In an alternate version of the sixteenth century the world is flat, its outer edges still unexplored. An ambitious alchemist, a boundary-pushing doctor and his daughter, a ship-load of Protestant refugees, and some stowaway mythical creatures set sail for the legendary island of Horizon on the outer rim of the earth. Some are looking for treasure, others for religious freedom, and still others for immortality. They are pursued by a Roman Catholic inquisitor (persecutor) and representatives from the British crown who want to ensure the treasure returns to England.
Book Reviews
Most Read Reviews in October
The six most read reviews in October The Book of Common Prayer: A Biography by Alan Jacob Divergent by Veronica Roth Year Zero by Rob Reid The Conscience of a Liberal by Paul Krugman The Apostles of Reason: The Crisis of Authority in American Evangelicalism by Molly Worthem Allegiant by Veronica Roth
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card (Comparing Versions)
Summary: A comparison of the difference in storyline between Ender’s Game and Ender’s Game Alive.
After I listened to Ender’s Game Alive last week (a radio-styled audio drama) I decided to re-read Ender’s Game in print.
Ender’s Game is a story that has had lots of versions. It was originally a short story. Then Card expanded it into a full length book. Then Card revised it to the ‘Author’s Definitive Version’. And now there is Ender’s Game Alive and the Ender’s Game movie.
In addition there have been a number of short stories that have expanded on scenes from the book or provided background. There is a whole book that was falls between the last two chapters of Ender’s Game and a whole series that starts by telling this same story from a different character’s perspective.
So when I listened to Ender’s Game Alive and commented on my disappointment with the abridgement I got a little push back. I was going to re-read Ender’s Game anyway. But I read it with an eye to see the places that were handled differently.
Having read both within a couple days of each other, I agree, Ender’s Game Alive is really a different version of the story more than an abridgement. But I stand by the fact that I think it does not give enough character development to Ender. (Stop reading now if you don’t want any spoilers.)
I Am John Galt by Donald Luskin and Andrew Gretta
This book delivers on a fascinating concept: find real-world people who embody the virtues and vices of the protagonists and villains in Ayn Rand’s novels. It’s a creative angle to look at the lives of Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Milton Friedman, Barney Frank, and others through the lens of Ayn Rand’s characters and philosophy. Some of the descriptions lack depth–for example, I understood that the U.S. Government went after Bill Gates for supposed antitrust issues, and the book is obviously defending Gates, but I never got a clear grasp of what the government’s argument was, specifically.
The stories of the Randian heroes (Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Milton Friedman, TJ Rodgers, and John Allison) were interesting, but the villains really delivered the best reading. The chapter on Paul Krugman was the most emotional, as it involved Krugman’s personal demonization of the author. I worried that the account might be less than objective, but I know enough about Krugman from other sources that I don’t doubt he’s the dirtbag the book portrays him as.
The architects of the recent housing market meltdown (and subsequent wrecking ball into the general economy), Barney Frank on the government side and Angelo Mozilo (Countrywide) on the business side, are portrayed as arrogant and greedy collectivists that align perfectly with Rand’s worst villians. The authors trace in great detail how Frank’s pursuit of increased homeownership and the subsequent availability of billions in government-backed funds created a huge opportunity for Countrywide to exploit for massive profit, processing thousands of risky sub-prime mortgages and then selling them to the government.
Is the Reformation Over? An Evangelical Assessment by Mark Noll and Carolyn Nystrom
Summary: A very clear and balanced look at how the Evangelical and Catholic churches are moving closer but still have theological issues that hold them apart.
I have read a lot of Catholics (or Evangelicals that have converted to Catholicism) lately. So Mark Noll and Carolyn Nystrom’s book is a different take at Catholicism.
There are some great parts of this book and some weaker parts of this book. The weakest part is the back and forth discussion of the many discussions between Protestant denominations and Catholics. This was interesting, but repetitive; it seemed to just keep going on and on. Many of the issues between Protestants and Catholics keep coming up again and again. However, I do not know a better way to present the data, and it needed to be presented.
