Book Review: Teaching History: A Seventh-day Adventist Approach by Gary Land

Teaching History: A Seventh-Day Adventist Approach by Gary Land
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The question of how Christians, including Seventh-day Adventists, approach the study of history compared to their secular colleagues is an important topic of thought and debate. Distinguished Adventist educator and historian Gary Land’s Teaching History: A Seventh-day Adventist Approach gives both teachers and students insight into how they can unite their learning and faith to better appreciate both.

In 86 pages of texts, with footnotes at the end of each chapter, Land covers historiography in all its secular philosophies and analysis of history and how suggests how Christians might approach and use each in their own ways. In the text, Land brings up three ways Christians can apply their beliefs with the teaching and writing of history and in the last chapter he provides case studies to showcase how each can be used while still speaking to a wide academic audience. Land doesn’t forget to address how Seventh-day Adventists should approach history, whether their own denomination’s or that of the wider world, amongst themselves whether in journals or in classrooms.

Overall this small book about how Christians can approach the study of history while still using their beliefs is a wonderful thought provoking read for both teachers and students.

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Book Review: Fire & Blood: From Aegon I to the Regency of Aegon III by George R.R. Martin

Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The rise and fall of the Targaryens in Westeros over the course of 300 years is essentially the backstory for George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series (aka Game of Thrones). Taking on the guise as a master of the Citadel, Martin’s Fire & Blood: From Aegon I to the Regency of Aegon III is the first volume of two detailing the history of the Targaryen dynasty and the unified Westeros they ruled that readers would first meet in A Game of Thrones.

Unlike the vast majority of the books concerning Westeros, Martin writes this one as a pure—yet fictional—history book, though with a clear narrative structure, detailing the lives of the Targaryens and the events that impacted their reigns from Aegon’s Conquest down to the Regency of his great-great-great-grandson Aegon III in the aftermath of The Dance of the Dragons. The book begins with a quick family history of the Targaryens with their flight from Valyria before the Doom and the century leading up to Aegon’s conquest of Westeros before delving into said conquest with his sister-wives. Then just a regular history book, the text goes into how the new realm was brought together and how the Targaryens attempted to bring Dorne into the realm during Aegon’s life. Next came the reigns of the Conqueror’s two sons showing how the new dynasty was tested once the founder was missing and the problems faith and cultures play when interacting with one another. Follow the death of Maegor the Cruel, the long reign of Jaehaerys I with considerable influence from his sister-wife queen Alysanne shows how dynasty’s rule was cemented even though seeds were planted for a crisis in the succession of the line that would explode in civil war after the death of their grandson Viserys I between his eldest daughter and her younger half-brother that would devastate the realm and basically kill off all the dragons—both human and creature—leaving a 10-year boy left to sit the Iron Throne.

Although around half the material in this book was a reprint from A World of Ice and Fire, “The Princess and the Queen, “The Rogue Prince”, and “Sons of the Dragon” it was all the new material and some retconned details of this 700 page book that is really interesting. The reign of Jaehaerys and Alysanne was essentially all new as was the details about how The Dance of the Dragons ended and the resulting multiple Regencies for Aegon III. Along with all this information, which fleshed out the backstory of Westeros even more, were parallels of characters from the main series—as well as the Dunk & Egg novels—with historical personages that appeared in this history that gives big fans thoughts to ponder about what might be in store with the former.

Overall Fire & Blood: From Aegon I to the Regency of Aegon III is a very good book for those fans of ASOIAF/GoT who look in-depth at their favorite series. Personally as fan of the series and being interested in the depth Martin gives his series, as well as big history read, this book was fantastic. Yet if you are a casual fan or simple a show fan that hasn’t read the books, this book isn’t for you.

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Book Review: The Guide for the Perplexed by Maimonides

The Guide for the Perplexed by Maimónides
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Looking to reconcile Aristotelian philosophy and Jewish theology, Moses Maimonides wrote The Guide for the Perplexed. A three part letter to his student, the book was influential not only to Jewish thought but Christian and Islamic thought throughout the Middle Ages while still giving those in the 21st Century insights to consider.

The first part focuses on Maimonides arguing against the anthropomorphism of God, basically stating God is incorporeal, and all references in the Bible to God doing physical things are essentially figurative language to allow the human mind to understand the works of God. This leads into a discussion by Maimonides that states that God cannot be described in positive terms only negative conceptions because while positive terms put limits on God, the negative does not. This leads into a discussion of philosophy and mysticism of various kinds. The second part begins on Maimonides expounding on the physical structure of the universe, an essentially Aristotelian world-view, which eventually leads into a debate on if the universe is eternal or created. Though Maimonides admits that Aristotle’s arguments for an eternal universe are better, Divine Revelation decides the matter. Maimonides then expounds on the Creation presented in Genesis and theories on the possible end of the world. The last part is explained as the climax of the whole work as Maimonides expounds on the mystical passage of the Chariot found in Ezekiel, which isn’t supposed to be directly taught only hinted at though over time direct instruction has become the normal. This is followed by analysis of the moral aspects of the universe and explaining the reasons for the 613 laws in the Torah. Maimonides ends the book with how God is worshipped correctly, through wisdom.

The comparison of and thesis of complimenting of long held Jewish theological thought and Aristotelian philosophy by Maimonides could have been hard to follow, the text was more than readable and thus the arguments very understandable. While his arguments and logic are insight and enlightening, Maimonides is yet another religious individual who has married ‘pagan’ philosophy with divine revelation to the determinant of the latter like many of his Christian contemporaries were doing and their predecessors before them and many would do after. This is the book’s biggest flaw, but instead of being a reason not to read it is the main one to read it and thus understand the arguments of those who want to merge two separate worldviews into one.

The Guide for the Perplexed was intended by Maimonides for learned individuals to give his view on philosophy more than theology, however the two could not be connected within the text. While I do not adhere to the vast majority of the thoughts the author expounded upon, the insight into medieval thought were invaluable and insightful.

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Book Review: The Annals of Imperial Rome by Tacitus

The Annals of Imperial Rome by Tacitus
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Augustus might have established the Principate, but it was up to his successors to continue it and prevent Rome from once against descending into civil war. Tacitus in The Annals of Imperial Rome, the reigns of the Caesars from Tiberius to the death of Nero which would lead to the events in the writer’s The Histories.

The work begins with Tacitus reviewing the reign of Augustus and how Tiberius became his successor, over his more popular nephew Germanicus whose side of the family would eventual rule. Tiberius shrewdly attempts to be modest in claiming the Imperial title, but this hides his dark nature that he developed during his self-imposed exile before becoming Augustus’ heir. Under Tiberius is when the show trials and political persecutions of leading men that would begin that would become notorious under later Emperors. The middle and the very end of Tiberius’ reign, all of Gaius (Caligula)’s reign, and the first half of Claudius’ reign have been lost. Tacitus’ work picks up with how Claudius’ wife Messalina was brought down and his niece Agrippina shrewdly manipulating her way into marriage with her uncle so as to get her son, the future Nero, to become Emperor. Though the show trials and political persecutions continue, Claudius doesn’t instigate them and attempts to be lenient for those being wrongly convicted. Yet once Nero becomes an adult and Claudius’ son Britannicus still a child, Claudius’ days are numbered. Once his great-uncle and adoptive father is dead, Nero assumes the leadership and begins consolidating power including poisoning Britannicus at dinner one night. Though his mother Agrippina attempts to influence him, Nero humors her while attempting to get rid of her and finally succeeding. Though taught and tutored by the renowned Seneca, Nero has learned to rule in the guise of Tiberius yet with the ruthlessness of Gaius and soon anyone that offended him or could have been a threat to him or perceived to be by his hangers on. Though the end of Nero’s reign is missing, the trials and murders of senators were increasing in number to the point that later as mentioned in The Histories they decided to turn on Nero and proclaim Galba.

