Spoilers and Speculation for Book 3 in the Safe Lands Series - CSFF Blog Tour

Usually when books end with a cliffhanger (especially when the next book hasn't released yet), I get so angry at the marketing ploy that it makes me not want to read the next book. At the least, I'm more angry with the author than I am excited to read what happens next.

Not this time. I'm still not a fan of cliffhangers, but in Outcasts (The Safe Lands Book 2), Jill Williamson caught me, because I still care what happens. What will become of our heroes?!  What is Liberation, anyway???

Well, if you're extremely impatient (like I am, as evidenced by the over use of punctuation), Goodreads already has a page for Rebels, book 3 in the Safe Lands Series!

If you don't want to read the summary of Book 3 (or you don't want to speculate about what's to come), go ahead and navigate away now, and I'll see you next time!

But if you do...

In this third book in the series of fantasy/dystopian novels from award-winning author Jill Williamson, three teens must try to hold on to their values amidst the subjugation and lies of the government.

In this final novel of the Safe Lands series by Jill Williamson, Mason and Omar discover the true meaning of Liberation-a secret the Safe Lands have long kept from their people-but find they are trapped in the low lands with this crucial information. Meanwhile, Levi is forced to turn his attention elsewhere when his new wife, Jemma, is captured and becomes the Safe Land's new queen. His only choice to save her may be to take up the role of undercover vigilante that Omar began, leading the rebels in their quest to overthrow the government. But will that be enough to expose the Safe Land's lies and bring freedom to the people? And will they even want it if it comes?

Interesting stuff there.  First, we see that no, (spoiler alert!) Williamson was NOT intending to kill off two of her point-of-view characters. :) 

And now I am going to engage in truly wild speculation.

Really, if you don't want a mix of some combination of red herrings and spoilers (and I don't know which is which) stop reading.

I wonder if Liberation is more like a labor camp, especially given the cover and the fact that it would make sense.  (Why else would you reduce the Liberation age when the population is shrinking? Unless you needed more slaves...)  As to Jemma being kidnapped, I guess I'm a bad person to be excited to see some torture for Levi; oh dear. If I had to guess, I'd say she'll be having Levi's baby. (Even though she's ridiculously cheerful and I don't know what she sees in Levi, I don't wish her harm; I actually found her fairly likable.  Hopefully she won't spend this book simply insisting that her Westley will come, though.)

I find the talk of "freedom" particularly interesting, because it seems like a good deal of the Safe Lands' appeal is the promise of freedom. And in many ways, the Safe Landers have more freedom than the people of Glenrock ever had--they're not going to be pressured into unwanted marriages, for instance. I guess the Safe Lands "femmes" don't have the freedom the menfolk have, but then again, their plight wasn't awesome in Glenrock, either.  Sure, in the Safe Lands your life ends at 40, but besides that looming deadline, and besides holding down a job, the men seem to be free to do almost anything they like.

I would guess our heroes will find some measure of success in freeing the Safe Landers from their sinful ways. It will be interesting to see if any of the technological trappings make it through.  It's hard to imagine going back to the old-fashioned farming ways of the very small villages around the Safe Lands...but if the Liberated people are laboring over-hard for the sake of the rest, it might be necessary.  Of course, modern technology has made it possible for most people in the industrialized world to live without performing any farm work, contrary to much of history.  Actually, that raises more questions, as to why the Safe Landers would need many menial laborers at all, given their technology level. So maybe I'm on the wrong track after all. Or maybe technology could actually help solve their problems.

I don't believe technology is inherently evil, and as much as many Christians rail against "science," technological developments have saved countless lives. Some people (Christians and others) long for a simpler time, but the reality is that without so many of our technological advances, many people I know (including my father!) would no doubt be dead.

I know there is a bias against Christians in much of academia, but it sure would be wonderful if young Christians could get interested in bettering our world through science.

Anyway, I'm excited to read the conclusion of the Safe Lands series! (And as excited as I am to read what happens, part of me wishes the series would continue more than just one more book.)

Here are the other CSFF Blog Tour bloggers:

Red Bissell
Thomas Fletcher Booher
Beckie Burnham
Pauline Creeden
April Erwin
Victor Gentile
Ryan Heart
Timothy Hicks
Jason Joyner
Carol Keen
Shannon McDermott
Meagan @ Blooming with Books
Melanie @ Christian Bookshelf Reviews
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Joan Nienhuis
Nissa
Jalynn Patterson
Writer Rani
Chawna Schroeder
Jacque Stengl
Jojo Sutis
Steve Trower
Phyllis Wheeler
Deborah Wilson


*In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free Advance Readers Copy of this book.

