City of Dreams: A Novel (!Hero Series #1) by Stephen R. Lawhead and Ross Lawhead

An interesting "What if...?" take on the story of Jesus.

Published in 2003 by Navpress

This may be the most pointless review I have ever written. There is something sad about a stillborn trilogy. In this case, only the first book was published, although co-author Ross Lawhead claimed the 2nd and 3rd books are written in his blog. So, this reminds of an unfinished building - lots of big plans but someone pulled the plug before it was completed.

Nonetheless, here is the review:

The premise is simple. What if Jesus did not come into the world about 2,000 years ago, but instead was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the here and now. As a history teacher I very much enjoyed reading the alternate history aspect of this book - how would the world be different if Christianity did not eclipse the old religions of Europe? Would the worship of Jupiter, Thor and Diana have continued? Would Europe have developed the same sort of political structures? These topics are hinted at but are not really the main focus of the book.

The book features Special Agent Alex Hunter, an investigator for ICON (International Confederation of Nations), a one world government organization that has been experiencing difficulty with religious groups who want to break free from ICON's iron grip. Hunter is a tarnished agent, having mishandled a standoff with a religious splinter group in the recent past. The standoff went bad and a bloodbath ensued. He has been brought to New York City to investigate a Zionist splinter group (turns out that Judaism survives in this alternate, but still experiences plenty of difficulties).

Intrigue, plots and plots within plots are discovered and Agent Hunter is not sure who to trust - ICON, the local government or perhaps even the group he has infiltrated. Along the way, he meets Washer John, the character that corresponds to John the Baptist and his cousin Joshua, the character that corresponds to Jesus (Jesus is the Greek-ification of Yeshua or Joshua, if you are wondering about the name change).

The first book ends with Agent Hunter making a major decision about who he can trust in a cliffhanger situation designed to make the reader look for the second book. Unfortunately...there is no second book. Too bad, it would have been an interesting read.

I rate this book 4 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com: City of Dreams: A Novel.

Reviewed on December 6, 2011

No Time for Goodbye: A Thriller by Linwood Barclay

Delivers what it promises - tension, thrills and escapism

Published 2007 by Bantam

Linwood Barclay has quickly become one of my favorite authors. His books often feature a happy family in which some event intrudes into their lives and turns everything upside down, very much like the classic black and white noire movies where the regular guy gets pulled into a seedy underworld that he had no idea even existed.  Note, these books are not deep, they are not fine literature in any sense. But, they drag you in and make you read right through to the end and the story is well worth the price of the book.

No Time for Goodbye is no different. The story is about Cynthia and Terry Archer. They have one daughter. He's a high school teacher. She works in a women's clothing store. They are a happy couple except for one dark moment twenty-five years before when Cynthia was 14 years old. One day she woke up and her entire family was gone - her mom, her dad and her brother. No note. No luggage gone. No one packed anything. They were just gone.

So, on the 25th anniversary of their disappearance, Cynthia decides to work with a reality television show and have them tell her story in the hope that someone will remember something and give her a clue as to what happened.

Soon enough, things start to happen, but not what they had hoped for. Someone breaks into their house. A strange car starts to follow Cynthia and then things really start to spin out of control.

Great thriller. I rate this book 5 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: No Time for Goodbye.

Reviewed on December 5, 2011.

Pershing: Commander of the Great War by John Perry

An interesting, well-written biography

Published: 2011 by Thomas Nelson

I've read several of the biographies in Thomas Nelson's "The Generals" series and found Pershing: Commander of the Great War to be the best of the bunch so far. The book is well-written, flows nicely and really gives the reader a feel for the bristly personality of "Black Jack" Pershing.

Perry introduces us to Pershing, a man who wanted to be a teacher, maybe a lawyer,  but accepted an appointment to West Point because he could not afford to pay for school himself. Pershing was not particularly interesting in being a soldier, but found that the lifestyle suited him. Pershing's early service in Cuba during the Spanish-American War taught him plenty of lessons about the need for proper supply lines that he took with when he commanded the American army in Europe in World War I.

World War I General 
John J. "Black Jack" Pershing

Pershing also served as an observer in the Russo-Japanese War, the Philippines and, of course, was in charge of the expedition that fruitlessly chased Pancho Villa in Mexico. For his time, Pershing was surprisingly open to different cultures, which probably explains his willingness to lead all black units in the segregated army (and is the source of his nickname "Black Jack"). But, he is most famous for commanding the American forces in World War I. Perry covers all of these events well and keeps it interesting. Perry is especially good at discussing Pershing's personal life and the tragic fire that took most of his family.

 I received this book from the publisher, Thomas Nelson, in an exchange for an honest review.

I rate this biography 5 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Pershing: Commander of the Great War.

Reviewed on December 4, 2011.

Heat Rises (Nikki Heat #3) (audiobook) by Richard Castle

Surprised and impressed!

Performed by Johnny Heller
Duration: 11 hours, 15 minutes
Published 2011 by Hyperion Audio

Unabridged.

I freely admit that when I got this audiobook I was not expecting much. The premise behind the whole series is an inside joke to begin with since this is supposed to be the books written by an author in the fictional television series Castle. So, I am reading about a fictional character in the books of a fictional author based upon the life of another fictional character in a TV show. It pretty much hurts my brain to think about it - like an Escher painting gone bad.

