When WoW Meets Real-World Religion

I used to be an avid WoW-player. I think I've mentioned that before. Something that didn't often come up while I was playing was my chosen profession. It's not that I was trying to hide the fact that I'm a pastor. It just never really came up.

One time it did, though. I think it was on a Saturday. I had a few hours to kill before a funeral, so I logged on and decided to run a dungeon with a pick-up group. We did pretty well as a team, so well that one of our members suggested that we find a different dungeon and do it again. I had to beg off, explaining that I had to go officiate at that funeral.

That killed the conversation for a moment or two, but then the guy who made the suggestion we keep going thanked me for my help and offered his condolences to the family.

I suspect if I passed those on, it might have raised some eyebrows. "Hey, some random guy on an MMORPG who I just met this morning is sorry for your loss."

There's one other story I could tell, but it'd take too long. Suffice to say, for about a year, WoW was a great game to play for me. And my wife. She played too. Not as much as me, but she did. But after a while, we realized what a time sink it had become and decided to bow out.

Well, an article I read recently made me nostalgic. A fellow LCMS pastor was interviewed about his WoW experiences. He talks about the game's lore, its content, and does a great job explaining what our little corner of Christianity is all about.

I offer it to you for your consideration.

Man, I feel the itch to play some games. Maybe I better fire up Mass Effect 2 soon so I don't go back to WoW.

World War Z

Believe it or not, I'm not big on zombies. Seriously, I'm not. I know that my current avatar on Facebook and this blog is that of me as a walking dead. That has more to do with fighting the undead with garden plants than anything else. I have never seen a zombie flick (oh, wait, I did see Shaun of the Dead) and I really don't want to.

So why on earth would I pick up World War Z by Max Brooks? To be perfectly honest, I have no idea why. I know a classmate of mine from Seminary recommended it recently. I can vaguely recall positive reviews when it first came out. So when I saw it in a stack at a local Barnes & Nobel, I took the plunge.

I am so, so, so glad that I did. I may not be a fan of the undead, but Brooks crafted a book so gripping, so wonderful, I devoured it.

Brooks has a big job on his hand: tell the story of the zombie apocalypse. A global pandemic causes the recently deceased to rise again. The shuffling masses are out for human flesh and are well nigh unstoppable. So how does an author tell such a huge story?

By created a faux oral history, the way Studs Terkel used to do. We never really get a huge, bird's eye view of the story. Instead, we see little bits and pieces of it, just enough to get a taste of how it happened. We follow a Chinese doctor as he encounters one of the first outbreaks. We see snippets of the "Great Panic," as waves of the undead destroy society. We watch people around the world try to survive and rebuild. And then we march with the world's military as they leave the safe enclaves to retake the globe.

The remarkable thing about this book is how realistic it is. Yes, I know, the dead don't rise (this side of parousia, anyway, and without divine intervention), but that's not the point. I quickly realized that as far-fetched as the central premise is, Brooks crafted realistic stories. I caught myself nodding, thinking, Yes, that is how it would be. It really struck me as I read one soldier's account of the Battle of Yonkers. Brooks obviously did his research on all manner of topics, weaving them into the accounts.

Not all of the stories resonated with me, but there were a lot that just grabbed me and wouldn't let go. I'd love to list them all, but I honestly don't think I could.

What really surprised me was that the stories, while depicting swarms of flesh-eating zombies, a horror movie staple, the book itself was not as scary as I thought it would be. Nor as gross, either. There were a few eyebrow raising details, but nothing that made me want to stop reading.

This book was awesome. It's just that simple. I don't know if it'll be for all people, but it certainly was for me.

CSFF Blog Tour: "Venom and Song" Day Three

So here we are, the final day of the tour for Venom and Song by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper. While I really enjoyed this book, there was one thing that surprised me in the middle of the book, namely the fart jokes.

Yes, you read that right.

I won't go into details (spoilers and all that), but needless to say, it completely surprised me when I realized I had read a fart joke in the middle of the book. And then there were more after it. And by the time I made it to the end, I chuckled and said, "My guess is the target audience for this book is teenage boys."

Truth be told, I wasn't sure what to make of the fart jokes at first. I can honestly say I never thought I'd type those two words in connection with Christian fiction, but here we are. But as jarring as that moment was, I think in the end I don't mind them. After all, Christians fart. We do. It might not always be pleasant, but I can't think of a single passage that says that the act or making jokes about said act are somehow sinful. It may not be in the best taste, but hey, it's a book for boys. They'll eat it up.

