Gabriel Wilson

Sands of Salvation by Gabriel Wilson, is the third in a series of graphic novels highlighting captivating stories about saints of the Orthodox Church. This particular book introduces St. Moses the Strong (also known as “St. Moses the Black, St. Moses the Ethiopian or Abba Moses”) to readers who may not know the powerful story of his conversion and martyrdom. The illustrations tell the story so well that in several places there is minimal dialogue or explanatory text. I did find that I had to search through the book a second time to see if and where Christ was mentioned in the story and not just implied - that came toward the end of the book. There is a lot of implied faith and it was good to see the name of Christ mentioned.


Our whole family has enjoyed reading each of the Among the Saints books as they've come out. Sands of Salvation follows the previous two with the same quality and ease of storytelling as the ones before.

The following are quotes from three of my family members about this book:


 
“I think it was really good because he repented, and I want to read more books like this. My favorite page was the one with the armies in the sky. It’s a good story - sad, but good.” 11year old

“I thought it had a pretty good storyline and everything was explained really well. The artwork was nice and went well with the story. I liked the pages with the armies in the sky.” 14 year old

“This is an engaging, approachable way to learn about the history of saints. It is more memorable when presented in this format. I thought it was interesting.” 40 year old

The appeal of this and of Mr. Wilson’s other books make them excellent as gifts, particularly to the middle and high school crowds, and they are books that parents will appreciate as well.… (mere)