This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.
RULES:
Grab a book, any book.
Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
Find a snippet, short and sweet.
Post it
from Page 56 of:
Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses by Kristen O’Neal
(I have to use a photo this week, there’s no way I can capture the feel of this internet chat with my rudimentary abilities)
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Runaway Trainby Lee Matthew Goldberg eARC, 296 pg. Read: May 31-June 1, 2021 |
Following the shocking death of her sister at 17 (from a brain aneurysm), sixteen-year-old Nico is spiraling out of control. Never the best student, and far more interested in being everything her high-achieving, popular sister wasn’t, Nico’s focus is on getting high, listening to as much grunge as she can, and fantasizing about meeting Kurt Cobain (who would fall for her, leave Courtney, and the rest would be history).
When things at home—which haven’t been good for a long time—take a turn for the worse, Nico is at the end of her rope and doesn’t know what to do. Her best friends talk her into leaving home and hitting the road, to go cross things off her bucket list before her own aneurysm cuts her life tragically short. Although they’d decided to run away together, Winter and Jeremy leave her in the lurch—Winter tells her that she needs this trip to hit rock bottom so she can pick up the pieces left by Kristen’s death (although I think this is largely a lie, and Winter just doesn’t have the courage to go through with it, but this sure sounds good).
So she packs up her teal blue Hyundai Excel with some essentials, a lot of batteries, her Walkman, and her father’s gas card and takes a trip up the California coast on the way up to Seattle, to see what the grunge scene is “really like,” cross some things off that bucket list, and hopefully get the chance to tell Cobain what his songs have meant to her.
Here’s where I get some egg on my face—I know Goldberg’s primarily a thriller writer, and assumed* that this would be one, too. That shortly after Nico left L.A. something would happen and this would become a thriller, with Nico doing all she could to stay alive and/or evade the police while on the run from something/someone/multiple someones. But no, that’s it. It’s the story of a girl living in her Hyundai trying to put the pieces of herself together.
* and you know what happens when you assume…
The first sentence of the book includes the date October 31, 1993. But then, as if Goldberg isn’t sure that his readers will understand that he means it, he hits you over and over and over with references to the early 1990s. There are over a dozen references in the first 3% of the book. And there are multiple stretches of the book that are like it. They eventually taper off, but it takes a while before Goldberg seems to think that he’s established the setting.
Now I enjoyed almost every one of the references and thought they really grounded things. But it also felt like overkill. Like he didn’t trust his audience to remember that these events took place in 1993 and 1994. Although it’s just as likely, maybe more likely, that Goldberg was having so much fun with them that he didn’t want to cut any of the references. And I get that, I really do. But I think it might have carried more punch if he’d been a little less effusive with them.
A couple of months back, I wrote about a book that included elements that could be supernatural or they could be an expression of the protagonist’s PTSD. I mentioned at the time how that writer leaving it up to the reader to decide was a great idea, how it’s more effective that we don’t really know which it is.
And here I’m repeating myself—there’s something that happens to Nico several times in the book that could be a product of her subconscious or could be a supernatural event. I initially ascribed it to a psychological phenomenon—trauma, or grief, or something. I think it’s written so that you think it’s a physiological thing. But at some point, I joked to myself, “Unless, of course, it is a ghost.” And then I couldn’t talk myself out of the joke—it really, really could be a ghost. Or it could be a manifestation of Nico’s subconscious. I could defend either position from the text, I think. And I really liked that.
I really got swept up in this story and with Nico’s journey. How does your heart not go out to a girl in that much pain? A dead sister, parents who aren’t dealing well with her, friends (more important to you than family at this stage of life) basically shoving her out the door on her own. and a strong sense of your own impending death? She doesn’t just hit rock bottom, she ultimately throws herself at it. But also, there’s an element of envy for the reader—you wanted to have the guts/folly to do something like Nico does at that age, and even now (however much older you are than her), you’d like to have the ability to do that.
