Monday, January 25, 2016
Win the Legends of the Realm two-book series
THE RULES
1. Click the link below to enter (follow the prompt and leave a comment on this post).
2. Get bonus entries for tweeting about the contest after you entered (I wrote the tweet for you to make it easy to share).
3. Contest opens NOW and closes Thursday, January 28 @ Midnight. Contest is limited to entrants with U.S. shipping addresses.
4. Don't worry, you won't get bombarded with emails or subscriptions because of this.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Friday, January 22, 2016
Announcing Free Book Raffle: Emissary & Merchant of Alyss
Thursday, January 21, 2016
An Analytical Review: The Fragment by Davis Bunn
*This is an analytical review; for plot overview please read
the book description or other reviews. My goal here is to help you understand
in which ways you will be influenced by this book (in addition to offering a
few suggestions at a literary level). But don’t worry: no spoilers.
Davis Bunn returns to the page with his latest historical
fiction The Fragment.
Readers of The Pilgrim will recognize familiar elements
ranging from characters (a primary female protagonist, a faithful supporting friend,
and an angry critic of the faith) to an artifact of special significance. In
fact The Fragment develops the characters better, although the weight and
purpose, even the reasons and transitions are less understood. But for readers
and enjoyers of The Pilgrim, The Fragment
offers a unique vantage point in an overlooked period of history while etching
in the same worldview: the world is full of critics & skeptics, dangers
& threats which try to distract humanity from the healing offered through
Christ. The Fragment adds some color to this philosophy in showing readers that…
The physical world is first a distraction from the things that truly
matter, and only secondly the necessary context for discovering true reality.
Indeed, God has given and continues to give his grace to
those who trust him. Healing and wholeness are available for any who seek it;
any and all of life’s despairs can be absorbed by faith in God who uses people,
things, and circumstances to encourage his children.
Although I disagree with the second part of this book’s
philosophy (that the physical world is only significant in its bridge to the
spiritual), Bunn imbues it in the narrative expertly. And he frequently weaves
the subordinate truths throughout his narrative in a way that nearly
compensates for his halting, mosaic plot structure.
The plot begins at breakneck speed only to come to a
grinding halt 1/3 of the way through. From there it progresses slowly,
eventually gaining some momentum to ultimately end. When I tried to map the
structure, the story begins with constant conflict, followed by a resolve, then
rising action, conflict, resolve… Now while many books utilize
dual-conflict/climax in plots, I’ve never read a story which literally starts
back at ground level for the second. This odd setup was compounded by Bunn’s
chapter endings which were nearly all cliff-hanger. Each new chapter would
begin in a new location at a later time with some decision having been made
during the page edge between. This made it difficult to understand what, why, and
why I the reader should empathize with the characters and story. Perhaps if the
author simply reasoned with me on the page I wouldn’t be left wondering when
Bunn tries to create artificial “aha” moments. I should state that sometimes it
worked… particularly in the first 1/3 when everything was moving so quickly,
but in that latter 2/3 it simply bogged me down like jeans slogging through a swamp
and trying to do jumping jacks. Consequently I vacillated between belief and
incredulity at the story’s events.
Ultimately, if Bunn is writing for Christians, which I
believe he is, he succeeds in presenting them with an encouraging historical
narrative. The book doesn’t really challenge Christians to believe anything
different except perhaps that there isn’t always a happy physical ending. So I
give it 9/10 stars despite its plot flaws, but I’ll round up for its target
audience: 5/5.
I recommend this book to readers who enjoyed The Pilgrim or Christians looking for a
one-day beach read.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my
honest review.
This review is crosslisted on Goodreads, Amazon, my blog,
and CBD.
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
An Analytical Book Review: Merchant of Alyss by Thomas Locke
*This is an analytical review; for plot overview please read
the book description or other reviews. My goal here is to help you understand
in which ways you will be influenced by this book (in addition to offering a
few suggestions at a literary level).
Merchant of Alyss is the second in Thomas Locke’s “Legends
of the Realm” series, and the book picks up right where the first one left off…
in fact, it picks up almost too quickly expecting you to remember the names and
relationships of half a dozen characters in the first several pages. Perhaps
that’s my fault, but having read the first one a year previous, I would like some overlap reminding me of past events
and persons. Nonetheless, the book begins with a couple interesting scenes that
‘hook’ and then progresses into a plot structure best described as a ‘journey’
motif. The cohort of primary characters (which features a slight upgrade in diverse
characterization from the first book) journeys from one place to another, and
another—experiencing new locations and persons everywhere they go.
