by Jason Joyner | Jun 3, 2009 | Blog, faith, life
We’re getting situated in the new house. It has been almost 2 weeks since we moved in. It is always going to be an adventure. The interesting thing about this house is that it was built 50 years ago by the family we bought it from. They have lived there for the whole time. There are all these little quirks that have been worked into the house over this time.
“Let’s see-to have the power on in this room the lights have to be on.”
“Operating the pump for irrigation-switch on, valve open, no water. Oh right, prime the pump with some water!” (I proceeded to open the chamber on the pump, put water in, and got drenched by the water that gushed out of the chamber I neglected to re-cover).
We certainly prayed about choosing a house, as we have been looking for 3 years before finally finding a place we liked. It is a wonderful house, but not one I would have necessarily chosen in the past. This year, however, it felt…right. Still, it required more know-how and work, and I am not a handyman by any means. To quote from Star Trek, “I’m a PA, not a plumber.”
As we were waiting to move in, I believe the Lord spoke to me about the new house. This house was about taking ownership. Basically: It’s time to grow up some more, son.
Our first house was very appealing because it had recently had major work done, with new floors, windows, siding, roof, etc. I didn’t have to do anything! We did do a little remodeling, but nothing too arduous. It was a good house, but we always knew it was a stop-over house.
The new house has been taken care of very well, but it is still 50 years old with some dated appliances, cupboards, and carpet. There’s more garden and things to take care of. I don’t want to live for a house, but I see how I need to step up and be a little more responsible, as a husband and father. We got comfortable and a little complacent in the old place. Time to step up.
(Don’t worry, some things won’t change, like my love of goofiness. This blog is pledged to stay away from being old and stodgy.)
Between getting the old house ready to sell and the new house established, I’ve learned more about home maintenance than the previous 5 years. I guess the training wheels are off. Hopefully this will spill over into other areas of life, like writing!
Here’s to ownership, and being a good steward. Thank you Lord, for how you bring me along as Your son.
—
by Jason Joyner | Jun 3, 2009 | Blog, faith, life
We’re getting situated in the new house. It has been almost 2 weeks since we moved in. It is always going to be an adventure. The interesting thing about this house is that it was built 50 years ago by the family we bought it from. They have lived there for the whole time. There are all these little quirks that have been worked into the house over this time.
“Let’s see-to have the power on in this room the lights have to be on.”
“Operating the pump for irrigation-switch on, valve open, no water. Oh right, prime the pump with some water!” (I proceeded to open the chamber on the pump, put water in, and got drenched by the water that gushed out of the chamber I neglected to re-cover).
We certainly prayed about choosing a house, as we have been looking for 3 years before finally finding a place we liked. It is a wonderful house, but not one I would have necessarily chosen in the past. This year, however, it felt…right. Still, it required more know-how and work, and I am not a handyman by any means. To quote from Star Trek, “I’m a PA, not a plumber.”
As we were waiting to move in, I believe the Lord spoke to me about the new house. This house was about taking ownership. Basically: It’s time to grow up some more, son.
Our first house was very appealing because it had recently had major work done, with new floors, windows, siding, roof, etc. I didn’t have to do anything! We did do a little remodeling, but nothing too arduous. It was a good house, but we always knew it was a stop-over house.
The new house has been taken care of very well, but it is still 50 years old with some dated appliances, cupboards, and carpet. There’s more garden and things to take care of. I don’t want to live for a house, but I see how I need to step up and be a little more responsible, as a husband and father. We got comfortable and a little complacent in the old place. Time to step up.
(Don’t worry, some things won’t change, like my love of goofiness. This blog is pledged to stay away from being old and stodgy.)
Between getting the old house ready to sell and the new house established, I’ve learned more about home maintenance than the previous 5 years. I guess the training wheels are off. Hopefully this will spill over into other areas of life, like writing!
Here’s to ownership, and being a good steward. Thank you Lord, for how you bring me along as Your son.
