The Book of Mormon, by Joseph Smith

2012 Book 52: The Book of Mormon, by Joseph Smith (3/22/2012)

Reason for Reading: I like to read scripture books from a variety of religions because I am interested in how they compare and what sort of message they relay. This book was given to me by a couple of Mormon elders who knocked on my door last year. “Elder,” by the way, means that they were 20 year old boys who weren’t allowed to enter my home without having an older male as an escort because apparently I am a threat to their innocence. Ah! I feel so sophisticated now! The fact that the escorts were meant to protect THEM and not me. 😉

My Review 3/5 stars
Although I think it’s a good idea to educate oneself on other religions (especially those religions which have an undeserved bad reputation), I’m not sure reading the Book of Mormon is the best way to learn about LDS. It was dense, difficult reading. It starts out with some wanderings in foreign lands, then they have lots of wars, then Jesus comes and saves them all, then they have a bunch more wars. Half the sentences begin with “And it came to pass that…” There are some passages of uplifting spirituality, but these passages were few and bogged down by a lot of unexciting depictions of war. Personally, I think the best way to learn about LDS is to talk to some missionaries and THEN (once you’ve gotten a good idea of what the religion is about) read the Book of Mormon if you’re still interested. But that’s just my humble opinion.

Seeds of Rebellion, by Brandon Mull

2012 Book 51: Seeds of Rebellion, by Brandon Mull (3/22/2012)

Reason for Reading: I am a fan of Brandon Mull and have read all his books. I probably wouldn’t have finished this book within a week of its release, however, except for the fact that Mull was at my local Barnes and Noble for a signing last Sunday. I really enjoyed meeting him. He’s very nice and friendly and we had a lovely conversation until an annoying superior child and his annoying superior mother made it quite clear with their annoying superior sighs and annoying superior noses in the air that I was taking up too much of their time. It was ultra-annoying because if they were in such a rush they should have gotten in line faster. I dawdled specifically so that anyone with a child could get ahead of me in line. They must have WANTED to be last. And, really, our conversation hadn’t gone on THAT long. Regardless, I am now a bigger fan of Mull because he’s so genuine and approachable.

My Review 5/5 stars
In this second book of the Beyonders series, Jason returns to Lyrian to rescue his friend Rachel and tell her the terrible secret he learned in the first book. They team up with a motley crew of revolutionaries and continue their quest to dethrone the evil emperor. Mull uses his ingenuity to create a truly unique parallel world with creative “fantastical” peoples and creatures. His characters are very human in that they all have weaknesses, but they show amazing strength as well. The story keeps up fascinating descriptions of the peoples and places while keeping the suspense levels high throughout the story. This book was even better than the first in the series, and I look forward to the third (and final) book next year.

The Subtle Knife, by Philip Pullman

2012 Book 47: The Subtle Knife, by Philip Pullman (3/11/2012)

Reason for Reading: Interested in the Paradise Lost allegory

My Review: 3/5 stars
Lyra has traveled to a parallel universe, where she meets Will—another traveler of universes. They team up when they find that Lyra’s quest to find out more about dust and Will’s quest to find his missing father are intertwined. This is a difficult book for me to review. The first time I tried to read this book, I gave up about a quarter of the way through because I didn’t like being beat over the head with an anti-religion Message. It really lacked subtly in this book, and I hear it is even more brutal in the third book. However, I decided to give this book another try because I learned that it was a retelling of Paradise Lost, and I was interested in seeing what he did with that. My final conclusion: I still feel that I was being beat over the head with a Message; however, I think Pullman is a VERY creative author. SPOILER ALERT: I was a little off-put by the pointless waste of lives at the end of the book. But perhaps the third book will elucidate the reasons for these deaths.

Prophet, by R. J. Larson

2012 Book 48: Prophet, by R. J. Larson (3/14/2012)

Reason for Reading: LibraryThing Early Reviewers

My Review: 4/5 stars
Ela Roeh’s life is turned upside down when The Infinite asks her to become his prophet. She must leave her family, her country, and everything she knows in order to travel to pass on the Infinite’s message to a foreign king. She shows amazing strength of character when she is embroiled in politics and war. This book is Christian Fiction, and is probably meant for young adults; however, despite Ela’s youth, she has the maturity of an adult. The message can be a bit strong (which is understandable given that it is published in the Christian Fiction market) but it’s not preachy, and the message flows pretty smoothly into the plot. Furthermore, the plot is exciting and intriguing enough to keep me curious about what was going to happen. Overall, I think it was an excellent addition to the Christian Fantasy genre and should be enjoyed by the general fantasy audience as well.

