Conservative Book Talk

Plot: “Ever” is a story much like that in the Bible, in the book of Judges, where a man in battle promises G-d that he will sacrifice the first person that greets him if they win. Well, in the Bible, they win the battle and when the man returns home; his daughter comes out to greet him.

In “Ever”, however, Kezi’s, our heroine, father promises their god, Admat that if he heals his wife, that whoever congratulates him within three days he will sacrifice. All goes well until Kezi’s Aunt comes over for a visit; they had thought themselves safe from her because she was away. They had set up a guard to keep visitors away, but their Aunt, being a pushy woman, discards all warning and enters to congratulate her brother on his wife’s return to health. However, before the words are out of her mouth, Kezi quickly congratulates her father to save her Aunt and faints. She wakes to everyone crying around her, remembering what occurred, she too cries. After several hours, they plead with Admat to allow her one more month to live, before they sacrifice her. Admat’s alter candle flickers, signing to them that they have one month.

Through all this, the god of wind watches all that goes on; and slowly, without realizing it, falls in love with Kezi. After meeting with her in a wedding, and saving her from a horrible admirer, the god of wind tells Kezi that she can escape her death in only one way, by becoming a goddess. Leaving her parents with a note that she is well, Kezi leaves with the god of wind to prove she is a heroine and become a goddess.

Positive: The writing style in this book is quite different from the ones I have read so far. Instead of setting it from one person’s point of view, Levine sets each chapter from either our hero or heroines point of view. It was unique to me and I enjoyed it.

I believe the authoress makes it clear, that the father’s choice in making the promise he did to his god was completely foolish.

Negative: Our hero and heroine do quite a bit of kissing prior to marriage, and live together for one month, alone. They do not sleep together, except once when the authoress writes Kezi “snuggles close” to the god of winds. There are gods and goddesses in the book, so parents might want to caution their children, if they do not know already, that these gods do not exist.

Overall: I did enjoy this book, not as much as her other fairy tale adaptations, such as Fairest (previously reviewed by Sincerelyornot) and Elle Enchanted, but it was fun. It is a small 244 pages, but enjoyable to the end.

Though I will admit I did not find our heroines ‘heroism’ very heroic, I will not spoil it for you unless you doubt you will never read it.

I recommend this book if you feel the need to break from reality, a mental junk food that has a good story line.

Tags: Ever, Fairy Tale, fantasy, Gail Carson Levine, Hannasus

While traveling recently, my wife brought along the final installment of the Harry Potter series. Having read all of the books (entirely as audio books) and watched the movies, I finally am ready to write a little bit about them. For a long time, I have heard Christians rail on the stories as being anti-God, demonic etc…. I have heard Christians proclaim that the books can be used to teach people about God (like others have done with the Lord of the Rings and Star Wars). I say they are both wrong.

Before I make comments on the series generally, I’d like to give a few observations about this specific book. For starters, Rowling did an excellent job of wrapping up the series and pulling together threads from the last few books. It would appear that the last half of the series had a much more coherent plot structure than the first couple of books. The ending was satisfying and conclusive. There were no loose ends hanging around that opened the door for a sequel.

On the flip side, there was more profanity in this book than the rest of the series combined. Rowling is no longer writing for children (her original audience is either in college or graduated now). This book has plenty of death and violence but that would fit with the nature of war. Overall, I enjoyed the conclusion to this series.

Some Christians have argued against the use of magic. I hope they also boycott the Lord of the Rings and the Chronicles of Narnia for the sake of consistency. I don’t really understand that point of view and I probably only have one objection on that front. The Harry Potter books present magic in the hands of normal real-life children unlike other fantasy that sets the magical powers in a far flung world. There is a definite blurring of the edges between reality and fantasy in these books. I have been in the rooms of children and seen the Harry Potter craze; the materials encourage the children to practice “good” magic. Whatever. If children are believing this to be real, then there are other issues.

