This was definitely an interesting read. The authors each wrote a short story about four people thrown together who eventually develop a tenuous friendship. Each author wrote from a different characters perspective. It was an interesting way of doing things and I definitely enjoyed some of the stories more than others. Maybe it was the way it was written, but sometimes it was hard to know what in the world was going on sometimes. Stories 1 & 2 were my favorites. Not sure if I'll read any more of this series.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

Invitation was a different read. I liked how all of the stories were told from different characters perspectives - it was neat to get to know each of the characters that way.

I found the plot creepy at times and I am still somewhat confused as to what is all going on...but I'm looking forward to reading The Assault (#5-8) to see what happens next.

All in all, with suspense, mystery, and some fantasy/supernatural aspects, The Invitation was a good read. I recommend it to fans of fantasy or suspense novels.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book for my honest review. As always, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.*

I haven't quite decided if I'd read the next cycle. They have, I think, 19 self-published stories out so far with the 20th coming on May 5th. Bethany House is gradually publishing them as 4 book cycles like this one which means the stand-alone books won't be available any longer. My biggest issue is I have a hard time connecting Christian fiction with supernatural suspense. Allegory is one thing, but ghosts, psychics, etc are a bit much for me. The writing was fantastic, but I'd have to not read it as Christian fiction. However, if that doesn't bother you, then this would be a fantastic read.

Invitation is a unique collection of four stories. They are Christian supernatural suspense and very intelligently written. Each story has its own author... Bill Myers, Frank Peretti, Angela Hunt and Alton Gansky... and each tale follows on chronologically but from a different character's viewpoint.
The characters each have their own skill set and gifting which they apply in an attempt to make sense of supernatural happenings that cannot be explained or understood. The reader sees that life is a battle between good and evil. We must "stay on the path" of goodness.
God speaks through dreams. He foretells what is to come so characters are prepared. We need to put our hope, faith and focus on God.
There are times when we have no words to pray. "All I remember was praying... 'Dear Jesus, dear Jesus.' " God hears the cries of our heart.
God gives us gifts. We see the gift of healing in the novel. We do not heal but God uses us to heal. "I'm just one tool in God's toolkit."
Fear can consume us and take over. "You cannot fight fear. You can only replace it." When fear threatens our lives, we need to lift our eyes to God and focus on Him. He is bigger than any fear we can ever face. "Blast this fear... What was the dark, but absence of light?" We must seek the light at all times.
Sometimes it feels like everyone is burying or twisting the truth. We need to cling on to and speak the truth at all times, in spite of those around us. "Truth is truth... even if I'm the last one alive to believe it."
There are times when we are called to fight against the forces of darkness. We are never to do this alone but in tandem with God. "The power's not in us, but God can give us the power to fight."
There is a wonderful bond between the main characters. They have each other's backs and support and trust each other.
Invitation was not my usual genre but I really enjoyed it. It was gripping and I am looking forward to reading book two in the Harbingers series. The stories were well thought out and flowed together. Not a book to be read alone or in the twilight. Make sure the lights are on.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

The idea intrigued me. Four stellar authors, collaborating on one . . . book? novella? miniseries? thing? And they did it for fun. Just to answer the question, “What if . . .?”

I mean, the questions were numerous: how was this all coming together? would it all come together? what about “creativity clashes?”

Well, I’m here to tell you . . . it worked. Each author wrote from the perspective of one of the main characters, maintaining and developing that character’s personality (at times comically, other times quite emotionally), telling one story made up of four.

In THE CALL, Bill Myers introduces us to Brenda, a conniving tattoo artist with a satirical streak a mile wide, and a penchant (gift? curse?) for tatting future events.

Frank Peretti gives us the Professor in THE HAUNTED. The professor is a former priest turned atheist whose logical bent would win accolades on the planet Vulcan (pardon the Star Trek allusion; I’m dating myself, here!).

In THE SENTINELS, Andi is the professor’s obsessive/compulsive assistant with a fascination for numbers. Strangely enough, in this instance, the numbers are far from random.

Finally, THE GIRL by Alton Gansky brings us Tank, a naïve, football playing good ol’ boy with the (inconsistent) gift of healing, and an amazing capacity for love.