Dystopian Disney - Disney's SimTag--er--MagicBand - Outcasts by Jill Williamson - CSFF Blog Tour

Julie again, still writing about Outcasts (The Safe Lands Book 2) by Jill Williamson

No, really, I am. Bear with me.

So I'm planning a trip to Disney World and lucky me, Disney sent me my very own SimTag to use on my trip!

OK, they call it a MagicBand (which, like "SimTag, is a one run-together nonsense word). And it's not implantable (yet, anyway). It doesn't give you the ability to add virtual tattoos to your body.

But it contains short-range RFID technology and a small battery that broadcasts your location while you're on Disney World property. You have the option to link it to your credit card and use it to make purchases. It also serves as your room key (and stores Fastpasses you book in advance), so you can't easily leave it behind in your room and enjoy your day. And technically you are supposed to be permitted to get a room key and maybe a hard copy ticket instead of a MagicBand, but I hear some people have been denied that opportunity.

YES! Finally! End of the world fiction and Disney come together at last!

Actually, I'm not personally upset by the idea of using a MagicBand on a one-time vacation. And almost everyone in the Disney communities I've been following is more annoyed by the idea of being restricted to just three Fastpasses per day, than any idea of Disney tracking your movements. I figure between cell phones, voluntary information provided on Facebook, and other interaction, most people, including me, could probably be tracked fairly easily if the right people wanted to.

It's kind of scary to think of how little privacy people have today...although a couple hundred years ago, if you lived in a small town, the folks in your town probably knew everything about you anyway. I'm so introverted, I'd rather it were strangers looking at my data in aggregate, than people I know finding out things about me.

The SimTags reminded me a bit of the Mark of the Beast, though I don't know how allegorical the Safe Lands series is. 

And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. - Revelation 13:16-18 (NASB)

At least it doesn't matter which wrist you wear your MagicBand is on, and Disney will be happy to take your cash, credit cards, Disney Dollars, or gift cards. So that's a happy thought, I guess!

One thing Williamson got right in the Safe Lands series is people's inherent desire to customize things. I'm not at the level of wanting tattoos on my body a la SimArt, but I'm not above using a bit of glitter nail polish. Even if it doesn't photograph well.

Here are the other CSFF Blog Tour bloggers:

Red Bissell
Thomas Fletcher Booher
Beckie Burnham
Pauline Creeden
April Erwin
Victor Gentile
Ryan Heart
Timothy Hicks
Jason Joyner
Carol Keen
Shannon McDermott
Meagan @ Blooming with Books
Melanie @ Christian Bookshelf Reviews
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Joan Nienhuis
Nissa
Jalynn Patterson
Writer Rani
Chawna Schroeder
Jacque Stengl
Jojo Sutis
Steve Trower
Phyllis Wheeler
Deborah Wilson


*In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free Advance Readers Copy of this book.

Review - Outcasts (The Safe Lands Book 2) by Jill Williamson - CSFF Blog Tour

Another book review by Julie! For 2014, I've updated the rating system.

Book: Outcasts (The Safe Lands Book 2) by Jill Williamson

Ridiculously simplified summary: Second in a series. Levi, Omar, and Mason are brothers whose entire village, Glenrock, was captured by the Safelanders. The Safelanders live for pleasure, force women into pregnancy, and are "liberated" at forty to be born into their next life. Previously, Levi and the other male survivors of Glenrock managed to free their women from the Safelanders' "harem," a place where the pregnant women are imprisoned/pampered.  But their children remain imprisoned in boarding schools. With a group of rebels, the people of Glenrock make a daring rescue plan. Meanwhile, Omar and Mason--who are still "on the grid"--try their best to navigate the Safelands, hiding their rebel identities. Mason has doubts about Ciddah, the doctor he loves, while Omar has doubts about his own self-worth.

Content: Not very heavy on Christian content, though one character uses Bible references as encouragement--these would probably go over the heads of those who aren't familiar with the Bible. Overall, the religious content is probably on the borderline of what might make a vehement non-believer squirm.

