The Relic of Perilous Falls by Raymond Arroyo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I will admit this: it took me awhile to get into The Relic of Perilous Falls, book #1 in the Will Wilder series by Raymond Arroyo. I started reading the first couple chapters almost four years ago, couldn’t get into it, and set it aside. However, over this pandemic year of 2020, I’ve been revisiting cast aside novels and trying to finish them up. So when I picked this book back up over Christmas 2020, I settled in and determined to at least get a few chapters in and then give up on the book if it still didn’t hook me. However, as I started flipping pages, the book drew me in, slowly at first, until I had to read to the end to see how it finished. Now, I’m not going to say this book doesn’t have its issues, which I will lay out here, but I will say this: if you’re looking for a fun, adventurous read in the vein of a mashup of high church history, Indiana Jones, and a splash of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, then The Relic of Perilous Falls might be right up your alley.
Will Wilder is an ordinary kid who has no idea that there is a dangerous, yet invisible, world all around him filled with evil forces that are bent on the destruction of all humanity. But when he falls off the back of a donkey, he sees something in the shadows. Will’s Aunt Lucille takes Will under wing and helps him discover the mysterious world around him, but when the entire town of Perilous Falls is threatened, it’s up to Will and his friends to find an ancient relic to battle an evil demon and save them all.
First off, this book does suffer from some of the similar tropes of this genre of fantasy adventure for Middle Grade readers: There is a prophecy involved, hidden special powers, and a supernatural world that meets the modern day world in unexpected ways. However, the great twist here is the Christian worldview at play here. Some might categorize this book as more Catholic than Protestant, but either stream of faith is definitely going to discover some fascinating church history as well as tiptoe into the world of religious relics, which is barely touched on here. I would actually say that this is one of those stories that shows just how closely Charismatic Christianity and Catholicism intersect by diving into a supernatural world where those with faith battle demons, have spiritual gifts, and must rely on the invisible God to see them through.
The other aspect here that raises this story beyond other “Chosen One” Middle Grade fiction are the Indiana Jones aspects to the novel. There is a fair bit of treasure hunting, traps, and near escapes that were extremely reminiscent of Raiders of the Lost Ark or The Last Crusade, complete with illustrated clues incorporated into the text.
Will Wilder as a character is fine, if not somewhat typical of a main character for this type of novel. His character growth is nonchalant and more of a side, side story than any through line. The plot and the world-building are what drive this forward, with sometimes too many side characters getting into the mix. Some readers may be put off by Will’s choices at times, which seem to sometimes make no sense or be choices taken merely for the sake of upping the stakes.
However, at the end of the book, I found myself having thoroughly enjoyed this romp through the world of relics and faith. If you’re a fan of books such as Percy Jackson and the Olympians or any book in the fantasy adventure genre for Middle Grade readers, you’re likely to at least enjoy The Relic of Perilous Falls.