If I were to object to these books, it is because they encourage children to disobey, use profanity, and encourage general behaviors inconsistent with Christian character (think: revenge, anger, hate, theft, lying etc…). I will probably use them as training tools some day to teach my children about handling objectionable elements. But that’s me and I’ve got time before that becomes an issue so who knows? I could change my mind by then. And those who try to use this to teach Christian values? Get your head screwed on straight. There is nothing Christian about these books. As there is nothing Christian about The Lord of the Rings.

One other negative. Rowling can’t write. Sorry. No offense meant, but she can’t. She has created excellent characters, a great plot line and an enjoyable “universe,” but that doesn’t mean she can write. Her books tend to drag along for large sections. In this book, Harry, Hermione, and Ron all sit around in a tent for months. Literally. Then occasionally, dumb luck would wander in and hand them clues to follow. After that, it was back to sitting around for weeks on end. (This goes on for chapters.) Her plots drag as if she were filling in words to make a bigger book that sells for a higher price. My wife and I were talking about Rowling and we’re not certain if she can transition to anything else. It will be interesting to see if she is successful at any new writing ventures.

Overall, I enjoyed the plot lines and would certainly recommend them to teenagers and adults. The creativeness of the stories make them worth reading. Rowling is certainly creative if she is anything. Still, there are plenty of reasons to object to the material included in these books. A parent should read them alongside their children if they choose to allow their kids to read them at all.

Your thoughts? Care to write a dissenting review?

Some earlier thoughts by Tim Taylor:
Magic and Harry Potter/
Harry Potter Continued/
Realism in Harry Potter/
Conclusion of Harry Potter Series/

Tags: Deathly Hallows, fantasy, Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling, Matt Gardenghi, Young Adult

Star Born brings an interesting twist to science fiction (at least from my experience and perspective). Norton explores the differences of two groups of humanity that have developed differently for decades. That isn’t unusual in itself; what is unique is the subtle differences formed by climate, civilization, governance and genetic strains.

The group that colonized Astra settled into a peaceful existence with the natives of the planet. Technological skills were minimal, but a healthy symbiosis with the planet had developed. Norton obviously styled the settlers after Native American Indians. The “Westerners” or Explorers from Earth are full of strife and struggle with the influences that a complex culture places on people: one character, Raf Kurbi, from Earth stumbled into trouble when he mentioned feelings reminiscent of prejudice. That was an unacceptable faux pas regardless of the instinctual reaction an alien race brought up within him.

In the end, you have three main characters and four racial groups. Dalgard is chief of the characters and represents the Astaran colonists. Raf has traveled with new Terran explorers. Sssurri represents the Astaran Mer-people. Finally, Those Others from the past thought to be extinct.

Dalgard, on a quest to enter manhood, (joined by Sssuri) stumble upon evidence that the evil Others had returned. While Sssuri seeks help against this ancient enemy, Dalgard explores the ruined city of the Others to determine the extent of the return. Meanwhile, Raf and his party have joined forces with the Others who are desirous of assistance against their ancient enemy: the Mer-people. Raf and Dalgard slowly move towards each other and eventually bridge the gap created by a century of differences.

Raf must choose between obedience to his commanding officer who supports the Others and the unknown human being hunted by the Others that his gut tells him to trust. Dalgard, must stand in the gap to assist the Mer-people against this new onslaught of danger.

The decisions made in conclusion leave much to ponder. Are the two groups of humans to separate to be rejoined? Or are they not separated enough? Are the differences to great or to small? What benefit would be gained by rejoining contact now?

Overall? Fun book. Plenty of action, lot of intriguing interaction between the various groups. If you have time, pick this up and read it. Light reading with a creative environment but thought provoking if you want to spend the time and ponder it.

Links:
Buy it here
Listen to it here (Excellent reader by the way)
Read it here

Tags: Andre Norton, fantasy, fiction, Matt Gardenghi, Science Fiction, Star Born