As to other content, there is reference to sex and forced pregnancy and drug use, and not a small amount of violence. I'm sure it's nothing teens haven't been exposed to--certainly nothing as bad as the first couple chapters of a more famous dystopian book, 1984, which I found shelved in Young Adult at my library--but if I were a parent, I'm still not sure how I would feel if my young teen wanted to read it.

Rating:

Characters - 9 out of 10. This gets a high rating because I actually really like Mason, Shaylinn, and even Omar, as well as the rebel Zane--so much that I actually very much care what happens to them, something I don't feel at all in maybe half the books I read. (Although about halfway through I felt like Mason was channeling Sheldon Cooper a bit--was he that robotic in the first book? I still love him anyway.) Even Levi serves a place in the story, though he's still patronizing and controlling and rather sexist, and I still don't care for him at all as a person. This gets dinged just a little because there are just so many characters brought in that not every personality can be clear. For every well-visualized character there's another minor character that Williamson may have had clearly in her head, but that doesn't stand out for me.

I'm not particularly fond of the fact that by my count, every single female who does anything remotely interesting in the book (aside from one child) is a wife, mother, and/or love interest. That's not to say that there aren't memorable female characters, and some of the problem is the society of the Safelands altogether. But even in the rebel group--a group of which one member hints that Levi is being too patriarchal--there's not a woman of consequence to be seen. I'd love to see that remedied in Book 3.

Suspense/stakes - 4 out of 5. Much of the book was suspenseful and I read it over the course of several nights, without any lengthy pauses like I sometimes have for books that don't grab me. I did feel there were too many scenes of explaining plans (and that was generally in a council of men because yes, Levi thinks the women are too emotional for such discussions). In a couple of the rescue adventures, I felt like the action slowed to a crawl in places--I'm not sure if that was intentional or not, but I would've preferred if it had been just a bit faster-paced throughout. But overall I very much cared what happened.

World building - 5 out of 5. I think this is the series' greatest strength. I still don't get a true sense of Glenrock's society, but I don't think that's even necessary or helpful at this point. I found the slang and new words in the Safe Lands to be incredibly immersive--almost instantly I was pulled back into the world I remembered from the first book. "Hey-o, valentine. I've got to stop at the GIN, but then maybe we can vape and trade some paint. I'll tap you" is a semi-plausible paragraph that I concocted from memory. (Note that it is not my fault that some of the most memorable words had to do with illicit activity.) The technology is again very interesting, and I love reading about other societies.

Writing/editing - 5 out of 5*. This is tentative; I had an advance reader copy and actually spotted about 4 typos. I'm assuming that at least half of those will be weeded out for the final copy. Given it was an advance copy, I was a bit surprised those were the only problems I saw.

Clarity - 3 out of 5. First off, I have no idea how anyone who didn't read Book 1 would be able to keep track of the people here. I did read Book 1, not even six months ago, but I was still a bit lost at certain points. I didn't notice any concessions to the reader who didn't start at Book 1, though of course some information repeated from Book 1 would have made its way into this book. And even having read Book 1, I got confused with who some of the bad guys were and what their motivations were. Adding to the trouble is that two male characters have either a son or a father--everyone uses first names as far as I can see, except Zane once says something like his dad would kill him. So while these characters' personalities aren't the same, it takes some thinking to remember the familial relationships. (In fact, I forgot about a character being Bender's son for a very long stretch.)

Likewise, there is some confusion because the Safelander culture is to act young and yet to grow up quickly, so you certainly can't take cues from how people are acting to figure out if they're young, old, or what. Ciddah seemed to generally act like maybe a 25-year-old (and much older when it came to two people close to her).  With his gender biases, I feel like Glenrock elder Levi could at times be mistaken for someone much older. Mason, the youngest in the family we focus on, is arguably the most mature of the brothers. Omar is the only one who stands out to me as acting "like" a teenager/young adult.

Plausibility/believability - 3 out of 5. I thought there were some aspects that could be considered either plot holes or mysteries, mostly concerning the tracking "Sim" chips that every Safelander has in his or her hand, but which the rebels take out (and apparently they can get away with wearing gloves containing "ghoulie"/dummy chips). If I were a Safelander, I'd give special scrutiny to anyone who wore gloves, personally...  But there could be an explanation for all that which we haven't been shown yet. I just plain don't understand some of the bad guys' motivations; as far as I could tell, one's main motivation was that he's snapped and wants something that isn't at all normal in the Safe Lands.

