Tag: 4 Stars Page 10 of 83

DETAILS:
Series: Chronicles of Gam Gam
Publisher: Bounty Ink Press
Publication Date: May 30, 2023
Format: eBook
Length: 29 pg.
Read Date: June 10, 2023

What’s The Knight Revenant About?

Gam Gam had been at this (this being necromancy in an official capacity) for twenty-two days, four hours, and thirty-four minutes, after having graduated top of her class from the mage’s academy in Capital City

…and has taken it upon herself to take care of a revenant that had been disrupting travel between two cities.

The revenant tries to unleash its aggression on her, and she simply slaps it down like it’s nothing but a petulant child, scolding it a bit, and then trying to reason with it patiently like only a grandmother can. The revenant plays its part in this pantomime and throws a tantrum. This continues for a few days until a new target presents itself for the spirit.

And then Gam Gam has to show it who’s boss.

What did I think about The Knight Revenant?

This short story is a great point of entry for the series/world of Gam Gam. Is it necessary to read this before the novella? Nope. I actually think it works better as a follow-up to the novella (even though it takes place first), so you get some backstory for characters you already like. But that’s probably because I read them that way.

Gam gam gets some fantastic lines here. Had I been on the fence about her before, she’d have earned a fan from the way she dealt with the revenant—both as a foe and then later on. We get to see her heart, her spunk (although it feels cliché and possibly condescending to talk about an older woman having spunk…but it’s a great word to describe her attitude), and her humor.

And we get to see her power…Gam Gam is not to be taken lightly. What she did in the novella was probably a greater display of raw power. But something about the way she counters the relevant struck me as more impressive. Maybe it’s the banter + the magic rather than just the magic. Holcombe is quick to show the reader that magic can only do so much and that the frailties of age can get the best of even a professional necromancer.

The last scene? (Spoiler ahead in the next 2 sentences) I got a big “Vincent and The Doctor” vibe from it. And now I’ll forever see Tony Curran as this character when I think of him in the future.

This was a quick, fun companion piece for the novella (in whatever order you want to read them). It solidified my commitment to jump on the next adventure of Gam Gam with all possible haste, too.

4 Stars

REPOSTING JUST CUZ: Beyond Authority and Submission by Rachel Green Miller: Starting-Point for a Discussion the Conservative Church Should’ve Already Had

By HCNewton

On June 11, 2023

In Theology/Christian Living

originally posted 10/27/19
I feel compelled to repeat the disclaimer I threw on a book last week—and I should probably throw this on a lot of theologically-oriented works. This is another one of those works that I feel really unqualified to discuss. So, know that this is from the perspective of an opinionated and semi-(formally)educated reader and occasional armchair theologian. Not the reflections of an ordained minister or professional theologian.

Beyond Authority and Submission: Women and Men in Marriage, Church, and Society

by Rachel Green Miller

Paperback, 259 pg.
P&R Publishing, 2019

Read: September 22-29, 2019

Contrary to what popular culture states, women and men are not from different planets. We’re complementary—more alike than different. Without denying the differences, we need to stop defining women as the polar opposite of men and vice versa. Such divisive definitions create and encourage unnecessary conflict and set up unrealistic and unbiblical expectations for how women and men should behave.

Paul frequently refers to fellow believers—both men and women—as co-laborers. The word he uses, sunergos, means “a companion in work.” As we will see in the next sections, co-laborer captures the sense of what we were created to be and what we are called to be in Christ.

I can’t get where this is controversial—I’m definitely not the kind of guy to say “in this day and age” when it comes to this kind of thing, so please don’t hear me saying that. In any day and age where someone’s thinking is shaped more by the Bible than it is by the surrounding culture (either of the moment or by some version of a historical point of view). I don’t get where this is controversial. Sadly, it is. But as long as that’s Rachel Green Miller’s controlling thought (and I firmly believe it is), I’m on board with this book.

So I should say at the outset, I’ve appreciated Miller’s writing for years now and am very sympathetic to Miller’s general perspective on the issues she tackles in the book. I came into it expecting a useful and beneficial book for those wading through issues relating to the relation of the sexes to each other from a Christian worldview—and I got it. I didn’t expect a book to settle arguments, or a panacea to problems churches/ministries/individuals are having on this front—which is good, because she doesn’t try.

After setting the stage for what she wants to discuss in the book, Miller goes on a brief historical survey of views of men and women in the Greco-Roman World and Victorian Era (which she posits have more of an influence on conservative Christianity than we realize), and then she looks at First, Second and Third-Wave Feminism and how the Church has reacted to each. I think her book would be better served if this section were expanded and depended less on secondary sources—but given space limitations, I can live with it. From there she explores Biblical teaching on the Nature of Men and Women, how the two should relate in marriage, the Church, and society. In these chapters, she tries to show how current understandings are (too) frequently largely molded by a reaction to a political movement or values imported from a historical context (that needed Biblical reform). Each section here could be a book unto itself—and maybe should be—but Miller’s treatment is a good starting point for discussion.

If you see the book as that—a starting point for conversation, with a lot of very helpful things to bear in mind, this is a very commendable and worthwhile read. If you’re thinking of it as definitive in any sense of the word (and I think Miller would warn against that herself), the book will not come close to living up to expectations.

Miller critiques both the foundation of the worldviews she disagrees with—ancient pagan cultures or recent/contemporary naturalistic views. Latter feminism, as well as godless patriarchal views, are her targets—as are the ways those presuppositions or their expressions are imported into the Church.