The unfortunate incompleteness of Tacitus’ work does not diminish the great historical account that it presents of early Imperial history as well as his critique of the Roman aristocracy during the reigns of Augustus’ Julio-Claudian successors. Though we know his opinions of Tiberius and Nero the best since their reigns survived the best, Tacitus critiques of those family members that did not rule were highly invaluable especially all those who in the writer’s opinion might have been more fitting successors to Augustus if not for political intrigue or bad luck. If there is a complaint with this book it is with a decision by translator Michael Grant decision to use modern military terminology in reference to Roman’s military was it, but his decision to use Roman numerals to help identify different historical actors who had the same name—a very common Roman practice—without a doubt help keep things straight. The biggest complaint that I had with Tacitus’ other works, which I had from Oxford World Classics, were non-existent with Penguin Classics and thus I encourage others towards that particular publisher.

The Annals of Imperial Rome is Tacitus’ finest work, showing the corruption of absolute power and how many choose to allow it overcome them instead of standing up to it. Although probably (at least) one-third of the work is missing, the portions we have covers how a politically stable Rome begins to slowly unravel through ever increasing fear of the most powerful man in the Empire. The end result of this is chronicles in Tacitus’ previous work.

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Book Review: James White: Innovator and Overcomer by Gerald Wheeler

James White: Innovator and Overcomer by Gerald Wheeler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The primary force behind the organizational formation of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination himself came from a denomination that resisted organization, but today’s Seventh-day Adventist church has his fingerprints even today. James White: Innovator and Overcomer by Gerald Wheeler, examines the life and times of one of the three main founders of the church whose drive was both a blessing and a curse.

Beginning and ending this biography at the funeral of James White, Wheeler highlights an important theme throughout White’s life, his seemingly paradoxical personality that drove him to everything he could for the church he helped to found but that could also cause friction with others from coworkers, friends, and family. Wheeler then shifts to White’s early life in Maine, a tough place that made tough people who endured the harsh climate of the area. Though encouraged to just become a farmer though he yearned for education, White became convinced the message of William Miller and soon felt the call to preacher the 1844 message while becoming accredited with the Christian Connection, whose views would influence him for years and decades to come. After the Great Disappointment, White was among those who believed something occurred on October 22 but shied away from the fanaticism of others through he was drawn to the encouraging visions of Ellen Harmon and began escorting her to various groups of Millerites before social conventions led the two to wed. The couple along with others, most notably Joseph Bates and Hiram Edson, began development the theological underpinnings of the future Seventh-day Adventist church and Ellen’s encouragement lead to White beginning ‘Review and Herald’ which would eventually place White at the forefront of the movement and eventually the main proponent of organization for almost a decade before it became a reality. Once organized, White wanted others to lead the church with him—famously refusing to become the denomination’s first president—but given his drive for its creation and want of its success he wasn’t the easiest to work with and would butt heads with many in the final 20 years of his life that grew worse as his many strokes would magnify his personality’s positive and negative traits. Throughout his endeavors with the church, Wheeler described White’s personally frugal nature that would make him squeeze out all he could with his money for himself and his family while at the same time being generous to less fortunate believes and church institutions. Though busy running two to three periodicals and a newly formed church, White was a business man and real estate investor so as to provide himself and family economic security but this led to accusations that he enriched himself with church funds that dogged him even after his passing.

In almost 250 pages of text and references, Wheeler provided an eye-opening look into the life of James White through the use of White’s own autobiography but also letters written by himself and others as well as other sources from individuals who knew him throughout his life. Wheeler fleshes out James White into a real person that like us today had strengths and flaws that he used and dealt with his entire life while getting closer and closer to Christ, something every Adventist—or any Christian—should identify with today. Though information and use of primary sources is excellent, the structure Wheeler used in the book was sometimes questionable. While the not so strictly chronological layout of the chapters was fine, some of the content of the chapters resulted in several short chapters that could have been merged into other chapters to make the book flow better to the reader.

James White: Innovator and Overcomer is a very good book for those Adventists looking to learn about one of the three founders of the church. Gerald Wheeler helps take White from being a picture on the wall, or book cover, and make him flesh-and-bone man who struggled just like us today with strengths and flaws. I highly recommend this for those interested in SDA church history.

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Book Review: Earth, Air, Fire, Water: Tales from the Eternal Archives edited by Margaret Weis

Earth, Air, Fire, Water by Margaret Weis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The short story anthology Earth, Air, Fire, Water edited by Margaret Weis, the second and last collection of the Tales from the Eternal Archives, contains thirteen stories of varying quality loosely connected to one another through the titular mystical library. But unlike the first collection all thirteen stories were all fantasy genre.

The best story of the collection was “Strange Creatures” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, which followed Chief Dan Retsler investigating the latest in a series of animal mutilations but suddenly finds out that the latest animal might be linked to mythical “selkies”. The next two best stories were “How Golf Shaped Scotland” by Bruce Holland Rogers, a fun and good natured short story about how a game of golf created Scotland’s iconic coastline, and “An Elemental Conversation” by Donald J. Bingle, a conversation between a Reverend and his friend during their weekly chess game about how the news of non-human intelligent life affects religion with a twist ending.

The two worst stories of the collection were “Water Baby” by Michelle West, which followed the life of a young woman who is emotionally connected to the ocean and how it affects her and others, and “Sons of Thunder” by Edward Carmien, in which a djinn recounts his time as a follower of Jehua and how his brother and his tribe converted to the new faith leaving him alone. These were the two “worst” examples of six stories that were not really good even though they had interesting concept, but just bad execution ruined them. An interesting facet was the unevenness of the number of stories for each element covered in the book, with Air only have one while Earth had five and Water had four and Fire starting off the book with three.

The thirteen stories that make up Earth, Air, Fire, Water were a mixed bag of quality from the excellent to downright disappoint, just like every other anthology collection that has been published. However I will be honest in how well I rated this book given how poorly it began and ended.

Individual Story Ratings
Burning Bright by Tanya Huff (2/5)
The Fire of the Found Heart by Linda P. Baker (2/5)
The Forge of Creation by Carrie Channell (2/5)
How Golf Shaped Scotland by Bruce Holland Rogers (4/5)
The Giant’s Love by Nina Kiriki Hoffman (3/5)
Family Secrets by Robyn McGrew (3.5/5)
Dvergertal by Nancy Vivian Berberick (2/5)
An Elemental Conversation by Donald J. Bingle (4/5)
Water Baby by Michelle West (1/5)
Only As Safe by Mark A. Garland and Lawrence Schimel (3/5)
Out of Hot Water by Jane Lindskold (3.5/5)
Strange Creatures by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (5/5)
Sons of Thunder by Edward Carmien (1/5)

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Review: Sons of Thunder by Edward Carmien

Sons of Thunder by Edward Carmien
My rating: 1 out of 5 stars

An air elemental, or maybe djinn, recounts to a missionary his time with Jehua Mashiah as one of his followers along with his brother whom Jehua names James and John, the Sons of Thunder.  The djinn tells how the human sons of Zebedee replaced him and his brother as the Sons of Thunder but his brother remained in the group while he left.  The djinn mourns his tribe that was converted to Mashiah's faith by his brother, all of them becoming human in the process and die.  The missionary's sympathy breaks through the djinn allowing him to let go and find others of his kind.