The discussion of the Evangelicals and Catholics Together statements were more interesting. For one, there were a number of interviews with the participants. These were mostly high profile and interesting people. I was disappointed that Noll did not speak specifically of his involvement narratively. (He was one of the original signers.)
Allegiant by Veronica Roth (Divergent #3)
Short Review: I wanted to like it more than I did. But not nearly as bad as many of the reviews.
Allegiant is the highly anticipated third book in dystopian trilogy. Starting with Insurgent and then Divergent, Allegiant tells the story of a post-apocalyptic Chicago.
Five factions (essentially small tribal groups) formerly to ruled the city. But after Tris and Four released a video at the end of the last book, everyone realizes there is something outside the border, something that is influencing how the factions work.
Tris and Tobias leave the city as part of a larger group to find out what is outside the city.
Early reviews of Allegiant have not been good. As I started writing this review on Friday the 25th, just 3 days after it was released there are already 746 reviews on Amazon, 300 of them are 1 star reviews. (Monday morning the 28th, 6 days after released there were 1311 reviews with only 502 of them being 4 or 5 stars.) The fans that have been waiting more than 18 months for this third installment are not happy.
I think some of the criticism is valid. The beginning was a bit rough. It took me a good quarter of the book to get into the real groove of the story and be invested in the characters again.
Huntress (A Grace Murphy Novel) by Nicole Hamlett
Reposting this review because the Kindle version is free. Summary: Romance author, single mom, recent divorcee, Grace just found out she is the daughter of Diana. I like the idea of modern takes on stories of the ancient God and their modern children. Obviously, Rick Riordan has done this recently with his Percy Jackson series, … Read more
Ender’s Game Alive (Full Cast Audioplay)
Summary: Interesting as a new version of the classic, but not as good as the full book.
I am not an objective listener to Ender’s Game Alive. I have read Ender’s Game more than any other books (I would guess around a dozen or so times.) I usually say it is my all time favorite book.
So when Orson Scott Card started promoting a full cast audioplay (an old fashioned radio drama) I picked it up. (Of course it was timed to release right before the new Ender’s Game movie which released Nov 1.) Orson Scott Card got his start writing as a playwright. And as a stand alone play, it is well done.
Stefan Rudnicki (who is my favorite narrator) performed and produced the audioplay. So he was a familiar voice (he narrators and produces almost all of Orson Scott Card’s audiobooks.) And there are very good (and familiar) other voices that are a part of the audioplay. The production values are very good, this is just like the best of the old fashioned radio plays.
But there were two things apparent to me almost immediately. First, this is a book that is mostly about children. But all of the voices were adult. I don’t know what I expected. It is not something that I thought was odd when I have listened to the regular audiobook or other children’s audiobooks. But audiobooks are narrated by one or two voices and I don’t have an expectation of hearing children’s voices.
Return to the Willows by Jacqueline Kelly
To attempt a sequel to one of the most beloved children’s books in the Western cannon might seem audacious at best, arrogant at worst. But with only a few missteps, Jacqueline Kelly manages to pull it off, and the result is a loving continuation of the whimsical adventures of Mole, Rat, Badger, Toad, and a few new friends.
The Rise of Evangelicalism: The Age of Edwards, Whitefield and the Wesleys by Mark Noll
Takeaway: Evangelicalism seems to keep having the same battles while trying to achieve the same successes.
I try to read pretty much anything that Mark Noll writes that I come across. So when Intervarsity Press re-released this series in paperback and offered me a copy to review I picked it up. The Rise of Evangelicalism is the first of a four book series by various authors.
The early history of Evangelicalism is not unknown to me. I have read a number of accounts (primarily through biographies or brief retellings as part of other arguments.) But reading all of in together focused on telling the whole story several things rise to the top.
First, the initial revivalism that gave rise to the movement of Evangelicalism was led by very young men (primarily it was men that were the preachers and leaders, but the movement used the religious power of women to influence families and communities to a great extent.) Whitefield, Edwards and the Wesleys were all 30 or less when they were getting started (except for John who was a little older, but still single.) Whitefield traveled throughout the US on a ten month revival tour when he was just 26. Edwards was about the same age when revival broke out in his church.