Positive - 3 out of 5. One word. CLIFFHANGER! I really don't like cliffhangers, and this one ends on a pretty big one. But that said, I'm not sure how it could've ended any other way. There are still some potential doubts as to loyalties by the end, and characters with problems haven't magically recovered by the end. But that's pretty common for Book 2 in a series, and probably what should happen anyway.

Gut reaction - 5 out of 5. This book had kind of sexist undertones (yes, Levi is gently called to task for his sexism a couple times, but I still feel there's a distinct gender imbalance in both raw numbers and the significance and power of women versus men). And I felt like the second half or so was basically a series of rescue attempts, which got a bit old. But all that said...I still really enjoyed this book. Some engaging characters and a detailed world drew me in. I'm eager to read the conclusion.

Free points: 5 out of 5.

Recommended for: Fans of edgy dystopian science fiction who read Book 1.

Total Rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars

Here are the other participants on the tour!

Red Bissell
Thomas Fletcher Booher
Beckie Burnham
Pauline Creeden
April Erwin
Victor Gentile
Ryan Heart
Timothy Hicks
Jason Joyner
Carol Keen
Shannon McDermott
Meagan @ Blooming with Books
Melanie @ Christian Bookshelf Reviews
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Joan Nienhuis
Nissa
Jalynn Patterson
Writer Rani
Chawna Schroeder
Jacque Stengl
Jojo Sutis
Steve Trower
Phyllis Wheeler
Deborah Wilson

*In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free Advance Readers Copy of this book.

Review: Waterfall (River of Time #1) by Lisa Tawn Bergren

Another book review by Julie! This one's interesting because it reminds me quite a bit of my near-forever-work-in-progress Chosen: Bonnie of Sheshack. I guess every teenager secretly wants to get sucked into another world and find her own knight?

Book: Waterfall (River of Time #1) by Lisa Tawn Bergren

Ridiculously simplified summary: In modern-day Italy, an archaeologist's teenage daughter is drawn back to medieval times, where she is rescued by a handsome lord...who just happens to be betrothed. Taken into the castle, our heroine searches for her sister, hoping to get back home.

Content: Extremely light Christian content--I expect it might ramp up as the series progresses, but at the moment, though the people talk about praying to God and such every so often, Gabi isn't especially caught up in it. I don't think being a Christian would have any bearing on one's enjoyment of this book.

There is some violence, but given the medieval setting that seems reasonable enough. The torture is more upsetting, though if the story is to be believed, it was normal for the era (and that seems plausible to me). The main character, Gabi, is very physically attracted to a man who is betrothed.

Rating:

Compelling: 7 out of 10. I found the beginning dragged, but once Gabi achieved a particular goal (somewhere more than midway through if I recall correctly) I thought things got interesting and the story flew by. As the first in a series, I didn't find the ending completely satisfying, but that's typical.

Characters: 6 out of 10. I did not care for Gabi much at the beginning, though she did grow on me. The other of the characters were fine, but aside from Lady Rossi, Lia, and maybe Fortino, I didn't find anything particularly memorable about them. Marcello and Luca, the two lead men from medieval Italy, didn't feel SO much different than modern-day men to me, though Gabi makes a point of noticing how manly and different from modern men Marcello was, and Luca's a bit of a charmer. Lady Rossi, Marcello's betrothed, is interesting, though we are seeing her through jealous Gabi's eyes, so I have no idea if she is really a jerk (as Gabi thinks through most of the book) or if she's better/fiercer than expected (as Gabi thinks during part of the middle).

Writing/editing: 8 out of 10. I only noticed one minor typo ("I turned obediently and took a look swig, then another, ignoring how the liquid burned all the way down my throat and inside my gut."). I thought the style didn't quite feel like a teenager all the time, but it wasn't bad in that regard. There were a few good lines; my favorite was, in regards to a character with severe respiratory problems, "He still sounded like a sick seal..."

Plausibility/believability: 3 out of 5. This one's hard. I felt like the overall historical place-setting was very good--to me, it felt more real than most historical romances I've read. (Even though it's not always a romantic setting...chamber pots are referenced more than once.)

