The Least Read Blog on the Web

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

CSFF Blog Tour: Tuck Day Three

As we wrap up the blog tour for Tuck by Stephen Lawhead, I thought I'd take a moment or two and compare Lawhead's masterful retelling of the Robin Hood stories to other portrayals of this story. At least, the ones I've seen and can remember.

Let's start with the first, namely Disney's 1973 version:

Okay, so maybe this is a bit silly. There's not many points of contact here, seeing as Lawhead's book doesn't feature anthropomorphic talking animals. But I still see some similarities to this movie and the book series as a whole. I mean, this movie did feature Robin dressing up as different characters to trick ol' Prince John (think the stork costume for the archery contest). That's similar to what Lawhead's Rhi Bran does time after time after time (such as the papal envoy at the end of Scarlet). And I suppose I could make something of the fact that in this movie Robin is portrayed as a fox while Bran pretends to be King Raven ... well, maybe that's a stretch.

Let's move on then. How about Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves?

Now here we have the more traditional portrayal of Robin. And while there may not be as close of a connection between Robin and Rhi Bran, I think they still exist. You have the wicked clergyman in Prince of Thieves contrasted against the simple spirituality (and somewhat drunk spirituality) of Friar Tuck. You have a "wise woman" in both, although one is a witch and the other is a banfaith. And some of the traps the "merry men" use are reminiscent of the ambushes we see in the King Raven trilogy.

Which only leads to the next one, namely Robin Hood: Men in Tights.

What? Don't look at me like that.

Okay, so obviously this one is more of a parody of Prince of Thieves, but I still see some cross-connection. There were a lot of genuinely funny moments in the King Raven trilogy (especially the times that Bran dressed up in his many costumes). And this is, by far, the funniest of the Robin Hood movies.

But there is one other similarity. At 1:12, Robin Hood reminds people that unlike other Robin Hoods, he can speak with an English accent. Well, we can certainly say the same about Lawhead's Bran (although in this case, it's a Welsh accent). I certainly enjoyed the linguistic gymnastics that my mental voice had to do to decipher the many Welsh phrases scattered through Lawhead's story.

And here's the final one: Qpid.

Okay, so this time I really do have nothing. No connection. I just really like Worf's version of Will Scarlet.

So that's it from me this month. Go check out what the other tourists have to say:

Brandon Barr
Jim Black
Keanan Brand
Rachel Briard
Grace Bridges
Valerie Comer
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Alex Field
Beth Goddard
Todd Michael Greene
Ryan Heart
Timothy Hicks
Christopher Hopper
Joleen Howell
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Kait
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Terri Main
Margaret
Melissa Meeks
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Caleb Newell
Eve Nielsen
Nissa
John Ottinger
Epic Rat
Steve Rice
Crista Richey
Hanna Sandvig
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Robert Treskillard
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Jill Williamson

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

CSFF Blog Tour: Tuck Day Two

One of the reasons why I enjoyed Tuck by Stephen Lawhead so much was because of the different perspectives we were given. And no, I'm not talking writing craft, points of view here. Instead, I'm speaking of the different spiritual perspectives that arose throughout the trilogy. For example, you have the very earthy faith of Angharad. You have the different monastic architecture between Abbot Hugo, who prefers expensive stone chapels, and the Welsh abbot (whose name escapes me), who oversees one made of rough wood. And, of course, there's the scene where Friar Tuck hides in a Ffreinc chapel, only to marvel at the fact that they have an actual confessional in there.

It was refreshing to me, at least, because it presented the very familiar Christian faith from new perspectives. For example, I wasn't all that comfortable (at first), when in Hood, Angharad was presented as basically a Christian druid. I worried that Lawhead had gone too far. But as I realized that Angharad was a good Christian, just one from a different tradition than mine, I could relax and enjoy the new perspective.

This is something that I think is sadly lacking in Christian fiction right now. I don't know about you, but I've noticed that in most Christian fiction, the main characters all belong to the same homogenized, generic, non-denominational churches. I've even heard rumors that publishers won't let characters be different denominations because they're worried that readers will somehow be "offended" if a character is a different denomination than they are, so no character can be any denomination.

That's just silly to me. What about us readers who do belong to a particular denomination? Should I be offended by the fact that I can't find any books that are written with Lutheran characters? (And yes, I know there are exceptions, but from where I'm sitting, those seem few and far between.) Maybe I'm being a little silly, but this has been bugging me for a while. Give us readers a bit more credit please.

Besides, like I said earlier, it's great to get a new perspective on things. We can often do that through fiction, by seeing things through a new character's eyes. Wouldn't it be great if we could see more Angharads and Tucks in Christian fiction? Wouldn't it be great if we could take a look at the faith through new theological perspectives?

Maybe I'm just dreaming, but it's a good dream as far as I'm concerned.

Go and see what the other tourists have to say:

Monday, May 18, 2009

It's a good day to be a geek...

... for two very specific reasons:

Dollhouse has been renewed.

And so has Chuck!

The catch in both cases is that both shows are facing smaller budgets. In the case of Chuck, that could be problematic, since one of the great things about Chuck is its superb ensemble cast. I'd hat to see any of them go, but you can be sure at least one or two of them will be sent packing.

But even still, it's great that both of them will be back in the fall.

CSFF Blog Tour: Tuck Day One

Holy cow! Is it time for the blog tour already? You'd think I'd be on top of this more since this month's book was particularly fantastic. We're delving into the final book in the King Raven trilogy, namely Tuck by Stephen Lawhead.

