Book Review: The Way of Kings, Brandon Sanderson

Sanderson created a whole new world for this novel (1st of 10 projected books). It includes various human and human-like beings as well as spren (beings that appear to show various states — fear, pain, glory, wind, anticipation, etc.), crab-like creatures that are used as beasts of burden but also produce valued crystals, and plants that are alive and move in response to stimuli. He also created legends and religion and mythology. Some humans and others are able to take advantage of powers contained within spheres and chips. These powers don't give new abilities, but greatly enhance existing abilities. It took some time to get into the story, primarily because of all the new terminology and cultural references that had to be absorbed.

In the end, the story seems to revolve around 3 primary characters. Kaladin, a surgeon's apprentice turned warrior turned slave turned bridgeman, turned Brightlord protector. Kaladin may be the most complex of the characters and, in some ways the most human of the characters as he struggles with trust and bigotry and figuring out who he really is.

A second primary character is Shallan, a girl from a once powerful family who convinces the king's sister to take her on as a ward, ostensibly to become a scholar but with the intent of stealing Jasnah's Soulcaster, to replace her family's broken soulcaster, and using it to restore her family's fortunes and position.

The third primary character is Dalinar, a Highprince and uncle of King Elhokar. Dalinar is thought to be going crazy because he has lost his passion for war and is intent on uniting the highprinces of Alethkar in order to restore the glory of past kingdoms. In that, he is opposed by all of the other highprinces because they want to retain their individual power and position and ability to gain wealth. He is also resisted by Elhokar because of fear.

These three may not continue to be the primary characters in subsequent books as Wit, Szeth (assassin), and Taravangian seemed to be ascending at the end of the book. Characters well developed and acted reasonably consistently. The worlds are strange. Legends aren't quite clear but Sanderson has a habit of introducing something as if it were clear and then over multiple flashbacks, revealing details. Definitely kept my attention but the length of the series is a bit daunting to even consider.

I read the Kindle edition and really appreciated the X-Ray function for this book!!

Book Review: The Confession, Robert Whitlow

It's always easier for a prosecuting attorney if he has a confession ... or is it? The Confession (link to Kindle edition on Amazon), by Robert Whitlow, is a lawyer story — actually an assistant DA. As a teen, Holt Douglas was drunk but not as much as his friend. He refuses to let his friend drive and takes the keys himself. In the subsequent wreck (didn't see that coming, right?), the friend dies but Holt lives. He makes a decision to tell the police that the friend was driving and lives with the secrecy and guilt of that decision for years afterwards.

As an assistant DA, Holt begins to suspect that the death of a prominent and powerful businessman, Meredith, was not suicide as was reported. Then, with the help of Trish, a detective assigned to locating and bringing to justice men who have defaulted on alimony or family support payments, begins to uncover evidence that Greg, a supporter of the DA and huge contributor to Trish's church, was involved in the death of Meredith and decided that the DA and the Sheriff and some deputies were involved in a massive cover-up. The story involves some conflicted attraction between Holt and Trish that causes trouble between Holt and Angelina, Holt's girlfriend. Whitlow does a good job of weaving in Holt's guilt over hiding the truth about his role in the wreck that killed his friend. Trish's father was killed by a drunk driver, and Whitlow does a good job of weaving in the tension of Trish's anger, especially when Holt tells Trish the truth about his own wreck. The Bishop becomes a key part of the story as Holt moves toward faith. Then, there is a twist or two in the story.

While not great book, The Confession was an engaging read. I rate it 4/5 stars.

(EDIT: I deleted the comment about page numbers not being in the edition I read. In communication with the BookLook Bloggers administration, they said that the review edition does not come from Amazon and may not be formatted the same.)

(DISCLAIMER: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher as a part of their blogger review programme, BookLook Bloggers. I was free to write the review I thought the book deserved and receive no compensation or other benefit except continued participation in the review programme.)

Run well, y'all,
Bob

PS — I've started back running in Kampala. It's known as the city of seven hills and the hills are KILLERS!

Book Review: Critical Condition

I'm a fan of Richard Mabry's books. Critical Condition is the fifth one I've read — somehow I missed Heart Failure, but I'll rectify that — and it was not a disappointment. The book will be released on 15 April 2014.

Shannon Frasier, first year medical student, witnesses the shooting death of her fiancé, Todd, and is helpless to help him. Ten years later, as a surgeon in a Dallas hospital, another man is shot and killed in her front yard and she is, again, powerless to help him.

