(book review: Ted Dekker’s ‘Black’)

Yes, it’s conceivable that I’m lagging slightly behind. ‘Black’, by Ted Dekker, was published in 2004 (the same year as my Dear Bob was reprinted, coincidentally). Still, I’ve only just read it. So there.

I’m not a fan of Christian fiction, which is both ironic and plain daft, as it’s what I write. So many Christian novels are sub-standard, compared with secular fiction (which I read copious amounts of… too much… no wonder my housework remains untouched!).
Is it that the authors aren’t pushed enough by the publishers to produce what they’re capable of?
Not sure.
Perhaps.

But there are exceptions. For example, I loved the Left Behind (LB) series. It wasn’t well written. Characters were flat. Lots of unnecessary preachy bits, sometimes several pages long. And so on. But the PLOT… was fab. Despite the criticism, no one can deny that they sold well, and made both Christians and the unchurched consider the second coming. The concept… the idea of what the world might be like post-rapture… gripping stuff.

And then you’ve got The Shack (by William Young). Couldn’t stand it. Very long and drawn out… very preachy (without moving the plot along in any way shape or form)… quite dull and boring… nothing gained.
Whereas some of the proposed theology in LB was a little shaky (to say the least) I was generally on board with what was presented in The Shack. Found myself agreeing with the majority of it. It just wasn’t a ‘good read’, in my opinion. Still, it too sold trillions of copies, and ostensibly introduced the many unchurched to God. You can’t argue with that. Even I can’t argue with that, much as I’d love to. If it helped anyone to ‘know’ God in a new or different way, my hat goes off to Mr Young. Truly.

But now to the point (!)… ‘Black’. A fabulous read. Half thriller (of the ‘biological warfare’ variety) and half fantasy (of the Peretti ‘demon V human’ variety). At first I was dismayed at the inclusion of the fantasy sections, but soon started relishing them. I’ve tended to disregard (secular) thrillers that even hint at fantasy, of any sort, but perhaps because this was ‘Christian’ fantasy, I could cope with it; it had an obvious purpose.
The protagonist, Thomas Hunter, is having dreams. Not normal ones… vivid ones. Lucid ones. (And as someone with a tendency to dream lucidly, this was of some interest to me.)
One minute he’s in the ‘real’ world… attempting to stop the baddie terrorists from releasing a deadly virus worldwide… that kind of ‘real’. The next he’s in a Garden-of-Eden style world, where he’s fighting bat-like demons whilst getting to know the Garden’s creator and sustainer. As the novel progresses, he (and we) realise that the two ‘worlds’ are connected… but how? And how will he save both worlds?

I desperately want to tell you that, as per the LB series, it was only the plot that I loved, whereas the writing style, or character formation, or pace, etc, was pants. It would suit me more if this were the case, as it would support my theory about the lack of quality Christian fiction currently on the market. But it’s simply untrue. Dekker writes a good thriller. Sure, I’ve read superior secular thrillers, but there’s not much in it. And the fantasy stuff just got better and better… I found it moving, engrossing, thought-provoking… sometimes all at once!

Turns out this is the first in a series of twelve.
Anyone free to come and manage my housework while I read them…?!

Was sent this to review.
Good cover.
Not a great start to the book… a few chapters in and I wondered if there was much point in reading on. In fact, I really wasn’t sure I could force myself to. If there isn’t a ‘desperate want or need’ in those first few pages then I find it v hard to read on. We’re presented with a perfect middle-class American christian family… which annoyed me no end. Then it transpires that grandma has had a stroke, which is a little bit interesting but not all that gripping. At this point I struggled to see what this book was really going to be about.

But it did get better… the ‘perfect’ family went to pot. I know this shouldn’t make me happy, and I hate couples splitting up and children getting hurt and all that… but at least it introduced some decent ‘conflict’ into the novel and we actually had something to get our teeth into.

Later on still I found myself slightly more interested in that the couple were a very similar age to us and had been married for just about as long AND had a daughter roughly the same age as ours! This meant I could relate to it all a bit more; it made me wonder what it would be like for us if one of our parents had a stroke and needed caring for, etc.