The book picks up where the previous volume, Scarlet, leaves off. Rhi Bran and his Grellon have been betrayed by King William. Rather than giving Bran his throne back as promised, William has turned Elfael over to Abbot Hugo and his cronies. Rhi Bran sees no other choice but to go to war against the Ffreinc. But some of his subjects aren't completely sold on the idea. Merian, for one, feels the best thing for her to do is to return home and enlist the aid of her father. And Friar Tuck, while supportive of all of Bran's schemes, doesn't feel that full-on war is the best solution either. But with war brewing between the Cymry and the Ffreinc, can Tuck's voice be heard?

I said this back when I reviewed Scarlet, but I'm not exactly a dyed-in-the-wool Lawhead fan. Some of his books haven't sat all that well with me. But I've been hooked by the King Raven trilogy. I've loved the retelling of the Robin Hood myth in a different time period than we're used to. Making him a Welsh rebel as opposed to a happy-go-lucky thief worked very well. There was a great deal of grit and realism to the story and I could easily believe that this is the way that it happened.

Lawhead infuses his story with an number of twists and turns and clever strategems throughout. The only "low note" for me was the way things ended. It was almost a deus ex machina, but here's the screwy thing: it really worked for the story, especially since the majority of this tale was told from the perspective of Friar Tuck. This is Tuck's story, so given that, it makes sense that the story ended the way that it ended. So while things were a bit abrupt, it completely fit with the overall story and actually had me laughing a bit.

So if you're a fan of historical books, or if you want to see a great retelling of the Robin Hood stories from a new perspective, you can't go wrong with learning about Rhi Bran y Hud.

Go and see what the other tourists have on their minds:

Friday, May 15, 2009

Beyond Corista

Beyond Corista by Robert Elmer is the third book in The Shadowside Trilogy. It tells the story of Oriannon Hightower, a young woman from a plant named Corista. The story starts with her and her friends on the run from Coristan security. They've apparently stolen a shuttle and managed to kidnap the planet's despotic dictator. But a new threat has invaded their system, one that has destroyed an asylum station. Now Ori has been sent on a mission to warn the other stations. The mission was given to her by Jesmet, her former mentor who apparently died and came back to life. Can Ori fulfill her mission? Can she warn the other asylum stations of the on-coming Troikan threat?

I had a bit of a problem getting into this book, but that's because it is the third book of a trilogy and I haven't read the first two. I got the feeling that the second book ended on a high point and Beyond Corista picked up where it left off. At the same time, figuring out the events from the first two books (or the relevant parts) isn't that difficult. Elmer makes sufficient reference to them that a reader could conceivably pick this book up and follow the action. But I think it would probably be better to read the other books first. I suspect that the story would fit a bit better in its larger context.

Elmer's worlds and creatures are very interesting. Wist the Owling, Alymas the Translucent, the Makabi, and especially the Troikans, are colorful and fascinating. The Troikans especially intrigued me. The fact that the planet Corista seems to have a slower rotation than Earth's fascinated me as well. I can only guess about that; this didn't really come into play in this book.

My only real complaint is the way the book ended. It didn't have a whole lot of finality, especially as the final book in a trilogy. It seemed more like Elmer was leaving things open for a fourth book. Maybe there will be one. But given that this was a trilogy, I thought a slightly "punchier" ending would have been better. That's probably just my own taste, though.

So it's a good book, definitely worth a read, especially if you know any young sci-fi fans.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Put on the Full Armor of God

So back during Lent, I was given the incredible privilege of preaching a sermon series at Concordia University in St. Paul. It's a Lenten series I've done twice before, based around the full armor of God described in Ephesians 6:10-20. The sermons were videotaped and I finally found them on YouTube.

I've been posting my weekly sermons on here for a while. I don't know if any of my readers are actually listening to them. If you are, here's an added twist: full video! Enjoy:

Monday, May 11, 2009

Masterpieces

So in keeping with the resolution I made a few months back to read more sci-fi, I picked up Masterpieces: The Best Science Fiction of the Century. I figured that this would drop me into the classics, both old and new, and really give me a taste for what I've been missing.

And in some ways, it worked. I was exposed to authors I hadn't read before. Orson Scott Card's introductions to the stories talked a little about the authors' other works and even pointed me in some directions I might like to go.

But here's the thing: at least a third of these stories just didn't do anything for me. They weren't that good. At least, I didn't think so. And based on what I've seen over at Amazon reviews, a lot of people feel the same way.

That's not to say that there aren't enjoyable stories in here. Personally, I really enjoyed "Call Me Joe" by Poul Anderson, "Tunesmith" by Lloyd Biggle, Jr., "Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed" by Ray Bradbury, "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman" by Harlan Ellison, "Sandkings" by George R. R. Martin, and "The Road Not Taken" by Harry Turtledove. Out of those, "Sandkings" is my personal favorite. Wild tale, well told, enough to make me check out more of Martin's works.

So was it worth it? Sure. The book accomplished what I bought it for. But I'm not so sure I'd call everything in here "Masterpieces."

Friday, May 08, 2009

Alpha to Omega: The Final (?) Dollhouse

And so tonight, we may have seen the end of another Joss Whedon show. That's right, I speak of "Omega" on Dollhouse. A great capper to a great season, perhaps even a grand finale to a show that finally hit its stride.

I was impressed with how well the stories all wrapped up for the most part. I think Joss Whedon did the right thing by casting this as a potential series finale. Yes, a lot of loose ends were tied up. But there are still a lot of questions left open and left unanswered. For example, what was Topher and Whiskey's relationship? Did Alpha really throw away Caroline's wedge? What role will Ballard play in the Dollhouse? And what did that final word that Echo whisper really mean?