Through a series of orchestrated meetings, these four random strangers have been brought together to help restore order, bring healing – and oh, yes – settle the score with supernatural beings intent on bringing death, destruction, annihilation, and subjugation to the inhabitants of planet earth.

You couldn’t make this stuff up.

And perhaps these four award-winning authors didn’t. Perhaps, and I’m just going out on a limb here, perhaps they have creatively combined their God-given imaginations to share with us an allegory, perhaps a parable - an earthly story that communicates a spiritual truth in a way that draws us in, instead of driving us away.

I’ve made up my mind. Perhaps you ought to get a copy for yourself and draw your own conclusions.

Regardless . . . my questions have been answered. It works. All of it works. And I’m looking forward to the next installment.

Five Stars for a seamless collaborative effort on the part of four extremely gifted authors!

Fully four months ago I accepted “Invitation” from Baker Publishing Group with the promise of a fair and impartial review. They give me a choice of what I want to review and when I saw Frank Peretti as one of the authors I jumped at the chance, being a long-time fan of his. Well here I am four months later still trying to write a review of this work.

This is not a traditional novel or even a regular series of novellas. The four authors - Bill Myers, Frank Peretti, Angela Hunt and Alton Gansky – preface the work with an explanation they they are will “write it like a TV series…[with] an overching storyline into which [they’d] plug… individual novellas, with each story written from our character’s point of view.”

The stories are supposed to be short enough that they can be read in one or two sittings. As I mentioned it’s taken me four months to write this review so you can imagine it required more than a couple of attempts to read the book. And, I have to confess I was confused by the format and when The Call wrapped up and The Haunted was presented in big bold letters on the next page I thought it was just a preview intended to sell another publication so I stopped reading feeling pretty undone. The Call didn’t really wrap up any storylines. But it had been such a laborious read that I haven’t gone back to The Haunted since I figured out the format.
I found nothing to love in the characters of The Call – nothing drew me to them, made me cheer for their victory, or left me longing to know their outcome.
The only Christ-claiming character is a college football player who’s so drunk on page one that his buddies are able to leave him in a tattoo parlor to awaken with a permanent stain on his body. The protagonist, Brenda, is the owner of that business who is willing to take advantage of the boy for the cash his equally inebriated buddies offer her. Her cynical character improves little as the novella progresses.
That pair meet up with a couple of other people and encounter an otherworldly phenomenon that I assume would be explained in a later section because The Call ends with nothing but questions.

This book really wasn't for me. I have read books by all of these authors before so I thought this would be an amazing read. However, I was disappointed. There was some swearing in it, and the feel of the stories really didn't garner a lot of interest from me.

Thank you NetGalley and Bethany House Publishers for this book. The thoughts and opinions posted here are my own.

This is a super read. I had already read other works by all the authors in this book, but together they created a super novel. Each author has given us a character and made this book like a TV show. The house that haunts you, tattoo artists who see the future, a former priest who works off logic, and can remind me of Sherlock Holmes in some aspects, skip on over into the spirit realm and dive into this multi-layered novel. I don't think you will be sorry that you read it, I know that I'm not! It was a riveting read.

My copy came from Bethany House. I wasn't require to leave a positive review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Invitation is the start of an exciting sci-fi/paranormal series by a super squad of popular writers. In “Invitation”, we have 4 stories each written by 1 of 4 authors who focus on a main character, driving a particular story forward.
Anchored from faith-based center of gravity, all major characters portray different mind-sets/opinions that run the gamut of belief to unbelief. Stemming from the mastery of all 4 authors, the characters are written with just enough depth to make you care for them and expose you to their potential in the stories to come.
All stories carry their own electric charge of suspense and creepiness and the undercurrent of spiritual warfare is not lost within the sci-fi/paranormal framework. This book may challenge the normal, linear storytelling prevalent in today’s Christian fiction, but it’s what sets it apart from other tales of the same genre. A fun read and a fun time. Definitely recommended.

An intriguing tale of the supernatural by four of today’s top Christian suspense writers makes this a must read!