Just kind of took me by surprise, that's all.

Go see what the other tourists have to say:

Angela
Brandon Barr
Keanan Brand
Amy Browning
Beckie Burnham
Morgan L. Busse
Melissa Carswell
Jeff Chapman
Valerie Comer
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
D. G. D. Davidson
April Erwin
Tori Greene
Ryan Heart
Bruce Hennigan
Timothy Hicks
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Leighton
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Donita K. Paul
Sarah Sawyer
Chawna Schroeder
Tammy Shelnut
James Somers
Kathleen Smith
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Jason Waguespac
Dona Watson
Phyllis Wheeler
Jill Williamson

CSFF Blog Tour: "Venom and Song" Day Two

Yesterday I spoke a little about how tasty crow can be. I certainly had my fair share to eat, I think, after reading Venom and Song by Christopher Hopper and Wayne Thomas Batson. Many of my complaints from the first book had been answered and I found myself enjoying the story a lot more.

That's especially true of one of the questions I wound up asking myself after reading the first book: were these books Christian? When I read the first book, I was worried because, while the elves made reference to a being named "Ellos," I wondered if this God-analogue was more of a Christian MacGuffin and it left me a bit unsatisfied.

Not so anymore, for two reasons. On the one hand, it felt as if Hopper and Batson increased the Christian connection a bit more. Perhaps I was looking a bit more carefully for it, but it certainly felt that way to me.

But the other reason why emerged while I was at the recent ACFW National Conference. The keynote speaker was the very funny Tim Downs and in one of his speeches, he raised an interesting point, one that kind of shook me up. He asked the question, "Must all Christian fiction serve the same purpose?" He said that a lot of people seem to think that Christian fiction must always present the Gospel in a clear and unadulterated way, almost like there has to be a checklist for each story. Does it contain the following factors, information, or details? If not, then it's not Christian. Downs wondered how many of those checks a story had to have to truly qualify as Christian.

Building from the parable of the sower and the seeds, Downs suggested that perhaps different stories can serve different functions within Christianity. Personally, I would have gone with a slightly different Scriptural foundation, namely 1 Corinthians 3:6, but the point would remain the same: some stories plant the seeds, some water a seed already planted. Some help bring in the harvest. But they all serve the purpose of spreading the Word. And some stories, perhaps, till the soil, preparing it for the planting. These stories, while not explicit with the Word or "Christian content," still serve a purpose by arising from a Christian worldview and bringing the reader into it.

The more I've been thinking about what Downs had to say, the more I've realized what a weird, somewhat hypocritical attitude I've had in the past few years. I've been dinging books for not being "Christian" enough, while the whole time I've been loudly proclaiming that we don't need a full Gospel presentation. That attitude reared its ugly head a year ago when I read Batson and Hopper's first book in this series. I should have recognized it for what it was: a tiller book, one founded in a Christian worldview.

We need that kind of variety in Christian fiction. Some can till, some can plant, some can water, some can assist with the harvest. And all of it can fall under the broad category of "Christian fiction."

See what else the other tourists have to say:

Angela
Brandon Barr
Keanan Brand
Amy Browning
Beckie Burnham
Morgan L. Busse
Melissa Carswell
Jeff Chapman
Valerie Comer
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
D. G. D. Davidson
April Erwin
Tori Greene
Ryan Heart
Bruce Hennigan
Timothy Hicks
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Leighton
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Donita K. Paul
Sarah Sawyer
Chawna Schroeder
Tammy Shelnut
James Somers
Kathleen Smith
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Jason Waguespac
Dona Watson
Phyllis Wheeler
Jill Williamson

CSFF Blog Tour: "Venom and Song" Day One

To be perfectly honest, I was worried about this one.

When I received my free review copy of Venom and Song by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper, it dredged up some old memories. A little less than a year ago, the tour focused on Curse of the Spider King, and I remembered that while I thought the book was entertaining, I had some concerns. I wasn't too sure what I'd find this time around.

Thankfully, my fears proved unfounded. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

The story picks up where the previous book left off. The Seven Lords of Berinfell, elves who have been raised on Earth, have returned to their besieged people. The time has come for the elves to fight against the evil Spider King. But first the lords must train in their unique abilities, such as throwing fire, walking through the air, and mind reading. But the Spider King is not going to wait idly while his hated enemies rally their forces. He has prepared his defenses well and he's not going down without a fight.

