The Song by: Calvin Miller

The Song
Calvin Miller
IVP (InterVarsity Press)
ISBN 0877847851

This is the second book in The Singer Trilogy and it is an amazing book of poetry. This book is the retelling of the book of Acts from the New Testament in a narrative poem. Miller writes in such a way that you cannot help but wonder if the Spirit helped guide the shaping of these books.

Many of the unique characters from the first book are back: The World Hater - Satan, The Healed Madman - Anthem, and others. This story tells an epic tale in a powerful way. Miller is a wordsmith who weaves a tale that you cannot put down and will not soon forget.

He writes explicitly Christian fantasy in the books in this series. He is also well known for his non-fiction and his Christian life application books.

The Song is also excellently illustrated by Chicago artist, Joe DeVelasco. The drawings done in pen and ink style add to the power of the story by transporting you into the events, and bringing the characters alive.

No matter how many times over I reread these books, they are always fresh and new, and draw me into the story of Christ in a different way. They are true classics and a treasure for any bookshelf. Each time I pick these up and reread them, I find a deepening of my relationship with Christ, and of my prayer life - for every time I do so, I am spontaneously drawn into prayer while reading them and for days afterwards.

Miller also has a Symphonic Trilogy that retells different stories from the book of Genesis. The two I owned were A Requiem for Love and A Symphony in Sand. As far as I can tell, there are also two stand-alone books by Miller in this style, that are often compared to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Lewis's Narnia. They are The Valiant Papers, an account of a guardian angel's experiences, and The Philippian Fragment, the retelling of the book of Philippians from the New Testament. I have owned most of these and lent them out to not be returned. I now have The Singer Trilogy, Valiant, and Singer Trilogy 3-in-1 hardcover. Over the next few weeks I will review those I still have, but cannot encourage you strongly enough to pick them up if you find them in a used bookstore. They are all great.

Over the next few weeks, I plan on reviewing some of the others that I still have from this author. And if I find the others again, I will review them. (It has just been too long since I lent them out and did not get them back for me to review them from memory.)

Other Miller Books:
The Singer
The Song
The Finale
The Valiant Papers
The Philippian Fragment (Currently OP)