their eyes met, but only briefly. The blood ran down into his eyes, and he became dizzy. He was sure he was delirious. She began talking to him, her words wafting through the fog that was Fides’ consciousness. “Go home, Fides,” she said soothingly. Fides suddenly remembered that his mother was still in danger. At the same time, he realized he’d be no match for the men who remained and was in no condition to fight his best, besides. The woman felt his fear. “All is well at home. Go home, Fides,” she said, and then she was gone. Or was she? Fides could hear a melody on the wind. Despite his corrupted vision, he was suddenly certain she was still present. “Are you an angel?” Fides asked, testing his suspicion that she was still near. Indeed, she was still present somewhere, perhaps in the brush just outside of the clearing. She laughed, “Not at all! Pray that you never see an angel! Terrible! Terrible to behold!” Fides heard her voice all around him. “Then what are you?” Fides cried into the air. Despite his cloudy observation of the event, he thought she had been terrible to behold. She reeked of nobility. But the woman only smiled and laughed again, “I am human, just like you.” “You may be human, ma’am, but if you are, then I must not be,” Fides said slowly, trying to look at her through his pain. “I can see how you would think that,” she agreed. “Realize that there is more to Man than the eye can see.” “I don’t think there is anything more of me to see. I don’t think there is more than a cowardly little boy,” Fides moaned, thinking again of his flight from danger. “Sometimes we must defer judgment to those who are in a better position to know. You are certainly more than a disgraceful little boy. You can put your faith in that,” she encouraged him. “Are you magical?” Fides persisted. Fides thought he must be out of his mind. The woman chuckled again. Despite the opportunity to make fun of him, her chuckle was completely good-natured. “Your race always treats as magic what it does not at first understand. When it finally understands a matter, it heaps contempt on it as though it were something always self-evident to intelligent, sophisticated people. Yet, the wondrous does not cease to be wondrous just because one knows what made it wondrous or magical in the first place,” she explained to him patiently. She continued, “Your race then takes it to the other extreme, reducing the wondrous to the banal, thus failing at the end to understand in the slightest the very thing it understood—at least in part—at the beginning.” Fides contemplated these words. She talked to him as though he could understand what she was saying. Though he could not understand her, her thinking he could encouraged him. There was a change on the wind. Though he could not see much of anything, he could tell that she was preparing for a final departure. Fides struggled to find words that might prompt her to linger. He very much liked her, even though he would be hard put to explain why. “What… what is your name?” he stammered at last. She laughed again. It wasn’t a mocking laugh. It was innocently mirthful. “My name cannot be translated into your tongue. Maybe someday you will know the language by which it is understood, and you will know me. Peace, boy. Go home, Fides.” Fides felt her hands on his face, stroking his hair. She wiped the blood from his eyes, and his sight and awareness sharpened briefly. She was beautiful. She drew even closer to him. Her eyes were unnaturally bright, and she looked deep into his eyes; he thought she was examining his soul. “It is bright in there,” she said. Fides felt her warm breath on his cheek and ear, but then the dizziness overcame him again. He collapsed. The breeze lost its song, and Fides was sure he was alone. He slept, and the ringing in his ears was gone when he awoke. Hours later, Fides managed to get home. He found his mother bruised and shaking, but nonetheless safe. The bodies of four men were scattered in the yard outside the front door. His mother said nothing about what had happened, and she didn’t ask him how he had escaped danger. Fides considered the possibility that perhaps his mother had been helped just like he had been helped. Over the years he would reason that this was almost certainly what had happened, but she never talked about it, so he never asked. … + + + + + These memories flowed back to him with startling clarity as Fides was trying to decide whether he should confront the men at the very same shed where he had had his mysterious encounter with the woman. Interestingly, though he remembered well how disoriented he was at the time, today he seemed to recall other details from that event decades earlier that had seemed murky before. His father’s counsel to avoid violence if it was at all a choice percolated into the forefront, too. While not a violent man, more than once Fides had been forced to defend himself. He was strong, agile, and perfectly able to hold his own. Five men, though? He’d have to protect his son, too. Not realistic. Did he have a choice? Yes, he did. “Let’s get home,” Fides finally whispered to his son.

Yes, Virginia, there is wholesome youth literature
By Donald Hank

Worldnetdaily: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58834

Recently, parents' confidence in authors of youth literature has plunged to an all-time low, and if you are a parent you have reason for concern.

But there is hope. I have just the novel for you and your youngster and can promise you no untoward revelations out of left field once your patronage of this author has catapulted him to fame and fortune. The new hard cover version of the first novel of A.R. Horvath's "Birthpangs" series entitled "Fidelis" is a newly edited and illustrated edition of an already wonderful but undiscovered book.

Novelist A.R. Horvath went to a Lutheran school from grades 1 through 12, but as he reports at his website, he was isolated, not insulated, from the world. Horvath fell away from the faith during his first year at a Lutheran university.

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He had been sheltered from the world but had never been prepared to function away from the nest, falling prey to the myth that Christianity lacks the intellectual underpinnings to make it viable. He credits the writings of C.S Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien with shepherding him back into the fold.