But rather than speculate about any of those things, I think I'd rather spend the rest of this post heaping more praise on Joss Whedon's foresight. Perhaps it's simply a case of "once bitten, twice shy." After the shameful way that FOX treated Firefly, it's only understandable that Whedon would expect his latest creation to die an early death. But in the long run, I think it's a good thing. If nothing else, it should give an example to every television producer and writer: don't leave too many threads dangling from one season to another (I'm looking at you, Chuck!). Sure, leave room for future growth, but given the volatile nature of television scheduling, it's always good to find end points just in case.

Having said that, I'm not hoping that Dollhouse is over. Far from it. I want this to come back. But if it doesn't, well, this was a fun ride. A great show.

And Alan Tudyk is still the man.

Star Trek

This afternoon, I was sitting in a movie theater waiting to be wowed. And boy, was I wowed.

I have seen the reboot. And it is good.

I was a Trekkie for a long time. I got started by reading novelizations of the original episodes that I found at my local library. The Next Generation hooked and reeled me in. I loved the Dominion war on Deep Space Nine. Voyager, while not as great, was still a great ride. Enterprise cured me, in spite of Scott Bakula. My Trekkie-ness waned thanks to the final, lackluster spin-off.

But it still lurked within me, waiting for the right moment to come out. And thanks to J.J. Abrams's reboot, I can say that my Trekkie-ness came out to play this afternoon and did it ever have fun.

This was a magnificent movie. Lots of great special effects, some very powerful story telling, and plenty of nods to the original canon to keep even a waning Trekkie like me having fun.

Notice I said there were only nods to the original canon. That's because this script tossed the original canon out the window from the very start. Nothing too major at first but then, about halfway through, we had a major moment. A "they didn't really do that, did they?" moment. One that was followed by another in very short order. I was stunned. I was aghast. And no, I'm not going to tell you what it is. If you've seen the movie and you know anything about Star Trek, you'll be able to figure out what it is.

But here's the thing: they knew we'd object. And shortly after the canon-breaking moments, they had Spock explain it all. And I had to nod and say, "Well, duh. I should have realized that. It's an excellent point."

Because of their canon-breaking, be ready for huge surprises. Big ones. Enough to make a half-Vulcan science officer raise one eyebrow. Come to think of it, most of the big surprises centers around Spock. Including one of the best ones. I wish I wasn't against dropping spoilers, because I'd love to revel in one of the best twists toward the end of the movie.

The cast was excellent. Well placed, well acted. Karl Urban as Dr. McCoy killed me (especially with the revelation of where he got his nickname). Simon Pegg as Scotty? Absolutely wonderful! And Zachary Quinto as Spock? Holy cow! My only problem with that bit of casting was that I kept expecting him to saw open someone's head with telekinesis.

I think we have a rebooted franchise on our hands. And with any luck, we'll be going where no one has gone before with them again very soon. Yeah, I know, that last sentence wasn't all that great. But I had to work that in there somewhere, didn't I?

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

My (Scrubs) Finale

Let me tell you a little story.

About eight years ago, when I was a fresh-faced associate pastor in Blue Earth, Minnesota, I started hearing rumbles about this new show on NBC. I didn't watch the first few episodes. I don't remember why exactly. But I knew my senior pastor did. His wife, who was attending med school at the time, could relate to the characters. And, he reported, his confirmation students believed that I behaved like one of the characters as well. He told me that I had to watch one of the episodes he had on video. So one night, I went over, not sure what I was getting myself into.

I found myself getting into Scrubs.

I was skeptical at first. But as I watched those episodes (not in the correct order, I might add), I was drawn into the world of Sacred Heart. I loved the random wackiness of J.D.'s fantasies. I savored the medical storylines. And I grew to admire Dr. Cox's acerbic wit (the aforementioned confirmation students believed I had a similar wit). I was hooked.

And now, it's eight years later. Tonight's episode, "My Finale," leaves us in a weird place. Word on the Internet has it that this was originally intended to be a series capper but that several key cast members are willing to go for a ninth season if the network is interested.

I say it's time to let it all go.

It pains me to say it. I still love a great Dr. Cox rant. While the show stumbled and grew a bit too dark in seasons six and seven, they recovered a great deal of the original fun this last season. But even still, it's time for the show to let go and for us all to move on.

Part of the reason why I say that is because, when you come right down to it, J.D. was the heart and soul of the show. He was the one who created most of the wacky fantasy sequences. He was the perfect foil for the Janitor. He meshed perfectly with Dr. Cox's gruff manner. Even if Zach Braff were to come back once in a while in future seasons, it wouldn't really be enough. He was the voice who bound the episodes together. And let's not forget the Scrubs naming convention. Every episode (with very few exceptions) were all "My." J.D. was the owner of that possessive. Since J.D. has left Sacred Heart, a major part of the show has gone with him. That can't be recaptured.

Now sure, it's possible that they could retool the show so it can run without J.D. Dr. Cox is still there as chief of medicine. While he may have gotten softer over the years (just a bit), he's not about to let up on anyone. Turk and Carla are still there. So is Ted and the Janitor. The new crop of interns are an interesting crew and I could see some fun dynamics growing out of this group. It could work. But I'm not sure if it's a good idea to try.

Let's face it. Tonight's episode was a perfect capper to a very good show, especially given the final fantasy sequence with all the guest stars (still wishing Gift Shop Girl and Franklyn could have been there. Thanks a lot, NBC!). That wrapped things up nicely, especially with the extended future fantasy. It feels done for me. This is a good place to leave it.

So am I saying that I won't tune in if it goes on from here. No. I'm not saying that at all. I would. But I would most likely be wondering if maybe, just maybe, things would have been better to end where they did tonight.