This story could have been interesting, but the missionary angle just fell flat especially when she willingly had her picture taken for internet porn so she could connect with the djinn just blew any good will this story could have gotten for me.

Review: Strange Creatures by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Strange Creatures by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Dan Retsler, Chief of Police of Whale Rock, overlooks his flood damaged coastal town and thinks back to what led to it.  New Year's Day (1999), Retsler is called to the beach to find a skinned seal pup which is the just the latest in a series animal mutilations.  Retsler knows the culprit is probably a teenager, but things are complicated.  Maria Selvado, a woman claiming to be employed by a local Science Center, keeps cropping up in various aspects of the investigation which intrigues Retsler.  Yet it is Whale Rock's secretly acknowledged weird history and speculation of mythological creatures, namely selkies, that makes Retsler a hero after learning that a bloody Selvado committed suicide by jumping into the ocean.  With barely an hour to evacuate the town, Retsler visits the site of the only two victims of the flood, a father and his teenage son who had both gotten on the bad side of the selkies.

I must apologize for my bad description of this fantastic story, I didn't do it justice.  This one story mean I'll be keeping the entire book on my shelf because I will want to reread this again.

Review: Out of Hot Water by Jane Lindskold

Out of Hot Water by Jane Lindskold
My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Jeannette, a CPA on an all-expenses-paid holiday from her company for her performance during tax time, is feeling disappointed with her life and with her holiday.  While getting a massage, she engages in a conversation with the masseuse who she thinks is a elderly woman from the local Tewa tribe.  Though warned that the hot springs the resort is located on are sacred, Jeannette wishes for excitement.  It turns out the old woman is the spirit of the hot springs and grants Jeannette's wish by enlisting her help to stop thieves from stealing from the ruins of the Tewa's ancient settlement.  Using her common sense, Jeannette disables the thieves' car and gets to the local police to report the crime including a lead for one of the thieves.  Months later, after being the star witness at the trial and using her accounting skills Jeannette has shut down several stolen antiquities rings.  The old woman then shows up with her grandson, the Tewa tribe's legendary hero to end the story.

Frankly the ending--the arrival of the grandson--was unnecessary to this very good story and made me downgrade it by half a star.

Review: Only As Safe by Mark A. Garland and Lawrence Schimel

Only As Safe by Mark A. Garland and Lawrence Schimel
My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

On his sixteenth birthday, Lord Turell saw the blond-haired raiders returning to Brackham almost a year since they had killed his father during their last raid.  Learning from the previous year, Turell and his captain have a plan only to find out the raider's have changed tactics with a ram instead of digging under the wall.  The defenders hold as best they can as Turell remembers how he was saved the previous year in the well by the aid of a naiad (who might be his mother).  Unfortunately the raiders are on the verge of victory including Turell getting captured but the water from the well is killing the invaders including the foreign king thus saving the day.

I described this story not as well as it deserves, it was a nice story.

Review: Water Baby by Michelle West

Water Baby by Michelle West
My rating: 1 out of 5 stars

The story follows the life of the titular character, Amy, from when she assumes the title of "Water Baby" until her death.  At the age of five, Amy becomes the emotional conduit for water and must keep the element calm so as not to allow devastating storms from killing innocent people.  Throughout her brief life, Amy is given counsel by Grace, her fire counterpart, though only after she's had an emotional outburst or has done something to anger "water".

While the concept was interesting, the execution and the narrative structure were just off making this a frustrating read.

Review: An Elemental Conversation by Donald J. Bingle

An Elemental Conversation by Donald J. Bingle
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Reverend Frank and his friend Randy have weekly Thursday night chess game and discussion, the topic is news from SETI that they've detected an intelligent signals from deep underground, in the middle of the ocean, and from inside a Pacific volcano implicating multiple intelligent life-forms that aren't human.  Then as they play their game, they have a philosophical discussion about the implication on religion (namely Christianity) and science with the new of non-human intelligent life.  The game ends in a draw and Randy leaves, but afterwards the chess pieces then devour the last donut thus showing that Frank already knew non-human intelligent life existed.

Although I disagree with some of the theological things Reverend Frank proposed, the discussion is still a nice one.  The game, even though I don't understand the lingo, and the talk are well constructed creating a very good story with a nice twist ending.

Review: Dvergertal by Nancy Varian Berberick

Dvergertal by Nancy Varian Berberick
My rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Herthe Amunddatter is angry at her brother Burgen and sister-in-law for ruining the reputation of her late father's homestead for fair-handed to niggardly.  One evening a stranger comes to the homestead and Herthe welcomes him as is right, but her brother and sister-in-law are ill hosts and the stranger turns out to be a dwarf named Motsognir.  The dwarf offended by the treatment begins causing ill events to hit the house in quick succession, but Herthe stops him from harming her unborn niece/nephew which leads to Burgen giving her to the dwarf.  Herthe is suddenly transported away into a dark area and over the ages is taught by Motsognir about the magic inside her and the dwarves, or spirits.  Once she is ready Motsognir returns Herthe to her abandoned home where that night she meets a stranger who turns out to be Odin and she reveals to him Ragnarok and the two survivors.

Honestly I originally was going to give this a better rating, but unfortunately after thinking about it I downgraded it a lot.  The first half of my review covered the first 7 pages and the last half the next 22, which should tell you all you need to know.

Review: Family Secrets by Robyn McGrew

Family Secrets by Robyn McGrew
My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Shalazar, the daughter of Lord Sargon the Priest-King of Babylon, is about to be initiated into Temple of the Winged God but wants to find out what's behind a sealed down in an old temple.  After breaking through the seal of the Winged God, she enters a dank vault with crumbling steps to find a man with a head of the bull who is living in filth.  Shalazar brings food, drink, and candles to the prisoner while hiding the fact from her father only to learn that soon the old temple will soon been deserted meaning the man-bull would basically be dead.  Shalazar helps the man-bull escape and learns his name is Minoa and the next day is initiated into the Temple of the Winged God, who turns out to be Minoa who was testing her.

My little write up doesn't do the story justice, but it was a good story that was only hurt because of the incorrect historical and mythological facts laid out.

Review: The Giant's Love by Nina Kiriki Hoffman

The Giant's Love by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Stig, the titular Giant who lives underground in a time before the giants diminished into the dwarves, finds a massive emerald in an old mining tunnel then seeing a bright sapphire and begins digging it out.  However the "sapphire" is the pale blue sky, something Stig has never seen and is marveled with it.  For weeks he journeys to the hole and ventures out, one day he doesn't return to the tunnel.  Stig begins journeying around, finally meeting people and settling down every now and then.  Over the years he travels with many people but loves only upper world.  Finally Stig mines a huge vain of silver and with other giants creates a massive mirror that is raised into the sky by a wizard friend of his.  After Stig dies, the mirror turns gray to create the moon we see today.

