by Jason Joyner | Nov 14, 2017 | Blog, reviews
In a world where wars and disease have decimated the population, Collin Mann’s small city holds on for survival. He buries the people who succumb to the Sickness, which claims everyone before they turn thirty. Being a grave-digger is the only way Collin feels he can contribute, because he’s not brave and strong like his brother Ethan, one of the protectors of the city.
Felicity is a teacher who watches over the children of the town, even though she is still young herself. When the leader of the city dies, she is thrust into the leadership void. However, she has a secret she is determined to protect as much as her people.
When the Saetos, the blood-thirsty hillsman, make a push to seize the city and kidnap people, Collin is forced to step up. Can he prove his bravery and become a savior for the people he cares about? Will Felicia be able to lead her people through the crisis, or will the city fall, along with all hope for the future?
The story Charles Franklin weaves is a potent mix of world-building, action, and drama. The society is a rich setting where a lot of conflict bubbles out of the surroundings. There is no shortage of excitement and action. Yesterday in my interview with him, Charles said he loves the thrills of Robert Ludlum, and it is evident.
The reader is sucked into the challenges faced by Collin, Felicia, and the other characters. There are surprises that will keep a reader guessing through 
the whole story. And just when you think things can’t worse for everyone, Charles turns the screws and makes the reader feel the pain.
Overall, this book is a strong debut and sets the stage for a trilogy that should continue to up the stakes and thrill readers. It is a book recommended for fans for Christian YA and dystopian stories.
You can order Children of the Forgotten here.
by Jason Joyner | Apr 22, 2014 | Blog, CSFF, John W. Otte, Numb, reviews, speculative fiction
Usually, being numb is not fun.
I can attest, as I currently have a pinched nerve that is affecting a couple of fingers on my right hand. BTW, if you see any typos, I blame it on not feeling the keys.
But one author saw something different in that idea. Thus, the new adult science fiction book Numb by John W. Otte.
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Crusader is numb.
He doesn’t feel emotions or pain. This makes him the perfect instrument of God’s divine judgment, as divined by the Ministrix. If he stays obedient, he will earn his justification and receive pardon for his sins.
As one of the Ministrix’s top operatives, he is used to success. But when he is charged with killing Isolda Westin, something happens.
A rush of emotions.
Suddenly Crusader can’t process with his usual clinical coldness. Instead of killing Isolda, he kidnaps her to discover the secret of this strange failing. But doing so will damn his soul.
What is a holy assassin to do?
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What an intriguing premise! The good news is that John delivers on all fronts: characters, plot, and the science fiction setting. Set against a war between the atheistic Praesidium and the holy church Ministrix, the novel finds Crusader striking down heretics and protecting the Church’s interests.
His name is appropriate, yes?
Crusader is a driven character and his resistance to emotional or physical pain is something he leans on heavily to accomplish his mission. When he freezes with the feelings that Isolda triggers, he doesn’t know what to do. The conflict keeps the reader guessing and intrigued throughout the book. The action keeps careening through space stations and starships.
Not only does the action hold attention, the characters have depth so they aren’t just plot puppets. Isolda has strengthens and doubts, and Crusader wrestles with these pesky feelings that he hasn’t had to deal with before.
Finally, the ideas that Numb introduce are very thought-provoking. The Ministrix believes that Christ came down from the Cross as a conquering Lord, ready to impose His will after defeating death. This idea gives the brutal treatment of Ministrix opponents a logical justification. There’s a fringe group that has different beliefs, and their quest to avoid the heavy hand of the Church plays into the conflict as well.
Overall, John Otte has written an intelligent and exciting science fiction novel with a sincere wrestling of spiritual issues. Any sci-fi fan should enjoy this book.
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If you’d like more on this book, see Becky Miller’s post for all of the participants and updated info.
by Jason Joyner | Jan 22, 2014 | Blog, dystopian, Jill Williamson, Outcasts, reviews, speculative fiction, young adult
Hey-o boys and femmes!