—
by Jason Joyner | May 20, 2009 | Blog, reviews, speculative fiction, Stephen Lawhead, Tuck
After limping through this tour by pulling up old content of mine, I finally have something original to offer: my review of Stephen Lawhead’s latest book, Tuck.
*The final book of the King Raven trilogy picks the action up right after the ending betrayal in Scarlet. Bran and his followers, the Grellon, are returning to the wild and dark forest known as the Marsh when Norman knights ride up on them for an ambush.
After the battle, Bran attempts a peace accord with the usurping lord of his kingdom, Abbot Hugo and his marshal Guy Gysburne. The overture is grossly spurned, and Bran is determined to fight for their rightful freedom. He travels to the northern Welsh to enlist his mother’s kin to help him, while Lady Merian considers the help her own family might be able to offer.
As Bran attempts a daring rescue for a northen Welsh king, his foes bring in the armies of King William Rufus. A climatic battle looms for the woodland fugitives, whether the help is available or not…*
Tuck brings out all the things we love about the Robin Hood legend – arrows flying, daring escapes, cunning impersonations, and a friar who raps the bad guys on the head with a stout staff.
I’ve noted in my last two posts on the first books, Hood and Scarlet, that Lawhead is a great writer but somewhat streaky. Tuck falls into the pattern of the first book, with multiple third person points of view, although mainly following the jolly fat friar we all know and love. Scarlet was mainly from Will Scarlet’s point of view, differing from the other books. Changing point of view is a Lawhead trademark, and I think this sometimes is his undoing.
Thankfully, he avoids the letdown trap in Tuck. Lawhead really found an authentic voice and characterization for all of his major characters. Bran (Robin Hood), Tuck, King William, and others have distinct personalities and act believably throughout. The forest is a tangible danger for the Ffreinc knights who try to defeat the Grellon, but the overwhelming numbers provide equally real suspense whether Bran will succeed or not.
There is a good balance of action and rest in between conflict, without any real dragging parts. As the third in the series, there is a pretty good introduction to all the characters without slowing down the plot. I read the first two long enough ago I couldn’t remember all the events that are mentioned, so that was my only complaint in this area.
Overall Tuck is a highly enjoyable and satisfying finish to a very strong series. I think Scarlet was the best book of the series, but Lawhead did a very good job of making each book stand up on its own.
If you’re a fan of historical fiction, alternate stories, or speculative fiction, then this series is for you. There is enough Celtic lore to make it speculative, even though it mostly rests in the historical realm. However, any fan of Christian speculative fiction would do well to read liberally from Lawhead’s collection of books.
—
by Jason Joyner | May 20, 2009 | Blog, reviews, speculative fiction, Stephen Lawhead, Tuck
After limping through this tour by pulling up old content of mine, I finally have something original to offer: my review of Stephen Lawhead’s latest book, Tuck.
*The final book of the King Raven trilogy picks the action up right after the ending betrayal in Scarlet. Bran and his followers, the Grellon, are returning to the wild and dark forest known as the Marsh when Norman knights ride up on them for an ambush.
After the battle, Bran attempts a peace accord with the usurping lord of his kingdom, Abbot Hugo and his marshal Guy Gysburne. The overture is grossly spurned, and Bran is determined to fight for their rightful freedom. He travels to the northern Welsh to enlist his mother’s kin to help him, while Lady Merian considers the help her own family might be able to offer.
As Bran attempts a daring rescue for a northen Welsh king, his foes bring in the armies of King William Rufus. A climatic battle looms for the woodland fugitives, whether the help is available or not…*
Tuck brings out all the things we love about the Robin Hood legend – arrows flying, daring escapes, cunning impersonations, and a friar who raps the bad guys on the head with a stout staff.
I’ve noted in my last two posts on the first books, Hood and Scarlet, that Lawhead is a great writer but somewhat streaky. Tuck falls into the pattern of the first book, with multiple third person points of view, although mainly following the jolly fat friar we all know and love. Scarlet was mainly from Will Scarlet’s point of view, differing from the other books. Changing point of view is a Lawhead trademark, and I think this sometimes is his undoing.
