{"id":3442,"date":"2025-07-01T18:28:16","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T18:28:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=3442"},"modified":"2025-07-01T18:28:16","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T18:28:16","slug":"book-review-invictus-dark-faith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=3442","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: Invictus: Dark Faith"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Invictus: Dark Faith<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

by William A. Blakey<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong> Memoir<\/p>\n

ISBN: <\/strong>9798312190526<\/p>\n

Print Length:<\/strong> 158 pages<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Reviewed by Eric Mayrhofer<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>A stirring meditation on the history that shapes us\u2014a memoir built on solidarity, conviction, and faith<\/strong><\/h2>\n

More than a few times in Invictus: Dark Faith<\/em>, author William A. Blakey recognizes with knife-sharp clarity that an event in his life \u201cwas a turning point<\/strong>.\u201d<\/em> The repetition of that phrase feels like a redundancy at first\u2014but it turns out of be kind of the point.<\/p>\n

Blakey\u2019s repetition here carries an important profundity. After all, the opening sentences of the book read, \u201cWho I am, where I come from, and the life I have built started years before I was born<\/strong>.\u201d<\/em> Those two phrases make the crux of this memoir: that the history of our lives\u2014the decisions that came before us, that resulted in us, that have consequences in our lives and the lives of others\u2014is something to be honored.<\/p>\n

With Invictus<\/em>, Blakey honors his history beautifully.<\/p>\n

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In following Blakey\u2019s life from before he was born\u2014literally his parents\u2019 first meeting\u2014the book opens with a bang. Blakey portrays his mother\u2019s fear as she\u2019s stalked by a neighborhood troublemaker and how she meets her future husband trying to escape. Despite not having the words to fend off her would-be attacker, Blakey\u2019s father stands by her, and as their love blossoms, his father realizes, \u201chis path would be different. He would be the man his father hadn\u2019t been\u2014responsible, present, and dedicated to his family<\/strong>.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

That transition from breathtaking suspense to romantic tenderness is almost unnoticeably subtle, and those smoothly rolling levels are consistently present throughout Invictus<\/em>.<\/p>\n

For instance, Blakey takes readers from his parents\u2019 early romance to the hardhearted love of his violent brother Mitch\u2019s training in the next chapter. The juxtaposition of these two types of affection, one marked by a decision to be better, one marked by \u201ca twisted way of teaching us toughness<\/strong>,\u201d<\/em> helps readers see two major influences that blend together in Blakey\u2019s mind and teach him \u201cthe value of brotherhood and the importance of standing up for what\u2019s right<\/strong>.\u201d<\/em> By gently stirring them together, the book shows readers how they influence Blakey\u2019s later choices, but throughout, the discerning reader will see that Blakey maintains his individuality, even as his convictions may have been formed well before he was born.<\/p>\n

Even as he becomes an internationally successful entertainment and business development professional, he doesn\u2019t let politics or personal gains mar his convictions. When faced with having to sacrifice years of hard, for example, he says, \u201cI see those experiences as a testament to resilience and integrity\u2014staying true to my values, even when the odds were stacked against me from the start<\/strong>.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Invictus: Dark Faith<\/em> is an inspirational story that gives readers a roadmap for carrying the best lessons of the past forward and using them to create lives they can be proud of.<\/p>\n

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Thank you for reading Eric Mayrhofer\u2019s book review of Invictus: Dark Faith <\/em>by William A. Blakey! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.<\/p>\n

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The post Book Review: Invictus: Dark Faith<\/a> appeared first on Independent Book Review<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Invictus: Dark Faith by William A. Blakey Genre: Memoir ISBN: 9798312190526 Print Length: 158 pages Amazon Bookshop Reviewed by Eric Mayrhofer A stirring meditation on the history that shapes us\u2014a memoir built on solidarity, conviction, and faith More than a few times in Invictus: Dark Faith, author William A. Blakey recognizes with knife-sharp clarity that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":3443,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3442"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3442\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}