Evil is on the rise again, and a mysterious dream spurs Hyam
into action. In fact one of the major themes revealed through these pages is “Purpose”
or “Motivation.” They do something because
they must. The impetus shifts in several
key moments, but the motivation always boils down to responsibility: I do this
because I must do this, and I must do this because I ought to do this. In painting this theme throughout Merchant becomes an interesting narrative
of ‘doing’ even if sometimes I don’t
understand why I’m ‘doing’, how I’m doing, or even what I’m doing!
Sometimes this works; it provides an interesting compulsion
for the characters to do. But other times
it sets up the narrative to show its gears—moments when it becomes clear this
event happened simply to move the story along, or when there’s a logic gap in
the lore (and I’m left wondering with the characters who don’t see the obvious…because
it’s not there). And other times it forces the characters to discover certain
innate abilities far too easily. This character suddenly finds he can
understand and speak a language after hearing it 6 times. That character
suddenly discovers they have mage ability to rival the masters of a school and
thwart a hag who’s spent decades in practice. And that one is suddenly thrust
into rulership when never would an earthly kingdom have been so hasty. All
because the plot and the timeline demand this character be so capable.
I think the second primary theme expounded and woven throughout the book is
the ’need for newness’ in pursuit of future hope. Time and again the characters
proclaim, “Wonder upon wonder,” or “The legends come alive” or “A thousand
years of decrees and more have been broken,” and all of them serve to point us
to the fact that the times are changing. A new time requires new rules; the traditions
were good for the time that is now passed, but they aren’t sufficient to guide
us in the new days. This too is an uncommon theme which I found refreshing in
the narrative. Unlike the first theme, however, this theme is consistent
throughout and doesn’t create plot holes or logic gaps. The world is in tension…
the old still exists and to a certain extent binds the world and characters to
it, but there is a newness that supersedes the old—in what ways it can. And it
sets the stage for a momentous occasion that will color “the Realm” for all
time to come.
Other themes play lesser roles, but nonetheless add color to
the characters and actions. Themes of temptation, true knowledge of others,
love, sacrifice, unification; each affords memorable, surprising scenes and are
quick to illuminate similar scenes in my own life. Each serves to engrain the
readers with the book’s philosophy of life and the world:
Selfless love for others exceeds all trials and paves new avenues of
hope for a better life.
And the broader philosophy of the whole series:
Evil threatens to overtake life and good, but through the bonds of
love, friendship, and hope, evil is vanquished.
Both are much needed in our culture. And I think the influence
this book will have upon readers of fantasy is “not every temptation is worth
the cost; selfless sacrifice achieves more good than selfish indulgence” even
while every hopeless romantic is taught “not every desire receives its own
happy ending”—truths well worth my time and consideration.
A few final thoughts before I offer my commendation.
1. It’s
often hard to track the physical surroundings. Now, I’m a fan of Tolkien’s
pages on trees, so I know I’m partly biased, and yet I found myself unable to
imagine where the characters were and what things looked like. Oftentimes there
would be a quick 1-2 sentence description and the dialogue would move on… then
it would refer to some physical aspect I never even realized was there. This
was particularly troublesome in battle scenes when something would interact
with the landscape and I had to go back three pages to reread the brief
sentence describing the area.
2. At
the risk of sounding contradictory, I really enjoyed the portion of the book
that took place in the desert. I often find desert travel skimmed or avoided
completely, and found Locke’s description about desert navigation fantastic!
And yet… I still couldn’t quite imagine the whole surrounding area, or the
physical trauma the characters experienced.
3. Too
often the characters seemed to know all the same information. Page after page
characters would finish one another’s sentences. There was hardly any learning from character-character
interaction. Everybody already knew it all (the exception being when Hyam would
connect the dots and I was left with the characters still ‘not getting it’).
Give us a good monologue or two, or five! In fact, there was a distinct lack of
long paragraphs, long thoughts started and carried to conclusion, no soliloquys.
And again, I recognize my bias: I enjoy Shakespeare. And characters can be left
in mystery, uncertainty, and ignorance—it is no flaw or sin.
