Why We're Here

A few friends were sharing this on Facebook and I decided to go one better. Maybe you're not familiar with the charm of the Twin Cities, but this kind of explains why we stay (although now that we're facing another snowstorm in a record setting winter, I'm kind of wondering why myself):

Ex-Heroes

So a few weeks ago, I was poking around Amazon looking for superhero novels. I was surprised at how many there actually were out there. But one that caught my attention was Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines. It's a zombies vs. superheroes mash-up novel, an interesting combination, so I had the thing beamed to my Kindle (is that the right term? Zapped? Downloaded?). And I'm really glad that I did.

It's the zombie apocalypse and one band of survivors in Los Angeles have settled in a former movie studio lot, watched over by some of the last superheroes in the city. There's Saint George, who is impervious and spits fire. There's Gorgon, who has vampiric vision. There's Zzzap, a living electrical storm. And organizing them all is Stealth, an enigmatic woman who never shows her face. It's not paradise, but they're making it.

But all is not well in the fallen City of Angels. A new force is mustering outside the studio walls, one that threatens to tear their sanctuary apart, especially since it will reveal a dark secret one of the heroes has been keeping this whole time.

This was a fun read. Clines's heroes are all original and vibrant. It's easy to see that he's given a lot of thought into how people could survive a zombie apocalypse. Clines kept up the pace throughout, intermixing the present storyline with "flashbacks" in the heroes' own voices. There were only a few places where the plot seemed to drag, simply because of extended fight scenes.

If I have any gripes, there are two and they're small ones. I didn't like the flashback chapter for Cairax, one of the heroes. While the other flashback chapters were stories told in first person, Cairax's chapter was a conversation with another character. Don't get me wrong, it was well done, but it stood out since it was so different.

My second gripe had to do with the way Clines used one character in the final battle. It seems to me he had a pretty massive deus ex machina up his sleeve that he sort of used once and could have conceivably used two other times. I don't understand why he didn't. It would have ended the battle a whole lot quicker, I would think. Unfortunately, there was no explanation given why it wouldn't have worked.

But none of that diminished my enjoyment of this book. Definitely a fun read.

You Might Be a Zombie and Other Bad News

Several months ago, I discovered the Cracked website, which has some really fascinating, sometimes incredible vulgar, and always hilarious articles. Seriously, this website is treasure trove of obscure facts and bizarre stories and is a great way to waste time. Trust me.

So I decided to take the plunge when the editors of said website put out You Might Be a Zombie and Other Bad News. In this book, they've collected dozens of articles from their website and put them all in book form.

Some of these I already read on-line. Some of them didn't hold my interest. But some of the articles are bizarre and thought-provoking. There is a lot of unsanctified language in this book, just a warning, but it still will give you some new information to chew on.

Ryan vs. Brandon 2

Better tighten up your jaw, folks, lest your mouth drop open to dangerous levels. Don't say I didn't warn you.




Ummmmmmm . . . wow?

Oh, and if you want the full effect, just click on the link. It's worth it.

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy

Before I read Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas, my path had crossed with Dietrich Bonhoeffer only a few times. I had to read some of his writings in the seminary. I read a stage play based on his life. Then a few years ago, a Lutheran group put out a movie that dramatized his life. And yet all I could really tell you when it was all done was that Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran pastor involved in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler.

When I saw Metaxas's new biography, I had this feeling I needed to read this book. I wanted to understand Bonhoeffer better. And I am so glad I read this book.

Metaxas laid out Bonhoeffer's life, giving us a glimpse into his family life as a child, his educational experience, his meteoric rise, his many journeys, and finally, his eventual stand against the Third Reich. Through the whole thing, Metaxas offers us Bonhoeffer's own words, his experiences, his thoughts. I came to appreciate Bonhoeffer, especially for his thoughts on cheap grace, certainly something that a lot of modern Christians need to wrestle with.

I also appreciated the detail that Metaxas went into concerning Hitler's rise and the inner workings of the Reich, especially as it pertained to the German Christian church.

