Nightmare by Robin Parrish

Robin Parrish delivers another ace with Nightmare.

I love how Parrish is not a one-hit wonder. Say you're into Koontz or Dekker; you're pretty much guaranteed a cookie-cutter story with some interesting twist.

Not so with this guy.

He gave us a superhero trilogy that reignited the passion for heroes. These were Relentless, Fearless and Merciless. Merciless has the best final battle story of anything I have ever read.

 Next we were given the NASA version of LOST with its mysterious disappearances and answers-that-led-to-questions in Offworld.

For this latest outing, Parrish gives us a glimpse into paranormal activity:

There's a new theme park called Ghost Town which promises to offer guests a real-life encounter with a ghost. Maia Peters, the daughter of ghost hunters, gives the theme park a try. While in a haunted house, she hears the voice of Jordin Cole - a friend who's been missing for a year.

Nightmare is divided into two parts: you get the story of Maia and Jordin traveling the world, hunting ghosts, a year ago and you also follow Maia and Jordin's boyfriend as they attempt to find Jordin in the current day.

Parrish keeps the mystery alive in both storylines in that you'll be forced to read this book in one sitting.

Featuring authentic haunted places as locations and believable paranormal encounters, a lack of sleep is almost guaranteed once you open the pages.

This book is the perfect companion to the movie, Paranormal Activity.



This book was provided for review by Bethany House Publishing

A Peace Reader edited by E. Morris Sider & Luke Keefer Jr.

Reading essays about peace will get the controversial juices flowing. A Peace Reader covers a wide variety of issues pertaining to peace.

Sider and Keefer have copied and pasted a number of essays that deal with peace and the church. Some of these essays include topics such as:

Peace in the Old and New Testaments
The Politics of Jesus
Does the New Testament Sanction War?
A Statement on Militarism
The Military Chaplaincy
Peacemaking in the Family
Peacemaking and Economics
Allegiance and Rebellion
Peace Breaks Out in the Middle East
September 11 and the Just War Theory

and many others.

If you're looking for a number of examples defending the peace position or just want to beef up some of your own arguments, A Peace Reader may be what you're looking for.

The Believers' Church by Donald F. Durnbaugh

I can't begin to tell you how bad this book was for me...but I guess I'll try. The Believers' Church is a history book on the character of radical protestantism. And if that subtitle doesn't put you to sleep, then the first 20 pages will surely accomplish that.

Durnbaugh wants to inform his readers about how the protestant church came about and the branches thereof. John Yoder calls this book, "A classic" and I guess I would agree with him if by classic he means a book that is not enjoyable to read.

This book is divided into 3 parts: The Concept of the Believers' Church, The History of the Believers' Church, and The Character of the Believers' Church.

The last part would have to be the most enjoyable for me (and that really isn't saying a lot). In The Character of the Believers' Church, Durnbaugh dives into Mission, Evangelism, Church & State and other areas of minor interest.

The rest of the book is an entire bore.

He Said. She Said. by Jay and Laura Laffoon

This book will provide 8 powerful phrases to strengthen your marriage. The Laffoon's have created another marriage-saver book for Christians.

In He Said. She Said, you will discover the points of view from both husbands and wives with each party including their thoughts for each chapter.

These phrases are:

She needs to hear "I Love you"
He needs to hear "I'm Proud of You"
She needs to hear "I Respect You"
He needs to hear "I Need (blank) from You"
She needs to hear "I Desire You"
He needs to hear "I Want You"
She needs to hear "I Cherish You"
He needs to hear "I Believe in You"

I don't know what to say when our Christian culture has such a strong need for books explaining how to have a successful marriage. It seems as if these phrases are so simple and common sense things that you would take for granted; perhaps you assume this is wired into people's brains but, as the high divorce rate proves, even Christians are in need of something to survive marriage.

I appreciated the author's candor. You will not find two people who are afraid to spell their ideas out for you. They aren't afraid to tackle the touchy topics either.

While it may seem easy to skip right to the "sex" chapters, I would recommend every couple read this book together and actually progress through the discussion topics at the end of each chapter.


This book was provided for review by BakerBooks Publishing.

After You Believe by N.T. Wright

N.T.Wright's work usually takes me a few months to chew through. After You Believe took me much longer.

His writing style is chock-full of meaty ideas that you can't calmly skim through a book by Wright. And being a British Bishop adds to the layers of complications.