On the other hand, these people in medieval Italy discovered Gabi coming out of a tomb, in clothing more revealing than undergarments, and she's spirited, has little respect for her social "betters", and even insists on wielding a sword. And they like and even love her for it! It's an interesting conceit, but the fact that Gabi can fight off bad guys with a sword, in addition to her many other talents, felt like a bit much to me.

Conveniently, she is able to speak/pick up medieval Italian--if I recall correctly, she picked up some Italian from her parents' archaeological vacations. I don't find it exactly plausible that she could speak to these people as easily as she did--though there were some slip-ups.  But it is tricky to get people in other worlds to be able to talk to each other, so I'm okay with it. Then again, she also knows some Latin and French, which puts her well ahead of the curve for most Americans...

Positive: 3 out of 5. While the ending left certain things unresolved, everything ended as well as could be expected. I have to ding it a little on "positive" due to the substantial threats of torture, occasional actual torture, and lines like:

But he was untying his trousers. He did not intend to kill me.

He had darker intentions still.

I wish Bergren would have added a word: "He did not only intend to kill me." Then it would have avoided the cliche that to a woman, being raped is (supposedly) even worse than being killed.

Gut reaction: 4 out of 5. I'm not the target audience, and I hate to say I'm not even that interested in whether or not Gabi and Marcello get together. But Gabi's sister Lia and the knight who likes her, Luca, are likable enough, and the ideas interesting enough, I have some interest in reading some more.

Bonus points: 5 out of 5.

Recommended for: Fans of slightly mushy young-adult time-travel fiction.

Total Rating: 3.6 out of 5 stars


*I downloaded this book for free, I believe on Amazon.

Pointing back to God and Narnia - The Shadow Lamp - CSFF Blog Tour

Julie one more time for the CSFF Blog Tour!

Still talking about The Shadow Lamp by Stephen R. Lawhead  (Facebook). 

Several of the tour members have expressed concerns about the theology in The Shadow Lamp, namely one character's lengthy explanation about God and our place in the universe. I do share those concerns. But even with those issues, I felt like God's presence and Christianity were SHOWN better in the book than they were TOLD by a Gianni in a long speech near the end of the book.

All the points can be seen through the lens of Etzel and Mina (two of my favorite characters). Thomas Clayton Booher had an excellent write-up of some of Etzel's more memorable moments if you need caught up. 

Point 1: One concern is that Gianni's speech in The Shadow Lamp could be interpreted as supporting a more deist philosophy, where God does not get involved in shaping the future, as that would interfere in free will.

But I'd argue that throughout the book, the opposite is shown. What in the world are the odds that Mina would happen to land in Prague and be picked up by one of the nicer men in all of fiction, a man who speaks German, a language she just happens to have some memory of due to her grandmother. Personally, I think that's the sort of writing that only makes sense if you're coming from a world view that some higher power put things together to work out for the best. If there's no higher power or some sort of plan to the world itself, then it's just author laziness.

Point 2:

Matthew 5:43-48 (NIV)

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Spoilers ahead; I suggest you stop reading now if you haven't read The Shadow Lamp.

So speaking of dear Etzel! In the epilogue, Etzel is literally, and to my eyes gladly, loving his enemies. It was touching and I thought in-character, given what a kind man he is. 

Regardless of the debate about theology and God's involvement in our lives, I'd argue that the way Etzel acts throughout these books thus far is for the most part keeping in the way a follower of Christ should live. Gianni? He may say some interesting things, he may be considered a genius by the other characters, but I don't see that he's particularly a character to be admired above any others, at least not on a spiritual level.


In other words, there's a great Christian testimony in the series, and the character shines by his actions and making gentle mentions of God. Quite a contrast to the speech given by a character (and an essay by the author!) proclaiming their viewpoints on how science and religion intersect.

Point 3:

And speaking of Christian testimony, during Etzel's kind acts during the epilogue, am I the only one thought of the sad fate of the dwarfs in C.S. Lewis' "The Last Battle?"

"Aslan," said Lucy through her tears, "could you--will you--do something for these poor Dwarfs?"

"Dearest," said Aslan, "I will show you both what I can, and what I cannot, do." He came close tot he Dwarfs and gave a long growl: low, but it set all the air shaking. But the Dwarfs said to one another, "Hear that? That's the gang at the other end of the Stable. Trying to frighten us. They do it with a machine of some kind. Don't take any notice. They won't take us in again!"