Where I think this book stumbles is in the positive case for what she believes. Miller is very clear on what she’s not trying to say (though many aren’t paying attention to this), she’s also clear on what she disagrees with (no one would deny this)—but she’s too unclear about what she’d like people to think. I think I just did the same thing here—so I’m going to resort to metaphor. Most of what I talk about here is fiction, so I’m going to employ that for a minute. If Andy Carpenter, Eddie Flynn and Mickey Haller (various fictional defense attorneys) have taught me anything, it’s that while it’s all well and good for a defense attorney to poke holes in a prosecution’s case, what will really turn a jury around is a good alternative suspect, someone to blame, to hold accountable for whatever crime is in question. Miller’s done a great job in showing problems with the prosecution’s case, and we know she doesn’t want us to find her client guilty—but I don’t have anyone else to hold accountable/punish for the crime.

Now, the problems with that metaphor are plain enough, but I think my point is clear (clearer than I could’ve made it earlier). For what it’s worth, I think she’s dead to rights on what she’s not wanting to say, and by and large, she’s right on what she’s critiquing. I just wish I had a clearer notion of what she wants readers to think in a positive sense. Also, while I agree that we need to do more than talk about the relationship between the sexes in terms other than “authority” and “submission” —we still need to have clear ideas about how those roles should function (if we’re going to understand the Bible), and Miller should have addressed that.

This book has, regrettably—yet not at all unsurprisingly—kicked up a hornet’s nest of controversy. Sadly, it seems that most of the reviewers have dug into two hard-and-fast camps: the “this is a load of drivel that Miller and P&R should be ashamed about” camp on the one hand, and the “this is the greatest thing since the Institutes” camp on the other. Neither is even close to right. This is a good book (with clear flaws) and deserves to have its good points, flaws, and pushes to conversation discussed without vitriol. Sadly, I can’t see that happening, which is probably why books like this are needed.

Honestly, if we can’t deal charitably with each other on this kind of thing, how can we expect a lost and dying world to listen to us at all?

I know that more than a few reviewers have taken issue with the way that Miller treats some of the sources she’s citing and critiquing—and there were a couple of times I wondered if she and I had read the same article/chapter/book, because I didn’t come away from it with the same ideas she did. At times—and more often than should be acceptable—she comes across as saying that “Writer X is problematic on these issues and therefore everything they’ve ever said about them is wrong.” I don’t think that’s her intention, but I do think that she gives that impression. But on the whole, I think there’s a lot of straining at gnats by her critics when it comes to her treatment of sources.

I think I’ve lost the thread a bit here. Such is the nature of the tempest in the conservative Christian teapot, that I can’t really think about the content of the book without thinking about the reaction to it. I wish I’d found/made the time to write about this book before I read about it. That’s on me.

Let me try to get back on track. I liked this book. It made me re-examine a lot—and will probably continue to do so as I mull on what she has to say (and I’ll probably find a lot to disagree with ultimately, and a lot to agree with—as it ought to be). How much of what I think about how women and men should interact with each other (in the home, Church and society) comes from Scripture and how much from the culture? How much of what I think it means to be a man or what it means to be a woman has more to do with Ancient Greek culture or the Victorians? (more than it should). The core of the message should be heard and weighed, and hopefully, after the hubbub has died down a bit, we can start to deal with it.

The Bible testifies to our unity. We don’t have one Bible for men and a different one for women. The armor of God isn’t just for men, and the fruit of the spirit doesn’t apply only to women. No, we have one Bible for us all, and most of the Bible’s commands apply to all of us—male or female, old or young, rich or poor, servant or master.

It’s important to emphasize that when God made humanity in His image, He did so by making a man and a woman. Women are as much made in the image of God as men are. Men don’t have more of God’s image because of their masculinity. We are equal in worth, but we’re not the same. We are different, but we are also interdependent. We were created to complement each other, and we need each other.

Tolle Lege.

4 Stars

A Necromancer Called Gam Gam by Adam Holcombe: Knitting, Skeletal Cats, and Other Kinds of Magic

By HCNewton

On June 6, 2023

In Fantasy, Fiction

A Necromancer Called Gam Gam

by Adam Holcombe

DETAILS:
Series: Chronicles of Gam Gam, Book One
Publisher: Bounty Ink Press
Publication Date: May 30, 2023
Format: eBook
Length: 110
Read Date: June 3-5, 2023

A cat, free from the restraints of flesh, muscle, and organ, stretched on the edge of the wagon, as if that would do anything for its skeletal body. Then it jumped down next to Mina and plodded over to the woman, who had returned to her chair by the fire. A partially- knitted scarf coiled in her lap as she continued to work on it. The skeletal cat found a comfortable piece of the woman’s dress, curled up at her feet, and licked its non- existent crotch with a non- existent tongue.

What’s A Necromancer Called Gam Gam About?

Twelve-year-old Mina is being pursued by armed men—armed men who had just killed her father. She has a special kind of magic, and those in power want to use her because of it.

She runs across a kindly grandmotherly type who introduces herself as Gam Gam. Gam Gam, it turns out, is a necromancer with a soft spot for endangered little girls. (probably endangered women, and males of all ages, too). She takes her Mina in and promises her safety. Gam Gam is a necromancer and can back up that promise (not definitively, but more than most people can).

They tell each other their stories—Mina tells her why she’s on the run, and Gam Gam tells her that she became a necromancer after the death of her grandchildren so she could resurrect them.

But first, Gam Gam decides that she needs to do something to keep Mina safe.

The Types of Magic

The bundle of bones at the top of the stove raised its feline skull and looked at Mina, then disregarded her and returned to a nap. Why did skeletal cats need so many naps?

Great question. But that’s not what I want to talk about here.

We see two types of magic portrayed with our two protagonists—with others floating out there in this world for us to encounter in future installments, I assume.

Necromancy is rarely something I’m interested in reading about unless the necromancer is about to be thwarted. I know there are exceptions (including here), but it’s hard to think about magic involving reanimating the dead as a good thing. But Holcombe not only makes that specialty seem interesting but gives the reader a necromancer you can root for.