As I said, I was worried going into this story but thankfully, my fears proved unfounded. I really enjoyed this book almost from the beginning. It sucked me in completely. Hopper and Batson even addressed one of the issues I worried about in the first book and did so in a believable and satisfying way.

The only complaint I had (and it was minor) was the fact that I felt a little lost as the story started. There was no real introduction, no explanation of who the characters were. We were dumped into the heat of battle, characters running everywhere, with little chance to get back up to speed. It had been a year since I read the previous book, so I wasn't sure who was who or who could do what or anything like that. For a moment, I wished for a Star Wars-like roller text, giving me the whos and wheres and stuff like that. But like I said, it's a minor gripe.

Go and see what else the tourists have to say:

Angela
Brandon Barr
Keanan Brand
Amy Browning
Beckie Burnham
Morgan L. Busse
Melissa Carswell
Jeff Chapman
Valerie Comer
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
D. G. D. Davidson
April Erwin
Tori Greene
Ryan Heart
Bruce Hennigan
Timothy Hicks
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Leighton
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Donita K. Paul
Sarah Sawyer
Chawna Schroeder
Tammy Shelnut
James Somers
Kathleen Smith
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Jason Waguespac
Dona Watson
Phyllis Wheeler
Jill Williamson

The Art of War for Writers

So one of the things that always happens when I attend the ACFW National Conference is that I come home with a small library of books in the bottom of my suitcase. Truth be told, I sometimes wish I could see the reaction of the hapless TSA agent who chooses to inspect my suitcase. I can only imagine the consternation as to why anyone would travel with close to a dozen books crammed around shoes and a toiletries bag. At any rate, this book, namely James Scott Bell's The Art of War for Writers, was one such purchase from the conference.

I've read a number of craft books and most of them focus on one or two issues at a time. Not this book. Instead, Bell seems more interested in the "big picture" of writing, the attitudes and habits and practices that aspiring authors can and should emulate. Some of it is practical advice, some of it is more philosophical encouragement, but it's all good stuff relating to how an author creates a story, captures it in print, and then goes about selling it.

Some of it is familiar. For example, another author used the pyramid illustration in #16 (although they didn't include the Wheel of Fortune at the apex of the pyramid). And I've heard a lot of these tips in conferences and in other books. But this is a refreshing, fast read that helps keep authors focused on proven ways that work. In other words, every writer, would-be or otherwise, should take a course in the art of warfare from James Scott Bell.

Wordcount Wednesday

Well, I think I've almost recovered from my weekend in Indianapolis. I was there for the annual ACFW Conference. Admittedly, as of six months ago, I was sure I wasn't going to go. But I made the trip and I'm so glad that I did.

For starters, there's all the cool people that I met, far too many to list here. Not only that, but I also reconnected with a lot of friends as well. The awards banquet in particular was a blast. We got a bunch of YA and speculative fiction authors together for what I affectionately call "the rowdy table."


Okay, so we weren't rowdy per se. Very well behaved, as a matter of fact. Although Jeff Gerke of Marcher Lord Press and I tried to hijack the banquet's live blog feed and were stopped in our nefarious plan. Oh well.


That's one of the things that makes the ACFW Conference so much fun. Reconnecting with "old" friends (like Ben Erlichman, who isn't really old in terms of age or friendship length; I only met him last year) . . .

. . . or new friends, like agent extraordinaire Amanda Luedeke.

Plus there's all the courses. I learned a ton of stuff from lots of industry professionals. And yes, I can get a little more specific than that, why do you ask? I took courses on legal pitfalls, both in the real world and writing legal scenes. I sat in on a mock publishing board meeting. Best of all, I think, was the marketing class with "the bad boy of the CBA," agent Chip MacGregor and best-selling author Jim Rubart. It was like drinking from a fire hose. But I did come away with one great thing. I think I have my brand.

If you haven't noticed by now, I'm a bit of a geek. No, it's true. You can say it. I'm well aware. Currently I have a zombie as my blog's avatar. In the past, I was a Vulcan. I blog about video games (the demo of Civilization V is downloading as I write this). I write sci-fi and fantasy (more of the former lately). I'm a liturgy nerd and a freak when it comes to Biblical history. It's who I am. I know it. I live it. It's part of who I am by the grace of God.