Saturday, May 02, 2009

Alan Tudyk is the man!

This may be a bit incoherent. I was at a youth lock-in until 3 AM last night and I'm not operating on a whole lot of sleep. But Alan Tudyk is, honest to goodness, the man. And I'm not even talking about him as Wash. Instead, I'm speaking about what happened on last night's Dollhouse.

If you haven't watched it yet or care about spoilers, go away.

Sadly, I had seen rumors on the web saying that Tudyk was Alpha, but even with that knowledge, I loved last night's episode. I was able to "suspend my knowledge" for a while and, if I hadn't seen those rumors, I would have been taken completely by surprise. Tudyk's agoraphobic environmental engineer was pitch perfect and would have served as a great mask for his true personality. And his "medicinal carrots?" Hilarious!

Dollhouse has really grown on me over the past couple of months. After the first few episodes, I was kind of like "take it or leave it." I'd keep watching it only in hopes that it'd get better. Now it has. I love it. FOX had better not cancel this one. I want to see where Joss Whedon will take us next.

Friday, May 01, 2009

Starfire

Yeah, I've been a bit busy lately. This morning, I finished reading Starfire by Stuart Vaughn Stockton. This is the first book I've read from Marcher Lord Press's second list.

I've been very excited to read this book. I first met Stuart at the ACFW National convention in Dallas two and a half years ago. He's been "fighting the good fight" for Christian speculative fiction longer than I have and has held the banner high. So when I learned that he was finally getting his book published, I was thrilled. No offense to the other authors on Marcher Lord's second list, but this is the book I was looking forward to reading the most.

The book centers around a warrior named Rathe. Rathe is a Saurian, a reptillian alien, who fights for the Karn Empire. Rathe has a lot of obstacles to overcome, most notably his low status thanks to when he was born. But against all odds, he fights his way up and joins the light infantry of the Karnian Empire.

On what should be a routine mission, an ancient artificial intelligence called Karey Or imprints on him as its protector. Rathe and his companions now find themselves on a deadly race against their enemies, the Herians, to help Karey Or fulfill her original programming. But there are many obstacles along the way. The dreaded jerkranaks oppose him and betrayal lurks within Rathe's friends. Will he help Karey Or unleash the power of the Starfire?

Stuart has created an incredibly rich and detailed world for his saurians to inhabit. The history, the technology, the vivid imagery that he weaves into the story are incredible. It almost gets overwhelming at times. There's a lot of new terminology to assimilate in a very short order. Not only that, but the different saurian "clans" can get overwhelming at times. There are dozens of them. What helped me was the fact that most of these clans names seem based on dinosaur names and the description of the clans match the names.

The story itself was pretty straightforward. Lots of action as Rathe and his compatriots did his best to escort Karey Or to safety. The ending genuinely surprised me. I didn't totally expect it and that's a good thing. It makes me wonder what's going to happen next (which, like I said, is good since this is the first book in a series).

So if you're a Christian sci-fi fan, rejoice! We have another worthy entry in a long-neglected genre!

90 Minutes in Heaven

My congregation members know that I'm a reader. I do a monthly book review in our church's newsletter. A few of them have started passing books on to me to see what I think of them. 90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper is one of those books.

Don Piper is a Baptist minister who died in a car accident. An 18-wheeler rolled over his car and partially crushed him, killing him almost instantly. For 90 minutes, his body was trapped inside of his car while paramedics worked to help the others involved in the accident. Another pastor happened upon the scene and felt moved by God to pray for Piper. The amazing thing is, while he was praying, Piper came back to life.

But apparently Piper was occupied while he was clinically dead. He spent that hour and a half outside the gates of heaven, welcomed by his departed family and friends. But then he found himself in a hospital ICU, undergoing an experimental procedure so he could save his crushed leg.

The majority of the book deals with Piper's recovery from this horrific accident and the life lessons he took away from surviving. It's a fast read; I knocked it out in a matter of a day or three. There's no heady theological insights to be had here. It's inspiring to be sure, but overall, it's an average book. Not bad, not particularly good either.

Wolverine

So about an hour ago, I got done watching an afternoon matinee of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. And I enjoyed it. I thought the action scenes were great, I thought there was a great deal of humor injected into the dialogue. There aren't any Oscar-worthy performances, but hey, it's a popcorn flick. You normally don't expect to see those in this kind of film.

Now I'm sure that there will be some people who are upset about things. I'm guessing, anyway. I'm no fanboy. My exposure to X-Men is limited to the '90s animated series, the first three movies, and a few comics I've borrowed from my brothers-in-law (although I did once track down a copy of God Loves, Man Kills on e-Bay). So for me, any canon-breaking items really don't matter. I'm vaguely aware of some of the ancilliary characters and who they are in the comics (i.e. Deadpool, the Blob, and so on). Others, I had no clue. Agent Zero? Wraith? Not a clue. Doesn't matter. While there were a few things that I questioned, none of it was related to the characters.

My regular readers will know I'm usually spoiler averse, so I'll keep them out of this review. But I will say this: one bit at the end of the movie surprised me and it really shouldn't. I went into the theater, pretty much sure we were going to see something at the end. But by the time it happened, I had forgotten I was expecting it and so I was pleasantly surprised. For those of you who will see the movie soon, it has something to do with Cyclops. That's all I'm saying.

