Conservative Book Talk

This particular Henty begins in the early years of our hero, Ned’s, life. We watch him go through school, get in trouble for breaking his nasty teacher’s shoulder (he’s acquitted of punishment for good reasons), cry as his father passes away and meet a young lad who will be his life long friend.

After Ned breaks his nasty teachers shoulder, the man is sent away from cruelty to boys. The new teacher, unlike the other, is kind and firm. He prefers not to beat the boys unless it is absolutely necessary, and obedience out of respect rather than fear. It is to this teacher that Ned depends on for advice and guidance after the passing of his beloved father.

Ned’s father dies saving a young girl from getting run over by a carriage, this event leads to his mothers second marriage less than a year later. The step-father is cruel, but is able to hide it from those he is cozying up to. (Ned hates him)

Because of his cruelty, Ned and him fight every now and again. One time the step-father beats on Ned horribly and then goes off into the night, Ned following half awake to go walk in the country. Ned’s step-father is murdered and Ned is blamed ….will he be able to prove his innocence? You’ll need to read it to find out!

Positive: Though Ned’s mother is unkind to him almost every time they meet, and accuses him of his step fathers murder, refusing to see Ned for over a year. In the end, Ned and his mother are reconciled.

Ned’s father is a strong figure, and this book shows the value of friendship, overcoming fiery tempers, perseverance in the face of great adversity and how you shouldn’t judge too quickly.

Negative: Ned’s mother is a very poor example to her children, and is shown as very lazy, strong-headed and a gossip. Thankfully in the end these unwanted traits, except for her gossiping, reverse themselves.

Overall: Another great G.A. Henty, though our hero does not actually go into the army as is his original wish, he does great good where he is at. I strongly recommend this Henty book.

Tags: fiction, G. A. Henty, Hannasus, Through the Fray, Youth Fiction

Just so we’re not confused: We are posting another point of view on Brisingr by another reviewer for more perspective. MTG

Christopher Paolini’s Brisingr is the third book of four in the Inheritance series, and I read it because I had already trudged through the first two books and wanted to know where the epic-length tale was headed. The reason I had first delved into his series was simply out of curiosity; I mean, who wouldn’t want to read a story about a boy and his dragon, right? And after the reviewing world hailed the series a masterpiece, I thought I should see what all the hype was about.

Brisingr (the word for “fire” in the ancient language) begins with Eragon, the last of the free dragon riders, who seeks the destruction of the evil beings who wreaked havoc on his family. He continues seeking for truth: truth about his life, role, and beliefs. He still grapples with his role in the destruction of the evil ruler, a Sauron-like character, who fell from his place as dragon rider years earlier.

Christopher Paolini grew up in Montana and graduated from high school at the age of fifteen. At the age of nineteen he published his first bestseller, Eragon (which also became a movie shortly thereafter). I was skeptical of this new writer at first, thinking that the only reason for his book’s popularity was because of the author’s demographics.

Paolini uses the English language masterfully (and even some of his created Elvish and Dwarvish languages), and I especially enjoyed his employment of new and exciting vocabulary words. His fresh ideas on fantasy bring to life his story; he does his best to avoid the hackneyed fantasy plots where the good guy always defeats the bad guy, gets the girl, and lives happily ever after. He also does a very good job of creating characters who act consistently throughout the plot without being too predictable.

The book’s jacket notes some praise for Paolini’s series: U.S. News & World Report says that Brisingr is “the new ‘It’ book of children’s lit.” I would contend that this statement is indeed far from truth. Objectionable elements crop up throughout the entire seven-hundred-page book. The gore factor in this book has been elevated much from the first two; the author goes into great detail of the manners in which the men die. Foul language is also scattered here and there. Paolini occasionally uses the words in a correct sense, but a majority of the time he uses the words simply as profanity. He has also skillfully woven in philosophical and religious tones. In one situation, a pagan god appears to the dwarves and blesses them. At another time, Eragon wonders if the atheism of the elves is the right way to believe. The book seems ambivalent on the issues and lends itself to further study. I would not recommend this book to children or young adults, who are yet forming their world views, and I think that those who commit to reading this series (this book especially) should do so with caution.

Tags: Brisingr, Christopher Paolini, fantasy, Inheritance, Jonathan Blumer, Youth Fiction

Since everyone is talking about the new movie Twilight that just came out, I decided I wanted to read the book. With minimal knowledge about the story, I borrowed the book.

The Summary: Twilight is about a high school girl named Bella who chooses to go live with her father in a place called Forks, Washington. It is here that she meets the Cullen family who has a very dark secret. She is immediately drawn to Edward Cullen. After a sudden whirlwind romance, Bella discovers that Edward is not just any high school boy. Instead he is a vampire. Basically the story weaves in the idea of an immortal and mortal having a relationship.

Author Background: The background of the author can sometimes give insight to the underlying themes within the author’s work. Stephenie Meyer is a Mormon who graduated from Brigham Young University (BYU). She does not believe in pre-marital sex, but does not oppose objectionable elements or themes.

Positive: Actually the story contains very little positives unless one would like to view the “good” vampires as a positive. And even in the story the “good” vampires struggle with human blood lust.

Negative: First of all, the concept of vampires is associated with the demonic world. The author hints at this early on in her work. Except she leaves the reader feeling that her vampires are not demonic so it is acceptable. With this aside, the story is all about teen romance, passion, and lust. The story portrays the vampire Edward’s lust as lust for Bella’s blood, but the reader can draw more from this by the actions depicted by the author. The story has multiple suggestive scenes and uses some language. In addition the main character lies throughout the entire book, but claims to despise lying. Bella continually refers to Edward as god-like. This philosophy is acceptable within the Mormon circle, but is doctrinally incorrect. And last but not least, the quality of writing is extremely poor. Many will overlook the writing, because of the storyline and characters.

Conclusion: I do not recommend this book or movie. It is certain to capture the interest of anyone who picks it up, including people lacking the ability to filter out the philosophies within the work.

Tags: Bram Stoker, Emily Gardenghi, Stephenie Meyer, Twilight, Vampires, Youth Fiction