In the end, I have new appreciation for Bonhoeffer, enough that I'm thinking I have to pull down some of his books off my bookshelf and read them with new eyes.

CSFF Blog Tour: "Dragons of the Valley"

So here we are once again, gentle tourists, taking a peek at another book from the realm of Christian speculative fiction. And once again, we have an offering from the grand dame of Christian speculative fiction, namely Donita K. Paul and her latest book, Dragons of the Valley.

Once again, we find ourselves in prequel mode, following a series of adventures that took place before the events of Paul's original DragonKeeper books. Once again, the statues that make up Trio of Elements are in danger and so our bold heroes spirit them away to safety. But even with the powerful statues hidden, things are not well in the kingdom of Chiril, for their neighbors, the Baardackians, are infiltrating Chiril and seem intent on conquering them. That would be bad enough, but they have apparently hired a creature known as the Grawl, a terrible man-beast that could spell Chiril's doom. Can the Wizard Fenworth, Tipper Schope, the newly minted Paladin, and all of their friends and allies turn back the tide? Or will Chiril fall to pieces and with it, the rest of Wulder's world?

For the most part, I enjoyed this book. There's a lot of adventure and derring-do, set in Paul's absolutely delightful world. I simply can't get enough of the rich detail and history that she's worked into this, especially with the minor dragons and their abilities, the different high and low races. All together, it's a fantastic work of art.

I also loved Lady Peg's conversations with Groddenmitersay. Awesome stuff. Actually, any time Lady Peg opened her mouth was fun. And I also liked the way that Paladin has been growing into his new role. Very cool to see that also.

That said, there were a few minor trifles that bugged me, possibly just a matter of opinion. Three in particular stand out.

For starters, we got dumped into the story so quickly, I had a hard time regaining my bearings. I'm not entirely sure that this story can stand alone on its own. One probably should read The Vanishing Sculptor first to understand the relationships between the characters and what the Trio of Elements even is. Since it's been a while since I read the first book, I was a little lost as I read this one. Not a big deal, I suppose, but it was a little daunting.

Second, the romantic subplot seemed a little tacked on. Or rather, the end to it did. I liked the fact that Tipper seemed to be in a sort of love triangle and it added some zest to the story, but it all got resolved too quickly at the end.

And actually, that brings up the third thing as well. The whole story seemed to get tied up in a neat little bow too quickly. One minute, the Baardackians have overrun Chiril, the next minute, they're pretty much smashed into splinters. I don't know. It just seemed too quick to me.

Well, that's about all I have. I know usually I post for three days but I don't think I have it in me this time around. Be sure to check out what the other tourists have to say about this great book:

Gillian Adams
Noah Arsenault
Amy Bissell
Red Bissell
Justin Boyer
Keanan Brand
Grace Bridges
Beckie Burnham
Keanan Brand
Morgan L. Busse
CSFF Blog Tour
Amy Cruson
D. G. D. Davidson
April Erwin
Amber French
Andrea Graham
Katie Hart
Ryan Heart
Bruce Hennigan
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Dawn King
Emily LaVigne
Shannon McDermott
Matt Mikalatos
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Joan Nienhuis
Donita K. Paul
Sarah Sawyer
Chawna Schroeder
Tammy Shelnut
Kathleen Smith
James Somers
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Dave Wilson

The Force Unleased II

Okay, so let's talk The Force Unleashed II. I received this game for Christmas, the PC version, and today, I was able to finish my first play-through.

When last we saw Starkiller, Darth Vader's secret apprentice, he was . . . well, dead. At least, he was if you played the first game and chose the light side path (which, since this is a Star Wars game, should always be considered the "canonical" ending). So Vader goes to Kamino, the same place that the clone troopers from the prequels were ginned up. He clones Starkiller to mop up the Rebellion, only to have the clone break free and escape. He wants to find Captain Juno Eclipse, his . . . well, I guess his romantic interest (although they never really built on that in the first game). This chase brings him all across the galaxy until he finally has to return to where it all started and face Darth Vader again.

