Friday, October 16, 2015

A.D. 33 by Ted Dekker

The sequel to the New York Times Bestseller A.D. 30 has arrived and we follow the "Outcast Queen" Maviah two years after the events of the first book.


She has amassed a great following. She has an adopted son and her bodyguard/love of her life, Judah, is in chains by the villain.

A rescue operation is in order, fails, and a new operation must be taken. How far will Dekker twist your heart before offering release?

It is fun to journey in the deserts of the Ancient Middle East as Dekker weaves the words. The chance to witness certain biblical characters from a new perspective was enjoyable as well. Maviah brings us into the courts of some of the more powerful and it is a profound shift from the typical Bible re-tellings.

I had struggled a little with fully investing with A.D. 30 and that might simply be because I am not a huge fan of historical fiction. With this second book, I had become more familiar with the characters which made the jump easier.

The writing is fantastic...until the finale (and I'll get to that). You will find yourself gripping the book as Maviah goes through her step-by-step spiritual renewal. And because it's Dekker, you should know that he's exploring the questions that most of us have asked/are asking ourselves. This was an aspect of the book that I really sunk my teeth into: the whole theme of identity and how Christians tend to forget Jesus' new reality while surrounded by the world.

The slight turn off for me was the fact that I've read Ted's exploration of that theme in, at least, the last five books; Hacker, Water Walker, Eyes Wide Open, Outlaw, Sovereign, and you could even toss in Saint. These all deal with forgetting your true identity in Jesus.

And this isn't completely bad. Those are all terrific stories. I have them all and reread them all the time. I think it's a powerful theme and I understand (at least I think I understand) Ted's wanting to fully explore it in as many ways as he can. My opinion is I think he best explored it in the Eyes Wide Open trilogy. I felt those three books explored the idea of identity better than these A.D. books have.

But how in the world can I complain about a book about Jesus?

The Jesus parts of these books are good. How Ted brings us inside from a new perspective is terrific! It was refreshing and added some organic tissue to Jesus that one might not read from the Bible.

Having said that: I still think he did a better job at unfolding how people struggle with their identity through the characters of his previous books.

Now about the finale...at around chapter thirty you will not be able to close the book. You will be sucked in and committed to the very last page. This author, Master Ted Dekker, tightens those screws and my heart was literally beating harder because I thought for sure I knew what was coming.

And I was really looking forward to reading how Ted would have Maviah respond to such a real-life situation. As people in real-life wrestle with how to worship such a God who could allow such a thing to happen.

I was all ready for it and super excited to read how it resolved.

But instead, we get a note. A one note song that is the answer. I hope that isn't too much of a spoiler but when it happened and what happened afterwards, I shook my head. I shook my head until the book was over.

I felt completely let down. How unrealistic; a maximum cop-out.

It was almost enough to ruin everything that came before. So, for me, this book was okay. Great story, wonderful theme, cop out ending.

This book was provided for review, at no cost, by Center Street Publishing.


Thursday, October 8, 2015

Star Wars: Lost Stars by Claudia Gray

When a trend hits hard, look no further than Disney to plug its stuff into it. Thus we get the Young Adult novel, Star Wars: Lost Stars.


This book feels like Twilight mixed with the movie Starship Troopers. You follow Ciena Ree and Thane Kyrell as they go from childhood friends to Imperial Academy Cadets to adulthood. The budding romance and conflicting morals impact them when they decide to follow separate paths: Kyrell joins the Rebellion while Ree stays with the Empire.

Oh the emotional angst that pulses throughout the story.

With all that, this is still quite the enjoyable rush through the good Star Wars films (A New Hope to Return of the Jedi). It had the feeling of the Star Wars themed Phineas and Ferb episode where the characters are on a parallel journey. The plot points weave in and out of some of the major points from the films - you are on the Star Destroyer that captures Princess Leia, you are on the Death Star when the Falcon is trapped, you fly through the battle of Hoth, etc...those moments were very fun to read.

The second pay off is at the end when you are witness to a bit of the Battle of Jakku which is the desert moments from The Force Awakens trailer. It sets the stage for the next movie which was incredible to read.

I enjoyed the characters. Like Starship Troopers, it felt like you were along the ride as they matured and experienced the academy. The teenage hormonal moments were alright -it didn't pull me out of the Star Wars universe.

And the cameos of familiar faces was a nice touch too.

This was simply a fun Star Wars read.

Thursday, October 1, 2015

America the Strong by William Bennett

Excellent!


Don't read that word and assume this is more of the same conservative fire-brand, insulting political dogma. William Bennett writes another book about the basic ideals of Conservatism.

Everyone ought to read this book - Republican and Democrat. This is how you write a book outlining your values and how you see them impacting the country for good.

We don't need smear attack books. We don't need the name-calling jib-jabs. We need substance and civil discourse and this book is a step in the right direction.

Put this in a classroom and have them read this and a book on Liberalism of the same caliber and you will have a discussion that is informative, entertaining, and honorable.

Oh how I wish all political books were written like this. Oh how I wish political talking heads would be civil. I'll keep my eyes open for the Democrat version of this book for balance but I have to say, the areas that were covered in this book and the way in which Bennett and Cribb explain how they are to be engaged will make you feel good once again.

We need this book in your hands today!

This book was provided for review, at no cost, by Tyndale Publishing.

J by Howard Jacobson

What in the world did I just put my brain through?


This is my exact thought upon finishing this book. I picked this book because of the eye-catching statements of praise from amazon but upon reading the first chapter, most will discover they are in for a hike through molasses.

Or perhaps some thick mud that drips down into your boots as you try to trudge your way through to some solid ground.

I'm fairly certain about what I was reading. I get that some horrific event happened and society has decided to creatively do away with their collective memory. I also think I understand that Jacobson wanted to speak on some of our crazy societal things. But I don't think this work of fiction was the best route to go.

Each page brings difficulty in finishing. It will take you a few day's worth of reading to get used to the style of writing - if you can ever get used to it.

Then you have the characters that I don't think were written to be engaging. I think the purpose was the philosophical drive behind the story. The characters were there to put flesh to the idea but the flesh is hardly there.

I'm sure there are people who absolutely adore this kind of writing and that is obvious as this was almost an award winner and Jacobson has written award-winning stuff right?

This just did not work for me. Not enjoyable at all. Perhaps when I'm old and alone on a cold and rainy October, I'll read this again - to see if it's doable.

This book was provided for review, at no cost, by Hogarth Publishing.