Embark on an epic journey that spans centuries, continents, and the limits of your imagination as all of your favorite Tennis Shoes characters are thrown into a maelstrom of intrigue and suspense.
Still searching for Joshua Plimpton—lost in an ancient American time warp—Stefanie and Harry Hawkins, along with their band of warriors and heroes, find themselves in the midst of a gathering storm unlike any other in Nephite history—the final struggle at Cumorah.
Meanwhile, as armies march and enemies plot, Meagan, Apollus, Ryan, and the Prophet Moroni must reach General Mormon and Nephite headquarters to thwart the impending disaster. But can they defeat the darker threat that stirs among them?
Jim Hawkins and his sister Jenny may hold the answer as they fight for survival on the opposite side of the world, piecing together a mystery that could hold the key to everyone's safe return home—or it could spell certain doom in the abyss of time!
Tropes:
- Action Girl: As in Warriors of Cumorah, Tzi’kin is angry and trained, throwing spears at General Fireborn and bearing an arrow injury with few complaints.
- Archnemesis Dad: Chief K’ayyum ends up being this.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Megan and Apollus still have this sometimes, when he says something he shouldn't.
- Pagag and Steffanie have this more blatantly, as Steffanie admits finding him very handsome, but his Jerk Jock personality doing plenty to turn her off.
- Berserk Button: Apollus has two: traitors and Meagan being threatened.
- Bridal Carry: Ryan ends up carrying Tzi'kin through the jungle this way when she passes out due to blood loss.
- Cast Herd: It’s getting big now. There’s approximately ten narrators and about twice as many relevant characters.
- Cerebus Syndrome: This is one of the darker entries. The first chapter features a pit that's been used for Human Sacrifice of children, causing half the characters to vomit or cry. And it stays at that level of gnarliness for the duration.
- Cold Equation: When they’re drugged by Chief K’ayyum, Apollus has a second to choose and predictably picks Megan. They unfortunately still fail to escape.
- Defiled Forever: Tzi'kin's mother turns out to have been perceived as this after Fireborn raped her, which led to her own father killing her.
- Drama-Preserving Handicap:
- Pagag accidentally steps on Steffanie's hand when dispatching an attacker at the start of the book, breaking her wrist. This means that she can't be as independent as she'd like, and forced to rely on him.
- Similarly, Tzi'kin gets an arrow through the shoulder halfway through the river chase, which means she can't swim well and gets too exhausted to trek through the jungle.
- Duel to the Death: The finale is centered around one.
- Fish out of Water: Apollus is this when it comes to relationships. Megan is a forward-thinking, well-read, 20th-century Fiery Redhead, and Apollus is an undereducated Roman from 2,000 years ago. About 50% of the time he'll say something that ticks her off, and they'll have to spend a few days restoring their relationship.
- Flat-Earth Atheist: A dramatic example. Lamanai chooses to ignore what Ryan, Meagan, and Apollus have been saying and reverts to treating them as his personal godly servants. All so he can justify discarding them.
- A God I Am Not: Megan, Ryan, and Apollus were mistaken for gods in the last book but have managed to dispel the mystique. However, Jacobah and Lamanai still have a few hang-ups they don't understand, and they have to periodically explain the reality of the situation.
- A God Am I: As has been traditional for many cultures, Lamanai's position as the royal heir essentially makes him his civilization's god. While he was fine being treated normally in the last book, he's starting to insist on more deferential treatment, and is annoyed at not receiving it.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: Joshua doesn't really live like a Christian anymore, but as someone points out, this is just because he feels unworthy, not because he doesn't think it's right. Heroic Self-Deprecation is a very real obstacle to doing what's right if you let it control you.
- I Surrender, Suckers: Apollus on one occasion.
- The Leader: Moroni, son of Mormon, is one for his party. This is noted as raising tensions with Lamanai, since as the royal heir, he was expecting to be in command. But since Moroni is about twice his age, a veteran general, an excellent diplomat, and half their party knows he's a prophet, he's usurping his command without even trying.
- Let's You and Him Fight: The entire finale turns out to be one of these, as unbeknownst to each other Apollus and Gidgiddonihah have both been enslaved and motivated to fight each other while wearing face-concealing masks.
- Manly Tears:
- Ryan cries these when Tzi'kin dies.
- Apollus also has some too.
- It's safe to say any man who cries is doing this.
- Midfight Weapon Exchange: In the finale. Apollus is best with a sword and his opponent is best suited with a club or hatchet. Over the course of the fight, they end up switching weapons enough where they end up with these.
- The Mole: Lamanai betrays Apollus, Meagan, Ryan, and the Nephites to the Lacandones in order to forge an alliance with Fireborn.
- Mutual Kill: The threat of this saves the heroes at the end, as it’s clear Apollus will reach the villain before his men can kill him.
- Narrator: This one’s a doozy. Basically every character takes turns narrating their plot.
- Jim and Jenny switch off for their plot in Jerusalem.
- Garth, Josh, and Marcos take turns in the lands near Cumorah.
- Apollus and Meagan narrate on their journey to Cumorah, with Ryan narrating for two chapters that involve him particularly.
- Steffanie is the only cast member who narrates her entire section.
- And at the end and beginning most everyone else chimes in too.
- One-Man Army:
- Apollus takes on multiple opponents several times. However, he notes that most of the combatants are totally inexperienced and undernourished, which is what lets him win.
- Put on a Bus: Harry, Mary, Gidgiddonihah, Becky, Micah, and Jesse are captured by Wolf Witches for most of the book, so Pagag and Steffanie can take the stage in their plot.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Tzi’kin sacrifices herself to rescue Meagan from Chief K’ayyum.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Apollus goes on one.
- Red Right Hand: Half of Chief K’ayyum’s face has been severely burned. He’s appropriately a grumpy and harsh man.
- The Reveal:
- Joshua is likely the Captain Josh mentioned in the Book of Mormon.
- The rebel Bar Abba/ Ben Abbas is actually the biblical Barabbas.
- The masked warrior Apollus is dueling is Gidgiddonihah, who’s also been lied to about his friends being killed.
- River of Insanity: Apollus’s party has to go through some while Ryan is narrating. He and Tzi’kin get tossed in the drink but manage to reach the shore.
- Shown Their Work:
- As in Warriors of Cumorah, a number of Ancient American deities are name-dropped, cultural traditions are depicted, and each chapter has an addendum explaining the real history therein.
- Snake Pit: The village of Lacandon has one of these that's full of cottonmouths, a highly poisonous breed of snake. It's a ritual site for them as well, and Ryan ends up thrown into it later in the plot.
- Spiteful Spit
- Spotting the Thread: Apollus starts to spot something wrong when he discovers his opponent in the finale is wielding an authentic Roman gladius, complete with eagle insignia.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
- Ryan is thrown into a snake pit, but it turns out snakes aren't very aggressive, and with the right handling you can avoid them. It's still a crazy enough feat for him to dub it a case of multiple miracles occurring to save them.
- Token Evil Teammate: Gilgal is far from evil, but he's very unpleasant by Nephite standards; snide, vicious, and very aggressive with outsiders. Moroni is the only one he listens to.
- Wham Line:
- “Bar Abba. Ben Abbas - Barabas.”
- “Chamula. The people were called Chamulans.”
- Would Hurt a Child: The bandits - dubbed "Wolf Witches" - that Steffanie and Pagag follow. It's shown they sacrifice them ritually, and the two come across a bunch of hidden children that would've doubtless been killed by them if they hadn't hidden.