If you're a long-time reader of my blog, you know I had buyer's remorse, so to speak, with the original game. Well, some of that surfaced with this one too. There were odd graphical bugs that popped up from time to time (such as scenery appearing out of nowhere or Darth Vader disappearing during the climactic fight). Thankfully there were no real issues with the sound.

When the game was working (which, admittedly, was most of the time) it was very pretty. You could tell that the artists had spent a lot of time on the scenery and so on. The first time I took out a jump trooper I smiled, simply because it was so funny to watch them sail around the level, out of control. So graphically, I guess the game was about average.

In terms of controls, I had to re-jigger them a little (an issue with my mouse that shouldn't affect most people). My one complaint with the natural key-bindings was that it was too easy to "lock" Starkiller onto a target when I was really trying to use Force lightning. That led to a few times when I had to restart a level because I couldn't face the person beating me up.

As far as the gameplay itself, the game suffered a little. You have the usual plethora of stormtroopers (not nearly as diverse as the original) along with some droids and Force adepts. The problem is the sheer repetition of the opponents. Toward the end, I had figured out everyone's Achilles heel and there wasn't much challenge to it.

What really made me cringe was the story. In some ways, the game was too short. I've read one review that said the game felt more like an expansion pack to the original and in some ways, that criticism is valid. But what really got me was the ending of the story.

Relax, no spoilers here. But let's just say that I had a hard time believing what happened in the light side ending, especially with Juno. There, that's all I dare say. Play through the game yourself if you want to see what I mean. But maybe wait until the price comes down first.

At the Queen's Command

I hate to admit, I was a bit hesitant to read this one.

Let me explain. I first discovered the writing of Michael Stackpole for a while now. Admittedly, I discovered his Star Wars novels first (and to this day, I still maintain that he's the best Star Wars author out there; sorry, Timothy Zahn), but then I discovered his other books and thoroughly enjoyed them. All of them except his last books, namely his Age of Discovery trilogy, which fell a little flat for me. So when I saw At the Queen's Command, I was anxious to read to it but still, just a little worried.

It turns out I didn't have to worry all that much. This was an excellent book if a bit predictable. The concept is pretty cool, basically a reimagining of the events surrounding the American revolution in a time when there is magick, dragons, and necromancers.

Captain Owen Strake, a Redcoat of the Queen's Own Wurms, is sent from Norisle to her colonies in Mystria to scout the territory of New Tharyngia. Strake has left behind his wife, Catherine, and entered an alien world, one filled with strange creatures, strong willed colonists, and the mysterious natives, the Twilight People. Owen has seemingly been given an impossible task, one that many have failed to do in the past. But things get worse when he finds out that a powerful wizard from the continent, one who has nefarious plans for the Mystrian continent and its people.

By and large, this is a fun read. Stackpole is great at world building and while he's basically reshaping the known world and relabeling it (Mystria for America, Norisle for Britain, Tharyngia for France, that sort of thing), he keeps things believable and consistent, especially when it comes to magick. I almost wish he had spent some more time exploring the relationship between magick users and the Church, because oddly, the Christian Church is present in this book.

The characters are great and fun to be with, even if the Mystrian good guys are a bit too good and the bad guys are all incompetent, pure evil, or varying combinations of the two. More problematic was the predictability of the plot. I unraveled three or four twists (some of which won't be coming until later books, I think), so when they happened, I wasn't surprised. Instead, I was actually a little disappointed since I had figured it out.

That being said, I really enjoyed this book and I can't wait for the sequel to come out.

Gimli Destroys the Ring

Well, it would have made the movie a whole lot shorter . . .

Digitalis

So last night, I finished reading Digitalis, the second entry in Ronie Kendig's Discarded Heroes series.