Broken into segments, the first is The Call by Bill Myers told from the viewpoint of a street hustling tattoo artist that sees the future and uses that to help a student at a psychic institute. He is being trained to use his gifts to help world leaders but at a very high cost. The next segment is by Frank Peretti called The Haunted. Peretti dives deep into the darkness within us all in this supernatural case of murder centered within a mysterious house. Third is The Sentinels by Angela Hunt which showcases a strange phenomenon of animals around the world mysteriously dying. The fourth and final section is by Alton Gansky called The Girl. It is a strange tale of a young girl found in the snow barefoot and holding a piece of parchment type paper. After careful investigation, it appears she is not of this world and someone wants to kill her. Brought together they make the first cycle in the Harbingers Series.

Invitation is a unique blend of several of the top Christian authors doing what they do best. I must admit before this I hadn’t read anything by several of the authors. I know Frank Peretti’s work and that is what drew me to this. Oddly enough, his section was probably my least favorite. When I first heard of the premise of this story I thought there were several ways it might work out. Each author took a character and told the story from their point of view. It wasn’t the same story over and over, instead it was a continuation. When one section is over you go to the next character further in time. This left me with several questions for how each section played out and how I thought it should have played out. Overall the story itself was very interesting, even though I do still have some questions. Since this is the first installment, my questions might still be answered in the next book. At least that is what I am hoping.

With each author taking a section, it was clearly noticeable the way the writing changed with who the new point of view character was and that we were in a different story. I don’t want to say it was an exceptional story, it could have been, but fell short at several points for me. With that said though, I still recommend this book to readers that love a supernatural story with suspense on every page. Each author brought his and her own personal touches to their section making it unique. The first section was the best to me and easily drew me into the story. I enjoyed that so much I stuck with the entire thing and am glad I did. I can’t wait to see what comes next.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

This book contains four stories, each written by a different author. The authors are friends and wanted to do something different and this book is the result. They established a couple of rules. First, each author would write as if a character. Myers writes as a tattoo artist who sees images of the future. Peretti writes as a professor, an atheist ruled by logic. Hunt writes as Andi, the professor's geeky assistant who can see inexplicable patterns. Gansky writes as Tank, a big-hearted jock with healing power. The other rule was that these stories should read like a TV series with an overarching story line, with each individual story fitting in.

Myer's novella sets the stage. We learn about the major characters, are introduced to the strange training center in the desert, and experience some suspense. Peretti's novella takes us to a house in the Pacific Northwest that tells the truth and where we experience some eerie suspense. Hunt's novella finds the group on a Florida shore facing the mystery of birds and fish dying in vast numbers. Gansky's novella finds the group in Oregon, on the trail of a mysterious young girl who can walk through fences and over barns.

I enjoyed this collection of stories, following the ongoing adventures of the motley collection of characters. Each novella reveals a little more about the characters, their back grounds, etc. There is a prominent spiritual aspect to these stories, on both the good side and the dark side. There is a bit of spiritual warfare that goes on. Tank is the godly character while the professor is an avowed atheist. There are some good theological points made through the dialog between the characters.

Various authors sometimes means difference in writing quality but I was happy to find that the writing was quite consistent. It was a little disconcerting to change points of view with each novella. And I felt like it was all unfinished business when I got to the end. The stories are entertaining but there is no resolution at the end of this collection. I sensed that the evil forces, what ever they are, were getting stronger. One would need to read the next collections, two releasing later this year, to get the ultimate message. I trust the battle of good and evil will continue.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

I was a little bit excited to be able to read Invitation through NetGalley. It promised to be different, engaging, yet manageable in small bits. It was all those things and a few others as well. Each story within the book is a continuation of the previous from a different character's point of view. Brenda starts us out with 'The Call' and ultimately bringing most of the group together. She can sometimes see things, premonitions of people that will later become important to the story. We also meet most of the group with their own special talents. The Professor takes over from there with 'The Haunted' where the final member of the group meets up with them. The Professor is all logic all the time. Everything can be explained by science and logic. Even when he can't figure out at way he still tries. Andi takes over in 'The Sentinels' where they all come back together again. Andi sees the world in patterns and number sequences. Seriously, the girl can look at a pattern in the carpet and figure out exactly how often the pattern repeats in a set area. Finally we hear from Tank and the girl that can appear and disappear at will. Tank has a foundation in faith and in Christ, the only on of the bunch that does. Tank also has an ability to heal things, sometimes. He's OK with sometimes though because he feels that it happens when it's God's will and not just because it's his will.