I really liked the way one of the characters describes Gam Gam’s magic to Mina. It grounded the practice, for starters—you could understand it. It’s also idiosyncratic enough to fit Gam Gam to a T. From that point on, I could see that explanation at work—even when the text doesn’t refer to it.

Now Mina’s magic is a kind I’ve never encountered before—maybe a few things like it (particularly in SF rather than fantasy)—but it took almost no time at all for Holcombe to convey the potential—both for a character in fiction, as well as for an evil empire to exploit. In the hands of someone with little experience—for example, a 12-year-old—it could be dangerous. Okay, it could be dangerous in the hands of anyone, but people with experience would control and target the damage they inflict, a child would just inflict damage.

Having a novel (or novella, in this case) with a great magic system is a good start—but it’s how you convey the use of magic to the reader that’s the make/break point for me. And Holcombe nails this part. Mina’s as well as Gam Gam’s. This is a big selling point for me.

The Unexpected Content

Tears escaped her and raced down her cheeks. Was it possible to ever run out of tears? She couldn’t possibly have many more before she would start shriveling up.

Okay, you’ve got this friendly and caring Grandmother-type character. You’ve got a lost little girl who needs comfort. There’s a cute (in a certain way) cat. And using knitted goods as a bribe/reward/gift for the undead. Really, this sounds like it’s full of warm fuzzies and maybe a little bit of fun along with the adventure that a Fantasy should bring. Rightly or wrongly, I expected something with a similar tone to A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking.

And it’s there. However…

You’re dealing with a twelve-year-old girl whose devoted father was murdered in his own home trying to protect her. She’s on the run from armed men who are out to use her for their own purposes. You’re also dealing with an elderly woman who mastered an entire type of magic at her advanced age fueled by grief in a gambit to cheat death. There’s nothing warm and fuzzy there.

These two characters are suffering—they need each other to get through what they’re dealing with. There’s healing (and the promise of more to come). But healing, comfort, and all that comes at the end. The cliché “the only way out is through” comes to mind here—most of this book (and likely future books) is in the “through.”

This is a bigger selling point for me.

So, what did I think about A Necromancer Called Gam Gam?

When [the zombie] chose socks, Gam Gam instructed it to lift a foot, then tugged the sock into place.

“Is this necessary, Gam Gam? Can they even feel the cold?” Mina asked.

“Of course it’s necessary, sweetie,” Gam Gam said as she pulled the second sock onto the zombie’s other foot. “Just because they’re undead doesn’t mean they have to be neglected.”

I was charmed instantly by this book, and that only grew throughout. Particularly once I cottened on to the fact that it wasn’t going to be a cozy kind of read—despite the scarves and sweaters. Once I saw what Holcombe was up to, I really got into things.

I don’t want to spoil anything but don’t get attached to any character. Just sayin.’ (okay, it’s called Book One of Chronicles of Gam Gam, so it’s probably safe to get attached to one. Although, given the loose correlation between death and characters doing things in this book…)

Holcombe has created a great little world for his characters to dwell in, and pairing Mina and Gam Gam together is a big one. He knows how to show the emotions of the moment—and to get the readers to buy into it. Even better, his depictions of the way magic works here are really well executed.

Even his choice of novella-length was smart. This isn’t a story that would work well with another 2-300 pages to tell it. Nor should it be the first part of a novel—this tight story is one that needs to be by itself.

I see that there’s a short story in this world that takes place sometime before this novel. I’ll be jumping on that soon while I begin the wait for Book Two.

This is a short read that packs the punch of a longer one, and I encourage you to give it a shot.

4 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, the opinions expressed are my own.

Kneading Journalism by Tony Ganzer: Thoughts on Bread and the Press

By HCNewton

On June 5, 2023

In Non-Fiction, Politics/Current Affairs

Be sure to come back later this morning for a Q&A with the author!

Kneading Journalism:
Essays on baking bread and
breaking down the news

by Tony Ganzer

DETAILS:
Publisher: Cherry Mountain Media
Publication Date: March 17, 2023
Format: eBook
Length: 166 pg.
Read Date: April 14-29, 2023

What’s Kneading Journalism About?

This book is centered on the idea of the kitchen table—a (perhaps mythological) place where people can sit down, have a meal, and discuss a wide range of issues with respect and frankness. What can be found in every culture on the globe on those tables as a staple—particularly when enjoying the company of someone outside your household? Bread.

Ganzer used to work in a bakery and has recently gotten serious about his breadmaking again. He brings bread into this collection in two important ways. First, he includes a recipe for a different kind of bread to accompany every essay. Secondly, he incorporates something about the enjoyment, projection, and/or history of a bread into the essay about journalism (this sounds like it’d take some stretching or forcing of the issue—but it doesn’t. Or Ganzer’s just so good that he can force it without it feeling that way).

Beyond that—the essays themselves are about the state of journalism/news media in the U.S. and in other countries around the world (not exhaustively, just where Ganzer has some experience), along with personal reflections on his career in journalism. Some of the topics he covers are: journalism education (and how it can help “consumers” as well as “producers”); Machiavelli and his relation to the media as well as contemporary equivalents; The Daily Show and similar “journalism cosplay”; and being a reporter in the middle of the Egyptian revolution.

Bread

I want to start by saying how much I love this way of organizing the essays and the motif of the bread.

I’m no expert, but the recipes (advertised as for any level of baker) do look easy enough and pretty tasty. I need to get around to trying them someday.

But more importantly, the way that Ganzer weaves the various breads and factoids about it (wow, Germans seem to love the stuff) into these essays is really commendable and helps hook the reader into the rest.

Journalism

Ganzer is an advocate for and believer in a certain type of journalism—one that cares more about informing citizens for the public good, not one that’s about reinforcing our own bias.