Shannon, her recovering addict sister, Megan, and her almost-fiancé, Mark, get tangled in a bank robbery/murder case. In the midst of all of this, Shanon struggles with her weakened faith in God.

As always, Mabry's medical/murder mystery compelled me to finish. His characters are real, struggling with daily issues of stress, faith, fallenness, doubt. I like and appreciate the fact that Mabry's does not resort to foul language or to sex scenes to "enhance" (tongue-in-cheek) his stories. Even though two of the main characters are doctors, the storyline itself is only tangentially related to the medical profession.

While this was a really good read, there are weaknesses in the plot. Shannon, Mark, and Megan's interferences in the investigation would probably have earned them serious trouble in real life. I sincerely hope that the Dallas police would have taken the threats against Shannon's life more seriously than the story portrays. Some things that seemed weak in the first half of the book made sense later (I won't detail to avoid spoilers).

Shannon's struggles with her own doubts about God may seem trite to non-believers, its a very real struggle for many believers -- how to reconcile one's belief in a loving God with difficulties and evil in daily life. Once again, I highly recommend Mabry's books.

(DISCLAIMER: I received a copy of Critical Condition free from the publisher as a participant in their Book Look Bloggers program. However, I was free to write the review that I believed the book deserved. My only compensation is continued participation in the review program.)

Book Review: Take This Cup (edited 28 March 2014)

I was first introduced to Bodie Thoene's writing with her Zion Covenant and Zion Chronicles series (currently, on Amazon, both Bodie and Brock are listed as authors for these series of books; the editions I read in 1991 were attributed only to Bodie). I was enthralled with her portrayal of the Jewish experience in Germany. Then, I read The Man From Shadow Ridge, written by Bodie and Brock Thoene, and was greatly disappointed. The writing was lifeless and the story seemed forced. So, I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed Take This Cup. I was concerned when I found that this is book #2 in a series. However, it seems to stand well on its own.

This book needs to be read as fiction -- it doesn't purport to be anything else. A young boy, Nehemiah, born to a shepherd and a crippled weaver, is "chosen" as the cup-bearer, to bear the cup of blessing and suffering that has passed from Melchizidek to Abraham, to Joseph (the cup placed in Benjamin's bag), and now is to go to the Messiah. Nehemiah's rabbi was one of the wise men who visited Jesus after his birth. Nehemiah must endure a long, perilous journey to get to Jerusalem in time to pass the cup to the Messiah. There are some odd inclusions:
* The white hart that supposedly survived from Eden is almost a spirit-guide. This is inconsistent with the book's basis in the biblical message about the Messiah.
* The star patterns predicting the Messiah's return seems out of character for the story.
* Bible passages seem to be used in contexts in which they were not initially used.

One thing that the Thoenes do stress in the story is that the Jewish people were expecting the Messiah to be a military/political leader who would overthrow the Romans and reestablish the Jewish nation under a descendent of David. In that interpretation, the crowd celebrating Jesus' entry into Jerusalem and then turning against him a few days later makes sense. Jesus, a descendent of David, was not the kind of Messiah they expected, so they turned on him.

Take This Cup is an engaging, fun read as long as it's treated as very fictionalized.

(DISCLAIMER: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher's Book Look Bloggers program in exchange for writing a review. I was free to write the review that I thought the book deserved.)

Book Review: "Dead Lawyers Tell No Tales"

(I read the Kindle edition.) Really good book. Landon, a former SEC quarterback who was convicted of point shaving, gets out of jail, immediately marries girlfriend & mother of child. In prison, finds faith in God and finishes law school. Finally gets hired by lawyer, Harry, about whom he initially questions his ethics but develops a high respect for his investigative and trial gut sense and, though he doesn't always agree with Harry, realizes that he is ethical.

Kerri, Landon's wife, is a budding investigative journalist who gets some unusual breaks. Both Landon and Kerri are suddenly immersed in intrigues -- murder trial for which Landon is the assistant lawyer to Harry, client is accused of insider trading, Kerri is being "sponsored" by the head of a clandestine security agency and is offered an easy path to a dream reporting job. Things begin to fall apart when 3 lawyers with Landon's firm are killed and Landon takes the lead in the murder case.