So, how does this compare to the first? Pretty similar in
plot and style, though better in characterization; fresh and exciting in
themes; lacking in dialogue; disjointed at times, and yet the ‘big picture’
fits surprisingly well with the mosaics. Most of the book feels like it’s
setting us up for something bigger,
and so in the way of many sequels: it’s a slight dip in anticipation of
something pretty remarkable.
I give it 3.5/5 stars, but I round up (particularly because
how credible the temptation element was, and powerful the scenes of
self-revelation).
I recommend this book to readers of high fantasy, with an
emphasis toward the 15-21 age range.
Despite its flaws, this book helps me evaluate decisions I make
in my own life; relationships I have, and what they are built upon. And I with
Hyam and the others look forward with hope beyond the evil, where every foe is
vanquished and life restored.
I will be raffling off a free copy of Merchant of Alyss January 25-29.
This review is crosslisted on Amazon, Goodreads, and my
blog.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my
honest review.
Monday, January 4, 2016
Book Review, An Outsider's Perspective: Angelarium
I am not the best person to review this piece of art because
I’m not on ‘the inside’ of this book’s philosophy/spiritual beliefs. So I write
this review to other ‘outsiders,’ and hope that you insiders will forgive my
unattuned senses…
I don’t know that I’ve ever read a piece of literature that
required so much additional study in order to be able to begin comprehending it
or to feel even remotely adequate to evaluate it in an online review… let alone
a Graphic Novel which is stereotypically
focused on sensory pleasure and easy cultural receptivity. Sure, I could have
forgone all the extra reading and study through the “Book of Enoch” and
introductory Kabbalah literature and Rabbinic exegesis, but had I done so my
review would have ultimately consisted of a big “I don’t get it.” And
now, having done all the extra study, I can finally say, “Interesting.” Now, of
course, every piece of art: poetry, painting, drawing, meditative prose, etc.
deserves a certain extent of calm reflection, but I simply could not make the
leap from page to sense or influence very easily. I found myself reading
paragraphs over and over again, and looking at the art only to utter an
exasperated, “What?!” Eventually, over halfway through the book, I started to
get a sense of things that were happening and influences the pieces were making—not
to say that the piece “made sense” and indeed!: I think the artists would say “You
don’t understand “ to anyone who actually said, “I get it.” This purpose of ‘mystery’
and existentialism and insurmountability of the whole piece is at once
relieving and frustrating. You aren’t supposed to “get it.” You aren’t supposed
to be able to plumb the depths of its meaning and come up with the sunken ship;
you’re supposed to be able to dive deep and return with buried treasure over
and over again—and all the better if its treasure you throw into the sea as
well! But here’s where my outsider perspective finds flaw. My philosophy doesn’t
allow me to keep adding meaning where it isn’t there, or removing a piece from
its intended purpose and wield it as a beautiful truth. My philosophy cries “illegitimate!”
and won’t let me hold onto it because I’m deceiving myself into believing
something I know isn’t compatible with my epistemology.
However… what my epistemology does allow for is a subjective
thought weaving, so to speak. I can fully accept that seeing things and reading
things easily and constantly pushes to my mind other experiences, ideas, and
beliefs. And I can reevaluate those experiences, ideas, and beliefs based on
the current context whether the one afforded by the art itself or by the art as
a means only. In other words, Angelarium offers me the canvas with which to
place down my own thoughts regarding love, kingdom, justice, mercy, etc. and to
reposition and refine them; to burn away chaff, add dimensions, or even change.
And yet… I’m not sure I would purchase this book. Perhaps I would—I’m sure it
would offer interesting conversations for friends; and the art is certainly
enticing, but as an outsider looking in I think: “well that was interesting,
and I’m glad to have exposed myself to something so different” and now I move
on to something else. Maybe I’ll return to it down the road, maybe I won’t. And
I can’t tell you whether or not you should purchase it either; I suppose it
just depends on what you’re looking for.
*An editorial note: there are several instances throughout
with repeated words or tense disagreement in additional to a few lesser
grammatical errors. I searched for an intended purpose based on the emanation
in discussion, etc. but could find no justifiable literary reason for including
the errors. I’m willing to chalk this up to my ‘outsideness,’ but I think it
deserves investigation.
Thanks to NetGalley for a e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
This review is crosslisted on Goodreads, Amazon, and NetGalley.
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