So go and check this one out. May is promising to be a great movie month for geeks like me. We still have Star Trek, Terminator: Salvation, and even Up! to look forward to. Wolverine got things off to a great start.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Questions to All Your Answers

With a title like Questions to All Your Answers, how could I not get this and read it? Roger Olson, the book's author, sets out to examine some spiritual cliches that are often spouted by what he calls "folk Christianity." These are statements that are often made by well meaning Christians that aren't quite right. The statements are as follows:

"It's a mystery, just accept it."
"God is in control."
"Jesus is the answer."
"The Bible has all the answers."
"God has a perfect plan for your life."
"God helps those who help themselves."
"Jesus is coming soon."
"All sins are equal."
"Judge not."
"Money isn't bad, but only what we do with it."

Do any of those make you squirm? They made me squirm. I'm guilty of uttering a few of them. As a matter of fact, if you listen to the sermons I'm posting on this blog, you probably heard me utter one of them from the pulpit recently. Needless to say, I was curious what Olson would have to say about each of these.

He doesn't demolish them but he certainly kicks at their supports. In many cases, he points out how the principles and ideas behind these cliches really aren't Biblical. And while he doesn't throw all of them out in the end, he points out that blindly holding on to them and throwing them into debates usually isn't helpful because it leads people to hold unexamined beliefs about Christianity, some of them blatantly wrong.

Now down't get me wrong, I disagreed with Olson on a few points in the book. That comes from our differing theological backgrounds. But overall, I think this book is a great correction to some of the cliches and attitudes that have popped up in contemporary Christianity. I know personally, I really appreciated what he had to say about God's will for a person's life. That chapter alone made this a worthy read.

So do you dare see what questions Olson has to all of your answers? You might just have to do some thinking, and in the long run, that's not a bad thing.

Friday, April 24, 2009

A Dark History: The Roman Emperors

My wife says I'm weird. And she's probably right.

Now she could easily pick from a whole list of strange behavior on my part to support her declaration. But last night, the thing she zeroed in on is the fact that I was reading a history book. For fun.

Allow me to explain: I am fascinated by the Roman Empire. I don't know what it is about Rome, but I can't get enough. Perhaps it's because the Empire was the cradle into which Christianity was born. Perhaps it's because I see striking parallels between the Roman Empire and our current American Empire (and that's not really a good thing). Whatever the case, when I saw A Dark History: The Roman Emperors, I had this sudden urge to buy it and read it. And using some birthday money, I made the purchase and in the course of a day or two, devoured it.

On the whole, it's an okay book. Rather than deal with politics or warfare or anything like that, Michael Kerrigan (the book's author) spends his time detailing the lurid details of the early emperors' personal lives. Tales of gluttony, lust, betrayal, assassination, all those sorts of things fill the pages. If the details aren't salacious, they aren't here. For example, when we got to the Five Good Emperors, Kerrigan skipped half of them because they were too good and didn't have any tabloid-worthy exploits.

As much as I enjoy Roman history, this book left me kind of flat. For starters, there's the fact that I knew a lot of these stories already. I'm well acquainted with the tales of Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero, thanks to the historical novels of Paul Maier (namely Pontius Pilate and The Flames of Rome). The thing is, that's half of the book right there. So while I was reading half of this book, I kept thinking, "Yeah, I know, I know, I know."

Second, we have the little bit of "false advertising" in the title of this book. Kerrigan's book boldly declares that this is a history that goes through "the fall of Rome." Awesome. Like I said, I know the first century pretty well thanks to Dr. Maier. So I was looking forward to doing some reading of post-Constantine emperors.

Small problem there. Kerrigan stops telling full stories after the reign of Elagabalus, who died in 222 CE. Rome kept going for another 250 years. Kerrigan sprints through to that point through the epilogue. A better subscript for this book's title might have been: "From Julius Caesar through the third century," but I suspect that wouldn't have sold as well.

And finally, I was a little irked at some of the things that Kerrigan left out. For example, Nero's persecution of the Christians after the fire of Rome received a brief mention. Domitian's persecution wasn't mentioned at all. And when Kerrigan related the stories of the Bar Kokhba revolt, he made some historical errors regarding Bar Kokhba's name. Here's a hint to Mr. Kerrigan should he stumble into my blog at some point: that wasn't his real name. That was his nickname given to him by Rabbi Akiva.

So should you read this? If you haven't read Paul Maier's books, sure, why not? Or better, read Maier's books and leave this one on the clearance shelf like I should have.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

CSFF Blog Tour: Blaggard's Moon Day Three

I hate to admit this, but I got nothin' for today. Well, almost nothing. How's this: if George Bryan Polivka continues to write excellent pirate fiction like Blaggard's Moon, there is only one thing that would make it better.

Ninjas.

Seriously. Exploit the now legendary hatred between pirates and ninjas. That would make the book even more full of win.

Okay, I really do have nothing. Hopefully the other tourists will do better than me:

Brandon Barr
Jennifer Bogart
Keanan Brand
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Alex Field
Marcus Goodyear
Todd Michael Greene
Ryan Heart
Timothy Hicks
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Kait
Carol Keen
Mike Lynch
Magma
Margaret
Melissa Meeks
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Nissa
Steve Rice
Crista Richey
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Jason Waguespack
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Jill Williamson

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

CSFF Blog Tour: Blaggard's Moon Day Two

So here we go. Yesterday, I promised to talk about my favorite part of George Bryan Polivka's Blaggard's Moon. Here we go. It's the time-bending nature of the narrative.

When I first started reading the book, I was a bit stumped (if you'll pardon the horrible pun) when I realized that the seeming main character, Smith Delaney, was tied to a pole in the middle of a lagoon, waiting for carnivorous mermonkeys to kill him. I was scratching my head, wondering how on earth Polivka was going to pull this off.

And then, even stranger, Delaney started remembering a tale told to him and his former crewmates by Ham Drumbone. As if that wasn't enough, we then dove directly into Ham's story, following Jenta Stillmithers and Damrick Fellows through their trials and travails.