So I'm all about "Geeky Grace." It's who I am. It's the kind of stories I write. And I think it's my brand. An on-line friend (and, by a strange coincidence, a neighbor of mine . . . long story) actually put together a logo for me:


I've got some ideas of where to go with this, but nothing set in stone. Stay tuned, I guess.

And of course, there are the meetings and appointments with editors and agents. I primarily went to the conference to pitch Failstate, my YA superhero story (although I did talk to one editor about Numb). I was asked to send in chapters and proposals, even a few full manuscripts. The most frightening (for me) was when an agent requested a full manuscript of Failstate, but only if I can cut 30,000 words from it first. Wow. Not sure where to start there, but I'm getting out my literary chainsaw and getting to work on that soon.

In the meantime, I'm settling back into my routine here. But I am playing with the idea of writing a new short story, something that occurred to me while I was in Indianapolis. Time to get cracking.

The Muse

You know, I should probably be blogging about the recently ended ACFW National Conference. After all, I just spent four days in the city of Indianapolis, learning about writing and making some new friends and getting some great opportunities. But truth be told, I'm still processing it all. Maybe later. For now, let's talk about the book I read on my five hour layover in Milwaukee on the way home. That would be The Muse by Fred Warren.

In some ways, reading this book is a mea culpa. At one point in the Conference, I had boldly claimed I had read all of the entries for the Carol Award's speculative category this year. In actual truth, I had read all of them but one, namely this one. So while I was on that FIVE HOUR LAYOVER IN MILWAUKEE, I decided I had best rectify the situation.

Stan Marino is an author living somewhere in the environs of Minneapolis and he's stuck. He's trying to finish a fantasy book and he's run out of creative juice. So has his sci-fi writing buddy Davos and their partner in crime, the vampire romance author Jilly. They're all suffering from writers' block. But a solution is at hand, one that could very well kill them in the end.

This was a fast read. I think I burned through it in about two and a half hours. And it was a fun read too. Warren has a definite wit and zing to his writing that I appreciated. The plot was a little predictable (once all the pieces were in place, I kind of figured out what was going on and had an idea where things were going). But that didn't make the story any less enjoyable. There were plenty of surprises lurking within the pages of this book to really keep me reading.

So there we go. Bed soon. Tired from Conference. But good book under belt. Losing ability to form proper sentences with actual subjects. Bad sign.

Wordcount Wednesday

Wow. I just checked. It's been three months since I did a Wordcount Wednesday post! I know, I know, I'm awful, but I have a good reason why. I've been working on Failstate, polishing and editing and slicing and dicing and revamping and reordering and . . . well, you get the idea. And I was not slaving in the editing mines alone. The one, the only, the inimitable Sharon Hinck was toiling with me, guiding me and helping me. She helped nudge me in better directions, pointed out places where my characters didn't quite work, and generally helped me see both the strengths and weaknesses of my prose.

Now I considered continuing my Wordcount Wednesdays, but I knew that I'd be so all over the place, working on this chapter here and then that chapter there, my wordcount would fluctuate like crazy and would be too hard to track. So I put it all on hold. I didn't keep track of it at all, having no idea if my total was rising, falling, remaining stable. I knew I had cut half a dozen chapters but expanded others. It wasn't until I put the finishing touches on the final chapter that I broke out my notebook and calculator to see what the damages were.

So here we go, the moment of truth. Before I began this latest edit, Failstate clocked in at 111,885 words. I had hoped to drop a lot of those words, to at least get the count below a hundred grand. And I did it, but just barely. As of right now, Failstate is 98,743 words. So I did manage to lose 13,142 words, not as many as I hoped to, but not too bad. That final count might fluctuate a little. I don't know if I can cut much more but I'm sure I could keep tweaking. There's always room for improvement.

So what's next? I'm not too sure. One thing I do know, this Friday I'm off to the ACFW Conference in Indianapolis. I'll be doing my best to sell both Failstate and maybe even Numb. Who knows? I'll be praying for success but leaving it in God's hands because honestly, that's the best place to leave my writing career. He's got it under control. If this is my year, so be it. If not, I'll just keep working.

I'm just not sure on what . . .

Mockingjay

Well, well, well. Here we are, at the end of the road. And it's not at all what I hoped for. I placed my pre-order for Suzanne Collins's Mockingjay the minute I finished reading Catching Fire, hoping for a great conclusion, a story that ends with a major bang. Instead, I got a confused and somewhat muddled mess.