A nice story, nothing fancy or anything.

Review: How Golf Shaped Scotland by Bruce Holland Rogers

How Golf Shaped Scotland by Bruce Holland Rogers
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Father Iain plays a lot of golf on the flat coast land around St. Andrews and is so good that his parishioners say he is the best in all of Scotland.  Iain always admonishes them for this, but they continue saying it that the King and Queen of Faery challenge him to a game and curse the surrounding area to make him play.  During the game, the two Faery begin magically changing the ground to create hillocks, bunkers, and uneven putting surfaces.  Iain doesn't complain because besides himself, the two monarchs also hurt each other.  On the last hole, Iain breaks his putt to create the first club which he uses to hit the ball into the air above the shifting ground to fall into hole to win the game.  The King and Queen begin arguing and battle one another around all the coasts of Scotland making it as we see today.

Through short, this story was straightforward and had no unnecessary words except for the "Chekhov's Gun" that was repeated a little more than needed.

Review: The Forge of Creation by Carrie Channell

The Forge of Creation by Carrie Channell
My rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Thien gets a letter on magic parchment from her brother Hakan that describes a discovery on his dig that he doesn't want the Mages like their father to hideaway and invites Thien to come see.  Thien goes to the dig site and no one is there, her father isn't concerned but she organizes a dig and finds a natural spell surrounding a salamander that's connected to the moon and barely survives the encounter but knows her brother was captured by it.  Their father doesn't seem concerned, but when Thien goes to rescue her brother he offers help if she will be come the family's next mage instead of Hakan and she does.  Using her father's spell, in which he takes his son's place, Thien saves Hakan.

The magic system is interesting but not fleshed out enough, but the societal background is the same.  The best thing is the family drama, but this story could have been better.

Review: The Fire of a Found Heart by Linda P. Baker

The Fire of a Found Heart by Linda P. Baker
My rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Asha is deciding whether to take up his father's spear of leadership after falling in battle at the hands of elves, before going on a spirit walk at night which is somewhat taboo to their fire oriented religion.  As he walks it begins raining earlier in the year than usual and he gets lost before getting knocked out.  Asha wakes up in the morning and is captured by elves and taken to their camp where he attempts to bluff his way out but is sentenced to death.  However the son of the elf chieftain saves his life then escorts him to their border.  Asha and the elf talk about the events leading to his father's death then Asha learns why the elf saved him, as they have the same birthmark which makes them soulmates.  Asha claims his tribe's leadership and says there will be no war.

The magic systems and religions of the humans and elves were unique, the narrative had potential but things just didn't seem to jell.

Review: Burning Bright by Tanya Huff

Burning Bright by Tanya Huff
My rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Beth Aswith, a wizard, has one last conversation with her daughter Carlene before she dies and her daughter's flesh burns away as her true nature--a fire elemental--reasserts itself. Carlene finds her friend Alynne to help her contact other wizards so she can get a new body. The wizards, not happy to be contacted by a non-wizard or taking with one another, agree after everyone realize that Carlene is "too human" for a fire elemental and with Alynne's help is able to return Carlene to flesh.

This was a story that had some good potential, but there was a lot of skipping in chronology and some bad dialogue that just hurt things a lot.

Book Review: Divine Encounters by Zecharia Sitchin

Divine Encounters by Zecharia Sitchin
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The interaction between the Divine and man are considered some of the most important and inspiring moments within each of the Abrahamic faiths, yet the question always is who was the Divine? Zecharia Sitchin reviews Divine Encounters throughout the ancient Near East whether recorded in the Bible or on cuneiform tablets in this companion volume to his series, The Earth Chronicles.

Through the first three-quarters of the book, Sitchin reviews numerous encounters that he has previously written about. Among these topics are the Creation of Man (the “first encounter”) and the Fall, the sexual encounters between the divine and man, the Flood, and man’s search for immortality all with their own specific chapters. Sitchin also covers visions, oracle dreams, and angels which he has previous mentioned and written about in his books, but never dedicated time to looking into them before. Where Sitchin really covers new material is the theophany at Mount Sinai, discussing the Prophets of the Old Testament, and finally an essay in which Sitchin examines which Annunaki was the God of the Old Testament.

For those that have read most of Sitchin’s books before, the majority of this book is a review of the previous five books he had written at the time of the publication. The only new ground that Sitchin covered was in the last quarter of the book in which he really examines Exodus, the Old Testament Prophets, and he examination of which Annunaki was the God of the Old Testament which resulted in a surprising conclusion especially for those reading this book for the first time.

Divine Encounters is a book geared for people who have never read any of Zecharia Sitchin’s work, but included material at the very end that was new for long time readers. While I liked the new material, the fact I had to reread nearly 300 pages of topics I’ve read over the course of five books was annoying. So if you’re a longtime read of Sitchin’s, get this book to complete your collection but read it last. If you’re a first time reader of Sitchin, the vast majority of the book will give insight into Sitchin’s theories which are fully fleshed out—except what is covered in the last quarter of the book—in The Earth Chronicles series.

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Book Review: Iceberg by Clive Cussler

Iceberg by Clive Cussler
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

A missing luxury yacht is found encased in an iceberg by a Coast Guard air patrol, but within a week of the discovery that bizarre sight won’t be the only thing that isn’t what it seems. Iceberg is the second published book of Clive Cussler’s series featuring Dirk Pitt, taking the U.S.A.F Major to the north Atlantic and Iceland then to Disneyland.

Taken away from his California vacation and dispatched by NUMA Director Admiral Sandecker to the titular iceberg in the North Atlantic, Dirk Pitt takes Dr. Bill Hunnewell to search for the ship before heading to Iceland. The two commandeer a U.S. Coast Guard cutter as a base of operations along the way, which proves fortuitous as the helicopter is low on fuel after a wild goose chase for the iceberg. Finding a way into the ship, they find it burned along with the crew as well as the owner, Kristjan Fyrie who is identified by Hunnewell who worked with him. As they head for Iceland, the two are attacked by a black jet and Hunnewell is mortally wounded while Pitt uses the helicopter to take out the jet before crash landing just off shore. Pitt survives an attempt on his life by two thugs disguised as local Icelandic police before eventually getting to the American consulate in Reykjavik. Sandecker offers to send Pitt back on his vacation, but as he suspects Pitt wants to find who killed him. The Admiral then orders Pitt to get close to Kristjan Fyrie’s twin sister who is now Iceland’s wealthiest person and who has shied away from the working with the U.S. government on a state-of-the-art probe, but Kirsti is engaged to fishing magnate Oskar Rondheim and Pitt decides to play a homosexual so as not to pose a threat to the man. After several escapes with Sandecker and a National Intelligence Agent respectfully, Pitt and Sandecker’s secretary are invited to party at Rondheim’s home which is a trap for several wealthy and politically important men from around the globe so they can die while a cabal of wealth businessmen that include Rondheim and Fyrie play to take over all of Central and South America. Rondheim beats the presumably gay Pitt and leaves him and the others to die in a remote part of Iceland. Pitt is able to find help and save nearly everyone, while in the hospital the head of the National Intelligence Agency swindles Pitt from NUMA to Disneyland so stop a duel assassination of Latin American leaders. Pitt gets revenge on Rondheim and then makes a deal with Fyrie, who had been Rondheim’s puppet after he learned Kirsti was actually Kristjan after a sex change.