So, I got the audiobook of Heat Rises and figured that, if nothing else, this could be good for a laugh. My original instincts were reinforced when I noted that the main character is named Nikki Heat (like a character in a bad 80's Stallone movie or something) and, of course, she is physically stunning as well as being the best detective in her squad.

But, as I listened I warmed to the characters. The case was interesting, the characters all have distinct and interesting personalities and the book knows how to be both funny and dramatic. This book pulled me in and had me looking forward to the chance to get in the car and listen to it as I made my daily commute. I expected little and got an interesting, action-packed case with plenty of drama and humor.

In Heat Rises New York City detective Nikki Heat is assigned to the case of a local parish priest who is found dead in the torture room of a local bondage club. As the case progresses, her mentor and boss, Captain Montrose intervenes in ways that cause Heat to doubt his intentions. Add in a local group with ties to a Latin American terror group, a CIA-affiliated contractor with a history of human rights abuses and multiple attempts on Heat's life and you have the recipe for a successful bit of escapist fun.

Actor Nathan Fillion as fictional 
author Richard Castle

This book is truly performed by Johnny Heller who makes all of the characters seem unique by creating a diverse amount of accents and voices for dozens of characters, including changing his pitch and pacing. I listen to a lot of audiobooks and his work on this audiobook stands out.

I rate this audiobook 5 stars out of 5.

This audiobook can be found on Amazon.com here: Heat Rises by Richard Castle.

Reviewed on December 3, 2011.

FTC Full Disclosure - this work was sent to me by the publisher so that I could review it. The review, however, is my honest opinion and was not influenced by being sent a free copy.

Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey

A Classic

Set in 1871 and written in 1912, Zane Grey's Riders of the Purple Sage is a classic, perhaps THE classic of the Western genre.

The plot is a little more complicated than most Westerns - it features two concurrent stories. Jane Withersteen is a wealthy Mormon with no husband. Her local church leader (an Elder) wants to marry her, in fact has all but ordered her to do so even though she has no interest in him. Tull orchestrates a plot to have the local Mormons shun her as much as possible (including not working for her) and not help her as rustlers steal entire herds of cattle that are no longer tended.

Zane Grey (1872-1939)

In the meantime, a stranger named Lassiter arrives. He has a reputation as a Mormon-hater and a gunslinger and becomes a defender of Jane Withersteen. Meanwhile, one of her last employees (Venters) goes after a herd of cattle that is being rustled and discovers a secret pass and a secret valley that they have been using. The story splits at this point and largely becomes the story of Venters and the story of Withersteen and Lassiter. The stories come together from time to time until the final culmination.

The question is, of course, does this 99 year old story still hold up after all of these years? Yes, after you get used to the stilted language. Grey is wordy and given to using some phrases over and over again. But, the story is solid and entertaining. There is an exciting chase scene towards the end that is quite riveting.

If you are a fan of Westerns you should take a look at this one - it is the one that set the parameters of the genre.

Note: If you are a member of the LDS church, you will probably be offended by some of Grey's comments about the Mormon church. Grey is not dismissive of the entire church, but he is clearly not a fan of the early Mormon pioneers of Utah, especially the men. He thinks they abused the rules of the religion to manipulate others. On the other hand, Jane Withersteen is a Mormon and she is quite faithful to the ideals of the church, so it is a mixed bag.

I rate this book 4 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey.

Reviewed on November 23, 2011.

Ain't Nothing But A Man: My Quest to Find the Real John Henry by Scott Reynolds Nelson with Marc Aronson

A Fascinating Investigation into American History

Published 2008 by National Geographic

Scott Reynolds Nelson went on a search to see if there was a real John Henry that inspired the songs and the legend of the man with the hammer who beat the steam drill in a contest.

First and foremost, this is a book written for children, but it was interesting to this grown up as well. The topic was interesting, the pictures are great - lots of real pictures from the past of men on railroad work crews with their equipment. Nelson goes on to explain how the songs were used by work crews not just for entertainment but to keep time while moving tracks and pounding on spikes. Lastly, he explains, step-by-step how he makes his investigation. This could have been extraordinarily boring, but Nelson keeps it interesting. He actually creates a sense of tension as he tracks down his information.

John Henry statue near Talcott, West Virginia

Nelson does come up with a potential source of the legend, provides a ton of internet resources, including websites to hear versions of the John Henry song and other similar songs, as well as other books. Aronson steps in with a easy-to-read short essay with 6 steps on "How to Be a Historian."

Nice book. Should be in every library.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Ain't Nothing But A Man.

I rate this book 5 stars out of 5.

Reviewed on November 19, 2011.

Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman by Marc Tyler Nobleman

Entertaining and an artistic homage

Published by Knopf, 2008.

Illustrated by Ross MacDonald.

Boys of Steel tells the story of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the two painfully shy teenagers from Cleveland who created Superman. The two met in school and discovered a common interest in science fiction and fantastic tales. One wrote stories, the other drew. Together they created story after story that never sold. Eventually created Superman and, believe it or not, no one wanted Superman either for three years.

Nobleman tells about their eventual success and their ongoing struggles with DC Comics. He tells the story well but the real star is the art of Ross MacDonald. He has illustrated the entire story in the style of those early Superman comic books and the art just leaps off of the over-sized pages. My eleven year old daughter read it and enjoyed, but probably not as much as me. This one was a winner.

I rate this book 5 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Boys of Steel.

Reviewed on November 19, 2011