Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Christian allegory in the tradition of Pilgrim's Progress., 4 Aug 1997
By A Customer
In the beginning was the song of love.
Alone in empty nothingness and space
It sang itself through vaulted halls above
Reached gently out to touch the Father's face.
Tired of fluffy pop Christian fiction? Try Calvin Miller's Singer Trilogy, an allegorical retelling of the New Testament in three movements. Book 1, The Singer, is a depiction of the life of Christ. Book 2, The Song, describes the spread of the gospel by the early church. And Book 3, The Finale, looks forward to the end of history and God's ultimate triumph over evil.
Miller achieves something few contemporary Christian fiction authors even attempt--poetic prose akin to Lewis or Tolkein, with the theological insight and literary style of Milton or Bunyan. His narrative is moving, compelling and breathes with artistic power. Peretti has got nothing on this.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Imaginative and emotionally satisfying. Beautifully written, 17 Aug 1999
By A Customer
I heard Calvin Miller speak in one of the chapel services at Trinity International University a few years ago. He spoke of the importance of imagination in regard to preaching. Miller's imagination is at its best in these three books. While "The Finale" was only slighly less satisfying than the first two, all three make up a delightful allegory. Pay particular attention to the aphorisms the precede each new chapter -- some of these are absoluetly beautiful.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome, 21 Mar 2008
The Singer!
This is one of those books I read over and over again. I have read it probably 20 times since my first reading. Calvin Miller puts biblical stories into narrative poems that are so well written they force you to turn the page again and again. This book is the first in the Singer Trilogy, followed by The Song and The Finale. It is a poetic retelling of three biblical books: The Singer parallels the 4 Gospels, The Song retells the story of Acts, and The Finale is Miller's version of the book of Revelation.
Miller writes explicitly Christian fantasy in these books. He is also widely known for his non-fiction AND Christian life application books.
The Singer is a powerful retelling of the life of Christ, where instead of Jesus and The Gospel you have the Singer and his song. His song, if you are open to it, can bring healing and restoration. The World-Hater, wants to destroy both the Singer and his star song. Miller's words moved me to tears the first time I encountered them. The story is so well written, it can be read over and over without losing its freshness. The book 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.
No matter how many times over I reread this book, it is always fresh and new and draws me into the story of Christ in a different way. It is truly a classic 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.
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 2 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)
The Song!
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.
The Finale!
Miller is known for his explicitly Christian fantasy in the books, like those in this series. He is also well known for his non-fiction and his Christian life application books.
This is the final book in The Singer Trilogy and it is an inspired book of poetry and story. This book is the fantastical retelling of the book of Revelation 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 unique characters such as The World Hater - Satan, Elan Lord or Ellanor, Dreamer and others are encountered in this volume. This story tells an epic tale in a powerful way. Miller is a master wordsmith who weaves a tale that you cannot put down and will not soon be able to forget.
The Finale 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, events both on earth and in the heavenly realms, and bringing the characters alive.
Each time I read and reread these books, they are always fresh and new, and draw me into the story of Christ in a different way. They are true Christian classic and a treasure for any bookshelf. This book will draw you into the final epic battle between good and evil.
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.
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by William P. Young
![Miracle Maker [DVD] [2000]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51VQQKslDcL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
DVD ~ Ralph Fiennes
by Calvin Miller
by Randy Alcorn
by Rob Bell
With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is). 
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