Like The Mediterranean Caper this was a quick paced book, but this time there was a larger cast of characters instead of a tiny one that was present in both Pacific Vortex and Caper. Iceberg improved in narrative flow over its predecessor as well as making the characters a little more rounded, but still the one-dimensional characters were still prevent. While Dirk Pitt wasn’t as big of a…“jerk” as in Caper, he still wasn’t the same character that appears later in the series and what bad qualities he loses from Caper are negated from the over-the-top homosexual clichés that he displays as part of his act. Besides Pitt’s gay act, the transsexual-sex change angle and the misogynistic comments by numerous male characters could be called typical clichés of the mid-1970s but age really badly over the last 40 years. However the biggest hole in the book is the missing of Pitt’s best friend, Al Giordino, a mistake that Cussler never made again.

Iceberg shows improvement in narrative and characters to an extent, but some of the choices Cussler made negated them. Overall I can’t give this a lesser or better rating that the first Dirk Pitt book, but if there is anyone interested in getting into this series I don’t recommend starting with some of these early books. Read books later in the series and then come back to these early ones.

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Book Review: Wild Creatures in Winter by Neil Wayne Northey

Wild Creatures in Winter by Neil Wayne Northey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wild Creatures in Winter is the fourth and final volume Neil Wayne Northey’s Old Homestead series. Like the previous volumes in the series this is a quick and pleasant children’s book that follows the lives of numerous animals that inhabit the area around the series’ titular location. Unlike the previous three books that could be read out of order, this book needs to be read last as all the animals followed were previously introduced in the other books in the series. Yet despite this one difference from the other books, it’ll still provide enjoyment to young children either reading on their own or being read to by their parents.

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Book Review: The Reign of the Kingfisher by T.J. Martinson

The Reign of the Kingfisher by T.J. Martinson
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I received this book via Goodreads First Reads in exchanged for an honest review.

The legacy of Chicago’s very own, mostly forgotten, superhero suddenly becomes center stage when a gunman demands the police come clean on the hero’s supposed death or innocent people will die. T.J. Martinson’s debut novel, The Reign of the Kingfisher, follows several characters attempting to stop the gunman in their separate ways before coming together and using the information they collected to help stop the gunman.

Early in the morning of a soon-to-be hot Chicago summer day, a retired journalist is awakened by a call from Chicago Chief of Police and sees a video of a gunman claiming that the CPD helped the Kingfisher fake his death and demand they come clean before killing a hostage and threatening several more with the same fate. Recognizing the victim as someone he interviewed for his book about the superhero, the journalist gets concerned about others which gets the attention of a CPD detective who has a suspended CPD officer look into the journalist’s list. Meanwhile a hacktivist is angry that the gunman is claiming to be a part of her group and to stop him hacks the CPD database to get a medical exam of the Kingfisher case to prove he might be alive only for the gunman to kill another hostage. After several up and downs, the four characters come together and are able bring their talents and discovers together to bring resolution to the situation.

This mystery with a fantasy twist begins with an intriguing premise and some interesting flashbacks, halfway through the book I came up with three possible ways it could play out or in various combinations which made me look forward to see how things would end. However, while I correctly picked the villain and partially got the ending scenario right that doesn’t mean I was satisfied with the book. While the three main and two (or three) secondary characters all came out of central casting, that didn’t make them bad as they started off interesting and developed well. However they either stopped developing to become stale or began doing and saying things that was completely out of the blue from where they had been heading (or both), which undercut the quality of the storytelling. In addition some of the minor subplots, in particular the Police Chief’s, were detrimental to the overall book once it was over.

The Reign of the Kingfisher has a great premise, but unfortunately it doesn’t really achieve its potential. While T.J. Martinson might just be beginning a long career, his debut novel is a mixture of good and bad that in the end makes the reader think about how good a book it could have been.

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Book Review: Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson

Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Everstorm is striking Roshar and a new Desolation has begun as the once docile parshman become conscious gathering to face off against humans who’ve owned them for millennia, however nothing as it seems in the long view of history. Oathbringer, third installment of Brandon Sanderson’s The Stormlight Archive, immediately picks up where the story left off as the survivors from the clash on the Shattered Plains regroup in the legendary home of the Knights Radiant and attempt to bring together all the humans on Roshar but hard truths and politics stand in the way.

Dalinar Kholin’s actions in the past and those in the present dominate the book like Kaladin and Shallan’s did in the previous two installments, whether through his own eyes or those of others. Setting up base in Urithiru, Dalinar begins slowly and diplomatically piecing a coalition together though his own past is a major liability. Using his connection with the Stormfather, Dalinar has other rulers join him in his visions setting up a connection with Queen Fen of Thaylenah and slowly building a relationship. However his attempts with doing the same with the Azir Prime is complicated by Lift no trusting him initially and the bureaucracy around the young man as well. But its Dalinar’s bloody past which turns out to be his own worst enemy as we see through his flashbacks a different man who loved battle and bloodlust, two traits nurtured by Odium to create his champion for the conflict to come but which turn against the enemy when Dalinar accepts his past and uses it to defend Thaylen City.

Kaladin and Shallan continue progressing through their respective development while Adolin’s slows a bit so as to give time to his cousin Jasnah and the former Assassin in White, Szeth, time to develop into major secondary characters throughout the book. Through scouting and spying, Kaladin first assesses the actions of the newly awakened parshmen though not without gaining relationships with them, a fact that haunts him when he faces them later in battle and creating a moral crisis that prevents him from stating the Fourth Ideal and almost kills him, Adolin, and Shallan if not for Dalinar’s actions. Shallan has her own growing crisis throughout the book, multiple personality disorder, which is exacerbated through her Lightweaving and attempts to not be the “scared little girl” she’s always seen herself as. Though she does not fully overcome it by the end of the book, she has begun dealing with it especially with help from Adolin who is dealing with his own issues stemming from his killing of Sadeas in regards to his place in Alethi society now that the Knight Radiants are reforming. Though Szeth’s progresses through his Skybreaker training with “ease”, his view of the order and of the overall conflict dovetails with the revelations that nearly destroy Dalinar’s fragile coalition. These revelations also correspond with Jasnah’s development and her concern for Renarin, whose own spren bonding is a revelation in and of itself as history and expectations are quickly being subverted.

Unlike the previous two books, Oathbringer is not as action-packed but is more centered in expanding the understanding the various peoples and politics of Roshar. While the beginning of the “overall” story was a bang, Sanderson turned the focus from one main area to many which resulted in building the world he created with different peoples with different cultures and long complicated histories interacting with one another during the beginning of what might be a long conflict. Add on top of this the fact that the ancient history that many believed to be true was not and as a result some are choosing a different side than what is expected of them plus the influence of Odium on everyone, and the next seven books in the series look to be very intriguing. Though the book’s length is once again an issue, around 1250 pages, attempting to do so much in one book it was the only result. And if there were flaws, it was mostly the perceived open-ended ways some events happened that were either a mystery to be solved later either in this book or another or just to be left open for no reason.

