Friday Fiction Fix: "A Swiftly Tilting Planet"

5/5 Stars

While A Swiftly Tilting Planet is the third book in the Time Quintet, it should be easy to pick up this volume without having read either A Wrinkle in Time or A Wind in the Door, though that may help you be familiar with some of the concepts explained in the book. Of course, if you haven't read Wrinkle, I would recommend you pick it up, solely for the reason that it's one of my favorite books. 

The world seems to be at the edge of nuclear catastrophe within the next several hours. Even the president isn't sure what to do. However, the heavenly powers have not abandoned Earth to its fate and elect to send Charles Wallace back in time to points when the history of the world has turned on the tiniest of points. Will he and Meg be able to redirect the future? Or will the powers of darkness win as they always have?

This book won a five-star rating from me for the sheer emotions in it. I've read it before and I still teared up at a couple points. It somehow drives home for me the unfairness of life, but the beauty of love and joy shines all the brighter in those dark moments. The time-traveling aspect is a nice framework to the story, without getting bogged down in the details of it overly much. 

That being said, this book does have some iffy theology hidden in it. Seeing as it's framed in a fictional work and it's not overtly religious, I don't mind it overmuch, but proceed with a grain of caution. 

Recommended to: Fans of time-travel and fantasy, middle grade and up.

Friday Fiction Fix: "Hideous Beauty"

4/5 Stars

Grant Austin has just won the Pulitzer Prize for his presidential biography. But just when he's about to celebrate his ultimate triumph over a former rival, he learns that there's a plot to assassinate the president--what's more, he's being framed for it. Can he overcome the forces of darkness that are behind the plot to save the president and himself?

I picked this up at my favorite Christian bookstore a while back simply because it had been published by one of my favorite companies, Enclave Publishing. For about the first 80 pages of the novel, I was pretty sure I had made a horrible mistake in buying it. I really didn't like Grant at the start of the novel and found him an unbelievably petty, childish, and immature man, especially for someone who had been able to interview the president. Thankfully, he had a good character arc throughout the novel that made him into a more believable (and likable) character. Usually, I complain that Christian novels lack characters with real faults; I think this novel swung just a little too far the other way, but I give Mr. Cavanaugh kudos for making a character that's not a goody two-shoes off the bat. 

Once we got past the initial high school pettiness that was the framework for the beginning of the novel, it was really quite enjoyable. It had a nice blend of spiritual and real-life action, some political intrigue, and a nice splattering of humor. There were a few moments of awkward inter-character relations that I didn't quite buy (Grant has a habit of picking up lots of women and they somehow all get along?), but I really can't fault the action. The climaxes were dramatic, believable, and provided a satisfying ending to the book. 

I haven't decided if I'm going to pick up the next installment or not, but I think I'm leaning toward doing so. 

Recommended to: Fans of spiritual warfare and action books who don't mind some odd characterizations.

Friday Fiction Fix: "A Wind in the Door"

4.5/5 Stars

As I've ranted about before on this blog, A Wrinkle in Time is one of my favorite books of all time. As for the rest of the time quintet (of which I've read the first four), I have varying opinions. This is one of my less treasured installments, but it's still an enjoyable read and introduces some concepts that are further explored in A Swiftly Tilting Planet. It's not necessary to read A Wrinkle in Time before picking up this book, but if you haven't read Wrinkle, I would still suggest reading it first, as it's the more enjoyable book of the two. 

Charles Wallace has fallen mysteriously ill while stars are disappearing into a great rent in space. But according to the cherubim in the Murray's garden, it's all connected--and it's up to Meg, Calvin, and Mr. Jenkins to bring balance back to the universe. 

This book has some intriguing concepts about the interconnected-ness of the universe, from mitochondria to the farthest stars and from angels to garden snakes. Like all of L'Engle's works, I take her explorations into theology with a generous portion of salt. However, she does make some good points about loving your neighbor and avoiding hate, along with the classic struggles of good vs. evil. 