To say that he takes a dim view of most cable news would be an understatement. He’s also not crazy about the way that public figures are calling the press the enemy of the American people—and going out of their way to erode trust in the press. Since Watergate, American esteem of reporters has shifted, and over the last few years that shifting has sped up.

What Ganzer wants to reinvigorate is a respect for constructive journalism. Reminding the reader that reporters can—and should—serve a vital function in society. Particularly in a democracy.

He compares and contrasts, for example, the way the press has been viewed and used throughout history, as well as in other parts of the world—like Egypt and Germany.

I’m going to cut myself off here before I say too much about Ganzer’s arguments—he’ll do a much better job of it, and I don’t want to muddy the waters.

So, what did I think about Kneading Journalism?

This is a great read—challenging, but in a friendly, welcoming way. Thoughtful and thought-provoking without being combative or overly critical. Ganzer has a point of view—and makes no claim about lack of bias here—but isn’t pushing a partisan outlook, just a pro-responsible press outlook. Brief, but not insubstantial.

I enjoyed reading these essays and appreciated the insight and opinions. But I couldn’t stop with just reading—I spent time afterward thinking about the individual essays as well as the book as a whole. Both in terms of the content of the essays as well as in how to apply and evaluate what I read/watch.

I’m afraid this isn’t going to find the readership it deserves—but I hope it does find readers that the message resonates with and that they can at least spread the ideas and carry them into their own lives and media consumption. It’s something all Americans need to think about before it’s too late.

I encourage you to read and think about this. I’d grab a new book by Ganzer without much thought and would hope that there are other books like it out there for me to read, too.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for this post and my honest opinion.

4 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, the opinions expressed are my own.

The Only Truly Dead (Audiobook) by Rob Parker, Warren Brown: This Trilogy Ends as Strongly as it Started

By HCNewton

On May 23, 2023

In Audiobook, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

The Only Truly Dead

by Rob Parker, Warren Brown (Narrator)

DETAILS:
Thirty Miles Trilogy, Book 3
Publisher: Audible  
Publication Date: May 18, 2023
Format: Audible Original
Length: 7 hrs., 3 min.
Read Date: May 19-22, 2023

What’s The Only Truly Dead About?

The ending of And Your Enemies Closer has changed the scene for this series—DI Iona Madison is clinging to her career by her fingernails—under investigation from the events on that roof, as anyone officer should be. But also, thanks to her old boss’ (now exposed) corruption, she has to clean her reputation, too. Those same events reshaped the criminal landscape of Manchester and Liverpool, with new leadership trying to solidify their places.

Rumors are flying about something called the Twilight Express. But no one knows what it could be—other than big. Career-making (or saving) for the police officer who derails it.

It’s risky, but Madison sees only one way to put a stop to Liverpool’s newest crime lord—bring her former DI, his brother, Brendan, in as a consultant. Brendan resists—until his teenage son starts spending too much time with his uncle.

Find out what the Twilight Express is. Stop it. Extract Dan Foley from his uncle. Clear Madison’s name. Any of those would be enough to fuel a book. All four? That’s a daunting prospect. But Foley and Madison are probably the right people for the job.

Poor Red Shirts

Throughout this series, Parker displayed a real knack for introducing (or re-introducing) a character in such a way that you just knew they might as well be wearing a security red shirt from the original Star Trek (he’d also frequently tip his hat in dialogue sometimes so you’d know someone just changed into that uniform). Frequently it annoys me when an author does that—oh, okay, I can stop caring about this character and just wait until it happens.

Parker (with an assist from Brown), however, consistently got me invested in these Red Shirts—and usually surprised me when they were killed. The fact that he did that when I was expecting it here was even more impressive.

I don’t mean to say that he does this with every character’s death—there were characters who died—or survived—that I didn’t expect. And plenty of other surprising turns and twists along the way.

A Pleasant Bonus

Readers of Parker’s Ben Bracken series will see some old friends here—Salix and his NCA team get involved, which was fun.

If you’ve never read the Bracken books, it won’t hurt your appreciation of the characters—you’ll just see them as more people working alongside Madison and Foley. It’s just nice to see some familiar faces in this setting.

What About the Narration?

It’s always important to get a good narrator for an audiobook, doubly (or triply) so when it’s an Audible Original. This is the way that audiences get to experience the book*, so it needs to be great.

Warren Brown was a perfect choice for this trilogy—and you can hear that from the opening of Far from the Tree to the close of The Only Truly Dead. I’ve failed the previous two times to have something more to say about Brown’s work, so at least I’m consistent as I struggle here—he just does a fantastic job and there’s nothing to add to that.

He seems pretty busy with the whole TV thing, but I hope he finds the time for more audiobooks—he’s great at it.

* At least for several months before Red Dog Press can put it out in print.

So, what did I think about The Only Truly Dead?

This book just didn’t stop moving—sure, it was a little slow at the beginning as Parker was setting the stage—but even then, between moving between POV characters and scenes the book had momentum. And it kept accelerating and building up energy until it became unputdownable. (circumstances required I do that with about 90 minutes to go on Friday, and the only reason I didn’t delay any longer is that I knew it was only going to get worse—it was a long weekend waiting for a chance to dive back in)

The ending was as gripping as you could want. A character or two says that it had to end this way, and they were right. As satisfying dramatically as that is—it didn’t necessarily make it easier, or less tense, to read.

The only thing I want to call foul on is the final conversation between Madison and her Acting Chief Superintendent. I want to say that it’s nonsense and that as skeptical as he is of her, no decent officer is going to act that way. But…I can’t. Because it’s probably the most authentic moment in this procedural, if only for it being full of infuriatingly bureaucratic nonsense. You’ll know the scene when you get to it.

Even if the first two books in this trilogy hadn’t hooked me—this one would’ve and would’ve impressed me (incidentally, it’s not vital to have read the previous two to enjoy this). As with the sequel, this isn’t just a repeat of the first novel—new crimes, new characters to enjoy, new and surprising levels of depravity, and a few people stepping up to do what needs to be done to push back against the darkness. A mix of hope and darkness, and a reminder that both have lasting effects.