I will not say that Oathbringer is a perfect book, but it was a different change of pace after the first two books in The Stormlight Archive which helped continue the narrative while expanding it over more of Roshar. Knowing when to “subvert” the standard grand fantasy narrative is always a challenge, doing it this early in the series right now looks like a good move on Brandon Sanderson’s part and I’m interested to see where the story develops going forward.

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Book Review: Legends: Tales from the Eternal Archives by Margaret Weis

Legends by Margaret Weis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The short story anthology Legends edited by Margaret Weis, the first collection of the Tales from the Eternal Archives, contains almost twenty stories of near above average quality loosing connected to one another through a mystical library, titular Eternal Archives. Although the majority of the nineteen stories were fantasy, historical fiction and science fiction were also featured.

The two best stories of the collection were “Wisdom” by Richard Lee Byers, which was followed an alternate interpretation of The Iliad and The Odyssey as Odysseus ventures to save the world from chaos. The second was “Silver Tread, Hammer Ring” by Gary A. Braunbeck features an alternate world in which mythical and folkloric figures exist side-by-side as John Henry faces down a steam drill run by a minotaur. Other excellent stories were the two opening stories, “Why There Are White Tigers” by Jane M. Lindskold and “The Theft of Destiny” by Josepha Sherman, as well many more such as “The Last Suitor”, “King’s Quest”, “Ninety-Four”, “Precursor”, and “Dearest Kitty”.

The two worst stories of the collection were “The Wind at Tres Castillos” by Robyn Fielder which featured historical individuals who didn’t interact with one another at the titular location and the fantastical elements just didn’t make sense creating a waste of paper. The second worst story was “Final Conquest” by Dennis L. McKiernan, while short this story featuring Genghis Khan was a headscratcher though a nicely written one. Although overall not bad, the preface and short introductions loosely linked all the stories with the mystical library between worlds though some were better than others.

The nineteen stories that make up Legends feature—more than not—very good short stories across fantasy, historical fiction, and science fiction. Yet like all anthologies, it is a mixed bag of quality but only a few stories were completely subpar thus presenting the reader with a lot of good reading.

Individual Story Ratings
Why There Are White Tigers by Jane M. Lindskold (4/5)The Theft of Destiny by Josepha Sherman (4/5)Final Conquest by Dennis L. McKiernan (2/5)The Wisdom of Solomon by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (2.5/5)Bast’s Talon by Janet Pack (3/5)Wisdom by Richard Lee Byers (5/5)The Last Suitor by Kristin Schwengal (4/5)Two-Fisted Tales of St. Nick by Kevin T. Stein and Robert Weinberg (3/5)King’s Quest by Mickey Zucker Reichert (4/5)Silver Thread, Hammer Ring by Gary A. Braunbeck (4.5/5)Memnon Revived by Peter Schweighofer (2.5/5)The Ballad of Jesse James by Margaret Weis (2.5/5)Legends by Ed Gorman (3.5/5)The Wind at Tres Castillos by Robyn Fielder (1.5/5)Ninety-Four by Jean Rabe (4/5)Hunters Hunted by John Helfers (3.5/5)Precursor by Matthew Woodring Stover (4/5)“Dearest Kitty” by Brian M. Thomsen (4/5)Last Kingdom by Deborah Turner Harris and Robert J. Harris (3.5/5)

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Review: Last Kingdom by Deborah Turner and Robert J. Harris

Last Kingdom by Deborah Turner Harris and Robert J. Harris
My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

In his bunker, the Leader meets with Himmelmann who promised him great things and delivered (though neglected to say how long The Leader would have them). The Leader gives Himmelmann a piece of the Key of Abaddon that he found through his conquest as part of their agreement and Himmelmann gives the Leader a bottle of pills and shooting advice before leaving. Decades later after working with the Man of Steel, Himmelmann now going by Westerlicht takes with a politician on top of Mount Rushmore promising to help him "achieve" his destiny to leading the titular "last kingdom" which he shows the politician from the mountain top.

A nice blending of history and Apocalyptic Last Day events, though there are some misinterpretations of the Book of Revelation but a nice call back to Temptation of Christ in the Gospels. Overall a nice short story.

Review: "Dearest Kitty" by Brian M. Thomsen

"Dearest Kitty" by Brian M. Thomsen
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Inspector QB7 talks with an AI Counselor about a recent case he investigated in deciding between suicide or homicide.  Set in the far future, between the 23rd and 30th century, the victim--later determined to be a suicide--is one of twelve individuals who strove to remember the Holocaust which by the time of the story is believed to be a legend from the 20th century in which human killed one another at an unprecedented rate.  However using the technology at his disposal, the Inspector realizes why his case decided he needed to commit suicide and decides to keep the man's materials, including Anne Frank's Diary then to seek out someone else to share the memory of something that should not be forgotten.

Honestly, this story could have been really bad if the author had made the wrong choices but given my rating he did not.  Though it focuses on the Holocaust, the mentioning of the Killing Fields and Rwanda, reminds the reader why it's important to remember the events of the past...so they don't happen again in the future.

Review: Precursor by Matthew Woodring Stover

Precursor by Matthew Woodring Stover
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Chicago Police Officer Harry Pigeon is searching the sewers with a rich boy adventurer Matthew Duncan and Shay, a rich mystic, for whatever is killing people and animals around the city. Duncan believes it is a troll and has brought a high powered arclight, but Harry has brought a huge big game hunting rifle after seeing how little impact normal bullets apparently had when one of the victims shot whatever was hunting. The trio find tunnels and encounter a troll, with both Duncan and Harry's weapons needed to bring it down even though Duncan is seriously injured. The three attempt to feel as the rest of the "tribe" attempt to get them until the alpha male negotiates with them, or Harry believes tests them, before letting them leave.

Overall a good, compact story from one point-of-view though the timeline jumps back and forth. Though this might be considered a "down-to-earth" urban fantasy, it was still intriguing.

Review: Hunters Hunted by John Helfers

Hunters Hunted by John Helfers
My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Thomas, an American graduate student in Galway, Ireland, is reading a poetry book by Kipling when a young woman accidentally spills a lager over him. The young woman, Noba, quickly apologizes and the two spend the rest of the night talking. However, after closing Thomas doesn't see where she goes and then spends months looking for her when finally she reappears and he chases after her one night as it's getting really foggy. However when he reaches Noba, she's different and she admits her full name is Abnoba a goddess of nature. Suddenly a pack of dogs arrives as well as a tall, horned individual that Abnoba identifies as Arawn, a god of the hunt. Finding himself as part of a hunting game between gods, Thomas is transformed into a stag by Abnoba to survive but after a while turns to face the pack only to find himself getting slobbered on by some happy dogs who had fun chasing him. Arawn leaves and Abnoba and Thomas spend the rest of the night running around as mystical deer before she leaves.

This was a really good story that I didn't have a problem with until I found out that the deities were in fact Gaulish and Welsh not Irish, which caused me to downgrade the story .5 of a star.

Review: Ninety-Four by Jean Rabe

Ninety-Four by Jean Rabe
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

During World War II, the U-94 is seemingly unbeatable and takes on large convoys by itself.  It turns out the boat has help, a water sprite who is infatuated with it's captain who equally home on the sea and infatuated with his "Fraulein Faerie".  However their combined success comes to an end when they are trapped by two convoys and the sprite sacrifices herself to save her beloved captain.  Yet the story ends happily 40 years later after the sprite reforms herself, she finally convinces her man to join her in the sea.