It’s day 2 of our featured book, Outcasts by Jill Williamson, the second in the Safe Lands series. Yesterday I recapped book 1, Captives.
What about Outcasts? Does it avoid the sophomore slump? Is it another Empire Strikes Back?
The story follows the remnant of Glenrock, a village that survived the thin plague but stayed out of the walled, totalitarian Safe Lands nearby. In Captives, they were forcibly taken into the Safe Lands.
Levi, the oldest brother who had to take over eldership of the Glenrock remnant, is hiding out in the underground with his group. He’s working with Rebel leaders, but he doesn’t know if he can trust them with his people. They have their own agendas, and it may not be what Levi thinks.
Mason, the middle brother, continues to work and act as an undercover spy for his people. He’s trying to get information out of Ciddah, the head medic he works for. His heart is betraying him, but what if she betrays him first.
Omar is the youngest brother who opened the door for the Safe Lands enforcers to come to Glenrock. He regrets his actions and tries in his own way to atone for them, but his addictions developed from the Safe Lands hinder his progress.
Together they need to free the Glenrock children from the boarding house before they can find a way out of the Safe Lands. But with powerful enemies and questionable allies, will they survive or will they be caught and prematurely liberated from this life?
Jill Williamson is a dynamo of a woman. She is full of energy and imagination in real life, and it shows in Outcasts. There are tons of fun touches in the futuristic world that make the Safe Lands come alive. There are many futuristic novels out there to compete, but Jill puts a unique spin on many things. The reader will enjoy making connections with some of our real life items and how they develop in the future.
As Becky Miller pointed out in her first post, Outcasts deals with real life issues head on, from drug addiction to sexual desires, but it is all handled in a realistic and honest fashion without glamorizing any of it. The negative consequences of vices are clear, but not in a preachy manner. This book has ideas that give it a heft that some other books miss in dealing with teens and twenty-somethings. The characters anchor these ideas, as they wrestle in different ways with the issues. Omar gave himself over to pleasures that he realizes is damaging, but he has a hard time getting past them. Some of the consequences come out at very inconvenient times, which keeps the plot twisting. Meanwhile Mason, the reasonable brother, still deals with some real temptation.
Overall the book is a very enjoyable read. There are a few sequences where a lot of characters are doing things and it gets confusing for a little while. The book is the second in a series, so there are things that a person would be confused about if they started with Outcasts. The solution is simple – get Captives and read it first!
Becky Miller has all of the posts from the tour updated on her blog. Be sure to check them out, and I’ll be talking a little deeper about the book tomorrow.
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by Jason Joyner | Nov 14, 2013 | Blog, Bright Empires, CSFF, reviews, speculative fiction, Stephen Lawhead
In Which The Butter Is Stretched Too Thin Over The Toast
Hello again CSFF Tour fans. The monthly focus on Christian speculative fiction is wrapping up on the fourth book of the Bright Empires series,
The Shadow Lamp by
Stephen Lawhead. Yesterday I did
a brief recap of the other three books so far.
This link will take you to all of my prior posts on the Bright Empires series.
Lawhead said this was an ambitious series for him and that he didn’t think he could write something like it earlier in his career. Now he was at a point that he could wrestle it.
Out of four rounds so far, the score card for this fight would be Lawhead 3 to 1. Unfortunately, The Shadow Lamp misses the mark in comparison to the other books.
It is a major challenge to find a story that can stretch for a trilogy, much less five books. There has to be enough conflict and high enough stakes to carry a reader through to the end.
The Bright Empires series has a significant crisis to solve by the end of book five – the potential destruction of the universe. So that’s something.
The problem with book four is that it became too much of a set up story. There is a lot of shuffling the pieces to get them into the proper position. However, the stakes do not often grab the reader and make them care enough about what happens.
For instance, Lady Fayth and her loyal manservant Giles separate from the main group of heroes and get lost in an unknown dimension. There are harrowing circumstances, but the reason for their departure and the subsequent trial is nebulous. I shrugged my shoulders. Okay, why did that happen?