4 Stars

Non-Toxic Masculinity: Recovering Healthy Male Sexuality by Zachary Wagner: A Good Step in the Right Direction

By HCNewton

On May 21, 2023

In Non-Fiction, Theology/Christian Living

Non-Toxic Masculinity:
Recovering Healthy Male Sexuality

by Zachary Wagner

DETAILS:
Publisher: IVP
Publication Date: April 04, 2023
Format: Paperback
Length: 194 pg.
Read Date: April 23-May 7, 2023

What’s Non-Toxic Masculinity About?

This is one of those books where I could easily go on and on about the arguments and ideas presented within—and I’d like to interact with some of those a bit, too. But this isn’t the place for that—I have to remind myself again—I’ll touch on some of it, but not much.

Wagner starts by reflecting on the Purity Culture that blossomed in the 90s (and since) in Evangelicalism and Conservative Protestantism—and the not-helpful to harmful ways it has impacted the lives of men and women since then. This first part of the book defines the issues and what kind of damage they have wrought.

The next two parts look to define and construct a healthy, i.e., non-toxic mascultinity, based on a Biblical view of masculinity—redeemed masculinity to be precise. After laying out this vision, he suggests ways to implement this vision. Wagner’s idea is rooted in sanctification—not to the exclusion of other areas, but that’s not what this book is about. His view of a sanctified, or at least growing in sanctification, masculinity is not that found in the Purity Culture or some of the works around it, but something greater.

Problems with the Book

I don’t have a lot to quibble with here—my main problem is that I think too much of this book is Zachary Wagner’s story. I think it has its place in this book—and it’s important to see what got him headed down this path of investigation. But I think we got too much about him.

I can easily see other readers disagreeing with me—and perhaps seeing themselves in him and his struggles. At the very least being able to relate to them and appreciating him sharing those struggles—and how he’s come through them. And I do, too. I just think we could use 15-30% less of it.

Similarly, I do wonder if he made the same points too many times in general—maybe accented differently depending on the chapter, but on more than one occasion I wondered “didn’t he already make this point in the last chapter?” Even there, that’s something I wonder with about half the non-fiction works I read anymore, so Wagner’s just fitting in.

An Unexpected Feature

Running throughout the book, but found in a couple of places in particular, is a critique of the more problematic aspects of Every Man’s Battle, the influential work by Stephen Arterburn and Fred Stoeker.

Now, true, the book has become a whipping boy for several authors recently—but I think it’s largely deserved.

Wagner, like me, once swallowed the book and its vision of male sexuality—redeemed or not. But, Wagner argues (convincingly, I’d say) that Every Man’s Battle‘s vision sees all men as permanently adolescent, immature, and lacking any kind of self-control. But if you read Paul, he’s clear that this is not what a mature Christian should be—absolutely, no Christian will reach full maturity in this life—but if you have no more self-control as an adult as you did as a teenager, you’re missing something vital in your spiritual (as well as physical and mental) life.

That’s, of course, a very brief summary of Wagner—his critique is more thorough (and more convincing). Now, is that what I got the book for? No. Did I expect something like that? Also, no. Am I glad Wagner gave it? Yes.

So, what did I think about Non-Toxic Masculinity?

The last chapter, “Death and Resurrection: The Beauty of Redeemed Masculinity,” is a winner. It sums up everything he’s been arguing for in the whole book and then focuses it. Wagner reminds the reader that Christianity is a call to self-denial, self-sacrifice, and dying to self. This includes in the bedroom. If you haven’t been convinced before this point, you likely won’t be by this chapter, but I found the terms he framed in this last chapter in the most convicting. I’d suggest that readers who don’t agree might have missed something. Those chapters leading up to it, are almost as good, too.

Ultimately what Wagner delivers is what I wanted in last year’s How Not to Be an *SS—and then some. So just on those terms, I’m a satisfied reader. But he delivered more than just that—laying out a compelling positive case for a masculinity defined by Scriptural terms, not merely cultural—whether in lock-step with it or in reaction against it.

I can’t—and wouldn’t want to—sign off on every jot and tittle of the work. But it’s far superior to every other thing I’ve read on the subject of what it means to be a man, male sexuality, and ideas of that nature, that I’m tempted to. (although Keith Ronald Gregoire and Andrew Bauman aren’t that far off)

No matter where you fit on the spectrum of those reacting to the purity culture, it’s worth a read. It’s good to consider, and helpful to sharpen your iron.

4 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, the opinions expressed are my own.

Ten Reasons to NOT Read Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy by Angie Thomas

By HCNewton

On May 18, 2023

In Fantasy, Fiction, YA/MG/Children's Books

Nic Blake and the Remarkables:
The Manifestor Prophecy

by Angie Thomas

DETAILS:
Series: Nic Blake and the Remarkables, #1
Publisher: Balzer & Bray
Publication Date: April 04, 2023
Format: Hardcover
Length: 351 pg.
Read Date: May 10, 2023

So Here’s the Deal:

I’ve tried to write a favorable post about this book a couple of times now, and I’ve failed. I’ve got to get this back to the Library soon, so I need to get something done. So…here are some bullet points describing why readers should avoid the book.

What’s the Book Jacket Say about The Manifestor Prophecy

I guess, to be fair, we should start with some facts. Here’s what the jacket copy has to say:

It’s not easy being a Remarkable in the Unremarkable world. Some things are cool—like getting a pet hellhound for your twelfth birthday. Others, not so much—like not being trusted to learn magic because you might use it to take revenge on an annoying neighbor.

