Bystanders

Author Phillip Murrell provided the first three books in the Bystanders series for review. Apologies to him for taking so long to get to them. I wrestled with the decision to read all three books and review them as a series or to do them individually. I am currently half way through the second book, and even though they are not stand alone books I think individually is the way to go. 

After reading the first chapter of Bystanders I seriously thought my testosterone levels had probably increased. The action while not completely nonstop, it was darn close. We start with a superhero (maybe?) suddenly making an appearance in the small town of Colberton. 

Many interweaving story lines with pretty well developed characters, quite a complex story. This would be my complaint about this book: too much. It seems like the author doesn't want to leave out any social group almost too much of a nod to inclusivity. There are strong females able to kick male butt, sensitive males, hardcore toxic males, gays, mental disorders, military style tech, females fighting the patriarchy, teenage angst and parental dysfunction, the usual assortment of good guys and bad guys. I was overwhelmed by the diversity of the characters and their own stories. By the time I finished this first installment I came to the conclusion that there really weren't any of the characters that should be edited out of the story. It just requires a bit more attention on the part of the reader.

Good start to the series, we aren't given much in the way of backstory for our semi-superhero which was another argument in favor of completing the three books as one. But I have since learned that the series extends beyond three books so that pretty much ends the argument.

Overall really enjoyed the book and looking forward to continuing the story. But I am hoping for more answers. Over the top in all aspects (that's a good thing) taking the reader on a very wild ride. Open the book, start reading and hang on! Enjoy!

Mike

The Dane Law (The Athelin Chronicles book #2)

Author Garth Petterson provided an ecopy of The Dane Law for review. 

Although this is the second book in the series, and I have not read the first, I didn't feel as though I was missing much. Which I take to mean the story is written to be a stand alone. 

Set in Engla-lond, we have a story of Viking political intrigue. Very good character development. Great action sequences, just the right amount of humor and even a bit of sex thrown in for good measure. 

The author did a good job of keeping me guessing as to who would eventually align with whom. Broken loyalties, shifting alliances, ruling class politics blended into a readable and engrossing story. 

I would definitely like to read more from this author. I'm not really an expert of the whole Viking genre, but I did enjoy Pettersen's take. Enjoy!

Mike

The Gift of the Quoxxel

I was provided an ecopy of The Gift of the Quoxxel  by Richard Titus for review. I had a hard time deciding into what genre this story should be categorized. The best comparison I can come up with is if Dr. Seuss woke up in The Twilight Zone.

The story itself is fun and light hearted. It is set on an island nation ruled by a truly eccentric monarch and inhabited by a truly Seuss like menagerie of people and animals. When I gave up trying to "figure out" the meaning or purpose of the story, I just sat back and enjoyed it. 

The gift of this story, at least for me, is the opportunity to just enjoy a fun story. Good job Richard Titus. Enjoy!

Mike

2020 When Hindsight Becomes Foresight

Author Amy Joy provided an ecopy of 2020 When Hindsight Becomes Foresight for review. I have reviewed several of this authors works and she is a personal friend. That said : I HATED THIS BOOK!

Those of you who pay attention to star ratings may be asking: Why then did you give it 5 stars? I'll tell you, because it is very well written. The main character, Dodge, is very sympathetic and endearing. Other characters are equally well developed. The premise is intriguing, waking up as your much younger self with the mental capacities of your adult self. This is all the foreknowledge I had before beginning this book, the way I prefer it. Without going into an explanation that would require spoilers, suffice it to say, the book went into a completely unexpected direction. 

After I read the book I told Amy Joy that had she given me more info on the story line I would have declined the opportunity to read the book. I had such a visceral reaction the the story that I was upset for days (recalling the story to write this review is raising my blood pressure). This is actually a testament to Amy Joy's writing ability. To be able to elicit such a reaction demonstrates ability.  

The topic itself is the problem for me, and I freely admit it is my problem. Most readers do not share my personal emotional buttons and will not be so affected.