I was pleased to see that the ‘Christian’ bits weren’t too cringe-tastic and didn’t ruin the ‘flow’ of the book, as so often happens with christian fiction. I couldn’t say I was gripped by this book or that I’d particularly recommend it to someone, although I might if they had a parent who’d just had a stroke. I did like the way it didn’t end up too ‘happily ever after’ (in terms of both the couple getting back together and the mum with her stroke). I even shed a tear at the end when the Mum managed a little speech despite her stroke… and any book that can ‘move’ the reader has got to be given some credit, imho!

So, not that fab overall, but did make me think (re parents/strokes/marriage V career choices) due to the fact that I could relate to the protagonist, so not a total flop. A bit of humour wouldn’t have gone a miss.

Have recently been sent this book (for free) so I could review on this blog.

That Certain Spark, by Cathy Marie Hake (published by Bethany House)

Pros:
The cover! It’s awesome. Covers are v important. I’ve never quite got over how v v bad the covers of my 2 novels are (I had no say in it). This cover is quite inviting. That said, it meant I could instantly see it wasn’t really my kind of read, but nevertheless, a good cover. I notice that some of her other books have similarly good covers. Lucky her!
The heroine’s love interest... who spends most of the book being far more interested than she is! Nice tension. Good build up of healthy passion! Of course I knew that they’d end up together, but it didn’t matter: I was quite content to follow this storyline through.
I didn’t relish the times I sat down to read this. It was more a matter of ‘Right, better read some more of that novel then, I guess, if I really have to’ (this is going to turn into a ‘pro’, honest)… but I think there was once when I was reading it, and I realised I ought to get on and cook the tea, but I realised I would rather continue with reading as it was getting interesting. ANY novel that can do that is a good one, or at least it has some good bits in it.
Overall, I found I could ‘picture’ the scene, with the main characters playing out their part and so on. Again, any novel that can act as a ‘film’ in your head, as it were, is fab. No wonder she’s sold over 25 novels. I’m not jealous. I’m only 23 behind. Who’s counting anyway?

Cons:
The ‘Christian’ stuff (not as well delivered as perhaps could have been… didn’t come across as natural enough, imho).
The relationship between the heroine’s brother and the woman he ’selected’ to be his wife… all a bit too ‘cushy’. An attempt at un-cushing their relationship comes later on, with her having a serious illness and him being her tower of strength… but this storyline just annoyed me… not sure why.
Lack of humour.

I think that’s about it. It’s hard to judge a book that’s outside the genre you normally immerse yourself in (hours and hours and hours and…) as you have little to compare it to, but still, I’ve given it my best shot… so there.

by Rosamunde Pilcher

Well, this isn’t the sort of novel I’d normally read. I picked it up off a table at church the other wk – a clearout from our v out-of-date church library… all books for free! I assumed it was a Christian novel, and was intrigued as people like Mauve Binchy had commented on the back cover! But it turned out that it must have been a stow-away. To think that some old dear in our church has been reading secular novels (and then dumping them in the church library)… oh the shame of it!

Anyway, it is v short, so I thought I’d give it a go anyway. It’s v good. Just covering a few months of this young woman’s life, set back in the 70s (I think). I’m not usually keen on lots of description, as I find it gets in the way of the ‘flow’ and I loose the plot, but this woman knows how to write! I’m not sure it will go on my list of fave books ever, and it wasn’t exactly a page-turner… but I did find that I wanted to finish it – I was interested to know what happened, ish.
Anyway, it made a nice change from Dan Brown (and such thrillers that I’ve been digesting recently)… although there were 2 deaths in it, and a bad car crash… but no NASA, bombs, or secret sects/cults/brotherhoods trying to take over the world!

(Sorry I didn’t give you a ’spoiler alert’ before just giving away that info re this book, but it’s not exactly a new novel, so if you haven’t read it by now, I’m sure you weren’t intending to!)

Fantastic!
I’ve always had a thing for this guy (Wallace, not Nick Park!) but this film really is the best. It has all the right elements of a good thriller… pace, romance, surprise, suspense, creativity… etc etc!

Another of today’s films which are great for kids and adults alike (I fall into the first category, obviously).
Some great lines in this film that only adults will (or should) appreciate… but that the kids don’t notice or mind.

The only thing that bugged me was how so much of it was made ‘for’ the Americans. All that quintisential English stuff… the bobby on his beat, the vicar and church, the lady of the manor, etc. Never mind. They do love all this; I guess it’s not their fault!