District 12 is no more. The Capitol has firebombed it into oblivion. Katniss Everdeen, the Girl Who Was On Fire, and what few refugees are left, have sought refuge in District 13, the home of a colossal war machine that is bent on overthrowing the vicious President Snow and his cruel government. But what role will Katniss play in the upcoming rebellion? Well, it's obvious that the rebel leadership wants her to be the Mockingjay, the symbol of defiance, a rallying point to bring the other Districts in line. But can Katniss truly find herself in this role? And what will happen when she's finally reunited with Peeta, her partner from the Hunger Games?

To be fair, there was a lot riding on this last book. The first two were so excellent and so gripping, Collins set a very high bar for herself. Sadly, she didn't reach it. The plot and character development meander quite a bit through the story as Katniss finds her place and her voice in the rebellion. There are parts that sparkle and I was left wondering what was going to happen with the whole Katniss-Gale-Peeta love triangle. But sadly, when I finished the book, I was left feeling . . . well, a bit empty. Not at all satisfied.

Now granted, I only finished reading the book about twelve hours ago, so I haven't had a lot of time to analyze what I've read and why I'm feeling so disappointed. But I have some preliminary thoughts I'd like to share.

First of all, there's what the book lacked: another Game. That's what truly made the first two books so special, the idea of the Districts sending their children into the Hunger Games. I was riveted through what happened to Katniss in the first book. When I read the second, I wondered how Collins would incorporate this unique concept again, hence why I was fascinated by the Quarter Quell, how similar and yet different it was from Katniss's first trip into the arena.

Collins doesn't send anyone into the Games this time. She does try to paint the on-going rebellion as a "Games-in-real-life" kind of thing by having Katniss followed around by a camera crew, but it's not the same. It's not even close. So there's the first problem: one of the things that made Collins's book so unique was missing.

Second, there's the focus. Collins seemed more interested in what was going on around Katniss than in Katniss and her emotional journey. When Peeta and Katniss were reunited, I was at first thrilled and then crushed (no spoilers here, I hope) but then Peeta faded into the background, barely registering. The same thing happens to Gale throughout the book. He's little more than an aggressive, war-mongering sidekick with no real emotional entanglement. Part of the zing of the first two books was the whole "love triangle" with Katniss, Peeta, and Gale. And even though the question is resolved in the end, it was done in such a haphazard way it didn't really feel like a resolution. Katniss didn't earn a resolution or even marginally participate in one. Instead, Collins just told us what the resolution was with very little build up or logic to it, especially given what happened to all the characters in the book.

Third, there's the sprinting. It almost feels as though Collins had a wordcount limit she couldn't exceed. She meandered through the rest of the book and, once the war was resolved, she realized she didn't nearly have enough space to finish the disparate story threads and do justice to them. But rather than go back and do some cutting, she simply sprinted through to the ending, skimming over major developments that, in my not-so-humble opinion, deserved deeper treatment. Once again, the resolution to the love triangle. Given how central that was to the first two books, it deserved to be featured a lot more and have at least a couple of chapters dedicated to its eventual resolution so we understand why Katniss does what she does and how she comes to her final conclusions.

All in all, it was an okay book. I really wish it could have been better, because I think Katniss deserved better given all that she's been through.

Gods of Asgard

So recently, I was at the Great Minnesota Get-Together to see Weird Al Yankovic in concert and I had a little time to kill. So I headed over to the Heritage Square to look at the crafty vendors and see what they were selling. In one little shop, I spotted a graphic novel called Gods of Asgard by Erik Evensen. I flipped through it for a moment or two but put it back. Then, after heading out to look at other vendors, I came back and bought the book.

See, I'm familiar with Greek mythology. I've even read some Egyptian mythology in the past. But I'm not all that familiar with Norse mythology. Sure, I've read a Christian novel in the past few years that baptized aspects of Norse mythology. I've heard the term "Ragnarok" used at different times. There's an Odin, Thor, and Loki in Starcraft II. And, of course, there's the big Marvel blockbuster coming out next year. But I don't know much about the source material. I figured a graphic novel interpretation might be a good introduction tot he larger myths. Hence my purchase. And while I've flipped through the book occasionally since buying it, I didn't have a chance to sit down and read it until now.

