Monday, November 23, 2015

Eve by WM. Paul Young

For whatever reason, this book felt like I was reading it at a slight off-center angle.


Young has done very well for himself in the writing department. Starting with The Shack, then Crossroads, and now Eve his writing ability has gotten much better. He has always maintained an incredible creativity and ability to put images in your mind via words but each book has magnified this talent.

That being said, there was something off in this book. And perhaps that was the point going in. As you begin, you really have no idea what's going on truly until the very last couple pages.

You meet a group of people living on some kind of island that is positioned between worlds/realities/dimensions? I'm still not too clear on their location. They have proper names but also call each other by their roles: Collector, Scholar, Finder, Healer, etc...

One day some wreckage washes ashore and they find this girl who needs immediate, desperate care.

The rest of the story needs to be experienced. It is bizarre.

The book promos boasts about challenging the way you understand the Creation story in Genesis and I suppose it does. I mean, I found myself pondering the premise Young provides. But once the book was over, I really didn't think much about it. The main takeaway I held to was how confusing some of the parts were.

The confusion is partly explained, as I said, at the very end of the book. I found myself thinking, "Oh okay. Well THAT makes sense now" but in so far as making me rethink what I believe about the Creation story, this didn't do that.

While his writing is better, the stories have gotten worse, in my opinion.

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Battlefront: Twilight Company by Alexander Freed

They are really pushing this new Battlefront video game. And why not? Both 1 and 2 were adored and continue to be played by gamers all over the world. As a way to tie in with the game and the upcoming movie, the powers-that-be decided to roll out a novel tie-in.


This is not your typical Star Wars book. When I think of typical Star Wars, I think of the big hitters: Luke, Han, Leia. I think of lightsabers, I think of space battles, and droids.

This book felt more like the Battle: Los Angeles movie. It was gritty and put you right inside what it must feel like to be part of the ground forces. You know those troopers who get decimated in The Battle of Hoth? They all had stories and families and lives so this book is an exploration into that sort of story.

When the "superstars" of Star Wars pop in, it's very distant and rare. This isn't supposed to be a main-line story but more of a supplemental tale. Something to get you excited about the characters you'll play or destroy in the game.

Characters will be fleshed out and narratives will be written. Hopefully you'll feel invested in their lives. But if not, this is still a nice whet-your-appetite novel in the Star Wars universe.

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