I’ve been wanting to read this for a while as it has been the only of Ben’s books that I haven’t read (not including First Casualty, his latest). For quite a while I was enjoying the book, but wasn’t quite sure where it ‘was going’, as it were. It was hard to see how everything was going to ‘pull together’ plot-wise, even if all the separate bits of plot were quite interesting. Essentially, it’s about the idea that we legalise ALL drugs. Therefore, it’s full of drugs (of all sorts) and prossies and pimps and rock-stars and politicians, and the like (most of these are in most of Ben’s novels anyway, I guess!).

The separate people/themes start to pull together after a bit, which makes it move a lot faster. Very gripping, as is his usual style. Not quite sure whether he’s actually saying that he thinks such legalisation is a good or a bad thing. Perhaps he just wants us to give it some thought, which I certainly have!

This piccie of a lego house does not really link v well to this novel, but it’s only recently that hubbie showed me how to upload piccies (that we’ve taken) on to my blog. And today I’ve done it twice.. AND HE’S NOT EVEN IN THE HOUSE!! I must be improving. I need to go and lie down now… it’s hard work being a computer geek… I don’t know how hubbie’s done it for all these years!

Recently watched ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’. Top film. Been meaning to watch it for ages, and finally borrowed it off friends (which, to state the obvious, is cheaper than hiring it out!).

As it started off I thought it was another romantic ‘arty’ film trying to be different, but was same old same old. I was soon put straight on that! Great plot/themes/arty stuff/acting/effects, etc.

Do watch it if you haven’t yet. It’s worth it just to see old Jim ‘Mask’ Carey playing a normal-ish guy!

By Sue Townsend

An interesting example of a novel that in many ways isn’t that good, but has that ’something’ that makes you want to read on. Not because you need to know what happens, as in thrillers, but more because it’s just fascinating! The idea is that a new Prime Minister comes to power (do they have power?!) and de-thrones the royals. The entire royal family is sent to a naf council estate somewhere. It becomes an offence to treat them as royalty. The press aren’t allowed access to them, etc. They are made to live on benefits, and have to relinquish most of their wealth. And it’s the royal family we know and love (or not love, in some cases) even Princess Di, as this was written in 1992.
Just like with Adrian Mole, she makes lots of comment on the ’state’ of some people on low incomes/benefits: damp houses, paper-thin walls, crime, drugs, etc. But she also emphasises the closeness and friendship of those on the estate. The difficulty a lot of them had being ‘heard’ by the benefit offices, or the police, or the government, was eye-opening. I know it to be true; the hassle my sister has had trying to claim benefits recently (due to her accidents) – nightmare. The whole family KNOWS she is entitled to money that ‘those in power’ are fiddling her out of. It’s so frustrating. She can’t win. We’ve been to the offices with her, and written letters, and we can’t win either!
Anyway, the page-turning stuff is just wanting to see what the Queen will do next when she doesn’t have enough money to buy food… or what Charles is up to in a shell-suit, having grown a ponytail!
I won’t give it away, but the ending really lets the book down, imo. I can think of a couple of ways to end it that would really have improved it, but I’m sure she had her reasons!

by christopher Brookmyre

We had a book swap at school (and teachers argued over how to spell: swap – is it swap or swop? Some said the dictionary says you can spell it either way, but i’m not convinced). And anyway, I picked up this.

V pleased that I did – a great thriller! Prob depends on what type of thrillers you like, but this was just up my street. Kind of ‘ben elton ish’, tho not quite as good, really, but v close. I love all the cynical stuff – it’s me all over! The plot was fast and furious, and funny in parts. Lots of suspense and tension. If you have a thing for terrorism and bombs and the like, this is the one for you!

I think I’ll check out local library and see if they’ve got anything else of his, as they look good too, and I’m running out of ben elton novels to read…!

by Michael Crichton

Oh dear. I really had been looking forward to this one. I was quite chuffed spotting it in a charity shop, even tho it only came out in paperback last year. That said, now I know why it was there – someone found it as dull as I did, and did the right thing- gave it away!

I had heard the hype about it being all ‘anit-global warming’ so wanted to read it to find out what was being said. But I really assumed it would be a great thriller, being written by Mr Jurassic Park and all. But no. It’s not.

