A Forest in the Desert: The Life of Saint John the Short

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this graphic novel, and the artwork is delightful. It also doubles as a coloring book haha. There is not much out there about Saint John the Short/Dwarf so I was super excited to find this treasure.

I must've downloaded this book about two hours ago and I have been glued to my device. What a gem! I'm a visual person so following this graphic novel was great for me. I love the story line, the graphics, and the messages we learn from Saint John the Short in this. If you're a Sunday school teacher, get it for your kids. If you're a parent, get it for your kids. If you're a human being, just get it. My only qualm is it would be even more beautiful in color, but that's not a big deal at all. Great for a variety of ages and I truly loved it! Thank you Michael for your amazing work! Our community needs more of this!

I picked this up on a whim, because I want to read more about saints’ lives but not necessarily in a more advanced format. I hadn’t read a graphic novel in 30 or so years. This was a wonderful introduction to St. John! I loved this and would highly recommend it for kids, teens, and adults looking for a quick read.

This book is amazing. I was a little hesitant to buy, but it surpassed all my expectations. My 8 year loved this and finished it in one sitting as soon as it came in. It is reverent and accurate. The illustrations are beautiful and engaging.

I did not know anything about this saint prior to reading this graphic novel. It was very much like reading a traditional saint's life, but I appreciated the illustrated format. This is going in my son's Pascha basket.

More for a child than adult.

Really enjoying this book! Beautiful content and very artistic graphics. Highly recommend it

A Forest in the Desert is both told and illustrated in a very captivating way. Fascinating details of the life of St. John the Short that both adults & children are sure to enjoy. Absolutely enjoyed and most certainly recommend for Orthodox libraries on lives of the Saints, and as just a great book!

While I thought Anastasis (the previous graphic novel by the same author) a creatively written masterpiece, "A Forest in the desert" is not of any lesser quality.It takes you back to the golden times of the desert fathers with a very captivating and modern language that is attractive to the youth and the younger readers, telling you the journey of the young man "John" from leaving the materialistic world and seeking the true Lord Jesus Christ in the desert of Egypt. The paradox of having a forest in the desert is truly seen in the story by how many trees & fruits John yielded through his spiritual journey in the desert.So profound, sincere and yet easy to read. I 100% recommend it to the youth and older generation alike.

If you’re Christian and wondering how to instill the wisdom of the desert fathers in kids and teenagers or if you’re an adult who likes to read in graphic novel format look no further. The artist here blends his unique style in illustrations with the story of John the short (one of the Egyptian desert fathers of the 4th century) to produce a fun, informative and beautiful graphic novel detailing the Saint's life stories and sayings.The illustrations are simple yet beautiful to look at, the story flows really well and the graphic novel remains faithful to the original text. This style of graphic novels fills a void in modern Christian literature. A great addition to your Christian library!

A forest in the desert is a very easy and capturing read. I found it very moving and inspiring to read unknown details about Saint John’s life. Thank you for producing this!

It's through books like these that the stories of our church fathers can live on from one generation to the next. This story telling technique engages an audience of any age seeking Truth and spiritual wisdom. An outstanding work of art. Highly recommend, you will honestly not be able to put it down.

Very easy to read and hard to put down.Appropriate for people of any age.I will be waiting anxiously for the next book series!