Aslan raised his head and shook his mane. Instantly a glorious feast appeared on the Dwarfs' knees: pies and tongues and pigeons and trifles and ices, and each Dwarf had a goblet of good wine in his right hand. But it wasn't much use. They began eating and drinking greedily enough, but it was clear they couldn't taste it properly. They thought they were eating and drinking only the sort of things you might find in a Stable..."

I hope Lord Burleigh will not track me down through the Multiverse and hurt me for revenge, but he's so suspicious of Etzel's motives, don't you think he comes off quite a bit like a Dwarf?

As C.S. Lewis (and Lord Burleigh) illustrated, you can't force someone to accept Christ's gift. It remains to be seen of Burleigh might someday change for the better, or if Etzel's just putting hot coals on his enemy's head. I guess either option is good, come to think of it.

So no, I certainly wouldn't point to The Shadow Lamp as a beacon of theology--at this point there are doubts about God's sovereignty and an old-time Egyptian priest (the servant of one of their gods) who's very much looking forward to going to heaven (!).  It remains to be seen how everything comes together in the end and what it all means--what we see now is actually characters' opinions and theories, though those opinions are often portrayed as truth.

Regardless, despite the (in my opinion, justified) concerns, there are still enough glimmers of light that I'll be reading Book 5. (Well, that and it's just an interesting story.)

Thanks for the tour, all! One more time, the participants:


Julie Bihn
Red Bissell
Thomas Clayton Booher
Thomas Fletcher Booher
Beckie Burnham
Jeff Chapman
Karri Compton
Theresa Dunlap
April Erwin
Timothy Hicks
Christopher Hopper
Becky Jesse
Becca Johnson
Jason Joyner
Carol Keen
Rebekah Loper
Shannon McDermott
Meagan @ Blooming with Books
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirriam Neal
Writer Rani
Nathan Reimer
Chawna Schroeder
Jojo Sutis
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Rachel Wyant
Phyllis Wheeler
Deborah Wilson

*In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book.

The Shadow Lamp by Stephen R. Lawhead - Review - CSFF Blog Tour

Julie again for the CSFF Blog Tour! Yes, I made it through The Shadow Lamp in time to get a review out! The remaining 100 pages or so moved much better for me, except...well, we'll get into that.


Book: The Shadow Lamp by Stephen R. Lawhead  (Facebook)

Ridiculously simplified summary: Fourth in a series. A group of adventurers seeks to use magical ley lines--portals between times, places, and dimensions--to prevent the world's destruction.

Content: To shamelessly steal from Rebecca LuElla Miller, "Of the four Bright Empires books I’ve read, this is the only one that has what I consider didactic sections. Interestingly the “preachiness” has less to do with God than it does science."

That said there is some reference to Christianity at last here...including some ideas about God and Jesus that, unless I am misunderstanding, seem to me to be rather controversial for a Christian book. Thomas Fletcher Booher both articulated my concerns better than I could have, and took the issues seriously enough that it reassures me that my concerns are valid.

There is some violence, but nothing that overly disturbed me. (Though I haven't yet tried sleeping after reading the brunt of the violence, so...)

Rating:

Compelling: 6 out of 10. This book didn't grab my interest like the earlier ones did, but as I mentioned yesterday, that could be because of it being less of a mystery. That said, still I felt like there was a lack of action overall for the first big chunk of the book. Things picked up for me about midway through, and there were some really good dramatic scenes closer to the end, though I thought parts of the end also felt almost rushed, after the slower pace of the beginning. Or maybe it's the fact that it's only in the last 100 pages or so of the 4th book in a 5-book series that the main problem is actually revealed. Book 5 should be pretty darned interesting, dealing with all that.

Characters: 8 out of 10. For the most part, the characters were the same as they'd been in the previous books, with plenty of spunky women and sweet, chivalrous men, which is a combination I find hard to turn down. I almost feel like there's a little coasting on the goodwill established in previous books, but that's probably because there are a lot of events that have to transpire in this book and the characters are established, not any actual flaws.

Writing/editing: 6 out of 10. There were some excellent and elegant descriptions, and some nice lines, such as "with the calm acceptance of the condemned who at last understand that time is short and life fleeting and that nothing matters except that which is eternal." The dialogue tags again drove me completely batty during long strings of dialogue. Over the span of two pages are both "'Fair enough,' allowed Kit" and "'Partly,' allowed Kit." I realize that's Lawhead's style in this series--he's been nothing if not consistent in using them through all these books! But during parts when the action isn't rolling along, I get completely derailed by these kinds of tags.