If you’ve ever read any of the ‘left behind’ series (Christian novels re the end times) you’ll know about writers who use fiction as a way of preaching to you, but have no shame… and slap their sermons across page after page, without even trying to make it fit the plot (or make it interesting, etc). If I tell you that Crichton (I think I’ll stick to his surname, as I am not a fan of his) is MUCH WORSE than the Left Behind writers, you’ll know just how serious things are. Page after page of it. Preach preach preach. It’s like he has strong ideas about global warming, and one day thought – hey, I could write a book about this… and a week later he sent it to the publishers, who thought – well hey, he’s written good stuff before, this MUST be good… but how wrong they were.

So, it’s not a good thriller, but did it do anything to convince me that climate change (as we should really call it) is an idea made up by those in charge? No, not really. I was interested to hear what he was saying (in the slightly less boring parts) but I can’t say I’m converted (or ‘unconverted’, if that’s a better way of putting it). I guess it did make me think that it is a fact that there are people, even clever people, out there, who think that there is no such thing as climate change. I knew this before, but still.

It made me consider this: IF it turns out that there is no such thing as climate change (which I doubt) then what difference would it make to the way I’m living – my eco green organic fair-trade simple whatsit lifestyle. After quite a bit of consideration, it turns out that the answer is: very little, if anything. So what I’m saying is, IF he turned out to be right, then it wouldn’t make me chuck it all in and start shopping at Tescos again, etc. If you’re interested in people and justice for people, worldwide, then most of what you do makes sense, climate change or no climate change. For example, food flown in from other countries contributes to climate change, but it also is more expensive than buying food grown in your own locality. Saving money is always a good thing, surely. Any money saved should be given to the poor (in an ideal world, which this isn’t). And saving engery in the home also saves money, which is also a good thing, as money saved can be re-directed to those in need.

Perhaps you’ll disagree with me, which is fine, as I haven’t perfected this theory 100%. So do tell me if you have deep forts on this!

But don’t bother to read the book – you’ll die of boredom rather than climate change!

by Conrad Gempf

I like food. A lot. Therefore, the very suggestion of food in the title of this book appeals to me. And indeed, I have not been dissappointed!

I read Conrad’s other book: Jesus asked, what he wanted to know (as he sent me both of his books, after we met at Greenbelt – what a nice man!). My review of it (here on this blog somewhere) was a bit stingy. It wasn’t that it wasn’t a well-written, quality book, coz it was… it was more that it didn’t grab ME personally, perhaps because it reminded me too much of my own theological studies (now over). But now I think about that book, I realise that I do think about Conrad’s main point quite often – that Jesus used questions most of the time, and didn’t hand out answers. He wanted people to think things through, and work it out, if they could. We have SO much to learn from that, surely.

Anyway, I digress. Looks like the other book made more of an impression on me than I thought… books do that sometimes. I think that if I can remember anything about a book several months after reading it, it must be pretty darn good! I keep meaning to do the questionning thing myself, with my friends, but I always forget, and end up waffling on about what I think about this and that (as I am now).

Anyway, I’ve digressed yet again. Right, the book in question (mealtime habits) is v good. Lots of little gems (oh dear, I’m sure Conrad won’t like them being described as ‘gems’ – don’t tell him!). Basically he gives us 40 ‘encounters’ with Jesus… and dives in head-1st, not missing a trick! Just when you think you’ve heard every angle possible on a ‘Jesus passage’, from Sunday School classes, through to youth group, through to sermons and housegroup, etc… not forgetting my theology degree (!)… someone says: yeah, but what about THIS bit…?! And he does it with style, and humour. I get v bored reading books that lack humour, so this one was not boring in any way shape or form. It made me think, it made me see Jesus in a different light.

So, a fab book – easy reading, yet thought-provoking at the same time. Thanks Conrad!

just caught the 2nd 1/2 of this eve’s episode of Priest Idol.

most fascinating! Every christian interested in church growth ought to watch! The american priest, bless ‘im… good intentions, bad methods and ‘traditions’. He had the right idea with having a pizza evening at the church, after school, for school-kids. He talked about making relationships, and he looked like he was doing quite a good job. But his main aim seemed to be to get them there on a Sunday, like that would make them christians or something!
His deliverance of his sermon was a nightmare… the comedian that came in to help did it sooooooooooo much better… the priest ought to have let him preach every sunday instead – that would have got ‘em in!
And he did the right thing by getting the school choir in to sing at the church xmas eve service… and some teenagers turned up, so what did he do? He told them to take their hats off, and asked for their word that they wouldn’t be loud during the service, and that they’d show some respect. He looked v grim and didn’t smile. He didn’t look as though he was happy to see them at all, that he’d just spent a week or so trying to get them there! Then, when the service started, another grim looking lady came up behind the teenage boys and just took their hats off, and told them off. Surprise surprise… they walked out.

