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There are contrasts among the Stuart cousins. Clint's flair for mechanics leads to his position as aerial engineer of The Last Chance, an aircraft whose name reflects its luckless reputation. Clint becomes a stabilizing force in a group whose diversity includes both a former bullfighter and an unflagging devotee of obscure superstitions. Although letters from Clint's wife prove that she lacks the strength to be faithful, he submerges personal grieving for the good of the doubt-driven crew. His quiet efforts to evangelize are often rebuffed; still, he is well-liked and respected.
Conversely, Adam has trouble with friendships. Raised by his mother and step-father, both involved in the film industry, he masks his search for a focus in life. He rejects the Christian values dear to his mother and yearns to know more of his father, WWI flying ace Manfred von Richthofen, the legendary "Red Baron." When World War II begins and young men of his age group are called into service, he is further tortured by his divided allegiances. "How can I fight my father's people?" he wonders. Yet when his one true college friend dies in action, he resolves to see all Germans dead, and pilots The Last Chance with such cold, obsessive precision that only Clint's intervention persuades the crew to tolerate him.
When the plane goes down on a bombing run, Clint carries a wounded, unconscious Adam as he parachutes into enemy territory. It is in the next hazardous weeks -- while Adam hovers between delirium and death, when starvation, and imprisonment or worse are constant probabilities -- that Adam finally finds his heritage and ultimately salvation.
Meanwhile, the lives of two female Stuart cousins converge on a USO tour of the Pacific theater. Mona, startlingly beautiful but shallow, succumbs to the flattery of an unscrupulous actor. Wendy has always been firm in her faith. A gifted singer, she believed she had found a life partner in Alex Grenville, until he discloses that his plans do not include marriage. Though it breaks her heart, she relinquishes him. On tour, their paths cross again. Again, she refuses to betray her values. Only after an air raid when a serviceman sacrifices his life for theirs, does Alex begin to reevaluate . . . to listen . . . to learn . . . to accept Christ.
Morris, now halfway through writing the ten novels of The American Odyssey Series, has spun a tale that informs, entertains, and inspires. Readers relive the dread of news from the warfront, the necessity of ration coupons, the pain of separation, the comfort of popular music of the time. More than a "good read," A Time of War is a compelling chronicle of a nation's journey through danger, an inspiring journal of a family's odyssey to deeper faith.
Evelyn Minshull is an author and writing teacher in Mercer, CA.
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