All Nic Blake wants is to be a powerful Manifestor like her dad. But before she has a chance to convince him to teach her the gift, a series of shocking revelations and terrifying events launch Nic and two friends on a hunt for a powerful magic tool she’s never heard of…to save her father from imprisonment for a crime she refuses to believe he committed.

From internationally bestselling superstar author Angie Thomas comes a wildly inventive, hilarious, and suspenseful new contemporary fantasy trilogy inspired by African American history and folklore, featuring a fierce, irrepressible character who will win your heart.

Reasons to Avoid It

In no particular order, just the way they occurred to me:
bullet As all good Fantasy readers know, there’s a plethora of books (especially for MG audiences) with magic systems largely based on African American myths and folklore. It’s the same old-same old here, give me some WASP-y fantasy!
bullet An MG-book featuring a strong father-daughter connection, however flawed by good intentions and human nature? Bah. Who needs that?
bullet We don’t need a respectful, but still pointed, take on a certain magical boarding school series.
bullet The fact that there’s a way for Muggles, I mean Unremarkables, to access magic on their own is such a bad idea and adds nothing new to the genre.
bullet In many ways, you get the impression (although it might not be the case) that Coogler’s Black Panther influenced this storyline and world. Of all the superhero movies, why this one?
bullet The protagonist and her best friend be prepared for their adventures because of their devoted fandom of a series of fantasy novels. Nerds shouldn’t be action heroes. They should stay in their lane.
bullet “Chosen One post-traumatic stress disorder?” Listen, the notion of a Chosen One is sacrosanct and should be treated that way.
bullet It’s a Middle-Grade book, it shouldn’t acknowledge (but not dwell on) things like issues with the prison system, racism, the Underground Railroad, the Civil Rights Movement, and so on.
bullet Protagonists (and main characters) who make mistakes—serious ones—and have to adjust their behavior are not the examples that Middle-Grade readers need.
bullet Nic Blake finds herself as part of two supportive and encouraging multi-generational communities (who don’t see eye to eye, it should be said) and gets help from both when she needs it. But it’s not just help for her—the communities help each other—largely because it’s needed, not that they get anything in return.
bullet There’s a sense of fun and joy that pervades the entire book, without detracting from the stakes, and that’s such a turn-off.

So, what did I think about The Manifestor Prophecy?

Okay, fine…there are few reasons not to read this book, really. It’s a fun world filled great characters (both minor and major), and I’m ready to read the sequel today (if only so I can have another chance at writing something about the series).

4 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, the opinions expressed are my own.

Sunbolt by Intisar Khanani: This Will Hit You Like a Bolt of Something

By HCNewton

On May 12, 2023

In Book Tour, Fantasy, Fiction

Sunbolt

by Intisar Khanani

DETAILS:
Series: The Sunbolt Chronicles, #1
Publisher: Purple Monkey Press
Publication Date: June 17, 2013
Format: eBook
Length: 152 pg.
Read Date: May 9, 2023

What’s Sunbolt About?

We start with a chase scene through a street market that might as well be scored by Alan Menken (although Jafar or Genie is to be found anywhere in the rest of the book, Hitomi would have no problem with a Jafar). Our protagonist, a thief—and someone of a clearly different ethnicity to everyone around her—is scrappy and nimble, getting away from her pursuers (quasi-official mercenaries) with the help of some of the sellers in the market.

We learn that this brash young woman is named Hitomi and she’s allied (somewhat) with a group calling itself the Shadow League, which is trying to stand up to an increasingly corrupt and oppressive government. The government is backed by the Arch Mage Wilhelm Blackflame (who is just about to be running everything through puppets).

Hitomi and some allies head out one night to save a powerful family from arrest and (likely) execution—and almost everything that could go wrong does. Hitomi and some of the family are captured. And then…well, this book about scrappy freedom fighters becomes something very different.

The World Building

At the beginning of the book, Khanani provides a guide to pronouncing some of the names in the book—I always appreciate that kind of thing (if one was grading, I’d have gotten a low B, incidentally, on my own). In her lead-up to that, she mentions that the fantasy world she’s created and the cultures within it “are primarily based on a variety of real-world historical cultures.” I wish she’d have listed (at least a partial list) of those cultures just for curiosity’s sake. I spent a little too much time wondering what X or Y came from after reading that. (and was very likely wrong 60+% of the time)

But ultimately, it doesn’t matter what those sources were, because she’s made them into something new and fit for her world. And whatever the backgrounds may be, they work really well for this novel—perhaps better than it do in our own. It’s familiar and yet foreign all at once. Khanani doesn’t drown us in details or anything like that (thankfully), but you have the impression that everything has been worked out thoroughly (whether or not it has been) and that this a fully-developed world with a fascinating history and a future worth saving.

We only get a hint of the magic system, but has a lot of promise. The variety of magical races (for lack of a better term) is great, and (again) familiar to a fantasy reader, but specific to Khanani’s world. You can’t help but want to learn more about both the magic system and the races, you get enough to carry you through the novel—but you want more.

So, what did I think about Sunbolt?

Sunbolt is short. Freakishly short for the genre, really. But that brevity works so well for this story. Like a wizard and punctuality, this book is precisely as long as it needed to be. It tells the story it needs to in a satisfying manner and then is done. Yes, it prepares you for the second book in the series, but not in a cliffhanger way.

I wouldn’t have minded if the book was longer if it meant we got to spend more time with the characters—but that’s what a sequel is for, right?

There’s a moment really early on that made me grimace—Khanani over-explained a moment robbing it of its power. And as I so often do, I murmured a silent plea (pointless since the book had been out for a decade) for her to trust her audience. But that was the only time that the book stopped me with something like that—most of the writing was subtle, nuanced, and smooth. I did have to stop a few times to re-read sentences because I liked them so much.

Hitomi—fierce, independent, determined, and over-her-head—is one of those characters you gravitate to immediately and while you know she’s making a blunder here and there, you can’t help but root for her. Sadly for her, her blunders tend to work out better than some of her plans—a treat for her readers, however.