While I knew this book was going to be something different there were aspects that I didn't 'get' right away and aspects I didn't expect. I get it, a harbinger is something that brings forth something else. Perhaps I'm more obtuse than I thought because I just didn't get it. I kept waiting to figure out what was coming, what was going to happen, something. Finally about the third story I realized it's all harbingers, every story is a harbinger of something more to come. By the end though I still don't know what's coming. I know that there are more books, more episodes, to come but I'm still feeling lost. The other things that threw me off a bit was how deeply supernatural it all was. I mean, I should have clued in during story one at a school for the 'gifted' (and they don't mean super smart) that was built over a well to somewhere else. I should have clued in as the special talents of the cast were put into play. Yup, kinda clueless here.

That aside, I really really liked this book. When I say I will literally read almost anything it's the truth. Faith - got it but it was a bit downplayed in this book and not as forward as I expected from this cast of authors. Supernatural - got it, and done well. Mystery - yup, at least for me since I totally missed the harbinger play on words and all. I would recommend this book to anyone who is open and likes the supernatural aspect of the world and storytelling. In this book the faith was subtle and therefore I don't feel would be a deterrent for someone who doesn't look for that in a book. I can't wait to be able to read the next episodes.

As mentioned before, I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by NetGalley. I was not compensated for this review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I was not required to write a positive review.

Supernatural suspense is not the genre that I seek out. But the four authors of Invitation are among my favorites so I decided to give it a read. I'm so glad that I did. There is a supernatural element to it and at times it does have that "woo woo" feel but the stories are so well written that I just kept reading.

The book is set up into four different novellas that feature a different author writing through the lens of a main character. I was worried that the characters would have changes that stood out as the authors changed. But the four authors obviously worked closely with each other because I didn't find any of that to be a problem.

The very first thing in the book is a note from the authors that explain what they wanted to do with this book. They set a couple of rules that included each author writing from the perspective of one of the characters and the writing would be like a TV series. They also said they would continue the series until they had to do something else or they got cancelled. My hope is that it will continue for several more books.

If you're looking for something a little different you should give this one a try. As I said I'm not a big fan of supernatural suspense but I really enjoyed it. So if you lean towards that genre you're going to be in for a real treat!

I received a copy of this book to facilitate my review.

Invitation is a collection of four interconnected stories by authors Frank Peretti, Angela Hunt, Bill Myers, and Alton Gansky. This volume contains the first four stories in the Harbingers Series,
The authors set up two rules for their collaboration:
Rule #1 Each author would write as one of the characters in the series
Rule #2 They would write the stories like a TV series with an overarching storyline. The series part would be their individual stories, novellas, written from their character’s point of view.

Bill Myers tells the story from Brenda's perspective, a street hustling tattoo artist who sees images of the future in The Call. In The Haunted, Frank Peretti writes as the professor, the atheist ex-priest ruled by logic. Angela Hunt writes as Andi, the professor's brilliant but geeky assistant who sees inexplicable patterns in The Sentinels. Finally Alton Gansky writes as Tank, the naive, big-hearted jock with a surprising connection to a healing power in The Girl.

Invitation is a collection of four interconnected stories by authors Frank Peretti, Angela Hunt, Bill Myers, and Alton Gansky. It was very interesting and kept your attention and you never knew what was going to happen next. Each of the characters is unique and interesting in their own way. Tank “Cowboy” and Brenda were my favorites. I definitely see that this could be a series because each of them has more of a backstory that could be revealed. I would love for Brenda to have closure on her past. There were plot twist both in the base storyline but also as the individual characters would reveal more about their pasts. At the core of the storyline is good versus evil. I think the story could be enjoyed by both secular and Christian markets. I don't know if you would consider this sci-fi or fantasy as there are definitely nonhuman happenings at work. My only issue with the book was that I would get confused on who the main person was when we would switch stories because they were written in first person.

Sexual content - none
Violence - good versus evil,
alcohol - someone is a recovery alcoholic, but no drinking in the book
language - no words are mentioned, but it is alluded that a few of the characters will use profanity

Invitation by Bill Myers, Frank Peretti, Angela Hunt and Alton Gansky is like christian version of Stephen King's TV series Haven.