Colton "Cowboy" Neeley is a Marine sniper, the best in the business, and the backbone of the Nightshade team. He struggles with flashbacks from previous missions and does his best as a single father for his daughter, McKenna. And he's also pretty much head-over-heels in love with a beautiful young woman named Piper. But Piper has some deeply buried secrets that, once exposed, could pitch Cowboy and his teammates into the heart of danger.

I really enjoyed the first book, Nightshade, and so I couldn't wait to get my hands on the second one. And I really enjoyed this book. I like Cowboy's distinct voice and I can certainly sympathize with him on his "scouting" nature when he's courting Piper (I had similar tendencies growing up; I probably could have used someone like Max in my life to prod me into action). And once again, Ronie doesn't disappoint when it comes to the action. There are some heart-pounding moments in this book, including one that completely took me by surprise. But I'm not telling you what it is, so there. You'll just have to read it on your own to figure it out.

That said, I'm not sure I liked this one as much as the first book. I think part of it stems from the numerous roadblocks thrown into Piper and Cowboy's paths to keep them apart. I mean, yes, I get it. They can't get together and be happily ever after right away, but there were a few times when I thought the obstacles were contrived.

More problematic was how much of a non-issue Cowboy's flashbacks turned out to be. In the opening pages of the book, we get the feeling that Cowboy's sanity is basically hanging on by a thread, and I kind of expected him to be more of a loose cannon in the rest of the story. But by and large, the flashbacks didn't interfere with what he was doing. Sure, it popped up toward the end, but I'm not entirely sure they were necessary. Maybe it's just me, but that's my opinion.

The only other thing that bugged me was, oddly, about the cover art. I think the models on the cover look too much like the models from the first book. Seriously. Take another look at Nightshade's cover:


Now scroll up and look at Digitalis's cover. Both the man and the woman look pretty similar. I honestly thought that Cowboy and Piper on Digitalis were just older versions of Max and Sydney from the first book. I know, I know, minor point and I should have known better (I mean, Max is wearing a Navy uniform whereas Cowboy is wearing a Marine uniform), but there you go.

Really, though, I did thoroughly enjoy this book and I've already put in my pre-order for Wolfsbane. It'll be fun and exciting to hit the field with the Nightshade crew again.

Real Life Superhero in Seattle

This one just boggles the mind. There is a group of people in Seattle dressing up as costumed vigilantes:



I'm usually not one to tell someone how to do his job, but if Phoenix Jones ever stops by my little corner of the internet, I do have some constructive criticism.

You don't invite reporters to show where the entrance to your Batcave is. I'm just saying.

But it still boggles my mind that there are eight of them doing this. Suddenly my superhero story, Failstate, doesn't seem quite so fictional anymore.

CSFF Blog Tour: The Wolf of Tebron Day Three

Okay, looking back over the past couple of posts, one might come to the conclusion that I didn't enjoy The Wolf of Tebron by C. S. Lakin. I keep worrying that I'm turning into the curmudgeon of the blog tour, the guy who stands on his cyber front porch, telling the kids to stay off my lawn. For the most part, aside from a few stylistic hiccups (overuse of italics) and some theological question marks, I did enjoy it. It reminded me of how powerful a fairy tale can be.

Fairy tales have unfortunately been regulated to the status of kiddie stories in modern society. They're what we tell our kids and, someday, we expect those children to outgrow those stories and move on to "adult" fare. And that's a shame, because a fairy tale can teach us so much more about our world and the deeper realities that govern it.

If nothing else, I'm put in mind of what Aslan said at the end of Voyage of the Dawn Treader (both the book and, thankfully, the movie). He tells Lucy that the reason why she came to know him in the fairy tale environment of Narnia is so that she can come to know him better in our world. And really, that's what the goal of all Christian fiction, whether it's a fairy tale or not, is, right?