I’m going to avoid a deep dive on the rest of the characters, although I think many of them deserve it. I’m not sure I trust everyone in the Shadow League, but they’re all intriguing characters—and I’d gladly read a Shadow League novel tomorrow to get to know them better. The villains are some of the worst I’ve run across this year, and you can’t complain about that. Then there’s someone who becomes rather important to Hitomi in the closing chapters…I think they could go down as one of my favorites of the year (and easily become someone I despise in a future encounter).

A well-paced story, with strong characters, and a great fantasy world to explore. That’s all the makings of a winner in my book. Sunbolt is a quick, fascinating read that will make you want to click on the order button for the sequel as soon as you finish.

4 Stars

My thanks to The Write Reads for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including the novel) they provided.

Tower of Babel by Michael Sears: Concrete Jungle Where Dreams Are Made Of

By HCNewton

On May 9, 2023

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Come back this afternoon for a Q&A with the author, Michael Sears, it’s a good one.

Tower of Babel was published a month ago, and I was trying to get this posted in that first week. I missed significantly, and I wanted to start things off by apologizing to Michael Sears and Wiley Saichek, the publicist that connected me with Sears, for that.

Tower of Babel

by Michael Sears

DETAILS:
Series: Ted Molloy, #1
Publisher: Soho Crime
Publication Date: April 6, 2023
Format: ARC
Length: 394 pg.
Read Date: March 27-29, 2023

What’s Tower of Babel About?

I really don’t like not providing my own synopsis/tease for a novel. But I’m overdue with this post, and a lot of that has to do with stumbling on this section. So I’m going to appropriate it from Soho Press’ site:

Queens, New York—the most diverse place on earth. Native son Ted Molloy knows these streets like the back of his hand. Ted was once a high-powered Manhattan lawyer, but after a spectacular fall from grace, he has found himself back on his home turf, scraping by as a foreclosure profiteer. It’s a grubby business, but a safe one—until Ted’s case sourcer, a mostly reformed small-time conman named Richie Rubiano, turns up murdered shortly after tipping Ted off to an improbably lucrative lead.

With Richie’s widow on his back and shadows of the past popping up at every turn, Ted realizes he’s gotten himself embroiled in a murder investigation. His quest for the truth will take him all over Queens, plunging him into the machinations of greedy developers, mobsters, enraged activists, old litigator foes and old-school New York City operators.

Haaaaave You Met Ted?*

* Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Not that I tried all that hard.

Ted’s a good example of a very familiar type of Crime Fiction protagonist. At one point in the not-too-distant past, he’d been very successful for his age with a bright future ahead of him. Then he hits a personal and professional rough patch, and all that success and future vanishes. He’s now had to recalibrate his life, his legal career in ruins and so begins a new—albeit somewhat related—career, with new routines, a new home, new allies, and so on to restart his life.

Like most of this type, he’s moved on, but not really. He still misses his old life, still laments it, regrets the things that happened (unjustly) to bring down his house of cards, and would go back if he could. He’s given chances over the course of Tower of Babel to revisit that life, to see how green the grass is on that side of the fence, and his response to that really tells the reader more about who he is than anything else in the book can.

In a New York State of Mind

I love when a novel hits me with a great sense of place—and Tower of Babel did that to me. Sears doesn’t spend that much time describing the city or its landmarks or anything like that. But the city permeates everything. Travis Bickle drove the same streets as Mohammad did (and probably in a safer manner). Sherman McCoy struck deals with the same kinds of people. Det. Denny Malone would be known to the detectives on the murder.

This is a novel that has to take place in New York.* I just don’t see it working anywhere else—are there shady real estate deals, corrupt politicians, organized crime, and entities with too much power in Chicago, Miami, L.A., Boston, London, etc.? Absolutely. Do other major cities have teams that have a fanbase as devoted and as constantly disappointed as the Mets? Absolutely (although most of them don’t have to share a city with the Yankees). Ethnic diversity and economic disparity might have different mixes and present in different ways from metropolitan to metropolitan, but they’re there just the same. But I just don’t see how this novel works in Miami or Boston. The organized crime of it all would be different in Chicago. There’s something about shady real estate antics that seems quintessentially NYC (it shouldn’t, but it does).

* Granted, I’m just some dude from Idaho, what do I know?

Any book that transports me so convincingly is worth the time and effort (not that this took much of the latter).

Ted and Jill

Ted is still friends with his ex-wife, Jill. They’re obviously very important to each other and spend a good deal of time together—primarily because of the NY Mets and Ted’s season tickets. I absolutely loved this version of divorced adults interacting with each other (there were no kids involved, which likely helped). Early on, when I wasn’t as sold as I eventually would be on the murder storyline (and was still trying to understand the real estate angle), I put in my notes that I’d have enjoyed the novel more if it was just about them spending time together. By the novel’s end, I’d changed my mind—but I’d still take a novella just about the two of them.

It’s a healthy friendship, supportive and challenging—and just fun. (then again, this is a noir-ish Crime Novel, so I make no promises that the way things start is the way they will end).

So, what did I think about Tower of Babel?

I stumbled a little in the beginning trying to understand the way that Ted’s making his money now and the antics involved in all the real estate transactions (ethical, legal, and otherwise), but that’s primarily because my brain doesn’t do well with that sort of thing. I ultimately gave up trying and just accepted it in the same way I do with Asimov’s worldbuilding or things along those lines. By the end of the novel, I (am pretty sure that) I understood it all because I’d stopped trying to decipher it (I still can’t totally explain psychohistory or Asimov’s take on superluminal flight, for what’s it’s worth). The details are both not as important to the novel as everything else and not as difficult as I was making it.