There are a number of twists and turns in the book that compelled me to continue reading to find out what would happen. Singer weaves the plot skillfully so that the end is never clear. Both Landon and Kerri struggle with attraction to someone else but are held in check by their love for each other and their strong faith, though Landon's friendship with Rachel crosses an emotional line.

The story deals with friendship, true loyalty, temptations and testing, and faith in ways that I did not find obnoxious. (DISCLAIMER: I share the principles of the main characters. Some will find the Epilogue too evangelistic, but it's consistent with both the faith of the characters and with Singer's 'day job'.) There's even a twist at the end that's reminiscent of O. Henry stories and Jeffrey Archer books and short stories.

To me, the biggest problem with the book is that it seems very unreal to have a rookie, first-year lawyer develop instincts and insights so quickly -- taking on a 1st amendment case, talking seriously about opening his own law firm in DC, etc. Frankly, that's the only reason for 4-stars instead of 5-stars -- Landon and Kerri are just a bit too good at what they do. I thought the book was as good as Grisham and the language was less offensive, as in no foul language. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Review: A Man Called Blessed

There are credible clues about the secret location of the Ark of the Covenant — in the monastery that Caleb and parents have rebuilt in Ethiopia, the same monastery where Caleb lived until he escaped when he was ten (Blessed Child). Caleb is the key. Both Jews and Arabs are trying to get to Caleb first. If the Jews find the Ark, they will feel compelled to destroy the mosque on the Dome of the Rock and rebuild the temple. The Arabs want to prevent that. Better than Blessed Child, perhaps because Caleb is more mature. Characters were better developed and plot line flowed more smoothly. I still didn't care for the dancing but the miraculous events were a lot easier to take and were more in line with miraculous escapes in the Old Testament. Caleb struggles with his faith — not losing it, but taking it for granted. Rebecca has killed too much and wants to be loved as a "woman" and not just identified as an assassin — will she find that with Caleb, even though he is a Christian?

Though I like it better than the first book in the series, Blessed Child, this is still not a typical Dekker book. It does have the supernatural elements but it's not the somewhat bizarre psychological thriller like Thr3e or the Boneman's Daughters.

It was helpful to have read Blessed Child first. It gave me the background to follow the story better. However, it is not necessary and apart from a few references to Caleb's child-like faith 15 years earlier, I don't think you would be lost.

(Disclaimer: I received this book free from the publisher as a part of their blogger review program, BookSneeze. However, I was free to write the review I thought the book deserved. I receive no further compensation besides continued participation in the blogger review program.)

Book Review: "Afloat"

An interesting premise — floating condominiums built over a cove. Even without reading the story, my first thought was that the safety of living there would totally depend on the integrity of the support structure. But, I also immediately thought, "How cool would that be?!"

Healy did a reasonably good job of developing her characters. I mistrusted Tony (developer) from the get-go. I liked and trusted Vance (architect) throughout the whole story - he seemed afraid to commit, though. I felt sorry for Danielle — she was so desperate for love, affirmation, and acceptance that she was willing to compromise her principles and to believe her own lies about who really cared for her.

I was intrigued from the beginning: Who was the man in the wet suit? What kind of structure was he swimming around? What were the containers for — it did sound sinister? What were the sardine-sized creatures that flashed? Add to that, the complicated relationships between Danielle, Tony, and Vance, a freak storm, the danger of not only the destruction of the floating condominiums but the danger to the lives of the group in the occupied unit, and the building awareness that there is real evil at work and this turned into a really good story.

There are some glitches: Who summons up communications on a phone? (loc. 1287) Danielle's desire for giving Tony a 2nd chance (loc. 7462) seems highly unlikely — though, her extremely low self-esteem may account for that. However, the things she knew about Tony perhaps made her legally complicit in his crimes. Personally, I thought the silver, flashing, sardine-sized creatures were an odd addition. While those things keep me from giving this 5 stars, they really didn't detract from the compelling nature of the story.

There were shortcomings in the Kindle edition — enabling the X-ray function would have been nice; including real page numbers would have been nice; calling up the menu, tapping "Go To", and selecting "Beginning" took me to location 7635 which is the "about the author" page. However, all of those may be corrected in the actual retail edition of the book — my copy is a review copy straight from the publisher.

Disclosure: I received this book free from the publisher's BookSneeze blogger review program in exchange for a review of the book. I was free to write a review that truly reflects my views of the book. There has been no other compensation.