Go and see what the rest of the tourists have to say:

Noah Arsenault
Amy Bissell
Red Bissell
Justin Boyer
Keanan Brand
Grace Bridges
Beckie Burnham
Jeff Chapman
Christian Fiction Book Reviews
Carol Bruce Collett
Valerie Comer
CSFF Blog Tour
D. G. D. Davidson
April Erwin
Andrea Graham
Nikole Hahn
Katie Hart
Ryan Heart
Bruce Hennigan
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Becca Johnson
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Dawn King
Shannon McDermott
Matt Mikalatos
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Joan Nienhuis
Nissa
Chawna Schroeder
Tammy Shelnut
Kathleen Smith
James Somers
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler

CSFF Blog Tour: The Wolf of Tebron Day Two

Yesterday I may have given the impression that The Wolf of Tebron by C. S. Lakin was entirely forgettable. That's not entirely true. While the story itself was a pleasant diversion that didn't make too much of an overall impression, there were a few statements Lakin made in the pages through her characters that made my eyebrows shoot up into my rapidly-receding hairline. Perhaps I was reading too much into said statements, but they left me a little uneasy. But before we discuss what those statements were, I'd better break out my old friend . . .


First time for 2011! May the King of All Monsters continue to warn those who visit my little corner of cyberspace of impending spoilers!

Ahem. Sorry, I guess I got carried away there for a moment.

The first time Lakin really made me wonder what she was trying to say was when Joran visited the Sun's palace. The Sun's mother, Sola, discusses what keeps her child burning, namely human wickedness. At first, I thought that was clever and perfectly in keeping with the fairy tale nature of the story.

But then Sola said this:

The ironic thing is . . . the Sun will not speak to the sons of men because of his anger, yet his anger is what keeps them alive, for if he ever stopped burning, that would be the end of man. So another balance is required. Men must keep doing evil to keep the Sun burning. You could conclude, then, that maybe wickedness has a place in this world, and in another sense, is its very foundation.

So is Lakin implying that wickedness (or sin, to call it by another name) is a necessary part of this world? That it must exist to keep things in balance? Sola said that one could conclude that but this statement is never challenged by anyone. And it left me a bit uncomfortable because while sin might be foundational to a fallen world, I would strenuously object to the idea of sin being somehow necessary to God's creation.

Now if that was all that I found that worried me in this book, I would never have brought it up. But then there's the ultimate fate of Ruyah the "wolf."

In the end of the book, Ruyah turns out to be Joran's birthfather, one who sacrifices himself so Joran and Charris can be saved. This act allows him to claim the sunstone to defeat the all-consuming darkness that took his wife.

At times, Lakin paints the wizard as an immortal being of great power. Other times, he sounds almost human. By the time the book was done, I got the distinct impression that the wizard was a powerful human being, a long-lived one, whose sacrificial act somehow elevated him to a status worthy enough to claim and use the sunstone.

And that caused all sorts of alarm bells to go off in the theological centers of my brain. If I am correct that the wizard/Ruyah is supposed to be a sort of Christ-figure (and heaven knows that I've been wrong about such things before), then this portrayal drifts entirely too close to adoptionism for me to be comfortable.

Now maybe I'm making mountains out of molehills. Like I said, I've done that before, most notably with Donita K. Paul's Paladin character and Auralia in Jeffrey Overstreet's books. But as I've said before, we, as Christian authors, have to be careful when we create characters who could be mistaken for allegories for Christ. People might make some assumptions about what we're trying to say about the Real Deal, and that could be problematic.

So what do you all think? Am I overreacting yet again? Maybe some of my fellow tourists will have a different opinion. Well, there's only one way to find out:

Noah Arsenault
Amy Bissell
Red Bissell
Justin Boyer
Keanan Brand
Grace Bridges
Beckie Burnham
Jeff Chapman
Christian Fiction Book Reviews
Carol Bruce Collett
Valerie Comer
CSFF Blog Tour
D. G. D. Davidson
April Erwin
Andrea Graham
Nikole Hahn
Katie Hart
Ryan Heart
Bruce Hennigan
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Becca Johnson
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Dawn King
Shannon McDermott
Matt Mikalatos
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Joan Nienhuis
Nissa
Chawna Schroeder
Tammy Shelnut
Kathleen Smith
James Somers
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler

CSFF Blog Tour: The Wolf of Tebron Day One

Happy New Year, fellow tourists! We're kicking off the first blog tour of 2011 with C. S. Lakin's The Wolf of Tebron, a new fairy tale about a young man who has lost his wife.