So it went, bouncing from Jenta and Damrick to the pirates hearing their story to poor old Delaney, stuck on his pole. When I realized that's what was going on, I was a little worried. How well could this work?

As it turns out, very well. I never got lost in the telling. I was able to keep the overlapping stories straight and it really augmented the story, even though we had advance warning about some of the things that would happen.

It's a great storytelling strategy, especially if you can pull it off well. It actually reminded me of Mary Doria Russell's two sci-fi books. I'm not sure if I could do it, but after reading Blaggard's Moon, I'm surely tempted to try.

Go and see what else the tourists have to say this month:

Monday, April 20, 2009

Sushi for One

I'm usually the one who's late to the party. Or I wind up doing things a little weird.

Take the latest book I read, namely Sushi for One by Camy Tang. I actually read the second book in this series, Only Uni, back in November. In many ways, that served as a gigantic spoiler for me. I knew all about Lex Sakai's trials and tribulations. I knew how her story ended. Not only that, but I had a hard time reconciling Trish's portrayal in this book with what I had read before.

But enough belly-aching from me. Lex Sakai has a major problem. Her meddling grandmother wants her to get a boyfriend and quick! Grandma is so serious, she's threatening to cut the funding to the girls' volleyball team Lex coaches. So Lex starts out on a quest to find the perfect man, based on a list of criteria she gleaned from the book of Ephesians.

But there are plenty of twists and turns on the way, like Lex starting a new job, having to find a place to live, and dealing with a long-buried trauma.

Having read two of her books now, I have to stand in awe of Camy Tang's characterization. She crafts four very different characters in her books and I love all four of them. It's enough to make me keep reading chick lit for a while, and believe me, as a dyed-in-the-wool speculative guy, that's quite the accomplishment.

CSFF Blog Tour: Blaggard's Moon Day One

Arrrrrr, me hearties! Time once again fer me to break out me bad pirate accent. Fer this month, we be reviewin' the mighty tome o' the great George Bryan Polivka's Blaggard's Moon. So pour a tankard o' the best grog, kick up yer feet, and settle in.

Yeah, once again, I can't keep that up for an entire post.

You know, it's interesting. A year and a half ago, we toured around Polivka's Legend of the Firefish. For some reason, I didn't think I liked it that much. But I went back and read my review and was surprised to learn that I really enjoyed it. Weird. I guess it didn't fare so well in my memory.

Well, since my memory failed me, I wasn't exactly looking forward to reading Blaggard's Moon. But anything for the blog tour.

Much to my delight, I loved this book. Absolutely loved it. From the moment I met Smith Delaney, sitting on his pole in the pond, all the way through the twisting and turning plot, I was hooked. I loved it all. I mean, how can you not love a book that features vicious, bone breaking sea monkeys?

Okay, not sea monkeys per se. But once again, Polivka has invented some new critters to populate his fictional seas.

In many ways, the story of Blaggard's Moon is really the story of Jenta Stillmithers and Damrick Fellows. I was rooting for those two from the moment they waltzed onto the pages. The action is incredible and very clever. The characters are extremely memorable. It's just a great, rollicking story with lots of fights, romance, and skullduggery.

But I'm saving my favorite part fo the story for tomorrow.

It's a shame that the first Polivka book I read didn't stick with me. I'm fairly confident that this one will.

Go see what else the tourists have to say about this great book:

Monday, April 13, 2009

Fossil Hunter

You know how the great books are based off of "What if" premises? Well, try this on: what if Indiana Jones was a woman? What if, instead of an archaeologist, she's a paleontologist who studies ancient whales? And what if she's a Christian caught in the middle of the controversy between evolution and intelligent design?

That's Katie James, the heroine of Fossil Hunter by John Olson. Katie finds her reputation in ruins after a group of fossil poachers destroy a unique whale in Peru. Things only get worse when her demophobia disrupts a seminar and her superiors believe she's questioning evolution. When they also learn she's a Christian, her job is taken away.

But then she's offered a chance: Iraqi shepherds found another fossilized whale and Katie is given the chance to find it and redeem her academic reputation. But there's a fly in the ointment. A rival paleontologist, Nick Murad, is also after the Iraqi whale. Worse, Katie finds herself embroiled in Iraqi politics as Sunni and Shi'ite ministers bicker and argue, especially since one of them doesn't appreciate the implications of Katie's discoveries.

As usual, Olson delivers a great read, an incredible adventure through the deserts of Iraq. Katie is awesome. She has it all: brains, beauty, bravery. She's extremely memorable and, quite frankly, I'd love to see the further adventures of Katie James someday.

What I really appreciate most about this book is Olson's stance on the whole controversy surrounding evolution. I worried that this would be more propoganda, lots of posturing. But Olson really takes a great middle road stance and I appreciate his honesty. More people should read this book and think about what Olson has to say in his final notes.

Death by aliens?

So I regularly listen to the How Stuff Works podcast, "Stuff You Should Know." While the hosts annoy me for some reaosn or another, they always have interesting ideas. Well, I listened to one episode today and, I have to say, what they shared was just bizarre. Strange enough to make me think there's a story in there somewhere.

But maybe not. Who knows? Whatever the case, I now share with you the most bizarre series of deaths I have ever heard about: Death by an unknown cause.

Anyone have any ideas?

Gaming Two-fer

I don't know if I've mentioned this before but I love playing table top games. The weirder, the more complex, the better. The sad thing is I don't get to play them that often. But this past weekend, I was able to take two new ones for a spin, so here we go...