There are numerous plot points swirling around from the various players trying to figure out ley travel through dimensions for their own purposes. Some of them explain some background or seem to be moving somewhere, only to fizzle out. Maybe there is more to the story of Douglas, or the pirate attack suffered by the Burleigh men, but the significance was lost to me.
There were also two gatherings where educated people talked. A lot. They set up the huge consequences that happened in the prior book and pointed to the final act, but there wasn’t much action or development within The Shadow Lamp itself.
The writing quality was still well done. Lawhead is so good at description and setting from his research and experience. I’m invested enough in the story that I will see it through to the end. I have faith that the last installment will be worth following this series for five years from when it released to its conclusion next year. But The Shadow Lamp will be the filler episode that is quickly forgotten in the midst of the other books.
One other factor has been discussed elsewhere in the tour, but Lawhead has discussed a little more theology in books 3 and 4 over the first two books.
I could see the seeds he planted and was excited about the firstfruits revealed in The Spirit Well. But in The Shadow Lamp, he takes the mythology he’s created for the story regarding time and the idea of the multiverse and places it against the nature of God, in my opinion. Basically, if the heroes don’t fix things, the timestream will collapse on itself and destroy everything.
I don’t have a problem with a big cataclysm in a book – the bigger the stakes the better, usually. Like bacon. You can’t have too much bacon. But I digress.
The issue is when this can happen despite God. That’s what it sounds like could happen. Maybe I’m wrong, or maybe he’ll clarify things in book five. Until then, my opinion was that this particular point is a detraction to the whole.
So, the take-home point? The Shadow Lamp is not a bad book. It’s just not very memorable. It is by no means a deal-breaker in reading the Bright Empires series. My experience with Lawhead is that he can be a streaky writer. Some of his books have been my favorites. And some…not so much. Unfortunately The Shadow Lamp will stay in the shadows of my memory when all is said and done.
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by Jason Joyner | Aug 14, 2013 | Blog, Captives, CSFF, dystopian, reading, reviews, speculative fiction, young adult
If you’ve been following along the past two days, you are brave. Now I can reveal my secrets.
I’ve been posting updates on the controversial book Captives by Jill Williamson. As you can see by the warning above, it is a dangerous book. According to Safe Lands Enforcers, it should be reported.
I’m here to tell you I’ve read it.
If you get caught and point back to me, I’ll deny it. But it isn’t what the warning says. It is something far different.
How Jill Williamson came by her knowledge is hidden, but she has told the story of the villagers taken into the Safe Lands in an engaging manner. You may only pick it up to flip through a couple of pages to see what the fuss is about. If you do, you’ll be hooked. Questions will form in your mind: Why does the Safe Lands need help with reproduction? Why was Omar willing to betray his people to the Safe Lands? What does Mason and Levi expect to accomplish by playing along with the authorities?
These two brothers, forced into leadership by the death of their village elders, are the lynchpin of the tale. Levi takes action and tries to break his family and friends out. Mason investigates, looking for a deeper truth that can shake the Safe Lands to its core.
A reader may be willing to shoot the traitor Omar themselves half-way through the book, but is everything as it seems on first glance?
Jill compares the simple life and faith of the outsiders with the flashy but empty diversions of the Safe Lands, offering a stark contrast between the two lives. Now that I have read this, I do not believe everything shown on the Wyndos, or every proclamation from the Enforcers.
I have questions, but the problem is this book is incomplete. It ends before all is revealed. Rumors of another tome, Outcasts, have been whispered from lips hidden in darkness. Is there more to the story of the Safe Lands and the outsiders, or has Jill been captured and liberated into Bliss early?
Now that I have seen this, I can’t stay quiet and pretend nothing has happened. Share this post. Tell people, no matter the risk to me. And more information can be found. Rebecca Luella Miller has been active in collecting all the myths and legends regarding Captives and the tale Jill Williamson exposes, so visit her site for the latest.