The overall plot can be a little heady with sidetracks into concept exploration. Unlike Wrinkle where we have some more definable physical action to break up these thoughts, Wind doesn't always have enough discernible physical action to break up the sometimes lengthy theoretical discussions, rendering it a bit dry in places. Nevertheless, it's an enjoyable book written on an easy level.

Recommended to: Fans of  science fiction who enjoy exploring theoretical and theological concepts, middle grade and up.

Friday Fiction Fix: The 49th Mystic

4.5/5 Stars

I was recently thinking that it would be nice to get back to reading some Ted Dekker when I stumbled across this at the book store. I had completely forgotten that he had released anything after completing the Circle.

Rachelle Matthews might be blind, but she's the only person who can keep two worlds from being permanently blinded--or so she's been told. Can her dreams of an alternate reality help save the modern world from an impending crisis? Or will she not be able to see beyond herself to what God is doing? The resulting story is one of both modern and fantastical action and self-discovery.

As a proudly stodgy Lutheran, there were a few points of theology that made me raise my eyebrows a bit. This wouldn't have been a huge issue, but the theology at play is a central point of the plot and the novel, so the heavy discussions may be a bit of a turn-off for some readers.

Recommended for fans of fantasy, world-traveling, and modern/thriller action who don't mind some theological discussions mid-plot.

Friday Fiction Fix: "The Fall of Lucifer"

The Short:

The Fall of Lucifer

Chronicles of Brothers, Book 1

By: Wendy Alec

4/5 Stars

What: Satan's fall and the birth of mankind from an angelic perspective.

Recommended to those who like: Spiritual warfare/supernatural, Christian, some sci-fi elements

The Long:

I must say that I was really intrigued by the concept of this book. It depicts the fall of Lucifer from heaven from the perspective of the other angels--mostly Michael and Gabriel. To a somewhat lesser degree, the book also portrays events on earth such as the fall of man and the flood. 

The imagery in the book is stunning to the point of being almost overwhelming. On one hand, this is one of the book's greatest strengths; it's a hard task to bring heaven and the direct presence of Christ to life. On the other hand, the descriptions are a bit like eating Thanksgiving dinner--it's good, but there's so much of it that it's hard to appreciate all of it at once and by the end you're wondering why you ate (or read) so much of it. 

It's important to note that this is a fictional book and it's difficult to discuss in-depth theology with a novel. That being said, I thought that the author did a solid job of describing some of the basic tenets of Creation and its fall while filling in some of the unknown gaps. It gives a new flavor to the term "speculative" fiction. Given the prologue and epilogue to the book, I think the series could get into some dicey areas when it comes to theology regarding Revelation/other prophetic books, but if one reads it as a work of fiction rather than theology, it works out fairly well. 

The characters were well-conceived for being such untouchable figures, though I felt they still retained some of their distance. Also, the very nature of trying to fill in the gaps for a tale that's already been told make it a difficult story to construct. We know that Lucifer has to become Satan and fall from grace, but how can you do that while making him something other than just the ultimate villain? I thought the author achieved a fairly nice balance between his ultimate evilness and his initial grace. It was a fine line to tread and, for the most part, it was trodden quite well. 

The Fall of Lucifer does contain some sci-fi elements, which was an interesting twist. For example, much is made of mankind's DNA, the composition of matter, and other scientific pursuits. This adds an interesting flavor to what could otherwise be a very heavy-handed theological story. 

The story does address some issues of sexual immorality (not in detail), so it would be more suitable for teens and up, even though the writing style isn't strictly age-prohibitive. Furthermore, I would say that it's important to give this tale only to people well-versed in the Christian faith and who are willing to take it as a book of fiction; taken too literally, I could see some pitfalls for heresy. (In short, make sure that whoever you give it to understands that theological questions should be addressed to their pastor, not a work of fiction, especially concerning God's judgement and mercy, levels of heaven, eternal punishment of sinners, the nature of sin/original sin, etc.) On the flip side, it could make an interesting book for someone who's vaguely interested in the Christian faith; it offers many opportunities for discussion.

The Bottom Line: The Fall of Lucifer is an engaging book that could be thoroughly enjoyed if given to an appropriate audience.