Vampires Burial and Death, by Paul Barber

2012 Book 49: Vampires, Burial, and Death by Paul Barber (3/16/2012)

Reason for Reading: Interest in folklore and popular culture about vampires

My Review 3.5/5 stars
In Vampires, Burial, and Death, Barber differentiates between vampires of folklore and those of popular fiction (with a very strong emphasis on those of folklore). He proposes that the folklore of vampires arose due to people’s fear of dead bodies. He rigorously notes the common traits of folklore vampires (blood at the mouth, bloating, groaning when staked, red face, etc.) and points out that all of these things could occur naturally in a decaying body. The content of this book is very interesting, and Barber’s thesis is quite logical. However, the narrative was a little drier than necessary. I enjoyed learning, but wished it could have been a little more engaging!

A History of the End of the World, Jonathan Kirsch

2012 Book 45: A History of the End of the World, by Jonathan Kirsch (3/10/2012)

Reason for Reading: Out of a vague interest in eschatology. And by that, I mean I’m interested from a sociological point of view why everyone is so fascinated with the end of the world.

My Revew 3.5/5 stars
This book surveys how the Book of Revelation has influenced culture throughout time. It provides a basic idea of how apocalyptic rhetoric has been used and developed with time. However, I didn’t learn much history from this book. In fact, Kirsh mostly assumes that the reader is either familiar with the history or willing to look up the interesting bits elsewhere. It is also very dense, since much of the text is direct quotes or paraphrases from other writers. Kirsch has a strong bias against apocalyptic rhetoric, and his book implies a direct influence of Revelation on pretty much everything bad that has ever happened. Personally, I think the case is over-stated. Apocalyptic rhetoric certainly impacts everyone’s lives in the same way as Shakespearian rhetoric does, but Kirsh implies a more active influence. I had the uneasy feeling that Kirsh was quoting people out of context; and I noticed one time he left important facts out of a historical example, thus misleading the reader. Kirsh also has a distinctly un-Christian leaning (I’m GUESSING he’s a secular Jew), and his views might offend conservative or fundamentalist Christians. Overall, I’m happy I read the book because it provided a broad survey. But I’d like to read others to get a more in-depth look at specifics.

The Kin, by Peter Dickinson

2012 Book 46: The Kin, by Peter Dickinson (3/11/2012)

Reason for Reading: Wanted to read something prehistorical

My Review 4/5 stars
The Kin was originally written as a series of four short books, but it has been compiled into one book in later editions. It is set in Africa 200,000 years ago. A group of men has recently been ousted from their home by violent strangers, and they are wandering through the desert looking for new Good Places. When they abandon the four very young orphans for their own survival, two older children separate from the group and go back to rescue the little ones. This group of children then has many adventures and meets many strange people in these strange lands. Dickinson knows a lot about Africa and anthropology, making this story creative and interesting. I certainly recommend it to anyone who enjoys survival and prehistoric adventures for tweenagers.

Dragon Rider, by Cornelia Funke

2012 Book 42: Dragon Rider, by Cornelia Funke (3/2/2012)

Reason for Reading: This book has been on Mt. TBR since my aunt told me I should read it (years ago, of course).

My Review 5/5 stars
When a group of dragons finds out that humans are going to be flooding their valley, Firedrake decides to go on a journey to find the Rim of Heaven—a zone of safety from the invasive humans. He is enigmatically warned by an elderly dragon to “beware the Golden One.” Firedrake sets off with his Brownie friend Sorrel, picking up a human boy (Ben) and a homunculus (Twigleg) along the way. They must defeat “the Golden One” in order to be in safety forever. This was a magical little book for kids. It would be appropriate to read to young kids, and is the reading level of perhaps an 11-13 year old. It’s a fun read for an adult who likes YA lit, too.

Shadows: Book of Aleth, by Michael Duncan

2012 Book 43: Shadows: Book of Aleth, Part 1, by Michael Duncan (3/3/2012)

Reason for Reading: This was my book club choice for this month. I am in charge of the discussion for the month so I have no choice but to read it! 😉

My Reveiw 4/5 stars
When Aaron, Captain of the Royal Guard, is given a mission to retrieve a stolen book by any means necessary he doesn’t question his orders. He soon finds that not all is as it seems. He becomes embroiled in the politics of Dwarves, a race of men he believed were fairy tales. He must lead a mission to retrieve the Book of Aleth and to discover the truth. I was pleasantly surprised by this allegorical fantasy of the Christian Fiction genre. The epic fantasy story was original enough to capture my attention and the writing was smooth and enticing. The religious message is present but subtle, which to me is a sign of a good writer. (I hate being beat over the head with a Message.) The book DID end with a cliff-hanger, but I guess I was expecting that based on the term “Part 1” being in the title. So I was only a tiny bit irked. (I think books should have a natural ending…even in series.) Other than that quibble, I was very pleased.