By and large, the book did what it's supposed to do. Evensen's art is decent (although I'm not the best judge; I'm not that artistic, nor am I a connoisseur of comic book art). The stories are told crisply and simply with little explanation. In some notes at the end of the book, he explained that he chose to portray the gods and goddesses of Asgard as being very human, dressed simply, with little ornamentation to their costumes or residences. It worked quite well, especially given their all-too-human escapades. I especially appreciated the notes that Evensen included at the end, which explained some of his interpretive choices.

What frustrates me, though, is Loki. This is not Evensen's fault. It would appear that Loki's character underwent something of an evolution in Norse folklore, going from tricky blood brother of Odin to really mean and nasty jerk, the instigator of most of the gods' troubles. There's little explanation as to what changed and why he would suddenly help in the murder of Balder. I realize that Evensen, staying true to the source material, did his best but in terms of craft, the transition is jarring and perplexing. It makes me wonder what happened "behind the scenes" in terms of story to help explain why Loki changed so drastically. It also makes me wonder what kind of societal change brought about Loki's transformation within the Norse religion. Evensen mentions that some scholars think that the Norse concept of Ragnarok, the final battle between the gods and their enemies (aided and led by Loki, it would seem) was somehow influenced by Christianity and our concept of Armageddon. Evensen doesn't believe that to be true, but if it were, I wonder if the Norsemen hearing about a different "father of lies" started to merge Satan with Loki.

That's just a guess; I have no idea if that's true. In the end, Evensen's book was a good introduction but it's raised more questions for me. I may have to track down some more books and do some more reading, if only to see if I can figure out what Loki's problem is.

It's A Trap!

Okay, I'm a huge nerd and a Star Wars fan, but come on. Ackbar? Really?

Evil Genius

So how much effort should eight dollars actually earn?

I just got finished reading Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks and, I've got to say, I think I came out short in terms of the whole money spent to effort put out (by me) ratio. To put it bluntly, this book was horrible.

In theory, this should be a good story. At an early age, Cadel Piggott discovers an interesting truth about himself: he's actually the son of the infamous Dr. Darkkon, a mad genius bent on world domination. Cadel, it turns out, has inherited his dad's impressive intellect, especially when it comes to computers and complex systems. In his tween years, Cadel uses his genius to cause traffic jams and train delays. As he enters his teenage years, he's skipped ahead through high school, where he begins to study human interactions. And finally, at the age of thirteen, he attends a special university, the Axis Institute. This is an institution of higher education where the students study such courses in Forgery, Embezzlement, Misinformation, and Pure Evil, which are taught by some of the greatest criminal minds the world knows. In short, it's a college where the students are being trained to be supervillains.

Awesome, right? Sort of an evil Hogwarts. But as great as the basic premise is, Jinks botches the delivery almost completely.

For starters, there's Cadel. For at least the first half of the book, Cadel doesn't have any sort of ambition for himself, by which I mean he has no long-term goals. He doesn't actually want anything in terms of the "big pictures." As a result, he just sort of drifts through life, pushed this way and that by Dr. Darkkon and the doc's henchman, Dr. Thaddeus Roth. They basically dictate what Cadel will do and when he will do it. They suggest he try some new nefarious scheme; Cadel obediently does so. He's spineless. He's a sponge. He's not very interesting. He doesn't really develop any "big picture" desires until 250 pages into the book. That's half of the story! If I hadn't actually paid for this book, I probably would have stopped reading long before Cadel becomes . . . well, a person.

More problematic is the fact that there doesn't seem to be an overall plot to this book at all. There's just a bunch of random happenings in Cadel's life as he grows up and goes to the Axis Institute. Now, to be fair, I got the idea that there was something bigger happening behind the scenes at Axis, something about a plague kept in a vial (I think). And apparently Darkkon had some sort of ulterior motive in staffing the Institute that's never really made clear (until one guy comes out and states it after it's all said and done). But these plots never really seem to intersect with Cadel in a meaningful way. He just notices little corners of them from time to time before he drifts off to another boring part of his existence.

What really frustrated me was how vague Jinks was at times about Cadel's actions. For example, at one point, Cadel decides he needs to take revenge on his high school classmates before they graduate. Why is never really explained. And we're told that he does a lot of planning for it. And we're told in a single sentence that Cadel succeeds in his revenge. But we're never shown how he accomplished this or what, exactly, he hoped to accomplish by doing what he does. In short, there are big holes in this book.

In short, this was a waste of my time and money. Seriously. I know that there's a sequel coming out (or maybe it already has, I don't know). No way am I going to waste any more on Cadel Piggott. He's sucked up too much from me already.