Friday Fiction Fix: "Fire Prophet"

Although this is the second book in a series, it could be easily picked up without reading book 1, Spirit Fighter. As always, I've tried to keep my review spoiler-free. 

The Short:

Fire Prophet

Son of Angels, Book 2

By: Jerel Law

4/5 Stars

What: The children of the Nephilim are under attack—and it’s time they learn to defend themselves.

Recommended to those who like: Spiritual warfare, middle grade, Christian

The Long:

For starters, let me offer the disclaimer that I am not this book’s intended target audience. Even though I read middle grade books quite frequently, I still have an adult’s perspective on things (unless we’re talking about puns, in which case all bets are off).

Jonah and his siblings are under attack, along with the rest of the quarterlings—children with special abilities who are one-quarter angel. To learn to defend themselves and their families, they’ll have to train diligently and overcome their differences.

I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed the first book in the series. I can’t tell you exactly why that is, but I think it had a lot to do with the fact that the children’s objectives in this book were less clear. I normally like stories where the heroes are training and learning to work together, but this book didn’t do a whole lot for me.

It also felt like the author was trying a little too hard to tie circumstances with Bible stories. There were at least three instances where the circumstances in the book paralleled Bible stories without really needing to. The circumstances were then pointed out rather blatantly. However, it’s a middle grade book, and, like I said, I’m not exactly the intended audience. And most people wouldn’t recognize the story of Jael and Sisera, so I probably shouldn’t complain about that reference.

Overall, the book is a good read for middle-grade readers. In my opinion, it can be a little heavy-handed on the Christian message, but it’s not overly unreasonable for the age group. I’m hopeful that the series will pick back up a bit and continue to improve. It’s a really good premise for a series.

Readers could likely pick up the series starting with this book without a problem. As with many books geared for younger readers, there are frequent reviews of what has happened previously.

The Bottom Line: Although a little heavy on the Christian message at times, this book would still be a good choice for fans of spiritual warfare and middle-grade novels.                                                                   

Friday Fiction Fix: "Cloak of the Light"

The Short:

Cloak of the Light

Wars of the Realm, Book 1

By: Chuck Black

4/5 Stars

What: A college student suffers a terrible accident that allows him to see into another dimension.

Recommended to those who like: Spiritual warfare, Christian, Teen

The Long:

I’ve been a fan of Chuck Black for quite a while. His Kingdom Series and The Knights of Arrethtrae strongly influenced both my faith and early attempts at writing. When I saw that he had a new series out that was more geared toward my age group, I was elated.

Drew’s life has been chased by tragedy. Those close to him keep dying and just when he thinks things are looking up, his life gets turned upside down again. Little does he know that defending a fellow student against a bully in high school will earn him a friend for life, or that helping him will lead to a freak physics accident that will rob him of his sight.

When Drew returns to normal life, he finds that he can see into another dimension, one with strange invaders that battle each other for the visible realm. Are these the aliens his friend expected? Or are they something else entirely?

At first, I really thought I wasn’t going to like this book. The first fifty pages or so were a bit of a drag. However, once the book really got going, I fell in love with Drew as a character.

Unfortunately, the love interest in the story did not do much for me. (Surprise there!) I really found her quite obnoxious and was a little irritated by how she was chosen to be the spiritual light of the story. For the most part, the Christian aspect of the story was well-played, but it was nearly cringe-worthy at points.

The action scenes and thoughtfulness of the spiritual warfare aspect redeemed the book overall. The realism of spiritual warfare was more thought-provoking than the Bible Study we’re dropped into at one point. The book almost has a dark super-hero feel to it, without being cheesy.

Furthermore, Drew is a great character. I look forward to seeing him developed more fully in future books.

I’ll definitely be picking up the next book sometime soon. The end of this story foreshadowed great things to come.

The Bottom Line: If you don’t mind a stronger Christian message and a slow-starting story, this spiritual warfare novel with super-hero undertones is worth a look. 

Looking for allegorical fantasy by Chuck Black? Check out my reviews of The Kingdom Series here and here.                                                

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