Put those two elements together? How do you not have a warm spot in your heart for this book?
Yes, it’s clearly fiction. Yes, it’s heightened and only semi-plausible—both the high points and the low. But…it feels real. I can absolutely believe that I could sit down with Nico or Evan (since he’s from this area) today over a cup of coffee and hear them tell me about this time in their life.
I was more than a little surprised to see that there’s going to be a sequel to this. Typically, coming-of-age novels are one-and-done. But I’m on board—I want to see what the next chapter is for Nico. I can’t imagine all her problems were worked through in this book, and as much progress as she made (and looks to continue making), there’s no way that the work is done and I’m looking forward to seeing her continue it.
I absolutely recommend this to you—like its central character and her musical idol, Runaway Train is occasionally a mess, but there’s a heart to it. There’s an ineffable quality that’s going to make you want to pay attention to it and see how it can shine.
Disclaimer: I received this novel from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.
This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.
This is a little (pun unintended but embraced) awkward to write—I served as a beta reader for this and had intended to wait until the final version was published to say anything. But Hanover asked, so here we go. Many things may (and have) changed from the draft that I read and what will be published in a couple of months, so I’m not going to get into some of the particulars that I want to until then, and I know what the final version will be like. Hopefully, this isn’t too vague as a result:
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Not Awkwardby Matthew Hanover Beta Version Read: May 9-18, 2021 |
I’m assuming I’m not the only one who finds themselves in a situation like this—I halfway expected to find a Jeff Murdock monologue about this, but alas… You go to an event of some kind because of family obligation, an acquaintance, your Significant Other’s employer—not because you really want to, but you feel you should. Once there, you stay an adequate amount of time and try to make your excuses and leave. But the host or someone talks you into staying for a little longer, and a little longer after that. While you may not be actively hating the experience, you’re certainly not enjoying yourself much and are looking for an opportunity to make a tactful exit.
This is pretty much the situation that Scott finds himself in. But rather than a birthday party for your second cousin you haven’t seen in a decade, Scott finds himself as a guest at his ex-girlfriend’s house while they sit shiva for her father. Recently fired and about to get married, Scott felt like he should go to the funeral for the man who always treated him so well. One thing led to another and Leila’s mother compelled him to stay for a night, which turns into another, and another…
Scott’s fiance, Charlotte, is off for a bachelorette’s week with his sister and Charlotte’s closest friend, Quinn. So there’s nothing for him to go home to, and he can search for jobs from Leila’s as well as anywhere. So he sticks around as emotional support (and/or emotional punching bag, depending on Leila’s understandably shifting moods require), and finds himself with an opportunity to get the closure he didn’t realize he needed and maybe even an explanation for why she dumped him out of the blue six years ago. Or maybe, something else will end up happening between the two.
A few months ago, one of the local newscasts had a feature about an area resident who used to take part in Rubik’s Cube competitions on a pretty high level, it looked back on his competitions and “does he still have it?” No, he doesn’t. But he’s still faster than at least 96% of anyone who’s ever solved one.
So when we learn that Charlotte is a speedcuber, going to competitions, posting videos to social media, my mind immediately went back to that and I was in. Most readers aren’t going to have that particular background, but Charlotte’s hobby (for lack of a better word, but it’s not quite right) is going to make her stand out in readers’ minds—how often have you come across a character who does that? What I appreciated most about the Rubik’s cube thing is that was it starts out as a character quirk, but by the end, Hanover finds some thoughtful things to do with it—revealing something about the character (and a little more).
A mistake that readers like me can make is to think they’ve figured out all a writer’s moves, I really thought I had a handle on the role of “protagonist’s sister” in Hanover’s books. So when Quinn shows up pretty early, I sat up and paid attention to her. Which is when I noticed that Quinn is going to serve another role in this novel. She’s not an antagonist, but she’s certainly an obstacle for both Charlotte and Scott to overcome.
She’s been best friends with Charlotte since childhood—and try as she might, she’s still having trouble shifting from being Charlotte’s best friend to her best friend and brother’s significant other/future sister-in-law. I wasn’t entirely sold on this particular arc, but it helped us get a different look at Scott and his love life, and in the final third or so of the novel, it really paid off.
Along the same lines, Hanover hasn’t given us a protagonist’s brother before. I really didn’t care for this one—but I wasn’t supposed to*, he was written in such a way that it’d be hard to like him at all. But Scott and Quinn having an older brother is a new dynamic for Hanover and it works pretty well.
* And I won’t even get started about his wife.
In Not Dressed, Hanover alludes to a couple of characters and events from Not Famous, but here in Not Awkward he goes a lot further—the characters and events actually show up in the text. Sure, it’s done in such a way that people who haven’t read the other books won’t be short-changed when it comes to understanding this novel. But if you have read them, you’ll appreciate the way that Hanover has woven them into these pages.
It’s a great way to make a reader smile when they recognize something. But better, it’s a fantastic way to touch base with characters from one of those books. “Oh, look X got engaged.” Or “hey, Y and Z will be working together.” We also get to see characters like that in a different setting and from a different perspective. Rather than having to go through the bother with writing a whole new novel about one of Not Dressed‘s characters, with a few scenes in this (that move the plot along and help us understand Scott better), we see that character in a whole new light and it may change what you think of some parts of that other book.
Again, I stress—if you haven’t read his other novels, or if you don’t remember the details, it won’t matter at all.
There is a character in this book who is a political conservative who works in politics (in more of the pre-2015 mold, I should stress), but this is a non-political book. The fact that they are conservative is mentioned a few times, and two (I think—no more than three) positions are mentioned. There are no debates, explanations, or arguments for the positions.
I mention this only because in our current climate, a lot of readers (from all over the political spectrum) run for the hills when politics come up. There is no need for that here—it’s brought up occasionally, but not in any kind of detail. No political position is ever endorsed or supported, or discussed in any kind of depth.
While this is a lighter read, as is the norm for a “lad lit” novel—it’s not as funny as Hanover’s earlier works. That said, there are a couple of moments that are comedic gold. Slap-stick humor is difficult to pull off in print, but Hanover makes it look fairly effortless.
At at least three points in this novel, I assumed I knew how the rest would play out, “Oh, it’s going to be ____ kind of a story.” And I was wrong each time—thankfully. Instead, Hanover has given us a different kind of story than he has in the past, a subtler one, a more mature one.* One still infused with his trademark warmth, heart, and appeal. But there’s more going on, there’s a little ambiguity about some things. Experience is making a better author out of Hanover.
* Although I would have been satisfactorily charmed and entertained by the kind of story he’s given us before.
There were aspects of the story or characters that I wasn’t crazy about—but I’m not going to get into that at this point, because I don’t know what will happen to those things between the beta stage and the final version (although I was told about some directions he was going and that made me feel better). Maybe I’ll update this when the final version is out—maybe I won’t, we’ll see how much I care once it hits. But whatever quibbles I might have had, that’s all they were, quibbles. And they paled in comparison to the novel as a whole.
Because I wanted to think carefully about this novel, I wouldn’t let myself read more than 10-15 percent of it a night. That was hard. I wanted to read the whole thing in one sitting—and easily could have. I literally had to force myself to stop reading each time I picked it up so I could send my feedback and do other things. But I wanted to keep going, I had such a great time with these characters, this story, and Hanover’s writing.
Somewhere in there is Hanover’s secret—no matter what dumb, reckless, obnoxious, or (have to say it) awkward thing his characters do, you like them. You can’t help but do so. Scott said a couple of things in the first chapter that really made me wonder if I wanted to go through an entire book with him. By the third, I was pulling for the guy. This goes for Leila, too—not only did she break Scott’s heart six years ago, but she didn’t even tell him why. But in no time flat, you’re hoping she’s doing okay after her father’s death and you feel bad for the situation she finds herself in. If it’s bad enough that she talks Scott into sticking around…
And I’ve gone on far too long here. I need to wrap things up.
Not Awkward is a warm and heart-filled story about revisiting the past, finding healing (whether or not you thought you needed it), and embracing a future that doesn’t look like you expected it would (and is probably better). It’s the kind of book that’ll make you feel a little better about life for a while—and who doesn’t want to read something like that?
The Monday holiday caught me a little off-guard, I really wasn’t ready to put together a WWW Wednesday, but I just remembered what day it was and I needed a little break anyway, so here we go!
This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at Diary-of-a-black-city-girl.
The Three Ws are:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
Easy enough, right?
I just started Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses by Kristen O’Neal, which looks promising and am listening to Raven Cursed by Faith Hunter, Khristine Hvam (Narrator) on audiobook.
I just finished the Lee Matthew Goldberg’s Runaway Train, a nifty coming-of-age story, and the fun The Authorities by Scott Meyer, Luke Daniels (Narrator) on audio.
My next book should be the second in the rejuvinated Hollows series: Million Dollar Demon by Kim Harrison. My next audiobook should be Nowhere to Run by C. J. Box, David Chandler (Narrator), which’ll get me practically half-way to caught up with this series.
What did you just finish/start?
May 2021 saw me complete 22 books for 6,238+ pages or the equivalent (I don’t have a page count on one of the unpublished books yet, and there as a DNF in there, too, so that’s where the + comes in). Not my strongest month, but given things going on in Real Life, I’m pleased with that. 3.5 Average Stars—read a couple of let-downs, and a decent number of books that were good, but not great. Which is fine with me, viva le 3 Stars! (and a couple of things blew me away, too—not going to complain about that!)
I posted something every single day in May—a feat I haven’t accomplished in years. Sure, some of the posts were a little on the lame side, but I still feel like I accomplished something there. Not a solid month, but it could’ve been worse, I’m satisfied.
So, here’s what happened here in May.
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| Average = | 3.5 |
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Incremental decrease! I’ll take it 🙂
“Traditionally” Published: 13
Self-/Independent Published: 9
| Genre | This Month | Year to Date |
|---|---|---|
| Children’s | 1 (5%) | 2 (2%) |
| Fantasy | 1 (5%) | 10 (9%) |
| General Fiction/ Literature | 1 (5%) | 3 (3%) |
| Horror | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) |
| Humor | 1 (5%) | 3 (3%) |
| Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller | 8 (36%) | 41 (37%) |
| Non-Fiction | 4 (18%) | 9 (8%) |
| Science Fiction | 1 (5%) | 13 (10%) |
| Steampunk | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) |
| Theology/ Christian Living | 1 (5%) | 11 (10%) |
| Urban Fantasy | 4 (21%) | 19 (17%) |
| Western | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) |
Other than the Saturday Miscellanies (1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th), I also wrote:
How was your month?
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Moonlighting: An Oral Historyby Scott Ryan eARC, 288 pg. Read: May 9-15, 2021 |
Over on Twitter last month, Grab This Book said something about requesting a book about Moonlighting on NetGalley, and the next thing I knew, I was on the site doing the same thing. It was a reflex, since I was twelve I wanted to know everything I could about David Addison, Agnes DiPesto, Maddie Hayes, Herbert Viola—everyone at the Blue Moon Detective Agency, their clients and adversaries. I watched first-run episodes, reruns, syndicated episodes (when it was possible to find them)—the only reason that I haven’t watched the whole series on DVD multiple times is that they’re hard to find—and prohibitively expensive when you do*. In short, I was a huge fan of the series, and the idea of a book devoted to it was something I had to get my hands on.
* But after I get this posted, I’m going to re-watch the first 3 seasons, I assure you.
People who have watched some/all of the ABC series that aired from 1985 to 1989. Well, not just watched but enjoyed the show. This isn’t going to work for you unless you have at least some familiarity with the show.
And the number of people familiar with the show isn’t that large and isn’t growing. Unlike so many things from that era, you can’t watch it on syndicated re-runs or a streaming service—and then there are the aforementioned issues with the DVDs.
But if you’re part of that group? This book is definitely for you.
There are discussions of each season, with chapters that focus on particular episodes as well—big ones, like the pilot, the black and white episode*, the Shakespeare episode**, the Christmas episode***, and so on****. There are discussions about some of the guest stars and specific behind-the-scenes personnel.
* “The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice”
** “Atomic Shakespeare”
* “Twas the Episode Before Christmas”
* like “The Son Also Rises”, “Big Man on Mulberry Street”, “I Am Curious… Maddie”
Aside from episodes/seasons, the focus is on the writers, creator, and primary stars—Cybil Shepherd, Allyce Beasley, Curtis Armstrong, and Bruce Willis. The first three appear in the book, but despite trying, Willis and the author couldn’t work out the timing.
It’s not all glowing and positive, there are real criticisms of the writing, plots, and characterizations—as well as how some scenes came out in the end. Some of the criticism is due to this being a show that’s very much a product of its time, doing things that wouldn’t make it to air today. There are frank and honest discussions about the behind-the-scenes drama and conflicts. But it’s all given from a place of love/admiration for the show, there are no cheap shots in these pages.
That said, on the whole, this is a very positive book—it’s written by a long-time fan (which is obvious), with interviews from the people most involved in the show’s production, most of whom have very positive memories and associations with the show. These people poured proverbial blood, sweat, and tears into Moonlighting and it shows in the way they talk about it.
This post was difficult to write, as you can see from that first paragraph, I can fanboy over this series with little provocation. I have 9 pages of single-spaced notes from this book. And restraining myself from using every note in this post was difficult. If I was reading this post-publication and could quote from it? I’d probably be unable to finish this post for a month because I’d be struggling to find the best 3-4 parts to quote.
When I read a book about a television show, I want a few things—I want something to
Yeah, that seems like a lot to ask for from a book, but if I’m going to take the time to read a book instead of watching a behind-the-scenes show or listening to a panel discussion, I want bang for my buck—I don’t always get it (and know that going in), but I want it. Moonlighting: An Oral History delivered on all of these fronts. In spades.
Also, I find that a lot of oral histories run out of steam after a while—to get one to stay interesting for almost 300 pages is a feat—and it takes a combination of great interview-ees and skill from the author in asking the right questions and then assembling the pieces used in the final product.
Could this have been improved if Ryan had been able to work out the scheduling to get Willis involved? Yes. Almost definitely—although, I think he maybe ended up coming off better this way. There’s no defensiveness on his part or protecting his name or anything like that (not that he necessarily would be that way, I don’t know)—it’s the cast, crew, and Ryan that get to sing his praises.
How much did I enjoy this book? I even liked the “Special Thanks” chapter—which is far more involved than your typical Acknowledgements section. Ryan talks about how the book came to be, how he interacted with some of the interview-ees, and so on. When even the Acknowledgements part of a book is worth commenting on/taking note of, you know you’ve got a winner of a read.
I had a blast reading this—I can’t imagine any half-hearted fan of the show not enjoying themselves. The only thing better might be sitting down to talk to Ryan about the show and what he learned from interviews (but that would be hard to refer back to, so maybe that wouldn’t be better).
If anyone out there has a copy of seasons 4 and/or 5 on DVD that they’d like to donate/sell for less than market price, please get in touch with me. Please.
Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Black Château via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.
This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.
This morning I’m pleased to host a Book Blitz for John Bowie’s Division [The Crows Over Cross Hill]–the third book in the Black Vicking Thriller series–to celebrate its publication today.
Book Title: Division [The Crows Over Cross Hill] by John Bowie
Publisher: Red Dog Press
Release date: June 1, 2021
Format: Ebook/Paperback
Length: 197 pages
Darkness Follows Wherever He Goes
John Black returns to Northern England for a family funeral, having left the woman he loves to protect her from his past.
His solace is broken as the sands shift, crows and gulls circle overhead, and children run on the beach where John used to play as a child… and where a body is found in the dunes by Cross Hill — the body of a woman John once knew.
With a set of coordinates left for him in a haunted pub, the body count grows, and the police are made fully aware of John’s connection.
As he drives the ancient coastal and rural landscapes, from Alnwick Castle, Hadrian’s Wall, Cragside to Kielder, racing to confront the killers, John wrestles the pain of bringing the evils of his past to his homelands and to all who know him.
Will Death Ever Leave Him?
The Red Dog Shop ~ Amazon ~ Kobo ~ Google Play
John writes articles, poetry, reviews, short stories and novels. His fiction is a semi-autobiographical mix of dirty realism, crime fiction and noir. Ghostly references to a heritage that includes the Vikings, Scotland, Ireland and the North, flavour the words throughout. Often with a dark but humoured edge.
John’s writing has appeared online and in print for the likes of Bristol Noir, Storgy Magazine, Litro Magazine, Punk Noir Magazine, Necro Magazine and Deadman’s Tome.
He grew up on the coast in rural Northumberland, a region steeped with a history of battles, Vikings, wars and struggles. These tales and myths fascinated him as a child, and then as an adult. In the mid to late nineties, he studied in Salford enjoying the bands, music, clubs and general urban industrial-ness of Greater Manchester, including the club scene and the infamous Hacienda. He was also there when the IRA bomb went off in 1996.
John has been partly inspired by 50s pulp hard-boiled detective fiction and the beat generation authors and poets. John aims to celebrate his female characters from his real-life through his writing, whilst retaining the hard-drinking, cynical honesty and the accessible writing style of these genres.
John lives in Bristol with his wife and daughters, where he has been since the late nineties. He is a professional designer, artist and writer as well as a proud husband, father, brother and son.
My thanks to Red Dog Press for the invitation to participate in this blitz and the materials they provided.
One summer.
Three months.
93 Days.
20 books.
Are you in?
Here’s the kickoff post on 746 Books in case you want more details. I had a lot of fun with this last year (the time pressure helped a lot), so let’s give it another shot. Last year, my list was a mix of summer releases, NetGalley things I’d been procrastinating on, and some things I’d meant to read for a while. But here’s the thing–I don’t need something prompting me to read the next Ace Atkins or Kevin Hearne, ditto for my NetGalley stack–that’s going to get read. So in keeping with my push to trim my TBR List (both aspirational and stuff I already own) this year, 19 of these 20 books are those (I did put one upcoming release on the list, it was a moment of weakness). It’s going to be an actual challenge to get all of these read, but I think I’m up for it.
Anyway, here’s my list (subject to change, but I’m going to resist the impulse to tweak as much as I can).
This morning I’m pleased to host a Book Blitz for C. J. Dunford’s YA Novel Fake News to celebrate its publication today.
Book Title: Fake News by C. J. Dunford
Publisher: FledglingPress
Release date: May 31, 2021
Format: Ebook
Length: 197 pages
Four teenagers, and one dog, suffer at the hands of online media and come up with a plan to show people they should never trust what they read on the internet. They launch their own news site detailing amazing, shocking, utterly believable but totally untrue stories. They always intend to come clean, but success goes to their heads and before long they are enmeshed in a world of spies and aliens. How will they get out of this unscathed? What happens next will change all of their lives forever.
Author of over 30 books, C J Dunford is best known for her crime and spy stories set around the world wars (The Euphemia Martins Mysteries and The Hope Stapleford Adventures).