Thankfully, he avoids the letdown trap in Tuck. Lawhead really found an authentic voice and characterization for all of his major characters. Bran (Robin Hood), Tuck, King William, and others have distinct personalities and act believably throughout. The forest is a tangible danger for the Ffreinc knights who try to defeat the Grellon, but the overwhelming numbers provide equally real suspense whether Bran will succeed or not.
There is a good balance of action and rest in between conflict, without any real dragging parts. As the third in the series, there is a pretty good introduction to all the characters without slowing down the plot. I read the first two long enough ago I couldn’t remember all the events that are mentioned, so that was my only complaint in this area.
Overall Tuck is a highly enjoyable and satisfying finish to a very strong series. I think Scarlet was the best book of the series, but Lawhead did a very good job of making each book stand up on its own.
If you’re a fan of historical fiction, alternate stories, or speculative fiction, then this series is for you. There is enough Celtic lore to make it speculative, even though it mostly rests in the historical realm. However, any fan of Christian speculative fiction would do well to read liberally from Lawhead’s collection of books.
—
by Jason Joyner | May 19, 2009 | Blog, CSFF, reviews, Scarlet, Stephen Lawhead, Tuck
I’m honoring our CSFF tour featuring the re-imagining of the Robin Hood legend by popular fantasy and historical author Stephen Lawhead.
How?
I’m stealing from my past. Leading up to a review of the latest book of the King Raven trilogy, Tuck, I present my past review of the second book of the series, Scarlet. Back when I remembered what happened!
From November ’07:
Yesterday for the CSFF tour I posted my review of the first book of the Raven King Trilogy, Hood. In it I mentioned that, while I have enjoyed many of Stephen Lawhead’s books, I have found him to be a streaky writer. In the Song of Albion series, the first two books were great, while the third one got a little tedious. I enjoyed The Iron Lance of the Celtic Crusades series, but bogged down in The Black Rood. Same with the Pendragon Cycle: loved the first book, lost interest in the second. Does the sophomore curse affect the second book of his new series, Scarlet?
I can answer a resounding NO.
Scarlet is a better book than its predecessor. Not that Hood wasn’t very enjoyable, but Scarlet improves some pacing issues and kept me intrigued more. It is the story of Will Scarlet, here a Saxon forester who is displaced from his lands and decides to seek out the infamous King Raven, who is tormenting the Normans (Ffreinc) who have invaded the lands of the Welsh. After joining Rhi Bran y Hud, Scarlet’s skill allows him to become a trusted member of Bran’s inner circle. As the fugitives work toward eventual freedom for their kingdom, Will becomes captured and is set for the noose (hence the cover of the book).
The book has an interesting structure. It is mainly from Will Scarlet’s point of view, first person, as he is in prison awaiting his hanging. He is telling his story to a priest who is acting as a scribe. It is a unique way to tell a story such as this, and it surprisingly works very well. There are some asides from Will to the poor Norman priest throughout, but instead of being distracting, it adds to the understanding of who Will is. The book occasionally shifts to third person when it moves into another character’s point of view.
Lawhead’s ability to weave an enchanting story from history and legend is unparalleled. His research and knowledge base is always top-notch, it is only a matter if he’s created a strong plot to go along with it. This time around he keeps the action near and the suspense palpable. The back and forth between Rhi Bran and the invaders is never fully decided throughout the book. There is also a nice tension with the politics running through the book that leaves us with an imposing cliffhanger that won’t be resolved until the third book, Tuck, comes out (which sadly won’t be for a while due to the author’s recent illness).
The storytelling sequence by Angharad is interesting yet the slowest part of the tale, much like in Hood. Occasionally the POV changes among different antagonists is confusing. However, this is a book with great setting, characters, and plot. I highly recommend the series so far, as it is a very good introduction to Stephen Lawhead.
See Becky Miller’s blog for the latest updates with other tour members, and perhaps I’ll have something original tomorrow!