This was the perfect blend of quasi-history and fantasy unlike some stories that are just fun to read.

Review: The Wind at Tres Castillos by Robyn Fielder

The Wind at Tres Castillos by Robyn Fielder
My rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars

Lozen, a warrior and prophetess to the Chihenne Chiricahua Apache band led by her brother Victorio, returns to the titular Tres Castillos to find him mortally wounded. The surrounding Mexican army employ a shaman who brings forth the deity known as Wind, or Gray Ghost Chief, whom Lozen has previous history with. The Chief demands Lozen unbind him or he'd allow the Mexicans to kill the rest of her band, but Lozen decides to take on the persona of the deity White Painted Woman to marry Gray Ghost Chief who then turns on the Mexicans to allow Lozen and her band to flea to join Geronimo's war.

There just seemed to be something off about this story from the beginning, after research I learned that the historical Lozen had been nowhere near the historical Battle (Massacre) of Tres Castillos. Besides incorrect historical facts, there are other things that didn't feel right that impacted the story negatively and made the fantastical features fall flat.

Book Review: Paddletail the Beaver and His Neighbors by Neil Wayne Northey

Paddletail the Beaver and His Neighbors by Neil Wayne Northey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Paddletail the Beaver and His Neighbors is the third of four volumes of Neil Wayne Northey’s Old Homestead series. Like the first two volumes this is a quick and pleasant children’s book that follows the lives of numerous animals inhabit the area around the Wildwood Pond in the Black Forest though the titular Paddletails. Although the third book in the series, it doesn’t have to be read in order while still providing enjoyment to young children either reading on their own or being read to by their parents.

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Book Review: State of Siege by Jeff Rovin

State of Siege by Jeff Rovin
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

After living through the hypocrisy of being a part of a United Nations security force, a band of mercenaries decide to strike at the organization itself and unknowingly take resigning Op-Center director Paul Hood’s daughter hostage. State of Siege, is the sixth book of the Op-Center series written by Jeff Rovin, ghosting for the titular Tom Clancy, finds Paul Hood in the middle of a hostage situation as his daughter is being held in the Security Council after cleaning out his desk and hoping to rebuild his family that is hanging by a thread and however Hood reacts he risks destroying it.

A team of five former UN soldiers, who served in Cambodia, rob an armored car in Paris to finance buying weapons from an arm’s dealer in New York to strike at the United Nations for a $250 million payday after taking room full of hostages. Among the hostages are diplomats, young violinists including Harleigh Hood, and two undercover Cambodian hitmen looking to take their revenge against the terrorist group’s leader. The situation is both personal and professional for Paul Hood, who is torn to do something to save his daughter and being with his wife to support. The newly appointed Secretary-General is a negotiator who wants to solve the problem as peacefully as possible, but events quickly get out of her control leading to a final solution to the siege that both pleases and displeases many.

Released in 1999, State of Siege puts the United Nations center stage as well as the debate between military versus diplomacy to solve crises. The problem that the “debate” is useless given that the crisis in this particular book could never have been solved diplomatically and this book is less than 400 pages as well as the story taking only about five hours in total. Besides this flaw is the one that has been running throughout the series, Paul Hood’s marriage which has been doomed to fail because Sharon Hood has been written to be literally be the unreasonable wife to the man running a government agency trying to do his best—how cliché can you get?—and it sinks to even worst levels here. And on top of that were the just bad dialog, characters literally knowing things they couldn’t actually know, plot holes all over the place, and finally not being able to decide what point-of-view to have from one paragraph to the next.

State of Siege keeps up the Op-Center tradition of having an intriguing plot, which is ruined by Jeff Rovin’s characterizations and overall subpar writing. This book is a big step down from the previous installment, Balance of Power, but is unfortunately more to type of what the series has been like for most of its run so far.

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Review: Legends by Ed Gorman

Legends by Ed Gorman
My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Pat Garrett and his less than worthy deputies are on the trail of Billy the Kid, who is said to be hiding out on the ranch of Pete Maxwell. After getting in contact with the local sheriff, Garrett stakes out the ranch and returns to town to find his deputies talking to one of Maxwell's ranch hands. After getting the man in jail for the night, he leads his men to the ranch that night and rush the farm house. After having Billy pull a gun on him but giving it up because he couldn't shot is friend, Pat however doesn't have the same view as foreshadowed throughout the story as he remembers an Eastern reporter's words.

Review: The Ballad of Jesse James by Margaret Weis

The Ballad of Jesse James by Margaret Weis
My rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

From the viewpoint of the unnamed fourth member of the James-Younger gang, we follow the infamous outlaws as they travel the back roads of southern Missouri when they come upon a slowly running down homestead.  The widow and her two children are about to be forced out by their Yankee landlord, but after the gang help prepare dinner and do some chores they give the woman some of their recent liberated Yankee money as well as a receipt to make her landlord sign.  Before they leave they ask her about how her landlord travels and in what direction, we leave them awaiting the Yankee landlord on the road he'll take to town.  Nothing really to complain about, though there is a "fantasy" connection with all these stories this one finally got it in my head that some of these stories are just going to be historical fiction.

Book Review: Light Bearers: A History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church by Richard W. Schwarz

Light Bearers: A History of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church by Richard W. Schwarz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The history of the Seventh-day Adventist church is the emergence of a small band of disappointed Millerites to that of a worldwide church of more than 10 million members by the end of the 20th Century, but not without struggles of all kinds along the way. Light Bearers: A History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church by Richard W. Schwarz with revisions and updates by Floyd Greenleaf is comprehensive look into the development the denomination over the course of over 170 years by professional historians balancing their own religious beliefs and professionalism.

“Beginning” in 1839, though not without highlighting Advent strains across the Christian spectrum leading up to that point, and finishing at the year 2000 with the need to focus on the doctrinal, organizational, institutional, and missionary facets of the denomination’s history was a challenge needing an organized and methodical approach for the reader. Dividing the history into three parts Greenleaf used Schwarz’s formula of advancing all the facets of the denomination’s development at the same space—though some overlap from one part to another was unavoidable—in different chapters but linking them to past or future characters when required. These three parts, “Origins and Formative Years 1839-1888”, “Years of Growth and Reorganization 1888-1945”, and “The Globalization of the Church 1945-2000” give the reader, while not a step-by-step look at the denomination’s history, at least a lens to view the events that shaped the denomination as its history developed. A fourth part, “Maintaining a Biblical Message”, relates the challenges that 20th Century members had keeping the unique doctrines of the Church based Biblically as well as answering challenges from not only without but within as well.

Given the multifaceted aspect of history that a book on the Seventh-day Adventist Church entails as well as revising and updating a previous history, Greenleaf did a professional job. Yet as the first 15 chapters of the book are the original work of Schwarz with scant revisions, it is also a testament to his own professionalism that they hold up just as much as the final third when Greenleaf’s own work is solely on display. With numerous historical actors and events throughout the over 170 years, both authors delicately balanced the need to be informative enough without slowing down the pace of the book unless the covered topic was doctrinal and thus needed a thorough explanation to better understand the controversy being covered.