First we have the Catan Dice Game. My introduction to what I like to call "geek games" came through the Catan series. One of my cousins brought the original Settlers of Catan game to a family Christmas. I fell in love. I have the original, the Seafarers of Catan expansion (never played it), and a Christian variant called The Settlers of Canaan. While I love the strategy of these games, I usually wind up losing. Actually, I take that back. I usually win the first game I play with a new group while I'm teaching them the rules. Then I can never beat those new players again.

I've seen the card version and wasn't all that interested. And then Jill, my darling wife, spotted the dice version. Intrigued, I went on-line where I was able to play a solitaire version on the game's official website. That gave me enough of a taste to go out and get it.

Basically, each player gets a score sheet with a miniature version of a Catan map, complete with roads, settlements, cities, and knights. To build those items, you have to collect the right resources by rolling six dice. You do this three times, keeping the stuff you want and re-rolling what you don't. You then get points for what you can build and are penalized if you can't build something.

The mechanics are straightforward and easy to follow. The real strategy comes in what you keep and what you re-roll. When I played the first game with my dad, sister, and brother-in-law, we all wound up scoring pretty low. Or rather, I scored low. They kicked my butt. My only gripe is the size of the score sheet and the relative darkness of the Catan map. I often lost track of what I had built already, often winding up saving dice for something I couldn't build yet.

So that was last night. This morning, my brother-in-law Chris and I broke out another new game, namely Carcassone: The Castle.

I've never actually played the original Carcassone. I do own the Christian variant, namely Ark of the Covenant. For those of you unfamiliar with the basic game, you build the board as you play, laying tiles and then placing people on said tiles.

The Castle is a two-player variant of the game. It comes with a scoring track that frames the play area. The tiles have towers, houses, courtyards, and paths on them in varying combinations. You build the interior of the castle as you play, playing people on the various structures to claim them and then score points as they are finished. As you move around the track, you also gain one-shot bonus tiles that can make or break your game.

Again, this game was pretty easy to pick up. The only real problem I suffered was that the rules were a bit different from Ark of the Covenant. In Ark, you can score points for partially completed roads and cities. The same is not true in Castle. And while there were some new rules to contend with, they were pretty easy to understand.

The whole game lasted about an hour or so, which seemed a little long. I blame the fact that it was the first time for both of us. The corner tiles, the one-shot bonuses, were a good addition. I think they're why I was able to win pretty handily.

If you like a good strategic game, one you can share with non-hardcore gamers, these two are good ones to try. Consider them "gateway" games.

Monday, March 30, 2009

95 Theses

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Field of Blood

Great concept. So-so delivery. That pretty much sums up Field of Blood by Eric Wilson.

Ever read a Christian vampire novel? That's what this is. It turns out that when Judas Iscariot killed himself in the Akeldama, the Field of Blood, he tainted the ground with his blood. Two thousand years later, the tombs within are opened and those buried there come back to life, possessed by demonic Collectors. These Collectors, led by Lord Ariston, want one thing: to destroy a group called the Nistarim. If they can take down even one of them, they will usher in the Final Vengeance.

Somehow their plot centers around a girl named Gina. She is somehow tied into the Nistarim, although Nikki, her mother, is trying to protect her. But as Gina grows older, she learns more and more about herself and discovers that she is deep into this conflict whether she wants to be or not.

It's a great concept. Wilson weaves together some vampire lore with Talmudic legends about the Nistarim, the thirty-six righteous men who must bear the sorrows of the world on their shoulders. And while there's a lot of exciting scenes and a lot of gritty reality, the whole experience left me a bit unsatisfied.

It's hard to say why exactly. Part of it, I think, is that Wilson didn't do a good enough job explaining exactly who or what the Nistarim are. I was only able to piece it together because my wife read a book about the Nistarim a few months back and told me about them.

Part of it was also craft-related. Wilson's prose, while fun and energetic, got to be a bit too over the top from time to time.

Now all of this is probably subjective. Someone else reading this book may love it. It wasn't for me.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

The Elevator

So how's this for an intriguing premise? A book set in an elevator. Three women trapped inside while a hurricane comes barreling into town. And all three of them have secrets that intersect with each other.

That's the premise of The Elevator by Angela Hunt. A hurricane has Tampa, Florida, square in its crosshairs, but in spite of that, three women converge on an office building. There's Gina, the wealthy housewife who just learned that her husband is having an affair. There's Michelle, a corporate headhunter who wants to tell her paramour that she wants marriage and a family. And there's Isabel, a Mexican maid with a dark and tortured past. All three happen to be in the same express elevator when the power goes out and they wind up trapped together, unaware that all three of them harbor secrets about the same man.

I have to admit, I was wondering what Hunt would do with this premise. It turned out that what she did was fairly realistic. While the women interacted with each other, there were also a lot of introspective moments, which makes sense to me. I mean, when you're trapped in a small space with two strangers, you're probably going to spend a lot of time thinking.

The style of the book worked well for this as well. Hunt wrote most of the story in an active tense. That helped lend immediacy to the on-going story but also helped make the numerous transitions into flashback easier to spot.

But overall, I think the book was about average. The story didn't grab me until about halfway through. And unfortunately, I was able to predict most of the story's major twists. So while it was a satisfying read, it wasn't a spectacular one. A good escapist tale, but little more than that.

Dollhouse Redux

Joss Whedon saved a viewer last night.

I wrote a review back when Dollhouse debuted. At the time, I said I was skeptical about the series's premise. I also said I was concerned about Eliza Dushku's ability to drop in and out of different roles week to week. Sadly, with each successive episode, my doubts grew. Why do people go to the Dollhouse and rent actives? And Dushku's acting, while okay, wasn't spectacular. For example, in the episode where Echo infiltrated the cult, she broke character toward the end in what I thought was an unrealistic way. So I was a bit skeptical about this week's episode, Man on the Street. The previews promised that it would be a game changer. So I figured I'd tune in to see what changed exactly.