May you find what you’re looking for, searcher.
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by Jason Joyner | Feb 20, 2013 | Blog, Daughter Of Light, fantasy, Morgan Busse, reviews, speculative fiction, Writing Wednesday
On this fine Writing Wednesday I need to highlight a friend of mine.
Morgan Busse is a pastor’s wife and one of the authors of the well-regarded Marcher Lord Press. She also plays a mean game of Fiasco, so you have been warned. She’s been a member of the Christian Sci-fi and Fantasy Tour in the past, and that’s how we connected at the ACFW Conference in Dallas last year.
Her first book released last year, called Daughter Of Light. I recently had the chance to read it.
Synopsis:
Rowen is an orphan girl left on the doorstep of a military hero living outside a small village in the Ryland Plains. She grows up as an outcast from the tight-knit community, but when her father is killed in the war, it seems they are finally opening up to her. However, a strange mark appears on her hand, and when she touches someone with it, all of his dark secrets are revealed to her.
She is forced into exile as a witch, narrowly escaping being burned at the stake. Her only option is an offer from the White City, where as a favor to her father she is given the chance to become the bodyguard of Lady Astrea, daughter of Lord Gaynor. She hides her mark under a leather glove as she trains under the guidance of Captain Lore, a seasoned veteran who remains a follower of the Word, even as most of the culture has forgotten Him.
As Rowen wins the title of varor, there are forces building that will challenge her to the core. In the east, the dark Shadonae have risen once again, with a lone scribe fleeing for her life to reach the White City. From the south an invasion force mounts, and the assassin Caleb Tana is pursuing a bold plan that would free him from the banality of the army and allow him to retreat to his comforts back home.
Rowen plunges into the chaos swirling around her, wrestling with her own trials from her abandonment, exile, and unwanted curse on her hand. Somehow she must discover the mystery of who she is and her strange calling before the world around her collapses.
Review:
Marcher Lord Press has cultivated a reputation for turning out the best in Christian speculative fiction, one that is well-deserved from what I’ve read from them so far. I’m pleased that Morgan continues in this tradition with a strong fantasy adventure that also challenges the heart.
Her characters make good heroes – they are determined to pursue what needs to be done despite their wounds and weaknesses. The drama from the plot is heightened by the internal conflict Rowan, Lore, and Caleb face. They are believable and sympathetic. I would have liked a little more about their habits or other desires, a quirk that grounds them, but otherwise they were well done. The secondary characters didn’t stand out very much, but there aren’t many of them to track.
The plot keeps the reader guessing. The conflict and suspense builds, and I never felt like the book dragged. There were no stretches of boring detail. The prose was crisp and kept the momentum growing. The best part of the book though is the heart. The theme of being damaged and dealing with what you’ve done, or what’s been done to you, is a powerful message. The book is by no means preachy, but there are touching passages with opposing characters that make for a brilliant contrast. Rowen’s damaged soul is an obvious point for this, but a surprising actor also plays a part in this. I was very impressed with how the theme was handled.
One of the best things was also the most frustrating. Morgan built up enough suspense that the one book couldn’t contain it. There are questions at the end of the book whether certain characters are even alive. I wondered about the threat from the Shadonae, the war against the White City, and what would happen to Rowen. I liked that it didn’t draw things together into a neat bow. There was enough resolution to the book, but I need to read the next one now. That’s the frustration. I want it now.
Thankfully I don’t need to wait long. The second book in the series, Son Of Truth, is set to release in a few weeks. I’ll be adding it to my reading pile very soon.
Overall, Daughter Of Light is a very enjoyable and thoughtful read and an excellent debut. Yes, Morgan is a friend, but I’ve read enough fantasy that I’m picky, and I wouldn’t say this without meaning it. With some more layering of the character traits this book could be approaching 5 star range. However, I would say it is 4 stars because a debut author always has room for improvement. Morgan’s only problem is that she set the bar pretty high from the get-go!
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