I liked the priest who was shocked when he was told about the marketing company coming in to ’save’ his church. He said some great stuff about the disciples not being uni graduates, but being able to spread the word all over the world, etc! He was good.

will be interesting to see how this progresses. It will probably be useful as a: how NOT to do it, if nothing else!

shame it puts christians in such a bad light. The american seems pretty clueless as to how to get people to church. I wonder if it’s occurred to either priest that perhaps they can do work in the community and ‘engage’ with people that way, build relationships, and eventually ask them to join the church (rather than just ‘come’ to church) at a much later stage. I doubt it. It’s all ‘bums on seats’, as it is for most churches. Shame.

by Bill Bryson

sort of looked at this book in shops for a while, when in bookshops, thinking it was the kind of book I really ought to read, but would never get round to. Then spotted it at a friend’s house the other day and borrowed it.

Just finished it… it’s quite chunky, even by my standards.

Yes, he writes well and really does go into a whole lot of science and stuff… from the start of it all to the present day. It’s an odd topic to have as a v ‘wordy’ book though, with only 1 diagram and 1 chart. I feel it more lends itself to a Dorling Kindersley style book with plenty of diagrams, piccies, cross-sections, etc. Or, even better, something on the computer, so I can SEE tectonic plates moving around, and all that.

He goes into a fair amount of detail about the scientists themselves, which is a bit odd, as that doesn’t help me understand their discoveries. If I wanted to know about their lives I’d read a history book! So it’s an odd mixture of history and science (and lots of other ‘ologys’) but it sort of works.

I’m glad I’ve read it… I feel I know a whole lot more about our planet and our bodies! I did wonder if it would make me panic re God/creation etc… but in fact it just confirms, 100 times over, that their must be a supreme creator! Of course Bryson doesn’t say this, but you’d have to be pretty odd to miss it. This didn’t all happen by chance, no way.
His discussion re the Big Bang pointed towards ‘creation’ (in that they don’t know what happened in the few seconds BEFORE the Big Bang, ie, what caused it)… as does the talk of apes turning into humans… they have never really found evidence that we ‘came’ from apes, and indeed when homo-whatevers started moving out of Africa (and making tools and all that) Bryson says that these were clearly ‘humans’ and not ‘apes’. There was a clear dividing line. So that’s cool.
Another example is that the DNA of all humans, animals and plants is so v similar… we are all related… we are all ‘one’ in many ways, which makes sense to me, as we all express God in some way, who made us, I guess.

Sorry if you’re really into science and this all sounds v basic, but I’m not, and this is the level I’m understanding it all at, so bear with me!

has anyone else seen ‘Blessed’, a new sit-com on BBC1?
seeing that it was written and directed by the great Ben Elton, I just had to give it a go, which is not like me as I am no telly fan.

it’s pretty good/funny. I espec like the ‘reality’ stuff… the young couple have 2 small kids. The wife (Mel, from ‘Mel and Sue, of whom i am big fans) nearly always has her nighty on, and you can see the patches of her milk that have leaked out. Oh joy… a comedy that knows what having kids is all about, as opposed to baby Emma on Friends, for example! The hubby is ‘Dougal’ from Father Ted, who is also v cool.

don’t know if i’ll watch it all the time, i have fear of getting ‘hooked’ on anything, TV-wise.

sorry to be a bit behind (when aren’t i?) but just borrowed this DVD off my bro (who seems to breed DVDs for a pastime). Really liked it. I love things a bit different/quirky. This film sure is.

Tom Hanks ends up having to live in an airport terminal, in New York. He’s a great character, as always. You really warm to him.

I’m trying to summarise it for you by thinking of the theme/s, but I’m not sure if I can think of it/them. It’s not a romantic comedy, although there is some romance. It’s v amusing, but not a laf-a-minute or anything. I wonder if ‘determination’ might be a theme.

I do like films where I’m not 100% sure what’s going to happen, and this was one of those.
So if you’re hiring a film out one eve soon, pick this one… it’s cool.
(and not scary, so I was actually able to sleep OK after seeing it, hurrah!).