I can see Sears settling into this character and this world and turning Molloy into a typical scrappy lawyer character in the vein of Mickey Haller or Eddie Flynn. But I don’t think that’s the direction this is going—would I read that version? Absolutely, but I already have Haller, Flynn, et al. It feels to me that this is headed in a more David vs. Corporate Goliaths tack, maybe with some murder, etc. thrown in, sure—but my money is on this series focusing on corporate crimes, and corruption (both political and economic). Either way, I’m in for at least one or two more books—and I expect most readers will feel the same way.

This is not your typical Legal Thriller, and Sears sucks you into the story in ways you won’t expect—actually, I think you’ll end up expecting very little about the story and characters as you go along. But in the end, you’ll realize that just about everything had to go the way it did. I love that feeling of being taken unaware and then seeing that there was no other way for this jigsaw to be put together. It’s so satisfying when you can look at the whole thing (and a great ride along the way).

Crimes you’re not accustomed to reading about—crimes you’re very familiar with—a cast of characters you don’t see every day, and an ethically dubious protagonist (or is he?). Tower of Babel is a great entryway into a series that should garner a fanbase, and you should think about hopping on before the bandwagon builds up too much speed.

Disclaimer: I received this ARC from the author via Wiley Saichek and Saichek Publicity in exchange for this post—while I appreciate that, the opinions expressed are wholly mine.

4 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, the opinions expressed are my own.

Swamp Story by Dave Barry: Florida. Just say it’s Florida.

By HCNewton

On May 1, 2023

In Fiction, Humor, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Swamp Story

by Dave Barry

DETAILS:
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: May 2, 2023
Format: eARC
Length: 320 pg.
Read Date: April 19-21, 2023

What’s Swamp Story About?

This is hard to summarize, really. Which is part of the beauty of the book.

Most of the characters in this book aren’t what you’d call likable. They’re not really villains or antagonists, they’re just…people you don’t want to spend time with in real life, people with more greed/ambition than common sense (or decency). There are a couple of guys living in a cabin in the Everglades trying to assemble enough footage for a reality show pilot (basically, the good-looking one of the pair walking around shirtless interacting with native wildlife). Their weed dealer owns a failing convenience store/bait shop and has a “so stupid it just might work” plan to put his family’s store on the map. There’s a would-be talent agent (or just anything to ride the coattails of his buddy who happens to make a little money). Oh, and there’s a lawyer and a cabinet secretary/presidential aspirant, too—can’t forget them.

On the villainous side, there’s the weed dealer’s supplier—a former football player who is still large enough to intimidate active linemen who will not tolerate missed deadlines. Two ex-con brothers who are the textbook definition of nasty are also running around. There’s also an Eastern European gangster and some of his employees from the old country who should make everyone quake with fear.

On the likable side, you have the shirtless would-be star’s girlfriend and mother of his child (who really regrets ever giving him the time of day, no matter how pretty he is). The weed dealer’s brother who really needs something to motivate him to do more than play games on his phone, might have found that motivation in her. You’ve also got a couple of aides to the secretary, who really need a better job. An alcoholic ex-reporter desperate to make a buck is just what the weed dealer wants for his idea. I can’t forget either the aging TV reporter desperate to cling to her former relevance or the champion snake hunter.

Put all these characters in a small geographic region, throw in a large amount of buried Confederate gold and a couple of viral videos, shake well, and serve. Swamp Story is the result.

This Book Could’ve Been Shorter

Around the 70% mark (I’m keeping it vague because I don’t know how it’ll go in the final edition), a couple of the characters have an exchange that essentially goes along these lines:

Character A: I hope nothing else happens.
Character B: What else could happen?
Character A: …

and then there’s a map showing the immediate vicinity and some of the major buildings/landmarks of the story, making it very obvious that, based on what we know, all the characters are really near each other and that the likelihood of them running into each other in the very near future is pretty high. The reader will not be able to look at this map and not start imagining how all that running into each other is going to go.

I made a note at this point, that Barry could’ve ended the novel at that point—that exchange, the map, and the reader’s imagination—and it’d have been a fun and satisfying read.

However, odds are, your imagination isn’t as good as Barry’s is (mine sure isn’t), and as zany as I thought things were going to get from this point, the truth was far zanier. His conclusion to the novel (not just the immediate every character and storyline coming together in one spot, but everything that followed) was better than any of the ideas I came up with (and I liked most of my ideas a lot).

Still, there’s part of me that wishes he’d left things with that line and the map. I’d have laughed hard at that.

So, what did I think about Swamp Story?

I really enjoy reading Barry’s novels, and Swamp Story is no exception. It’s a different kind of humor (largely) than Barry’s columns or books, but it’s just as satisfying. I’d want to say that it’s more subtle, but that’s not true at all. There’s more character-based humor, and some of it’s the dialogue—which strikes you differently than the straight humor pieces he’s best known for.

Now, that said, there’s a scene at the beginning—involving a rich child’s birthday party, a couple of costumed performers, and a difficult-to-crack piñata, that absolutely cracked me up and I’ve been replaying it in my head since I read it—it’s perfect slapstick.

Putting aside the humor, all the story arcs worked really well and I can see toned-down versions of all the arcs working well together in a grim version of this story. I’ve argued recently that a good test of a comedic novel is if the plots would work without the laughs—in this case they largely wood. But they’re so much juicer and more enjoyable in this comic and heightened versions.

There are genuine bad guys, some actual threats, several characters in search of a good idea,* and a couple of people you hope catch a lucky break and escape from everything they’re surrounded by relatively intact. Throw in some good laughs, and some clever writing, and you’ve got yourself a fun few hours of reading. That’s likely what the reader looks for in a Dave Barry novel, and that’s what Swamp Story delivers. Strongly recommended.

* Apologies to Pirandello.

4 Stars

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Simon & Schuster 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, the opinions expressed are my own.