Plausibility/believability: 3 out of 5. I felt like the science became less plausible here--I have trouble with the scientific insistence that (minor spoiler) if the universe isn't expanding as quickly as it always did, that it definitely must be doomed to contract into nothingness.

Positive: 3 out of 5. This one is darker than books 2 and 3, I thought.

I found the implications about Christianity rather disturbing, particularly the possible implication about Jesus' relation to the Spirit Well (which isn't certainly wrong) and even worse, the idea that anything humans could do could undo all of God's creation.

Of course, these are all speculation by scientists that could very well prove to be wrong. The epilogue was an incredible way to show Christian love.

Gut reaction: 4 out of 5. I'd call the ending a twist ending. (Though to me, the descriptions at the end read almost like literary fiction, describing a scene in incredible detail with a deeper meaning--they reminded me of my English classes in college, which I didn't enjoy.)  The epilogue helped salvage any lingering ill will overall.

At any rate, I'm looking forward to reading the end of the series for sure. I'm just hoping that book starts quicker than this one.

Bonus points: 5 out of 5.

Recommended for: Fans of Christian science fantasy that doesn't mind point of view shifts.

Total Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Here are the tour participants!

Julie Bihn
Red Bissell
Thomas Clayton Booher
Thomas Fletcher Booher
Beckie Burnham
Jeff Chapman
Karri Compton
Theresa Dunlap
April Erwin
Timothy Hicks
Christopher Hopper
Becky Jesse
Becca Johnson
Jason Joyner
Carol Keen
Rebekah Loper
Shannon McDermott
Meagan @ Blooming with Books
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirriam Neal
Writer Rani
Nathan Reimer
Chawna Schroeder
Jojo Sutis
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Rachel Wyant
Phyllis Wheeler
Deborah Wilson

*In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book.

The Shadow Lamp by Stephen Lawhead - CSFF Blog Tour

Julie for the CSFF Blog Tour!

This week we're talking about The Shadow Lamp by Stephen R. Lawhead  (Facebook). Time got away from me here (oh dear; that might be a pun!) so I haven't finished reading yet.  God willing, review should be Tuesday (or worst case, Wednesday). 


I'll say right now I found this book more difficult to get into than the others in the series. Likewise, a friend of mine is reading the first book in the series, The Skin Map, and is also having trouble getting into it. Her problems are with the point-of-view shifts, which I think are almost impossible to avoid in a series as complex as this one.  


I'm not sure what my problem is, but I suspect some of the difficulty is actually in knowing TOO MUCH. I actually read the second book of the series, The Bone House, before I read Book 3 (The Spirit Well). Only then did I go I went back and read Book 1 (The Skin Map).

Though the first pages of each book have a brief explanation of what transpired before, it's generally recommended to read the books in order so you're not lost. But I suspect I found The Bone House so fascinating in part because I was being thrown into the middle of the action. Then belatedly reading The Skin Map was a treat, seeing in effect the "backstory" of these characters.

Unfortunately, in The Shadow Lamp, I feel like there are relatively long stretches where characters are meeting and introducing each other and sharing their backstories (for the benefit of the other characters, but just as much for the reader). So even though I admittedly could sorely use a refresher myself, the beginning was slow for me because there was a certain amount of explanation.


In other words, it's a saga about traveling through time and space, and I suspect I may have enjoyed it more because I read it out of order!

The story has definitely picked up for me (I'm on page 270 now), so we'll see what happens. I hope I walk away loving it as much as I loved the first three.

But anyway, from a writer's standpoint, I think it's key not to give away too much in your writing. Sometimes the most fun for a reader is to piece things together.

Here are the tour participants!

Julie Bihn
Red Bissell
Thomas Clayton Booher
Thomas Fletcher Booher
Beckie Burnham
Jeff Chapman
Karri Compton
Theresa Dunlap
April Erwin
Timothy Hicks
Christopher Hopper
Becky Jesse
Becca Johnson
Jason Joyner
Carol Keen
Rebekah Loper
Shannon McDermott
Meagan @ Blooming with Books
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirriam Neal
Writer Rani
Nathan Reimer
Chawna Schroeder
Jojo Sutis
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Rachel Wyant
Phyllis Wheeler
Deborah Wilson

*In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book.