It is true, however, that Jesus preferred followers with childlike faith, as the account of Doubting Thomas attests, and Horvath acknowledges this preference in a dialogue between Fermion, a Nephilim (sublime creature mentioned in Genesis), and protagonist Fides:

"Obedience to who?" Fides shouted. "You? God? Perhaps I would have more willingly 'obeyed' if I had been given a compelling reason!"

"A more 'compelling reason,' as you call it," said Fermion coolly, "would have robbed your obedience – if you had obeyed – of its virtue."

Set in 22nd century America, "Fidelis" tells the story of Fides, a craftsman who takes on an assignment in the Midwest and winds up embroiled, against his will, in a scheme to protect a priceless treasure from would-be thieves. He is taken captive by his contract partners and is en route by air to the far west when he is stricken by an epidemic that has gripped the nation. He falls into a coma and upon awakening, months later, learns that the country has been devastated and its population decimated by a nuclear war and a mysterious disease that is almost always fatal. The rest of the story has Fides trying desperately to reach his home and family. On the way, he meets people, some earthly, some of uncertain, ethereal ancestry, all of whom are engaged in one or the other side of a war for the physical and spiritual survival of the nation. His engagement in this war, armed with a beautifully crafted sword of unknown origin, forges him into the hero he is destined to become, despite his earlier failings and his sense that he is a coward.

An ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances that forge him, "Fides" is anything but the humanist-materialist Hollywood hero who owns his destiny, but rather a leader who has learned the wisdom of obedience to God.

The book is reminiscent of Horvath's models Lewis and Tolkien, but also strongly allegorical, like "Pilgrim's Progress" or the medieval Everyman plays, where man is confronted with his mortality and then the hope of salvation.

On another level, it is a utopia-gone-sour novel in the tradition of "Brave New World," "Animal Farm" or "1984" – with one important difference: Despite the projection of a horrendous future for the world, it holds out hope for salvation of fallen mankind.

Here is why this novel impresses me:

It prophesies what will essentially happen if our nation continues its course away from constitutional governance. Without preaching, Horvath's characters hint at the reasons for the future holocaust and the spiritual darkness that precedes it. In Fides' world, all religions are banned, although there are professionals ostensibly trained to act as religious guides. In fact, their real mission is to explain why religion is bad for people. Hence, religious canons are banned everywhere. Before the holocaust, the U.S. had been invaded by allied Chinese-Mexican forces. At some point, the U.N. had intervened, but once having secured the country, they stayed on, imposing arbitrary rule.

Any keen observer of religious, social and political trends today can see that there is much more in play here than mere fantasy.

"Fidelis" is fluent, gripping and written as though the author had actually been there. I saw not a word out of place or any word that may have qualified as filler. That's why I simply couldn't put the book down. Neither could my 13-year-old son.

But more importantly, I felt as though I were in a gold mine with nuggets of wisdom popping up everywhere, like these words spoken by Dor, a member of the mysterious Shadowmen:

There is a power that is made perfect in weakness. There is a power that can only exist with full surrender.

Or those of amateur historian John Henry Lambert, a kind of 22nd century American Solzhenitsyn whom Fides meets on his journey:

In all systems, power eventually gravitates inwards. Someone, some person, eventually decides what is "fair" and what is "equal." Someone has to make that decision. The Pledge [a partisan fighting force] is right now making the same fundamental mistake of history by assuming that humans are, in the main, good. They are always so surprised when suddenly a bad man is in the position of power. But then it is too late! The bad man has the power!

A.R. Horvath gets an A+ in spiritual discernment and political wisdom, and is a born entertainer to boot – a combination I have not seen in contemporary American fiction.

His newly edited hardbound edition is available through the author or at Amazon. Next installment of the series due out in 2008.

I can't think of a better Christmas present for a youngster or adult.

Fidelis: Birthpangs Book 1 by: A.R. Horvath
by Steven McEvoy
http://bookreviewsandmore.ca/2008/11/fidelis-birthpangs-book-1-by-ar-horvath.html

Fidelis is the best speculative fiction I have read since the early 80's. Reminiscent of Heinlein's writings with the skills of a master wordsmith, A.R. Horvath has created an amazing world and looks to a possible future that is dark and brooding. He creates a world in which the United States has entered a second dark ages after a military defeat. The writing is superb, the characters believable and engaging. As you read you become transported into the events by Horvath's skill with the pen for he draws you in and captivates you. His storytelling is masterful.

We follow Fides as he goes from being a young man trying to look after his family and working as a skilled laborer to being a warrior serving a cause greater than any he could have imagined. As he journeys across the remnants of America he journeys into a faith he never dreamed of nor wanted. The book deals with big questions: faith, doubt, manhood, integrity, purpose in life, bravery and above all else, truth. It does so in a futuristic setting, however is written in such a way that the characters as they struggle with these issues seem to be real, not just a story for entertainment but a story to help us learn to ask the right questions in life.