After You Believe is the 3rd book of a trilogy. First there was Simply Christian which dealt with why Christianity made sense, second came Surprised by Hope which touched on heaven, and the resurrection.

After You Believe answers the question: once you become a Christian, what do you do? This is Wright's version of human Virtue.

With 8 chapters, N.T. Wright uses his typical style of building each chapter on top of the previous chapter's idea.

1. What Am I Here For?
2. The Transformation of Character
3. Priests and Rulers
4. The Kingdom Coming and the People Prepared
5. Transformed by the Renewal of the Mind
6. Three Virtues, Nine Varieties of Fruit, and One Body
7. Virtue in Action: The Royal Priesthood
8. The Virtuous Circle

Wright is never without extensive biblical examples and exegesis. You will put this book down feeling as if you've sat through a summer's worth of sermons. For those of us who enjoy fleshing out our theology, this book is worth the read.




This book was provided for review by HarperOne Publishing

Anatomy of the Soul by Curt Thompson M.D.

I was confused when reading this book. I thought Anatomy of the Soul was going to use science to explain the soul.

This was not the case.

Supposedly, by reading this book you will learn of surprising connections between neuroscience and spiritual practices that can transform your life and relationships.

In short, it's a book on how to better your relationships with some Scripture thrown in.

The chapters deal with understanding what it means to be known by God instead of only knowing God, loving the Lord with all our minds and what that means, and many others.

This book was not for me. After the first chapter, I was not engaged at all. By chapter two, I didn't want to learn about the connection promoted by Dr Thompson.

This is too bad, because I was excited when I saw the title and cover of this book.


This book was provided for review by Tyndale Publishing.

Everyone Communicates Few Connect by John Maxwell

New York Times best-selling author, John Maxwell has released his latest work on connecting. Everyone Communicates Few Connect is a 250 page instruction/inspirational guide.

Divided into 2 parts: Connecting Principles and Connecting Practices, you will learn what it takes to connect with people in three different levels.

One-on-one
In a group
With an audience

These three sections finish up each chapter with ideas that will increase your connection ability in each setting.

Within these pages you'll learn that connecting is all about others, it goes beyond words, it requires energy.

Maxwell teaches that connectors keep things simple, they create an enjoyable experience, the inspire people, and live what they say.

As with all of his books, John Maxwell includes a number of quotes and anecdotes to help begin your journey to better connection with people.

Something new with this book is an insider's view of how John Maxwell connects. You get to hear from the man who actually takes Maxwell's ideas and turns them into a book. Does it surprise you that he doesn't write the books himself? Maxwell is a speaker and what works well verbally doesn't come across on the written page.

This is another fine addition to the Maxwell library.


This book was provided for review by Thomas Nelson Publishing

Green Mama by Tracey Bianchi

Want to have a guide to help you be guilt-free? You may want to check out Green Mama by Tracey Bianchi.

Each chapter is devoted to how you can help "go green" as a parent with children creating chaos in your home. Yes it is possible to be environmentally friendly and raise kids.

At the end of each chapter are resources and tips in how you can practically go green. Bianchi calls these Green Steps.

I must confess that I tended to skip past what she wrote in order to read the steps at the end of each chapter.

You'll learn how to start small by taking baby steps toward your new greeness, and how to select certain types of material used in clothing. Ever heard of stainless steel sippy cups?

I think the biggest obstacle for a parent to go green is the labor that it would take to make these changes. It's just so much easier to purchase stuff from Wal Mart or Sams.

I loved the resources that this book packs. If nothing else, it's a good place to start and begin doing your own research in what you can do.


This book was provided for review by Zondervan Publishing

Iron Man 2

With this review of Iron Man 2, I have seen the film twice in theaters.

The sequel is following in the steps of recent blockbuster sequels in that it has so many storylines to follow. (even though the director mentioned they wanted to keep things simple)

While not as complex as Batman Begins, Iron Man 2 is full of new characters and actions scenes. The additional action scenes are a warm welcome to the lack from the first film while some of the new characters were a painful need.

Robert Downey Jr returns as Tony Stark/Iron Man. With fame all around, Stark must deal with his mortality as the power source in his chest is slowly poisoning him to death.

Don Cheadle fills in as Col. Rhodes. I like this actor switch. Cheadle brings a weight that "that other guy" missed. In this film, we get to see War Machine in his full glory: guns blazing and heavy duty explosions.

