The War In Heaven

First edition published March 2000 by Pocket Books. Second edition published September 2002 by Pocket Books

I was inspired to begin writing the Eternal Warriors series after hearing a series of sermons based on the book of Ephesians. While The War In Heaven is by no means the first novel to deal with the Christian concept of spiritual warfare, it appears to be one of the first to do so in the form of the modern fantasy genre, which was, ironically enough, created by the Scottish preacher George MacDonald before being made popular by the Christian novelists C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein.

While the book is fundamentally based on a Christian worldview, I have long been a reader of secular science fiction & fantasy and it was always my goal to write a novel that would appeal to non-Christians as well. I have been gratified to see that over a third of the email I receive is from non-Christian readers who seem to have enjoyed the book despite its obviously religious content. Fantasy is my favorite literary genre, and I think it is truly a shame that religion is so frequently disregarded in the genre, especially since religious faith was such an integral part of the medieval world on which most fantasy literature is based.

The back cover text:

Christopher Lewis is a boy with potential-potential for great good . . . and for great evil. And no one knows that better than Kaym, an angel-lord with incredible power, hell-bent on storming the gates of Heaven. With an army of demons, devils, and dark princes at his side, Kaym needs just one more thing to begin his crusade: the immortal powers hidden within Christopher.

But watching over Christopher is his guardian angel Mariel. Armed with her flaming sword-"a marvelous instrument of righteous retribution"-and a host of angels, she will do everything in her power to protect Christopher and banish Kaym and his legions from the throne of the Most High.

Filled with otherworldly creatures and all-out spiritual warfare, “The War In Heaven” establishes Theodore Beale as a rare talent who successfully blends the Christian and fantasy genres in a dazzling tale of faith and redemption.

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The World In Shadow

Published September 2002 by Pocket Books

I must say, I'm pretty pleased with how The World in Shadow turned out. As many of you have noted, it is not exactly the sequel that one might have expected, but it is a better book than its predecessor in almost every way. The reason that I've chosen this particular path is that I wish to avoid what I've seen happen to a number of writers I greatly admire, which is the boredom and declining interest involved in writing the same book over and over again. The World in Shadow is certainly a continuation of the story that began with The War in Heaven, but it has more in common with, say, Ann Rice's approach than Robert Jordan's, as the books are broadly connected through the lives of the characters involved instead of making up one giant book published in parts.

I particularly enjoyed the challenge of bringing the spiritual war home, because it forced me to reflect on the ways that my day-to-day life does not always involve my faith. I also found it interesting to think about the ways that the challenges of our lives can be used against us by those angels who are working towards our destruction.

The back cover text:

They battled evil at the gates of Heaven and discovered the power of the Almighty. Now, Christopher, Jami, and Holli Lewis must guard the home front as the Archangel Balazel and his minions wage war on Earth.

His victims have been claimed one by one, but that is just the beginning of the fallen angel's master plan: all-out massacre. To carry out this terrible deed, Balazel targets two of the Lewis kids' schoolmates. Tormented by the constant bullying of their peers, the pair make easy prey for the wily archangel.

As the Lewis children and their guardians-Mariel, Paulus and Aliel-struggle against the forces of evil, the moment for destruction draws near, and the three teenagers realize that the only weapon powerful enough to save the lives and souls of their classmates may be faith.

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The Wrath of Angels

Angels, devils, and the Nephilim. Dark princes playing at the game of Man. A vast and sweeping epic of spiritual warfare between warring Fallen principalities. Or something like that, anyhow. And yes, it's done, it's available and you can order it here. And only there, I should probably add. For those of you who have been patiently waiting, you may be interested in reading this false start. It's giving nothing away, as I completely trashed this storyline, which nevertheless did lead to some interesting elements that made it into the finished book. I was simply wondering what ever happened to those children of angels who pursued human women? Some were the giants of the Old Testament, of course, but perhaps some inherited more from their fathers than their mothers....

The back cover text:

There is war among the Fallen. As the dread daughter of Moloch cuts a broad swath through the demon princes of Europe, the long-conquered Faery kingdom of Albion threatens to rise against its dark master. Treachery and intrigue are the order of the day, as evil battles evil and the jackals lurk amidst the shadows to devour the defeated.

And though the angels of the Most High God take no side in these Fallen struggles, they are will aware of the dangers posed for the millions of souls over whom they watch. For Moloch's fearsome spawn seeks nothing less than another fiery human holocaust.

But in places where angels may not tread, a mortal is not always forbidden entry. In The Wrath of Angels, Theodore Beale cements his reputation as one of the most imaginative writers of Christian Fantasy today.

The Chronicles of King David

Book One: David the Warrior

I've been a fan of historical fiction as long as I can remember, and I was surprised to discover when I was looking for an interesting book on King David of Israel that there is actually very little fiction written about him. His story is a fascinating one, especially for anyone interested in military history since his time was one of great upheaval throughout the ancient world. I was particularly intrigued by the Philistines, as recent archeology indicates that they may have been descended from the ferocious Sea Peoples, who fought a great land and sea war against the Egpytian Empire and were likely of Greek descent.

This was a great starting point, as it is impossible to write the story of David without also telling the story of the Philistines. Also, I was interested in exploring the nature of David's friendship with Jonathan, which was a rather unlikely one considering their age difference at the time of their first meeting. Jonathan, in my opinion, is frequently overlooked, but the Biblical account shows that he was very much a heroic character as well, if one perhaps a little prone to taking great personal risks. This is a selection from a novel intended to be the first of a trilogy, entitled The Chronicles of King David, which will comprise the whole of David's life, told from the perspective of three men who were close to him.

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Rebel Moon

This is my first novel, written with my friend Bruce Bethke, who is one of the funniest writers ever to see print. His Headcrash won the Philip K. Dick award in 1996, and if there was justice in this fallen world, would be a New York Times bestseller. I felt in a bit over my head when Pocket Books agreed to the concept of allowing a game designer to write a novel based on his own game, so Bruce kindly agreed to pitch in and help out.

I re-read the book recently and I still rather like its paranoid "Heinlein meets the New World Order" motif, but we did make the common mistake of allowing the game structure to affect the storyline. The book was intended to be the first in a trilogy, following the sequence of the games, but the collapse of GT Interactive ended the game series with Rebel Moon Rising, and the trilogy two books short of completion.

Bruce's Memo to would-be trilogy writers:
"Blow up the Death Star at the end of the first book. Save the ambiguous "good faces evil and barely gets away with its fanny intact" ending for the second book."

Bruce and I have kicked around the idea of finishing the trilogy at some point in the future, and I like to think that one day we will. Rebel Moon is now out of print, but we managed to acquire all the remaining copies from Simon & Schuster, so if you're interested in getting your hands on a copy and your local bookstore is out, just shoot us an email. Fans of the Eternal Warriors series should keep in mind that this is a straight-up sci-fi action novel.

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