This book has been compared to Stephen King's The Dark Tower, or as a cross between it and the Left Behind books by LeHaye and Jenkins. However, to me it is more similar to C.S. Lewis's The Dark Tower or a darker version of Lewis's space trilogy. It also reads much like James Axler's Deathlands yet with more depth. Reading Horvath is like reading science fiction by Asimov, Bester or Heinlein, with the narrative power and creativity of C.S. Lewis or J.R.R. Tolkien. It also contains strong military themes like those found in Piers Anthony's Bio of a Space Tyrant, Orson Scott Card's Ender Series or Lois McMaster Bujold's Miles Vorkosigan books. This book is an amazing work of fiction. Both the writing style, and story itself will captivate and enthrall. This book is moving to my all time favorites list and it will take something pretty awesome to knock it down a notch on that list. So pick up the book and join Fides on his journey, both across a continent and into faith, and you too may be challenged to look inside and find the strength to struggle with faith and to ask yourself the tough questions. I for one eagerly anticipate the rest of the books to come in this new series.


The Harry Potter Alternative
by Jean Heimann
http://catholicfire.blogspot.com/2007/10/book-review-harry-potter-alternative.html

Fidelis by A.R. Horvath is an action-packed fantasy novel filled with imaginative descriptions of what the United States and our culture could be like in the future if it continues on its current course. While the story is a fictitious fantasy, the picture it presents is quite realistic and believable.

Following a series of nuclear explosions in this country, the various groups who are at war for control over the county are similar to many of the political factions in our nation today. For example, there are the Rangers, a group of men and women throughout the country who support pro-family middle class values. This group never gave up their hunting rifles as their pre- nuclear war government had commanded. There is another group resembling the conniving, crafty politicians of our day, who pretend to want what’s best for the people, but are more concerned with what is best for their own needs. This group is in possession of machine guns.

Put quite simply, Fidelis depicts the battle of good vs. evil. Similar in nature to the writings of C.S. Lewis and JRR Tolkein, Fidelis bears a Christian theme, includes Scripture passages, and is rich in Christian symbolism.

The main character in Fidelis is Fides, (Latin for “faith.”), a young husband and father, living in the heartland of the United States, in Terra Haute, Indiana, at some unknown time in the future – with his beautiful, devoted wife, Melody, and their four children.

Fides is an affable, responsible, and hard-working man who is primarily concerned with protecting and providing for his family. Fides is a construction worker and work is scarce in these hard times. When he is offered a lucrative job in Peoria, IL, he readily accepts it, leaving behind his family, just as an outbreak of a rare and devastating new disease occurs. His intuitive wife has misgivings about him leaving, but Fides knows this is an opportunity he cannot pass up, so he embarks on his journey with his neighbor and co-worker. And, what a journey it is! It is a journey that involves danger, suspense, and adventure – one that tests his faith, his fortitude, and his ability to persevere – physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Little does he realize how much this “job” will impact his entire future.

During his absence, a nuclear war takes place and the entire world, has changed drastically - all factions in the nation have risen up in battle against one another. In the United States, some of the major cities have been destroyed and are in total devastation. However, Fides has been ill while all this was taking place and he awakens from a coma when the nuclear strikes have ceased, to discover a broken world. Realizing that he has been separated from his family for a long time, he embarks on a journey to unite with them, encountering numerous obstacles and battles on the way. His journey reveals the horrors and wonders of this altered world, as he awakens to realizations about his own soul.

Early on in his trip, Fides quickly bonds with Fermion, an intriguing and mysterious character, who, in addition to possessing some nifty super powers, seems to have many of the answers to secrets of survival in this new world. Fermion possesses a type of wisdom that initially puzzles Fides, but which later proves to be very useful to him. Along the way, Fides meets several other individuals struggling for survival in this new world – many of whom are basically good people, others, evil by choice – who teach him valuable life lessons and help build his character. He joins forces with different groups (both male and female) who support healthy moral choices, and becomes a strong battle warrior, learning what truth, love, hope, fidelity and obedience are all about, under Fermion’s guidance.

There is a prophetic message presented in this first book of seven in the BirthPangs Series. Will all the disasters and the devastation that have occurred as a result of man turning away from God lead to the end of the human race? What will happen if things become worse and people continue to turn away from their Creator? Fidelis only hints at the possibilities, but it certainly poses a relevant concern for the future.

In his clear, easy to read writing style, Horvath presents us with a story that grabs our attention from the first page and holds it until the very end. He introduces us to an interesting array of characters, which he describes in picturesque terms, often using colorful dialogue and action to effectively allow the characters to “speak” for themselves. Many of the scenes are described in considerable detail, allowing the reader to clearly envision the scene as if it were being shown on a movie screen and to analyze possible outcomes. As an aid to the reader, Horvath adds a handy concise index of character and group names at the back of the book with a line or two identifying each one. This is particularly helpful if the reader needs to put the book down and return to it later.

Fidelis appears to be most appropriate for teenagers and adults due to the detail in the story and the reading difficulty level. There are many exciting battle scenes in the book, which make it particularly appealing to males. Both Christians and non-Christians alike will find Fidelis enjoyable, as it focuses on man’s universal struggles of good vs. evil and truth vs. propaganda. Fides is an action- packed, imaginative fantasy that subtly instructs, entertains, and intellectually provokes the reader. It is fascinating reading.