Light Bearers: A History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church might look like a daunting book at nearly 700 pages, but for those interested in the development of the denomination that they are either apart of or wanting to understand this is the book for them. Longtime Adventist historians Richard W. Schwarz and Floyd Greenleaf both balance their religious beliefs with their professionalism to give the reader an accurate—warts and all—look at a now global church that developed from only a few hundred disappointed Millerites.

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Review: Memnon Revived by Peter Schweighofer

Memnon Revived by Peter Schweighofer
My rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

During his expedition to study the numerous inscriptions of Egyptian hieroglyphics that he deciphered, Jean Champollion wants to stop by the Colossi of Memnon. According to legend, one of the statues sings at dawn as the spirit Memnon praises his mother, the goddess Aurora. While Champollion’s new arrived travelling companion Nestor L’Hote dismisses the story, the expedition’s guide Omar is intrigued. After the local sheik denies Champollion permission to cross the Nile because of bandits, but Champollion convinces Omar to row them over before dawn. They arrive just in time and as the bandits start circling, the sunrises and Memnon sings scaring off the bandits as Champollion and Omar listen in wonder.  Overall it's a nice story that connects to some earlier stories around the Iliad and Odyssey but is nothing exciting.

Book Review: Leaves of Grass: First and "Death-Bed" Editions by Walt Whitman

Leaves of Grass: First and "Death-Bed" Editions by Walt Whitman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Leaves of Grass: First and “Death-Bed” Editions contains best known work of American poet Walt Whitman as well as additional poems that he published before his breakthrough work and that he didn’t include in his final publication. Containing hundreds of poems from the “father of free verse”, the reader gets a essentially a full view of Whitman’s career from beginning to end. In additional each new section of the book has an introduction by Dr. Karen Karbiener who also wrote the Notes at the end of the book giving the reader a better understanding of the essence surrounding Whitman’s work. Though many Whitman loves will enjoy this book, for some like myself this turned out to be too much of something that it turns out I didn’t like after all.

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Book Review: The Mediterranean Caper by Clive Cussler

MEDITERRANEAN CAPER by Clive Cussler
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

A lazy Sunday afternoon at a U.S Air Force base on a quiet Greek island is shattered when a WWI-era German fighter attacks and then finds itself in a dogfight with a WWII-era seaplane. The Mediterranean Caper by Clive Cussler was the first published book featuring Dirk Pitt and started off a four decade long series of books that sold millions of books and multiple times on the bestseller list.

Dirk Pitt and his best friend Al Giordino, heading to the Greek island of Thasos on a special assignment to a NUMA vessel, fight off a WWI German fighter attacking a nearby U.S. Air Force base in a WWII-era seaplane. The next morning Dirk takes an early morning swim and meets Teri von Till, niece of a reclusive shipping magnate who lives on the island. After meeting with the NUMA vessel’s captain, Pitt goes to meet Teri’s uncle Bruno for dinner and finds out he was a German pilot in World War I with a model submarine in his study. Von Till attempts to kill Pitt with his dog, but Pitt escapes and the next day with Giordino invade von Till’s mansion and kidnap Teri only to be detained by a member of an INTERPOL drug task force. Pitt and Giordino learn that von Till is a suspected drug smuggler and are ordered by the NUMA director to aid INTERPOL in stopping a massive shipment of heroin from reaching the U.S. After boarding the suspected cargo ship with the heroin, Pitt figures out how von Till hasn’t been caught. Pitt then leads a group of scientists to look for and find a massive cave in which they find several submarines, though caught by von Till and a mole from the INTERPOL task force it’s an elaborate trap as Giordino, several INTERPOL agents, and military personnel had raided von Till’s mansion and listened in on Pitt explaining to von Till everything he had figured out including that he was actually a Nazi war criminal which von Till didn’t deny.

This is a quick pacing book and has numerous cliché elements that one would expect to find in an early 1970s adventure novel with the main character notably inspired by James Bond. While I could knock the disjointed narrative flow or the weak character development of some of the other characters given the time period it was to be expected, the biggest eyesore is Dirk Pitt himself. The term “jerk” is a cleaned up way to describe Pitt’s interacting with anyone in the book including his best friend, Al, and his way to make a woman interested in him, slapping her for still mourning her late husband. This is not the same Pitt that appears in Pacific Vortex! or later in the series and would be a definite turn off for anyone encountering the character for the first time.

The Mediterranean Caper is a quick adventure that is sometimes fun, but today has a lot of problems. Though Clive Cussler’s portrayal of Dirk Pitt has improved over the last four decades, I would not recommend this book for those either interested in reading or listening to a Dirk Pitt novel. If you have read or listened to later books then be warned this is not the same Dirk that you’ve encountered.

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Book Review: The Mallards and Their Neighbors by Neil Wayne Northey

The Mallards and Their Neighbors by Neil Wayne Northey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Mallards and Their Neighbors is the second of four volumes of Neil Wayne Northey’s Old Homestead series. Like the first volume, this is a quick and pleasant children’s book that follows the lives of numerous animals that inhabit the area around the Duck Pond though the titular Mallards with brief appearances by Mr. Bluebird. Although this is the second book of the series, it can be read before the first volume and still provide enjoyment to young children either reading on their own or being read to by their parents.

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Book Review: The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party by Michael F. Holt

The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party: Jacksonian Politics and the Onset of the Civil War by Michael F. Holt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The antebellum period saw the formation and destruction of the second party system in U.S. politics between Andrew Jackson’s Democrats, which survived to the present, and their rivals the Whigs that did not. Michael F. Holt’s magnum opus, The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party, details how the Whigs emerged from all the anti-Jacksonian forces to their disintegration in the mid-1850s due to the factional and sectional divisions.

Beginning in the mid-1820s, Holt explains the origins of the anti-Jacksonian groups that formed and later coalesced to form the Whig party in the winter of 1833-4 in Washington, D.C. then how it eventually branched out and formed in states. Through thorough research from the national down to the state, county, and local levels Holt explored how the Whig party was planted and grew throughout the country and competed against their Democratic foes. Yet this research also exposed the intraparty feuds within state parties that affected conventions on all levels, platform fights, and Election Day enthusiasm. Exploring a political relationship between state politics and national politics that is completely different than that seen in the second half of the 20th-century and early 21st, Holt shows how this different political paradigm both rose up the Whigs and eventually destroyed them.

With almost 1300 pages of text and notes, Holt thoroughly explored the 20 year history of the American Whig party from the national to the local level within every state of the Union. Throughout Holt’s assertion that the Democrats always controlled “the narrative” of the Whig’s history and how that played on the Whig intraparty feuds which eventually was one of the main three causes of the party’s disintegration. The focuses on Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, party traitor John Tyler, party destabilizer Zachary Taylor, attempted party savior Millard Fillmore, and slew of other prominent Whigs gives the stage to historical actors who shaped history. Throughout the text, the reader sees how events if changed just slightly might have allowed the Whigs to continue as a national party and the effects that might have had going forward but ultimately who personalities and how some decisions out of the party’s control resulted in fatal wounds occurring.

The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party is not for the general history reader, this tome is for someone dedicated to an in-depth researched book that shifts from the halls of Congress to the “smoke-filled backrooms” of state conventions in states across the nation to election analysis in various congressional districts across the young republic. The work of an academic lifetime, Michael F. Holt gives insight into political party that ultimately lost in history but that still had a lasting impact to this day in modern American politics.

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