I recently visited with a classroom of teens who had just read The Ambassadors. These are some of their comments:

“The Ambassadors had many positive elements. I valued the scripture that was included in this book. It was an excellent reminder of God’s presence in our lives. It is easy to overlook that God is always working behind the scenes on our behalf and this book displayed His work in a tangible way. I loved some of the little surprises in the plot. I think this book is an excellent read for Christian adolescents.”

“As a devoted and voracious fantasy reader, I enjoyed this book. Marcia Lee Laycock is a very good writer and utilizes excellent imagery – for example, early in the story she aptly paints an immense mountain scene that drew me in and took me there – to a place of awe and chilly thin air. I would recommend this book to young Christian readers because it provided an easily understandable explanation and demonstration of salvation and child-like faith.”

“The Ambassadors is a decent book with twists and turns in the plot which all good books should have. The character development is really good. I lived how Eghan thinks within himself, often debating whether he things the faith of his friends is worth the risk. I was kept interested as the story constantly shifted from each character. The ending was fascinating as the characters’ lives all became intertwined with each other bringing the plot to an intense climax. The plot is captivating as it intensifies slowly throughout the whole book and peaks a the right time.”

“Marcia Lee Laycock’s novel, The Ambassadors displayed many good uses of imagery. In the mountains, she describes the valley beneath the late summer sun and all of the flowers blooming with bright colours. In her way of writing the scenery is described so vividly that I could picture in my mind.”

“Laycock used very good imagery and comparisons in her novel. For example, in the beginning of the novel she writes: “Consciousness seeped into Eghan like the mists that slipped seductively down from the mountains – slowly – so slowly his mind fought to clear the haze away.” This is a good book that I would recommend to a young Christian audience.”

“I enjoyed reading The Ambassadors by Marcia Lee Laycock because of the medieval time setting of the story. i would recommend this book to young Christian readers who are curious about he Bible and what a strong Christian looks like in their faith.”

“As a guy who doesn’t really like fantasy or reading books overall, I did somewhat enjoy reading this book. I liked it because of the style of writing. Laycock had good imagery and I had a really good sense of what the landscape looked like and I like creating images in my head of what it looks like. I would definitely encourage others to read this book. It’s a clean book and has a Christian perspective.”

“I enjoyed the fact that, although The Ambassadors was written as a fantasy, i could still imagine the scenes in my mind. I appreciated the imagery in the book. For example – “he glanced up at the fine trickle of water slipping over the surface of a frozen waterfall. With a description like that I could jump into the book like I was a part of the action.”

“This book is well written and the contents are really worth reading. There are parts that give it flavour and a sense of being inside the story. It really makes the reader think and imagine the scenery. The descriptive style of writing really highlights how much pain the Prince took when he was whipped: “Eghan lay on his stomach, his body taut, his fingers digging into the dirt floor as Dulah applied a salve to the four long welts on his back.” The book is very fun to read at certain points.”