Bestselling author Richard Paul Evans stopped by The Glenn Beck Program on Tuesday to discuss the latest installment in his Michael Vey series, Michael Vey 6: The Fall of Hades.
"Michael Vey is a series that he brought to me because everybody was turning him down. What is this? It's not dumb enough to be a young adult fiction book," Glenn said.
Describing the series as the kind of stuff we want to get into families' hands, Glenn told Evans how the books have impacted his relationship with his son.
"As a dad, thank you for giving me some of the best memories with my son. I have now had six summers where we have waited for the next one to come out. We have talked about it coming out, and then we have spent nights together reading. It will be one of our fondest memories for the rest of our lives. I mean that sincerely, thank you," Glenn said.
"That's beautiful, thank you," Evans replied.
The series features a boy named Michael with Tourette Syndrome who gets wrapped up in an international mystery with his friends. In The Fall of Hades they try to recruit Hatch’s Electric Youth in a thrilling, action-packed adventure.
"The characters make it cool not to be the cool kid and to have more depth and more respect," Glenn observed. "At no point have I felt that any of these are trying to teach lessons, they just do. When you're writing these, do you think, Well, I want to make sure this kid is teaching this kind of quality?" Glenn asked.
"I'm a storyteller. I want the stories to be really powerful. To me, Michael Vey has a meaning that few people have understood. To me, it's a very spiritual book, and that's how I actually primarily see it. But not many people have actually caught that," Evans said.
Glenn compared Evans' writing approach to the difference between Lord of the Rings and Narnia.
"I was just thinking the same thing. Tolkien always thought that C.S. Lewis was too overt," Co-host Pat Gray said. "So he wanted to make his writings more subtle and just have the underlying theme be God."
"I actually saw a battle on one of my posts, on a trailer post, someone said, I love the book and the Christian messages. Someone wrote, This is not Christianity at all. And they're going back and forth in this battle," Evans said. "There's no Christianity in this. It's fascinating."
While preferring to keep any spiritual messages a mystery, Evans did offer one insight.
"I'll tell you this, and this is probably the most I could possibly say, is the cover of this book is to me Christ climbing the cross. When I look at that, that's what I see. I see Calvary right here. That's what it means to me, and some people won't understand that," Evans said. "It doesn't matter. Because the fact is the message and who Michael is and the love he has and the loyalty he has is important for everyone."
Michael Vey series, Michael Vey 6: The Fall of Hades is available at bookstores everywhere.
Listen to this segment from The Glenn Beck Program:
Featured Image: Michael Vey 6: The Fall of Hades, as featured on The Glenn Beck Program, September 13, 2016.