Well, the episode certainly delivered some good twists. FBI Agent Ballard encountering Echo twice was a nice surprise. So was Ballard finally realizing that his neighbor, Mellie, is into him. Patton Oswalt's rich billionaire Dollhouse client helped me understand why people would go to the Dollhouse.

But it was the twists that piled up in the final fifteen minutes that really hooked me. A mole inside Dollhouse? The revelation that there are more throughout the world? The whole "fantasy is our business, but the purpose is different" revelation? And who Mellie really is? Wow. I'll keep watching just to see how this all develops.

I want to add one more thing. I have a theory about who Alpha, the rogue former active, is. Maybe it's been suggested elsewhere, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and predict that Alpha is really Agent Ballard. I think that Alpha has developed a multiple personality disorder, both of which wish to see the Dollhouse taken down. It's just that Ballard isn't aware of Alpha, but the opposite isn't true.

Am I right? Who knows at this point. But I'll keep watching to see if I am.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Kings

Thanks to a crazy schedule and a weird snafu with my VCR, I only now got to watch the premiere episode of Kings. I've actually been chomping at the bit to see it all week, especially after I read this review in TIME magazine. I had seen bits and pieces about it over the past months but somehow, I had missed that this was all a retelling of the Saul and David story out of Samuel. At least until I read the review.

Now that I've seen the premiere, though, it would have been hard to miss. The King of Gilboa's kids' names, Jack and Michelle? Rev. Samuels, the King's spiritual advisor? Heck, even our plucky young hero's name, David Shepherd, is almost a bit too over the top for me. The fact that every tank from Gath had "Goliath" painted on its front made me laugh, and not in a good way.

But in spite of the over-the-top naming conventions, it was a good show. There's plenty of conflict brewing in just about every corner of Shiloh. Some of them are along obvious vectors, such as between King Silas and young David Shepherd, or between Samuels and Silas. Some took me by surprise, such as between crown prince Jack Benjamin and David.

That's perhaps what I'm looking forward to most. I mean, I know the source material pretty well. Occupational necessity. And while the writers obviously stuck pretty close to the Biblical stories, they veered away and introduced some new twists. Good for them. That will make the show fun to watch. Surprises, big and little.

I'm also curious about the reach of the show. How far will they go? Are we going to see David Shepherd fall for a woman named Abby at some point? Will he have an illicit affair with a woman named ... well, I'm at a loss for how to update "Bathsheba." Will we see future generations of Gilboan kings? Probably not the latter, but still. I'll be watching to see how it all works out in the end.

One final bit about this before I wrap this up. This past Sunday, when the show actually aired, I accidentally recorded "Extreme Home Makeover" instead. Thankfully, I was able to watch the whole thing on NBC's website. A neat trick. And a great way to catch up on an interesting new show.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

CSFF Blog Tour: Hunter Brown Day Three

So how to wrap up this tour? Maybe with the interesting lesson I relearned in reading this book, namely, "Don't judge a book by its cover."

Let's take another look at the cover for Hunter Brown and the Secret of the Shadow...

I love it. I really do. The smirk on Hope's face, the fear on Hunter's. Given that the Miller brothers are animators, it didn't surprise me to see this cover, nor the many illustrations within the book itself. In some ways, those illustrations reminded me a bit of the Harry Potter books. I don't know if the Millers would take that as a compliment or not, but there you go.

So why did this reteach me the whole book/cover thing? Because the book and illustrations made me completely unready for the extremely dark ending to this book. It completely blindsided me and part of the reason why is because of how "cartoonish" the cover was.

I wish I could go into more depth. If you've read the book, you probably know what I'm talking about. If not, well ... be forewarned.

Go and see what else the tourists are saying as this tour wraps up:

Brandon Barr
Keanan Brand
Valerie Comer
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Shane Deal
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Marcus Goodyear
Todd Michael Greene
Katie Hart
Ryan Heart
Timothy Hicks
Jason Isbell
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Carol Keen
Mike Lynch
Magma
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Nissa
Wade Ogletree
John W. Otte
Steve Rice
Crista Richey
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Jill Williamson

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

CSFF Blog Tour: Hunter Brown Day Two

So yesterday, I may have been a bit harsh on Hunter Brown and the Secret of the Shadow. That's a judgment call. Like I said yesterday, part of that may be because it's a young adult fantasy and I'm ... well, only half of that now.

At the same time, though, this book gives me a great deal of hope. That may sound odd, given my negative reaction to it yesterday, but it does and here's why: I'm hoping that books like this will help create a greater demand for others like it in the future.

I'm talking long-term here. Let's be honest, while there have been signs that the market has been opening to speculative fiction, it's not as open as it could be (or should be, in my not-so-humble opinion). But that could change, especially if books similar to this one does well. The next generation of readers might be more open to speculative fiction. And that's a good thing.

Now I realize that I might be a bit optimistic. Obviously not every young adult speculative fiction fan is going to turn into an adult speculative fiction fan. But more books like Hunter Brown may help make our beloved market a bit more fertile.

Please go and visit the other tourists and see what they think about this month's book:
Brandon Barr
Keanan Brand
Melissa Carswell
Valerie Comer
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Shane Deal
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Marcus Goodyear
Todd Michael Greene
Katie Hart
Ryan Heart
Timothy Hicks
Jason Isbell
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Carol Keen
Mike Lynch
Magma
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Nissa
Wade Ogletree
John W. Otte
Steve Rice
Crista Richey
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Jill Williamson

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