So, as usual, Amy Joy is a terrific talent. 2020... is probably the best book I have ever hated. Enjoy, (you probably will, I didn't)!

Mike

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

Those who read my reviews know that nonfiction books are not my thing, but I agreed to read The New Jim Crow so that we could discuss it. 

Her primary reaction to the book appeared to me to focus on mass incarceration than the racial aspects of the book. My reaction was mixed. As a former student in the social sciences, I was well aware of the idea that African-Americans are over represented in the prison system. I was hoping to read a discussion of that phenomena and ways to change it. What I felt I got was a tired rehash of the history of how blacks (the author uses that identifier so I guess I can too) have been incarcerated in vast numbers. I don't dispute that claim, but the author wrote in a way that made her points difficult to understand at times. For instance she talks quite a bit about how affirmative action has not really been as helpful as intended though she benefited from the policy. She alluded to such policies actually keeping people of color oppressed.Then she calls for more government regulation into hiring and such. It seems that she is actually calling for people of color to be further under governmental control to free them from governmental control. 

The most disappointing aspect of this book (and others like it)? The complete lack of attention to a very basic point. In the case of mass incarceration perhaps if we encouraged people to not commit the crimes in the first place, incarceration would be less of a concern. Length of sentencing based on ethnicity may well be a provable fact and surely needs attention and reform. But no mention of refraining from criminal behavior is just sad. As a student I disagreed with the notion that poor socio-economic status led to more crime. Not that it doesn't show statistically, but being poor is not an excuse. Wrong is wrong, illegal is illegal, I believe there are many more honest people who are economically disadvantaged than there are criminals. 

What we have here is a book which takes a huge, complex social problem and tries to reduce it to race and money. The problem involves so many more components that it is difficult to address in a single book. I my opinion this book misses all the way around.

Mike

Quit Church

I was provided a print copy of Quit Church by Chris Sonksen for review.

The subtitle of this book is "Because Your Life Would Be Better If You Did", so we start out with a semi-clever attempt to draw in readers who might not be interested in the real topic: how to make church more effective. I'm not much in favor of tricking readers into looking at a particular book, but decided to give it a look anyway.

Church attendance is down, can't argue that point. So, we get many attempts to help local churches to change how they do things in order to put more people in the seats. This has become a new buzzword in the field. On Goodreads alone, type "quit church" in the search bar and you get 33 entries. 

We have new spin put on old ideas, bottom line; you all suck and if you'd do what I say, God will bless you abundantly. Even the foreward says: "Read Quit Church and do what it says" and "If you want the people in your church to have transformational encounters with Jesus, read Quit Church and do what it says." The arrogance astounds me. How about: Read the Bible and do what IT says. Taking a pop culture attitude is part of the problem, not the solution. Present the Word of God honestly and clearly, do what the Bible teaches and God in his wisdom will see to the rest.

As you can probably tell this book did not appeal to me. As an elder at my church I would not bring this attitude to our church family.

The book is well organized and does hide some cogent points within the pop-culture presentation, so I can't fault it there. But I think you can tell which book I will read and follow.

Mike

The Darkside of Good

Author JB Chivvy provided an ecopy of The Darkside of Good for review.

I have to apologize to the author because my ereader decided to lose this book after I read it and I didn't get the review published quickly and it kind of got lost in the shuffle.

The Darkside of Good is an interesting tale of ultimate good vs ultimate evil. Our main character, Jacob, is the somewhat reluctant recruit in the continuous battle. He is embroiled in the struggle between those who wish to bring about Armageddon and those who wish to stop it. The lines are somewhat blurred at times keeping readers on their toes. Over all a good action adventure with apocalyptic overtones.

My negative for this story is that it moved rather abruptly from one venue to another. It didn't transition comfortably for me. Also, Jacob seemed to be unnecessarily mistreated at the beginning. Especially by people wanting him to do their bidding.

A good solid story, but could maybe benefit from a little polish here and there. I did like the book. Enjoy!

Mike