Joran is an apprentice blacksmith who has lost his wife, Charris, who disappeared on a journey to see her parents (although that isn't the full story). Joran grows increasingly worried about her until the goose woman, an apparently insane old woman in his village, reveals that Charris has been captured by the Moon and only Joran can free her, but only if he can loose three keys and not before he wears out three pairs of shoes.

Joran sets out to confront the Moon but along the way he befriends a large wolf named Ruyah who agrees to go with him on his quest. But the way is perilous and Joran quickly discovers that this journey is going to change him in ways that he can't even begin to imagine before he can bring Charris safely home again.

So let's talk about this book from a strictly craft point of view. Lakin's voice is a bit detached from the action. At least, it seemed that way to me. But the more I dug into the story, the more I dug the detachment. Lakin doesn't set out to tell a modern fantasy story (so to speak), but instead is trying to evoke a fairy tale, a genre that "gets away" with a more omniscient point-of-view. Instead of cramming a contemporary voice into a mystical tale, Lakin ably creates the atmosphere of an old fairy story with her tale as Joran travels the world, looking for his lost wife.

I also appreciated the somewhat episodic formula she used for her book, breaking Joran's journey down into distinct phases. It turns out that things are not as simple as the goose woman made them sound: Joran simply can't go to see the Moon to release Charris; no, that's just the first stop along the way. Lakin puts each leg of Joran's trip into its own section and it worked out really well.

Having said all that, I think there were a few places where Lakin's story sort of fell down on the job. The subplot about the wizard seemed a bit tacked on, almost to the point where I forgot about it until halfway through the book. Then, when I remembered it, I kind of scratched my head and thought, "Huh, I wonder what that had to do with anything." Yes, Lakin tries to weave that in at the end of the story, but it didn't feel as seamless as it could have. At least, not in my opinion.

The one thing that really bothered me was the extensive use of mindspeaking. Joran has the ability to telepathically communicate with animals and they can respond in kind. While this idea isn't exactly unique (Donita K. Paul and Jill Williamson make use of similar abilities in their books), Lakin's execution wasn't the best. She designated such exchanges by putting the mental dialogue in italics. That, in and of itself, is not bad. Like I said, that seems to be the standard way to handle this. What doesn't work is the fact that Lakin includes lengthy telepathic discourses and doesn't consistently designate who is speaking. There were times when Joran or Ruyah launched into a lengthy speech spanning multiple paragraphs and I couldn't be sure when one stopped and the other began. It wasn't as clear as it could have been.

At the same time, I can't deny that Lakin created some truly memorable scenes. I appreciated the way she wove in the different natural forces as embodied persons. Sola and her seemingly modern encyclopedic knowledge made me chuckle. And there's definitely a sense of wonder that streams through the whole story.

In the end, I'd guess I'd say that while this book was an enjoyable read, it was sort of a forgettable one. It never really grabbed me the way some books have in the past. And once I was done, the details of the story sort of faded away, like an early morning mist.

But don't just take my word for it. Go and check out what the rest of the tourists have to say:

Noah Arsenault
Amy Bissell
Red Bissell
Justin Boyer
Keanan Brand
Grace Bridges
Beckie Burnham
Jeff Chapman
Christian Fiction Book Reviews
Carol Bruce Collett
Valerie Comer
CSFF Blog Tour
D. G. D. Davidson
April Erwin
Andrea Graham
Nikole Hahn
Katie Hart
Ryan Heart
Bruce Hennigan
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Becca Johnson
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Dawn King
Shannon McDermott
Matt Mikalatos
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Joan Nienhuis
Nissa
Chawna Schroeder
Tammy Shelnut
Kathleen Smith
James Somers
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler