Tag: 4 1/2 Stars Page 8 of 27

What Is Christianity? by Herman Bavinck, Gregory Parker Jr. (Translator): Short, Sweet, To the Point

DETAILS:
Publisher: Hendrickson Academic
Publication Date: May 17, 2022
Format: Paperback
Length: 83 pg.
Read Date: May 29, 2022

After all, [mankind’s] deepest needs always boil down to the fact that all that is finite rests in the Infinite and Eternal One, who cannot be thought of in any other way than as a just and holy God who hates sin and is far removed from wickedness. But if there is to be any talk of comfort and peace for mankind, then this just and holy God must also be a merciful and gracious Father, who reconciles and forgives sin, frees us from guilt, and accepts us as his children out of grace. And finally, he must also be the Almighty and Faithful One who can realize what he promises and who, in the course of regeneration and sanctification, transforms the world and mankind into a kingdom of God.

These are the ineradicable needs of the human heart. But they are also the basic ideas of Christianity, which stand before us in historical facts as monuments. The apostolic benediction of the love of the Father, the grace of the Son, and of the fellowship of the Holy Spirit is the core of the universal, undoubted, Christian faith [2 Cor. 13:14].

What’s What is Christianity? About?

These are two short works by the noted Dutch Theologian newly translated into English. The second piece is an essay he wrote in 1883 called “The Christian Faith” (and because it’s the way my mind works since it was written first, I had to read it first).

The first piece is a small book called Christianity that was published in 1912 as part of a series of books called Great Religions. In this work, he starts by talking about who Jesus is, then covers the life of Jesus and those aspects of the Christian faith common to all its branches. From there he gives a survey of this history of doctrine that is both concise and thorough (in a way I wish I could emulate), before landing on and summarizing a Reformed Protestant understanding of the Faith.

A Nice Touch

Before the text, Parker reprinted a brief review from The Princeton Theological Review of Christianity. It was nice to see a contemporary take on the work from a trusted name to see that what people think of Bavinck now is pretty much what people thought of him then.

So, what did I think about What is Christianity??

These are apologetic works to be sure, but they aren’t aggressive or all that assertive. Bavink is clear and convincing without being combative. Typically for him, he displays a catholicity in his approach—he’s clearly Reformed Protestant, but he doesn’t disparage other views.

Bavinck has a reputation (somewhat deserved) as being a difficult author to read and comprehend. This small book demonstrates pretty conclusively that he’s not always difficult.

I don’t know he accomplishes all he does in so few pages—there’s a lot of subtle theological and apologetic work, here. But there’s also a lot that’s just easy to digest, clear and helpful. Bavinck gives his readers a Christ-centered, Christ-focused definition and description of Christianity (you’d think that’d be a given, but…). As Warfield put it, “We cannot imagine how the work could be done better.”

4 1/2 Stars

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 expressed are my own.

Nothing to See Here (Audiobook) by Kevin Wilson, Marin Ireland: This Family Drama Hits All the Right Notes

By HCNewton

On May 24, 2022

In Audiobook, Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

Nothing to See Here

by Kevin Wilson, Marin Ireland (Narrator)

DETAILS:
Publisher: HarperAudio
Publication Date: October 29, 2019
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 6 hr., 40 min.
Read Date: May 16-17, 2022

What’s Nothing to See Here About?

Over a decade ago Lillian and Madison were roommates at a boarding school for the upper crust (or scholarship kids like Lillian). They were incredibly close until Lillian was expelled. Even then, Madison wrote Lillian regularly and Lillian responded sometimes. They didn’t see each other, only corresponded.

Madison’s gone on to success in politics—first as a campaign staffer, now as the wife of a Senator, who is likely to be tapped for a Cabinet position. Lillian…well, she’s not done really well for herself. The controversy over her expulsion followed her through school—she didn’t get the scholarships she needed to get out of her situation. She’s still living with her mother—which is a pretty contentious relationship.

Now Madison writes with a job offer/plea for help. The Senator’s previous wife has recently died and he needs to take custody of their children. Madison would like Lillian to act as a governess (Lillian keeps saying “nanny,” much to Madison’s consternation) for them, at least until her husband’s nomination is confirmed by the Senate.

There’s a catch. The twins will sometimes burst into flames. Like Johnny Storm without the flying or the trip into space that goes horribly wrong.

They won’t suffer any injury from it, but the same can’t be said for their clothing or anything near them. Lillian needs to keep them out of the press, away from Madison’s son, and hopefully under control. They want to/need to take care of the twins, but really don’t want to have anything to do with them.

This will be the best-paying job Lillian ever has held. She knows nothing about working with kids—and the only models she’s ever had for it are horrible. But she’ll do whatever Madison asks (and she could use the money). Also, she knows what it’s like to be a kid who needs a break—maybe she can help these kids out.

A Pleasant Twist

So you have a couple of kids who burst into flames from time to time. 97% of authors are going to devote the novels to the rest of the characters spending the bulk of the book trying to figure out how or why that happens, and what they can do to stop it/duplicate it/fight crime with it.

Wilson’s in that other 3%, thankfully. Yes, there are some efforts to learn why it happens, but that’s never the focus—and most of the time, those who are investigating aren’t characters who were supposed to be that sympathetic.

The focus remains on the kids as kids—how does Lillian help them feel safe? Wanted? Normal? She does work with them on not bursting into flame—but it’s not so much about the ability/affliction, but about helping them to be comfortable in their own skins—whatever temperature it is. It’s about self-acceptance (which leads to control).

How Was the Narration?

Normally, it takes me a chapter or two to “get into” a new-to-me narrator, or at least to decide what I think of the narration overall. But Ireland won me over within the first couple of minutes—as a certain janitor says, “I don’t know what IT is, but [s]he’s got it.”

She’s a narrator I’ll keep my eyes out for. I don’t know that I’ve seen her in anything, but I saw today that she’s going to be in the Justified revival—I’m looking forward to that.

So, what did I think about Nothing to See Here?

One of the reasons that I put off reading/listening to this book for so long, was that I remember The Family Fang falling apart in the end—or at least not ending as good as the first 80% or so of the book was*. I was more than a little apprehensive that the same thing would apply here. Thankfully, I was wrong.

* My memory of it is hazy, that’s just the sense I have—I could be wrong.

This book started strong and kept getting better—it didn’t end like I thought it would but ended the only way it could’ve (in retrospect). The only way it could’ve been better is for the middle bit to be longer and more detailed. These are fantastic characters, and the concept is just as fantastic. These kids belong in a speculative work of some kind—SF or Fantasy (Urban or otherwise). But no, Wilson puts them in the middle of a family drama. And it’s great to see. Funny, warm, and heartfelt—Nothing to See Here scored on all fronts for me.

4 1/2 Stars

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.

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd: Will Take You Somewhere You Didn’t Expect

By HCNewton

On May 9, 2022

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

The Cartographers

by Peng Shepherd

DETAILS:
Publisher: William Morrow
Publication Date: March 14,2022
Format: Hardcover
Length: 387 pg.
Read Date: May 4-7, 2022

“What do you know about that?” she asked.

“Not much,” Nell lied. “Ramona told me it was destroyed a long time ago.”

Eve grimaced. “It was dangerous, that thing. Cursed. Everyone who touched it got hurt.” Her eyes drifted back to the compass rose symbol. “And it’s still not over.”

What’s The Cartographers About?

This is hard—I tried to describe this to some friends earlier, and I tripped over myself so many times while trying to make this sound enticing while not giving anything away. I’d call that conversation a rough draft of this section, but it was so bad that Anne Lamott’s going to have to revise the section in Bird by Bird about sh***y first drafts.

Nell Young has had a life-long obsession with maps—her parents have doctorates in cartography and it might as well have been encoded in her DNA. She and her boyfriend had internships in the New York Public Library where her father works, too. Then one day, she finds a couple of maps in a forgotten corner of the Library, one of which is an old gas station map. Her father flips out over what she found, for reasons she can’t really understand—a major argument ensues and she’s fired. So is Felix, her boyfriend. Not just that, but her father goes on to wage a war on their reputations—they’re finished in academia.

Felix leaves the field and Nell goes to work for an Internet company making faux historical maps. Years pass without Nell speaking to her father, then he dies suddenly. While looking through his office, Nell finds that gas station map and is flabbergasted. Why would he keep that thing?

Nell starts asking questions and learning things about her family, and a whole lot more.

Visual Aids

As is fitting for a book about maps, the novel has some. Not many, most of the ones in the book are described, not seen. But there are just enough—the important ones—to ensure the reader can visualize what’s going on—we see what Nell and the rest see.

It’s a great touch—I love that Shepherd included those—I’m one of those fantasy readers who rarely glances at the maps in those books—but I spent time on these.

I Couldn’t Stop Thinking About…

Last week, I quipped that this book was “very Mr. Penumbra-esque.” This was too blithe and flippant. And yet…I couldn’t get it out of my mind.

Shepherd doesn’t write anything like Sloan, the worlds are completely different, and the way they approach character and narrative don’t really overlap. Really I think the only thing I can point to that is a demonstrable similarity is the way that they approach Big Tech companies—but this novel’s Haberson Global is more like the company in Sourdough, anyway, so I’m not sure it counts.

Again, I couldn’t stop thinking about Mr. Penumbra’s 24‑Hour Bookstore. It’s about some dedicated and brilliant people whose passion for and pursuit of something that everyone else in the world pretty much takes for granted. There’s a little more to it, but I’d have to spoil stuff about both books, so I’m not going to get into it.

So, what did I think about The Cartographers?

I never, not for one minute, thought that a book about maps and mapmakers would be this riveting. And I was wrong. Not that I’ve spent that much time thinking about books about mapmakers, but you get the idea.

I’ve read some pretty strong thrillers that weren’t as gripping as this. Shepherd paced this perfectly and kept building the tension in just the right manner. Even when I got to the point where I’d figured everything out—even the mind-bendy bits—and was just waiting for Nell and the rest to catch up, I was on the edge of my seat. That tension extends to things that happened before the novel’s present time—we’d get chapters of first-person narration from some of Nell’s father’s friends from when she was a toddler. I knew where certain characters would end up because you’d met them already—but that didn’t make the uncertainty about what was going to happen to them in the memory much easier to take.

But this isn’t just a thriller—it’s a story about a family. One of the sweetest, strangest, and saddest found families you’re going to run into. A mantra that runs throughout this book the way Uncle Ben’s “With great power…” runs through certain movies* is that the purpose of a map is to connect people. The way that these people are connected would be difficult to map out—the routes certainly are intricate and varied—but the connections are strong and lasting.

* Yes, I know it’s from the comics first—but the comics rarely, if ever, beat that drum the way some of the movies do.

I was less than satisfied with the ending—because I thought it was headed somewhere else, and then it seemed to aim in a different direction, and it ended up in a third. I think the expectation problems are all mine, they’re not from the text. I’m also sure that the ending we get is stronger than what I expected. Still, it’s hard to for me accept what we got since I’d spent 100 or so pages sure we were getting something else.

None of that changes the bottom line of this post—you’re going to want to read this book. I strongly recommend it. There are few books like it in the world, and that’s a shame. But it means that there’s every reason to read this.

4 1/2 Stars

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 expressed are my own.

Amongst Our Weapons by Ben Aaronovitch: Fear, and Surprise, and Ruthless Efficiency, and two Births.

By HCNewton

On April 20, 2022

In Ben Aaronovitch, Fiction, Rivers of London (Peter Grant), Urban Fantasy

Amongst Our Weapons

by Ben Aaronovitch

DETAILS:
Series: Rivers of London, #9
Publisher: DAW
Publication Date: April 11, 2022
Format: Hardcover
Length: 294 pg.
Read Date: April 12-15

What’s Amongst Our Weapons About?

Peter’s called in for an initial assessment on an odd murder scene, just to make sure that there’s nothing magical about it. He brings along the newest trainee to the Folly’s Course in magical policing, just to familiarize police throughout the country with their methods. On an initial glance, it looks like it’s something that would belong to the Folly, but there’s an odd lack of vestigium—almost a suspicious lack. The method of murder—and the damage to the more technical devices in the area make it clear that this is a magical murder.

So, Peter and his trainee, join Guleed and Stephanopoulos in their investigation. They soon discover that this murder is actually the second in a string—there’s little to tie the two victims together at first glance, except a similar taste in platinum rings. “Taste” is a poor word there, it’s more of an obsessive need to have their ring that invites Gollum comparisons (however they might be discouraged).

This case is likely the most International that the novels have recorded (although no one leaves the country—as helpful as that might have been) and involves history and magical disciplines that Nightingale and Postmartin can only speculate about. In other words—everyone’s in for a pretty steep learning curve before this is all done.

I feel like I’ve spent a lot of words there to say very little, but it’s one of those setups, I’m not sure what else to do.

Everyone Expects…

With a title like that, if the words “Spanish Inquisition,” aren’t on the tip of your tongue, something’s wrong with you. So, you can’t help but look for the Inquisition to show up in the novel—it’s the how it shows up that’s clever and wholly within what you expect for the series.

Aaronovitch doesn’t work Monty Python into this novel quite as thoroughly as he did with the Hitchhiker’s Guide references in False Value—but it’s there. Which is a fun little garnish.

Building Worlds and Bridges

If everything else in this novel was a “bleh” (and it wasn’t), I’d consider this one a win only for the things I’m talking about in this section.

The Rivers of London series has a pretty well-developed world, and there’s a lot of room to play already. But Aaronovitch keeps building it out—and we get a good deal of it here. There’s a whole other side to the world of practitioners in England pre-WWII that we didn’t know about and that Nightingale hasn’t seen a reason to share with Peter before. I loved this new discipline, how it was introduced, and how it ties in with other non-Society of the Wise British practitioners.

It’s very clear that whatever the Magical community looked like pre-WWII, the War devasted it—alliances are shattered, secrecy and nationalism became the order of the day—with a healthy dose of suspicion. Slowly some of the barriers are coming down and Peter has a lot to do with that—his activity alone has helped practitioners in other nations (see: Germany) become aware of the Folly’s current status. Also, Peter’s relationship with Beverly and her family is strengthening and altering the relationship between the Folly, the Demi-monde in general, and The Rivers in particular. We see a big jump on the domestic front with the other discipline and some other things in these pages—but also, there’s a real sign that Peter’s trying to forge a stronger connection between the magical communities of the U.K. and the U.S. I can only hope that this will soon result in Tobias Winter and Peter meeting up.

Also, there’s something that was briefly mentioned in False Value that’s returned to here, but isn’t given all that much attention. I think, ultimately, this is going to be the post-Faceless Man Big Bad, and this slow build-up to it in a series of 2+ is great. I’m including this with the Worldbuilding because it’s pretty clear that whatever this ends up being, Peter (and I bet Nightingale, too) are going to have to reconsider what they know about the world.

Awwwww…

When the book opens, Beverly is close to delivering the twins. In practically every conversation that Peter gets into, someone is asking him about the upcoming birth, the christening (or whatever they end up doing), etc. Seemingly every minor character from the series so far is talking about it.

There are all sorts of goings-on at Beverly’s home to prepare for the birth—and those who aren’t asking Peter questions are chipping in to get things ready.

All hands are on deck—several in unexpected ways—on this front, and for long-time fans, this whole story through the novel is going to be a real pleasure—it’s the emotional heart of the novel and it pays off well. This storyline—especially the last ten pages of the book—is almost enough to tip me from the 4 Stars I was going to give the novel to a 5.

So, what did I think about Amongst Our Weapons?

I’ve tipped my hand already, I realize, but I liked this novel—a lot. This is fairly predictable—it’s the ninth novel in a series that I’m a completist in. I’ve read and listened to the previous eight novels, short stories, and novellas at least once—and have read all the comics one or two times, too. So, it’d take a massive drop in quality for me to be negative about this. It’s not my favorite in the series—but it’s on the upper end of the spectrum.

I do wonder if the main story could’ve been focused on a bit more in the midst of the personal story and all the expansion of the world that’s going on, it sometimes seemed to take a backseat to other things. I think we got a simpler story so that Aaronovitch could do all the extra things without overcrowding the novel. Also, I can’t think of a thing he should’ve cut. If anything, I think it could’ve been improved with another 100-150 pages of material. For example, we’d have been better served to have our favorite FBI Agent, Kim Reynolds, get 2-4 scenes showing some work in the States related to the crimes.

There are some great character moments—including from some unexpected corners. For example, we get some background on one character that I’d simply assumed we’d never learn more about (I think Peter was with me on this point). Like so many things in this novel, that’s a real treat for the fans.

It’s hard to say without knowing where things are going, but it feels to me like the first arc wrapped up in Lies Sleeping and False Value served as a chance for the characters and readers to catch their breath after it, and Amongst our Weapons is setting things up for the next arc. Given all the things that are set up? It’s going to make taking down the Faceless Man seem easy. I can’t wait.

Obviously, I recommend this to those who’ve read this series—although I probably don’t need to. If you’ve read this far and haven’t read the series—I encourage you to do so. I don’t know that this is where I’d jump on—it’s not a bad place, per se, but it’s not the best. Maybe try False Value first—however, going back to the beginning would be best.

4 1/2 Stars

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.

What Are Christians For? Life Together at the End of the World by Jake Meador: A View for Living in Culture and Nature

By HCNewton

On April 10, 2022

In Non-Fiction, Theology/Christian Living

What Are Christians For?:
Life Together at the End of the World

by Jake Meador

DETAILS:
Publisher: IVP
Publication Date: February 21, 2022
Format: Hardcover
Length: 170 pg.
Read Date: March 27- April 3, 2022

God looks at this world and loves it, which is why we can and should do the same. This world is not something we should seek to escape through conquest or bend to our will through technique, power, or control. Rather, it is a gift given to us by God for our joy and his glory. Because God is love and his law is good, we can look at our neighbor and love him or her. Because God gave himself to us, we can give ourselves to others. We can confidently and joyfully enter into these debts of love that we build up over a lifetime of living in the world, and we can dispense them with extravagance, trusting that whatever wrongs we might experience today as a result of such living will be gathered up and made right in the glorious and perfect love of God.

The Back of the Book

What does a Christian political witness look like in our day?

Politics ought to be defined by fidelity to the common good of all the members of society. But our modern Western politics are defined by a determination to bend the natural world and human life to its own political and economic ends. This wholesale rejection of the natural order is behind the dominant revolutions in our history, and defines our experience in Western society today—our racialized hierarchy, modern industry, and the sexual revolution.

In What Are Christians For?, Jake Meador lays out a proposal for a Christian politics rooted in the givenness and goodness of the created world. He is uninterested in the cultural wars that have so often characterized American Christianity. Instead, he casts a vision for an ordered society that rejects the late modern revolution at every turn and is rooted in the natural law tradition and the great Protestant confessions. Here is a political approach that is antiracist, anticapitalist, and profoundly pro-life. A truly Christian political witness, Meador argues, must attend closely to the natural world and renounce the metallic fantasies that have poisoned common life in America life for too long.

Faithful Presence

In his discussion of the Christian response to those revolutions, Meador borrows a scheme from James Davison Hunter describing the four postures Christians have taken: defensive against, relevance to, purity from, and faithful presence.

He doesn’t spend a lot of space—but sufficient space—defining and then critiquing the first three, but gives more space to faithful presence. And actually, everything he argues for in the remainder of the book could fit in this category. I want to say I’d heard of Hunter’s categories before this, but I can’t remember where (in print or lecture). But first off, I really appreciated the schema in terms of describing how the American Church has responded. But even more, I appreciated Meador’s explanation of faithful presence and then his application of it.

Influences

Meador builds the arguments in this book on the work of Herman Bavinck—particularly his book, Christian Worldview. But he’s drawing on several other thinkers and writers from across the theological spectrum (a methodology borrowed from Bavinck). You can see the fingerprints of Lewis, Tolkien, Wendell Berry, John Paul II, Solzhenitsyn, Martin Bucer—and others. There’s a breadth of influences here that’s impressive and adds a lot to the arguments (and makes narrow-minded guys like me a little uncomfortable).

So, what did I think about What Are Christians For??

What did [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn] propose as a way through the revolution? We must turn, our eyes upward to the heavens, he said, not as a place to conquer, as his compatriots in the space program believed, but as a reminder that our lives exist as a vapor in the wind, and then comes the judgment.

We do not conquer the heavens; we are judged by them. And if we fail to discover the sources of spiritual health, there is nothing else for us. Our spiritual lives will continue to be trampled on by the weight of our age. And if our spiritual lives are destroyed, no amount of wealth or power can atone for such a loss.

This seems like one of those books that I need to read a handful of times and then read some scholarly reviews—pro and con—before I can really say I have a handle on the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments. Thankfully, this isn’t that kind of blog.

How did it read? Very nicely. Meador’s writing is strong, it’s clear, and he’s able to express complex thoughts in a very digestible manner. Sure, I think I need to read it a few more times before I could say I mastered the thoughts—but that’s on me, not the text, this is just not the kind of thing I spend a lot of time thinking about. I appreciated Meador being critical of both the American Left and the American Right (you rarely see that in Christian literature), while putting forth a vision built on the best of the Christian traditions.

I don’t think Meador offers a perfect solution to the situation we find ourselves in, but there’s a lot of insight and wisdom to be found in these pages. And even if it’s not perfect, it’s a whole lot better than anything else I’ve found.

4 1/2 Stars

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.

Double Take by Elizabeth Breck: It’s As If This PI Novel Was Customized For Me…

By HCNewton

On March 24, 2022

In Uncategorized

Double Take

by Elizabeth Breck

DETAILS:
Series: Madison Kelly, #2
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: October 11, 2021
Format: Hardcover
Length: 321 pg.
Read Date: March 21-22, 2022

Five days was an eternity with a missing person; forty-eight or even seventy-two hours was the cut-off for a good chance of finding the person alive. But five days was still something to work with. Madison could help bring another person safely home. Finding someone who was kidnapped or lost or just needed help to get home was so fulfilling, it was like having a life’s purpose she’d never known she’d been without.

What’s Double Take About?

Madison is approached by Travis, the desperate boyfriend of Barrett Brown, a reporter for an almost impossibly-small newspaper who’s been missing for five days. He’s afraid she’s been abducted, he’s afraid she’s being tortured or worse, and is about to die.

Madison is dealing with some medical issues and just finished a case that took her out of state, but how can she possibly leave this to the police (who don’t seem to believe that Barrett didn’t just ghost Travis)? So she jumps into action—retracing Barrett’s steps, figuring out what story she was working on—assuming that’s the reason she’s missing.

This leads Madison down a twisty path into a criminal conspiracy that she can only see the barest outlines of—and might end up leading her into grave danger.

While she’s searching, Madison has to deal with someone having her followed, the aforementioned medical issues, and a truly inconvenient spark of attraction between her and Travis. Who might not be the great boyfriend he gives the initial impression of being.

My Alma Mater

Chapter One takes place on the campus of the University of Idaho—so you know Breck gets extra points from me for that. Would’ve been an easy 5-Star read if the whole book had taken place there—or at least most of it.

But no, Madison has to go home to San Diego—sure, it’s hard to blame her, San Diego in October has got to be more pleasant—wrecking my hope for a PI novel on campus.

Madison’s Development

After the events of Anonymous, Madison’s picked up some notoriety—she’s become a go-to for missing persons. This is great, she’d been bemoaning how all she’d been doing was insurance work in Anonymous, and it wasn’t that fulfilling—but as we see in the above quotation, she’s finding satisfaction in her work. It’s also nice to see that she’s getting some attention, you frequently get the idea in P.I. fiction that the work is largely unseen.

Another departure from the norm is that Madison’s monetarily successful at the moment—the typical PI is scraping by. Not Madison—at least not now.

The focus on missing persons reminded me of Elvis Cole, just up the coast from Madison—but despite some wealthy clients, you don’t get the idea that he’s as successful. He definitely doesn’t seem to get the notoriety. So, I guess I have to update my one sentence description of Madison from being “Kinsey Millhone for today” to add “with an Elvis Cole twist.”

It’s good that she’s got money coming in, because this self-employed, and likely under-insured woman has medical bills. I wasn’t sure what to think of the discussion of Madison’s past cancer in the first book, but seeing it here, I’m seeing what Beck’s intention is and I like the way it gives the character another dimension and unconsciously (sometimes, anyway) shapes her actions.

Madison and Barrett

One of the ways you can see the appropriateness of the title is that from the first conversation with Travis, Madison starts noting all the coincidental parallels between what’s she’s told about Barrett and what she knows about herself. This can go one of two ways, typically—either this becomes a large hurdle for the protagonist doing their job, or it’s a motivator. This largely serves as a motivation—but it also causes a couple of problems for Madison—at most it’s a distraction occasionally.

It’s arguable that she gets invested pretty quickly because of the parallels, but not by much. Also, Breck finds a way to use this sense of them being so similar in both a positive and negative way for Madison—and then adds a new layer to this later in the book. It didn’t go the way I expected, fully, but I appreciated it.

So, what did I think about Double Take?

I was pretty enthusiastic about Anyonymous, and this cemented my initial impression of Breck and Madison. I was enjoying this the entire time, but toward the end, Beck shifts into high gear and…wow. It’s the kind of ending where you find yourself leaning forward as you read, because somehow that helps you get to what happens next faster; you don’t hear the music/people/animals around you; and your eyes move just too slowly. Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating there, but woe betide anyone who attempted to distract me during the last quarter or so of the book.

This is a fast-paced book. The main action starts Monday evening and ends in the pre-dawn on Friday. In that time, Madison has to find a missing (hopefully still alive woman), figure out why she’s missing/abducted (which leads to a larger criminal act), deal with some personal (some of which should have been dealt with already) and medical issues—and maybe catch a wink or two of sleep. All that in a short amount of time helps explain a couple of the blunders she makes—but those help ground and humanize her, so who cares about them? Especially the way Breck uses those mistakes.

And, hey, she still quotes Nero Wolfe twice. University of Idaho and Wolfe quotations—it’s really like Elizabeth Breck wrote this for me. A delusional thought, I realize, but I like my delusions.

I do wish Breck had made it a little more difficult for the reader to see the things that Madison didn’t/couldn’t put together. I get why she did that, and it was probably the right move, but I still would’ve preferred to work a little harder. That’s the sole issue I have with Double Take, and who knows, any other day, I might have considered that a feature instead of a bug.

Even if you’re not me, if you’re a fan of P.I. novels, I don’t see how this novel/author/character/series doesn’t appeal to you. Madison’s tough, smart, lucky (and knows how important that is), and committed. Brisk and assured writing. A nice bit of sleuthing to find a pretty clever crime (committed by some people who really shouldn’t ever get into criminal activity—and some who seem born to it). My only regret is that I have to wait for the third book in this series to be published before I can dive in.

4 1/2 Stars

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.

You’re Only Human by Kelly M. Kapic: The Reality and Comfort of Creaturely Finitude

By HCNewton

On March 13, 2022

In Non-Fiction, Theology/Christian Living

You’re Only Human:
How Your Limits Reflect
God’s Design and Why
That’s Good News

by Kelly M. Kapic

DETAILS:
Publisher: Brazos Press
Publication Date: January 17, 2022
Format: Hardcover
Length: 228
Read Date: January 23-30, 2022

What’s You’re Only Human About?

Creaturely finitude is less an idea we discover than a reality we run into.

When we do run into this idea (as we all will), we frequently interpret that reality incorrectly—not recognizing that our limits, our finitude, as part of who we are as creatures (or forgetting that if we do recognize that). As such we can push against them in unhealthy ways, ignore them to our own peril, or see them as the result of sin, not the result of creation.

What Kapic sets out to do is to remind us that part of being a creature is having limits. When we remember that, we can live as we ought—in dependence on the God who made us that way. As he puts it,

Many of us fail to understand that our limitations are a gift from God, and therefore good. This produces in us the burden of trying to be something we are not and cannot be.

Particularity and Limits

Kapic reminds his readers that the doctrine of Creation shouldn’t just be limited to our understanding of Genesis 1-2, but to reflecting on the design, abilities, and limitations of humanity. These limitations would be in place regardless of our fallen state—sure, the fall twists those limitations—but they’re part of the original state.

In the first part of the book, Kapic lays out the theology necessary for this—and ties it to the Gospel, lest we get distracted from what matters most.

Healthy Dependence

The second part of the book talks about the creaturely dependence that flows from this—we aren’t capable of everything we need or want to accomplish, but He is. This is part of created humanity, and it takes on new meaning in Christ.

Tied to this idea of dependence is humility.

Humility consists in a recognition of (and a rejoicing in) the good limitations that God has given us; it is not a regrettable necessity, nor simply a later addition responding to sinful disorders. Even if there had never been a fall into sin, humility would still have the essential character of gratitude for our dependence on God and for his faithful supply of our need. Humility is built on the Creator/creature distinction; its response to sin emphasizes our further need for God to restore us to the fellowship that he always intended us to inhabit.

Kapic spends a lot of time drawing out the implications of this—in light of both Creation and Redemption.

Lament and Gratitude

We can express our humility and dependence in both our lament and our gratitude—this part of the application section of the book was probably the most rewarding to me. Kapic makes the case that they’re mirror concepts rooted in humility and dependence on our Creator and Redeemer, and both ought to be embraced by the believer.

So, what did I think about You’re Only Human?

It took me over a month to be mostly satisfied with what I wanted to say about this book—an example of creaturely finitude, come to think of it. I struggled over this—really wanting to get into all of his ideas and arguments. But that’s not what this blog is for (thankfully, or I’d be working on this post for another six months, minimum). I’ve trimmed this post a few times while putting it together, in fact, because I kept getting in the weeds.

You’re Only Human is the kind of book that I really don’t think I got a handle on after one read—I’m planning on a re-read this summer, in fact. I’ve got a general sense of it, but I want to return to it having a bird’s-eye view, so I can appreciate more of the details.

I don’t know if this is going to hit every reader like it did me—very likely it won’t—but this is just what I needed. Still, I think what Kapic has to say will resonate with and be helpful for many.

4 1/2 Stars

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.

Robert B. Parker’s Bye Bye Baby by Ace Atkins: Atkins’ Farewell to Spenser Will Not Disappoint their Fans

By HCNewton

On January 24, 2022

In Ace Atkins, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Robert B. Parker, Spenser

Robert B. Parker’s Bye Bye Baby

by Ace Atkins

DETAILS:
Series: Spenser, #50
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Publication Date: January 11, 2022
Format: Hardcover
Length: 304 pg.
Read Date: January 19, 2022

Over the years, many things have changed about my profession. I no longer kept an actual landline on my desk. Since no one had called it since a little past the first of the millennium, I discontinued the service.

My superhuman ability to scroll through microfilm was no longer in demand. Almost anything I needed to look up, from old news stories, to criminal histories, to vehicle records, could be found online. Although I missed my visits to the Boston Public Library, I’d accepted the long, boring hours at my desk, thinking about how many old cases I could’ve solved with Google.

What’s Bye Bye Baby About?

Spenser’s hired by the campaign manager for a Congresswoman during her first re-election bid. Carolina Garcia-Ramirez, aka CGR, has had enemies since she first announced her candidacy (despite its reputation, Boston has a fair share of people antagonistic to a progressive woman politician—especially if she’s a minority), but lately, the threats are more specific and indicate inside information. Despite the Congresswoman’s resistance to the idea, Spenser joins her team as both a bodyguard and to investigate these threats.

Suspects range from any number of racist and alt-right groups, lone individuals, and someone related to the campaign of her opponent—the same man she unseated during the last primary.

It’s not long before Spenser runs into FBI agents, who have a different agenda regarding the Garcia-Ramirez. Spenser wants to stop whoever’s threatening her—as soon as possible. The FBI is more concerned with leveraging these threats into making a larger case against extremists in the region. They do agree, however, that the threats are real and the Congresswoman is in real danger.

The Hawk Storyline

In exchange for helping Spender on CGR-Duty, Hawk asks him to try to track down a woman from his past. Hawk rarely (that we see) asks Spenser for help with something in exchange for his services, so that was noteworthy in and of itself. But for him to ask for this kind of favor? Double strange.

Sadly, most of the developments in this story happen off-screen. And while there are plenty of surprises in it, because it’s so off-screen, it’s too easy to overlook what’s going on. (I honestly only remembered to write something about it just before I hit “Schedule” on this post)

Too Political?

There’s a lot of talk about Atkins making this too political (not the first time it’s been said about his Spenser novels). I can only imagine this was written by people who skipped a handful of Parker’s novels, primarily Looking for Rachel Wallace.

I say that not just because it was Parker at his (arguably) most political,* but this novel was clearly influenced by Looking for Rachel Wallace—I made note of the resemblance on page 18 (but I’d wondered about it before then), and it only became clearer as the book went on.

* Double Deuce, Thin Air, and Pale Kings and Princes jumped to mind as clearly political, too. If I let myself spend time thinking about it, I’d have no problem coming up with more.

Yes, Carolina Garcia-Ramirez/CGR, is obviously modeled on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez/AOC. The crimes planned and attempted have similarly obvious recent real-world parallels. But this is not a book that only partisans can enjoy, if they can put up with Spenser pushing back on the stances of his Republican client in The Widening Gyre*, they can put up with this. Come to think of it, The Widening Gyre is pretty important for the background to this book.

* Oh, look, another one!

Also, if taking a strong anti-racist stance is going to get someone who’s a fan of Hawk, Bobby Horse, Chollo, and Sixkill decrying the political stance. Maybe they haven’t been paying attention to the series.

Bye Bye, Atkins

“Have you found any suspects?” Susan said.

“Nope.”

“Got any leads?” she said.

“Zip.”

“Planning on doing more than just poking around and annoying people?”

“Why mess with a winning formula?”

Alas, that’s exactly what’s going to happen—the winning formula of Ace Atkins donning the Parker mantle for this series is no more, and Mike Lupica will be taking over.

Atkins is moving on so he can write some projects of his own that he doesn’t have time for while handling Spenser. That’s absolutely understandable, and I look forward to seeing what he’s going to do. But I’m going to miss him with these characters and series—I remember being about a quarter of the way through Lullaby and breathing a sigh of relief—not only was he as good as Parker, he was as good as Parker in his prime. I thought I’d be saying goodbye to a very old friend after Parker died, and Atkins let me hang on a little longer.

I’m a little worried about the series. Lupica’s doing a good job with Sunny Randall (his last one is forthcoming this year), and isn’t bad with the Jesse Stone books. But I doubt he’s going to be as good as Atkins with Spenser. I’m hoping to eat my words, though.

So, what did I think about Bye Bye Baby?

“You think these threats could be legitimate?”

“Maybe” [Wayne Cosgrove] said. “Hell, It only takes one person. It’s just a goddamn mess to see through all the noise and bluster these days. Everyone is angry. Everyone has an ax to grind. At least in the old days, a nut had to roll a sheet of paper into the typewriter or paste together some jumbled clippings from a magazine. But now all they have to do is use a dummy email account and be done.”

“The perils of sleuthing in the twenty-first century.”

It’s a little hard separating my feelings and thoughts about this book from Atkins’ entire run with this being his last, but I’m going to try.

I don’t think this was his strongest outing—nor was it his weakest—but it was as fun as you could want. Spenser’s wit was on full power, as was his gift for observation. The mid-novel fight scene was pretty good–as were the other action scenes. The campaign staff were believable and interesting—as was CGR (although her boyfriend got on my nerves, I think by design). A lot of that story was predictable, but Atkins told it well enough that you didn’t mind—there are only so many things you can do in a story about bodyguarding someone, after all. There were also plenty of unexpected things along the way, so even if the destination was clear all along, Atkins’s route to it wasn’t.

The only sour note for me was the investigation for Hawk—it felt like Atkins had a good idea at the beginning, and just didn’t have the time to develop it as he should’ve. I do wonder if he was just setting something up for Lupica. It’s the only thing that makes sense to me.

Atkins brought out all of the major characters from his run, and many from Parker’s, for one last ride—it was great to see them before the hand-off. Atkins even made one major character move (one might say it was overdue and something that Parker should’ve done).

This would work as a jumping-on point to the series—although I can’t imagine here in book 50 that there’s anyone who hasn’t tried the series but is considering it. But more importantly, it’s one for the fans written by a fellow fan, and that audience should be more than satisfied with it.

4 1/2 Stars

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.

Mistletoe and Crime by Chris McDonald: Adam and Colin Get Called Back into Action

By HCNewton

On December 8, 2021

In Chris McDonald, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, The Stonebridge Mysteries

This is going up a bit later than intended because I cut out about 30-40% of what I’d written—you can only go on so long about a novella before you’re competing with the length of the material. Hopefully, it’s still coherent.

Mistletoe and Crime

by Chris McDonald
Series: The Stonebridge Mysteries, #5

Kindle Edition, 115 pg.
Red Dog Press, 2021

Read: December 7, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

The Intervening Year

So, it’s been a year since The Case of the Missing Firefly. Colin and Adam have seemingly retired from the jobs they never really had. They haven’t been in the wrong place at the right time to stumble upon a corpse or haven’t been recruited by loved ones frustrated by the police’s inaction, so they’ve been able to focus on things like Adam’s business and relationship, Colin’s job, and their ongoing PlayStation FIFA rivalry.

We’re given a little nugget about part of the reason for their inactivity:

After a number of embarrassing blunders, there was an investigation into the Stonebridge police force, which resulted in them taking crimes in the town a bit more seriously. This meant that the kinds of miscarriages and oversights that Adam and he had looked into had reduced in number, rendering the amateur detective duo obsolete.

I think it’s charming that protests, marches, and scandal are what lead to changes/potential changes in policing in series like Goldberg’s Eve Ronin or Connelly’s Renée Ballard, in Stonebridge’s universe, it takes a couple of guys who’ve spent too much time watching Sherlock to get the police in line. Of course, this is also a town where the “bad side” is characterized by “vegan food stores and hippy clothing bazaars.” If I can’t move to Stars Hollow, CT, maybe I can emigrate to Stonebridge…

Thankfully, in the Real World, Chris McDonald had plans for the duo, so their retirement is short-lived:

What’s Mistletoe and Crime About?

After watching a cheesy Holiday Rom-Com at the theater (and, no, Adam, did not cry at the ending, thank you very much), Adam and Helena take a shortcut through an alley to get to the car. Along the way, they come across an obviously dead body. Adam’s well-documented queasiness around blood rears its head (not before his subconscious notices something is wrong) while Helena’s nurse-reflexes lead her to snap a quick picture of the scene and before jumping to ensure that the man doesn’t need assistance.

The police quickly decide the homeless man—a well-known Stonebridge fixture—was inebriated, slipped on the snowy ground, and died of the resulting injury.

A man approaches Adam and Colin soon after this asking the duo to look into the death—his testimony isn’t unimpeachable, but it’s enough to move them into looking into things. The man’s claim is buttressed by the photo Helena took which shows a footprint suggesting that someone left the scene after the man was on the ground. So we’re off to the races…

The Boys Are Growing Up

In the year away, Adam and Colin have continued to mature. The impression I had during The Curious Dispatch of Daniel Costello was that these two would be the stereotypical 20-somethings who still lived with their mothers, jumping from entry-level gig to entry-level gig for quite a while (even if Colin seemed on the cusp of leaving that description behind when we meet him). But almost immediately, McDonald used their success as a catalyst for personal growth. One advantage of having them take a year off is that we can see the result of twelve months of incremental growth.

After a year away, Adam’s business has established itself pretty well. He’s doing well enough that at this time of year when there’s not a lawn to be cared for, he’s able to not have to worry about money. His relationship is going well enough that he and Colin don’t spend that much time together, and most of their gaming is done online.

Colin’s doing very well at his job and has been acting as a manager. He’s realizing that it’s time he finds a good relationship and is looking.

So, what did I think about Mistletoe and Crime?

No surprise here—I liked it. I liked it a lot. The first thing I did yesterday was to download it so I could spend my spare time in Stonebridge—which made for a perfectly entertaining day.

In addition to the typical Stonebridge fun, McDonald takes full advantage of the seasonal setting. There are any number of nice little holiday touches and jokes, for example: have we known the mayor’s name before? If not, it’s the perfect subtle joke. If we have had it before, I’ve fallen into the classic English major blunder of reading too much into things.

But more than just for fun, McDonald is able to tap into the spirit of the season—families and friends coming together for festive fun, the general bonhomie brought on by the traditions, not to mention the consumer-madness too-often seen in department stores.

This is the fifth novella in this series that I’ve talked about this year—I don’t have a fresh way to express my appreciation of them. It’d help me as a blogger if McDonald would stumble a couple of times with this series so that I’d have the opportunity to talk about him returning to form after wondering if the magic was gone. But no, he has to be consistently good so that I sound like a broken record.

A clever mystery, characters that display a good amount of development, situations that are appropriately amusing/sweet/tense, and the kind of prose that welcomes you in and makes you feel at home. In other words, a cozy—a well-written and executed one.

As is to be expected, McDonald delivers, you’re missing out if you don’t join in the fun (this would be a fine jumping-on point, I should add—but go back to the beginning while you’re at it)!

4 1/2 Stars

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.

PUB DAY REPOST: Love & Bullets: Megabomb Edition by Nick Kolakowski: A Supersized Fast, Fun, and Bullet-Ridden Adventure

By HCNewton

On November 29, 2021

In Fiction, Love & Bullets Hookups, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Nick Kolakowski

Be sure to check out the Q&A with the author fromlast week!

Love & Bullets: Megabomb Edition

by Nick Kolakowski
Series: Love & Bullets

eARC, 300 pg.
Shotgun Honey, 2021

Read: November 8-12, 2021

A Little Background

Regular readers of this blog should recognize the name Nick Kolakowski, a couple of years ago I talked about a trilogy of novellas he wrote: A Brutal Bunch of Heartbroken Saps, Slaughterhouse Blues, and Main Bad Guy. Next week, these novellas, along with some additional material to tie them together and add a little something extra, are being published as one novel (you can read a bit about the circumstances behind that in the Q&A we did).

What’s Love & Bullets About?

Bill’s a con artist, a hustler with a hint of tech-savvy (and the sense to employ someone savvier) who has gotten comfortable doing small-time work for the Rockaway Mob. An encounter with a similar grifter delivers a swift, spiritual kick to the head that alters his reality and he decides to get out of the business and retire somewhere far away. After he helps himself to a sizeable amount of money from the Mob.

Unsure of his girlfriend’s intentions or loyalty, he doesn’t tell her or bring her along. This is an understandable move, but also a bad move, because she’s an assassin for the Rockaway Mob and one of the few that is sent after him. Fiona’s in a forgiving mood when she catches up to him (probably helped by the fact that she’s fairly incapacitated at the time and can listen to him). The two of them extricate Bill from some trouble that he stumbled into in Oklahoma on the way to the southern border, take care of a couple of other Rockaway employees, and head to Central America for a quieter life.

Which absolutely doesn’t work for long—they find themselves indebted to another criminal organization and the Rockaway Mob isn’t done with them, either. So we get to travel with them as they narrowly escape death in Nicaragua, slip away from a garotte (or worse) in Havana, and get into a much more hazardous situation or five back in New York.

The Rockaway Mob

Every named character, with one exception, in this book is a criminal (the overwhelming majority of unnamed characters, too). So you really can’t say something about “bad guys”*—it’s protagonists and antagonists, and maybe an ally or two.

* Difficult, but not impossible, the third novella was called Main Bad Guy, after all—although there are a couple of candidates for that title.

The main antagonists for Bill and Fiona are the Rockaway Mob. The Rockaway Mob is a wholly modern take on organized crime. There’s no family history, no tie to an ethnic/national origin overseas, nothing that Scorsese or Coppola would make a movie about. Instead, they’re a conglomeration of shady businessmen (and an academic) who started working together and then turned things up to 11.

A handful of hitmen are brought in by the Rockaway Mob to take care of Bill (and, later, Fiona)—some are more colorful than others (and at least three of them could make great main antagonists in any number of PI/Police Procedural novels). But all of them pale to the academic who finds himself leading the Mob (at least as far as we see), he goes by The Dean.

He’s an annoying, pretentious, fastidious man with the kind of vocabulary that people notice. Nothing about him suggests criminal—of any variety, much less an organized crime head. But when you see him with his temper flaring, when he’s pushed to the limit? Well, there’s a beast under all that civilization…I could easily read more about The Dean at the drop of a hat.

The New Material

Not unlike Boyd Crowder when they decided to turn Justified into a series, someone who was killed in the original story has their fate changed in the new material. Also like Boyd Crowder, keeping them alive and running around made the whole thing a lot more interesting.

It’s a little tricky to describe, without spoiling something for new—or old—readers. But I had a suspicion about who survived—and was very happy when I discovered I was right. I’d really started to enjoy the character when they’d been killed, and getting to see them in action some more was a real treat.

It’s hard to describe the new arc for that character—it’s not really a redemption arc (although it’s adjacent to one). It gets to show them in a slightly different light than we saw originally, but the effects from the events surrounding their initial appearance definitely leave their toll on their psyche, if not their health.

I loved the new material—I wouldn’t have minded a little more, but I didn’t need it to be satisfied. It fit perfectly into this world but was so unlike the original material that it felt even fresher than it was. Definitely worth reading the new edition just for it (but really, the whole thing in one package is justification enough)

Reading the Megabomb Version

It’s been years since I read the original trilogy—January of 2019—so my memory for the details is a little hazy. Sure, most of it came back right away—but I will admit to checking with my hard copies of the originals to see if I’d forgotten something if was new or not a couple of times.

But without the pressure of wondering what was going to happen to Bill and Fiona, I was able to soak in some of the other details that I’d just glanced at before. This was as rewarding as I’d hoped—particularly with the second novella’s material, I didn’t initially rate it as highly as the other parts and I think that was a mistake.

The important thing to take away from the rereading process (at least for me) is that it totally holds up to a re-read.

So, what did I think about Love & Bullets?

I struggled the first time around, and I’m struggling now to capture the feel of this book. When I wrote about, Main Bad Guy, I said, “This is the literary equivalent of a Martin McDonagh film (when he’s in a more playful mood)—or, if that doesn’t work for you, think Fargo meets Tarantino, but not as long-winded.” Which isn’t bad (and I’d forgotten I mentioned McDonagh, which is really apt)—this time I’m going to add that it has a Shane Black, but more violent, feel. Maybe if you average the two comments—and throw in what I said about the first novella “think Edgar Wright action scenes, but more lethal.”

Even as the 300-page Megabomb it is now, this is a fast-moving thrill ride. It’s funny. It has occasional moments of sweetness (very transient). The story and characters are visceral—you can see the action, you can practically hear Bill’s quips and feel Fiona’s patience evaporating at them (while she does love him for them). It will get a much-beloved (or much-disparaged) band’s music stuck in your head during one fight scene. Really, it covers almost all the senses—and given where they spend a lot of time, you’ll be glad it leaves the other two out.

Has Kolakowski written novels/stories that are technically better? Probably. Has he written something with greater entertainment value? Nope. Love & Bullets is just a blast from the opening lines through to the final image. Be sure you don’t miss it.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the novel from the author in exchange for this post and my honest opinion, and I thank him for that, but it did not affect my opinion of this work.

4 1/2 Stars