Scarlett Johansson star as Black Widow even though they never use this name in the film. She is part of SHIELD and is tasked with keeping an eye on Stark. She has a dizzying fight scene near the end of the film.

In fact, if the entire movie had the thrill of the last few minutes, this movie would be truly epic.

Gwyneth Paltrow returns as Pepper Potts and is given the job as Stark Industry CEO. The quick banter between Potts and Stark returns but their chemistry is on the short side (once again victim of too many new characters)

Sam Rockwell plays Tony Stark's main business rival. I suppose you could call him a villain but he just wanted to be the country's main source of weapons. I think there was too much Rockwell in this movie...too much not-funny Rockwell.

Mickey Rourke is the main villain in Iron Man 2. He's on a vengeance kick against Stark because of some bad family blood with their respected fathers. I still don't get why this guy is seen as such a good actor.

Samuel L Jackson returns as Nick Fury. At this point every character is Jackson regardless of the character's name. Supposedly Jackson got the studio to contract him into 9 films in order to be in this film. Ego much?

Iron Man 2 doesn't quick live up to the hype but it was some big hype. The final battle scenes make the entire movie. It seems as if Jon Favreau took the criticism from the first movie (poor final battle) and upped the octane.


I will be adding this film to the DVD collection.

Frenzy by Robert Liparulo

The Dreamhouse Kings saga has reached its climax in Frenzy.

I have enjoyed this series since the beginning. It had the feel of Lost in which answers create questions and a story arc that is sweeping in grandeur.

Having read Liparulo's adult fiction, I think he has a fantastic grasp of Young Adult novel writing and how attracts the attention of people all over the age spectrum.

These books aren't just for teenagers, adults love them just as much and will get almost the same thing out of reading them.

Frenzy closes the first major storyline in the saga of the King family. (Liparulo has stated that there will be further adventures in the house) From the first book, the King mother was kidnapped and taken into a doorway that led to another time and place. With each book that followed, the King family entered these special doorways in order to find and rescue their mother.

Along the way, they make discoveries about themselves and as a family and how they are tied to this bizarre house.

These books are like potato chips: you can't read just one and be done. There is absolutely no way that if you start reading this series, you will not finish.

Start with House of Dark Shadows and become family friends with The Dreamhouse Kings.


This book was provided for review by Thomas Nelson Publishing.

The Myth of a Christian Nation by Gregory A. Boyd

With the decline of Christian influence in The United States, I thought Gregory Boyd's The Myth of a Christian Nation would be an appropriate read. Turns out, Boyd has some very intriguing arguments.

He begins by stating that every kingdom in this world is actually a kingdom ruled by Satan. Even though some kingdoms appear to be "better" than others: say America compared to North Korea, they are all far from Kingdom of God.

In every kingdom now, everything is about "power over" - what you must do to get ahead and higher in the powerchain while God's kingdom is about power under: serving.

Boyd then talks about this idea that Christians need to "take America back for God" as if there was a time when America was actually God's country. He points to the invasion and destruction of the Native Americans, the Civil War, and the treatment of African Americans and asks, "When was America a godly country?"

This book takes a strong look at how some Christians have aligned themselves to a political power in order to change the heart of the country as if making laws will cause people to turn to Christ. If you look at the past 8 or 10 years, you'll notice that some in the Christian community have sold their "birthright" and have become zealots for a power of this world that is the complete opposite of what Jesus brought about.

Whatever your political stance is, this book will enhance your thought process on how to live Kingdom of God values.

This is a great book!


This book was provided for review by Zondervan Publishing.

A Praying Congregation by Jane E. Vennard

Want to learn the art of teaching spiritual practice? Jane Vennard has created a book designed to assist leaders in teaching their congregations the art of prayer.

A Praying Congregation includes practical tips for group study as well as Vennard's personal journey through prayer.

You'll read about how to create a safe environment in which people can talk about prayer: their stereotypes, fears and personal experiences. You'll learn how to listen respectfully even if you don't agree with another opinion.

Later in the book, Vennard unpacks different beliefs on prayer and how our image of God skews our prayer times.

Finally she dives into the many types of prayer: Intercessory, Body, Musical Centering and more.

There was only one area in this book that raised a red flag of worry. Vennard believes in Panentheism. This is where one believes God is with us as well as beyond us, that He empowers us rather than is all powerful. She goes into more detail in the book, but I was left scratching my head as to what I believe about God and His involvement in answering prayer.



This book was provided for review by The Alban Institute.