She has been, in no particular order, a hypnotist, a drama teacher, a journalist, a psychotherapist, a voice actor, a playwright, and a novelist. She is currently a part-time Teaching Fellow at the University of Edinburgh where she teaches creative writing, freelance journalism, and statistics. Never one to follow the usual route she holds degrees in both arts and social science, as well as a smattering of professional qualifications. She is good with a blow torch, but better behind a steering wheel (her youngest son believes she used to be a racing driver). It was, in fact, a desperate attempt to get her two sons to read, and because she thinks all the best stories are YA, that she wrote Fake News. After all, with spies, cyber threats, disinformation, and aliens, why wouldn’t you want to read it?
My thanks to Love Books Group for the invitation to participate in this Blitz.
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R. C. Sproul: A LifeHardcover, 306 pg. Read: May 2-16, 2021 |
If you were to go into any (confessional) Presbyterian or Reformed church in the U. S., you would have a very difficult time finding anyone there who hasn’t read a book or watched/heard a lecture by R. C. Sproul, usually several of either/each. The Holiness of God and Chosen by God were monumental in my life—and so many of his other works were huge, too. I saw him live twice, and couldn’t tell you how many videos and audio tapes/mp3s I learned from.
Basically, this guy was as close to a contemporary giant as we’ve had (whether having a giant in the church is a good or bad thing is a different discussion), so of course, I had to jump at a chance to learn more about him.
It’s all there in the title, really. This is a look at the life of Robert Charles Sproul, author/teacher/minister. Nichols covers it all—from his childhood to university days (and conversion), his post-graduate education, and early work. Then he moves into the founding of the Ligonier Study Center and how that led to Sproul’s books, radio show, and the rest of his work, culminating in the planting of Saint Andrews Chapel and the founding Reformation Bible College. The history of Ligonier Ministries in its various stages of development is also traced throughout. The last chapter serves as an extended eulogy for Sproul, recapping the major points of his life’s work and glancing at his legacy.
In many ways this serves as an intellectual biography and Nicholls will examine the background, main points, and impact of some of Sproul’s major projects and works in addition to the account of his life and work. These portions of the book are the highlights for me—serving both as a reminder of things I’d forgotten and a handy summary of Sproul’s major contributions.
Nichols’ use of R. C. throughout, rather than Sproul, rubbed me the wrong way. I realize full well that the two had been friends for years, but I guess I expect a bit more formality from a biography.
It’s his friendship that colors this work, I think. There’s no critical eye on anything—personal choices, ecclesiastical acts, writing, public teaching, alliances with people in and out of the church—Nichols covers it all as if everything was inarguably positive and well done. While I’m sure Nichols would affirm that Sproul was fallible and capable of error, there’s no evidence of that in the book.
The discussion of Sproul’s thoughts on apologetics irked me. It’s stated that Sproul went to seminary a convinced presuppositionalist, and then Dr. Gerstner showed him the error of his ways on that issue, as well as Reformed Theology. So that his later critiques of Van Tillian apologetics come from the pen of someone who knows “both” sides and has seen the error of his ways. Well, if he didn’t become Reformed until after he shed his presuppositionalism, he wasn’t Van Tillian. Van Tillian presuppositionalism is rooted and grounded in Reformed (“Calvinistic”) theology, so Sproul was never in that camp. And frankly, I’ve listened to and read Sproul talking about Presuppositionalism, and as brilliant as he was, I just don’t think he ever really understood it. Is it that important? Not really—it just irked me, especially the way that Nichols used Sproul’s apologetic methodology in the book.
Ultimately, this is more of an extended tribute than a biography. Nichols is no Iain H. Murray. And when I was about halfway through this book, I realized that’s what I wanted—a book roughly equivalent to Murray’s The Life of Martyn Lloyd-Jones (although I’d have been satisfied with something closer to his work on Edwards). But there’s no way anyone could have something of that scale ready less than four years after Sproul’s death, so that’s unrealistic. But I’m not going to be satisfied until we get that.
Nevertheless, I do recommend this book—it’s a good look at the man, his life, and his work. It helps understand where he came from, what led to various books and themes in his work. I do think I know Sproul better after this and that’s a good thing.
Also, if anyone deserves a 300-page tribute, it’s R. C. Sproul.
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