It was interesting. Every story is different and all of them are nicely entwined together, but ... they all have a conundrum to solve and an evil entity to defeat and the story is nicely built into the final confrontation, but what is missing is the confrontation. Usually the conundrum is kind on solved and the evil entity just somehow goes away and then there is epilogue and that's it. Maybe the following stories are more revealing and in that case the unresolved suspense in the first stories is understandable, but maybe not.

It's readable, but I would have wanted more.

Invitation is a collection of four interconnected stories by authors Frank Peretti, Angela Hunt, Bill Myers, and Alton Gansky. This volume contains the first four stories in the Harbingers Series, an ongoing series with additional stories already available that was created by these Christian authors. In the series a team of four widely diverse people join together to use their individual skills to solve a mystery or help someone.

The author's set up two rules for their collaboration:
Rule #1 Each author would write as one of the characters in the series: Bill Myers's character is Brenda, the street-hustling tattoo artist who sees images of the future. Frank Peretti's character is the professor, the atheist ex-priest ruled by logic. Angela Hunt's character is Andi, the professor’s brilliant but geeky assistant who sees inexplicable patterns. Alton Gansky's character is Tank, the naïve, big-hearted jock with a surprising connection to a healing power.
Rule #2 They would write the stories like a TV series with an overarching storyline. The series part would be their individual stories, novellas, written from their character’s point of view.

The first four stories in this volume include:
"The Call" by Bill Myers: We are introduced to the characters and their first team effort to help a student at the Institute for Advanced Psychic Studies.
"The Haunted" by Frank Peretti: The four try to solve a murder mystery centered around a mysterious house.
"The Sentinels" by Angela Hunt: Animals are mysteriously dying and discovered with their eyes missing.
"The Girl" by Alton Gansky: A young barefoot girl is found holding a scroll after walking for miles in the snowy countryside.

There is no doubt that the writing is excellent and the individual stories are compelling; however, there are some pros and cons to the series. The premise that the stories are written like a TV series, with each story/author focusing on one character, is unique. This makes it easy to quickly read one story and know the next one will be a new adventure from a different character's point-of-view. This is also the downfall of the series - or at least this first volume. Because it is written as an ongoing series and this volume is just the first four stories, there is no concluding resolution and the character growth is limited. Invitation is only the first four of the sixteen individual stories already written for the series. In the end the real questions for readers are: Do you like episodic ongoing stories? How much time are you willing to invest in an ongoing series?

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of the publisher/author.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2017/04/invitation.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1963047826
Also reviewed on Amazon and B&N

Invitation is one of the most creative books I have ever read. You have four characters and each character has their very own author (Christian) can you beat that? I would give this a six if I could. This is part of the Harbinger series - it is the starter set and boy is it a send off. Each book is Supernatural, although it had to be - didn't it - with Alton Gansky and the man himself, Frank Perretti. So much happens in the series, like a house that haunts - crazy things like that - Invitation is like four books in one. The characters - they meet each other in the weirdest of ways and only one of them is aware and uses their special gift that GOD gave them to help others. This book is mysterious, supernatural, adventurous, eclectic, and Spiritual. You will not believe the way this book goes - it is so amazing how this all works together with four different point of views working together.

Invitation

Cycle One of the Harbingers Series



by Bill Myers, Frank Peretti, Angela Hunt, Alton Gansky

Bethany House

Bethany House Publishers



Christian

Pub Date 04 Apr 2017

I am voluntarily reviewing a copy of The Invitation through the publisher and Netgalley:

In this book Bill Meyers, Frank Peretti, Angela Hunt and Alton Ganksky write in the alternative voices of Brenda, a street smart tattoo artist, the professor an atheist ex priest. Andi the professors brilliant but geeky assistant and Tank, the naive big hearted jock with a surprise connection to a healing power.

The Call brings four strangers together to help a student at the mysterious institute of Psychic students where they see the student dealing with Satan and his traps.

The Haunted deals with a supernatural mystery and murder. A week after his death in The Assistant Living Facility Clyde's Spirit is seen in the house his wife still lived in.

The Sentinels has animals all over the world dying unexpectedly. Fish and birds dying by the hundreds, even thousands. What is killing these animals is it a sign of worse things to come?

The Girl a young barefoot girl is found holding a scroll on a snowy Oregon mountains, what does the control contain, and why is the little girl out there alone?

The Invitation is a collection of stories of the power of Good over Evil.

Five out of five stars.

Happy Reading.