Category Archives: Christian World-View

Review: A Shadow on the Land by Krystine Kercher

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A Shadow on the Land
Kristine Kercher
Scorched Suit Press
Published January 6, 2013

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Bjorn Horsa and a group of his loyal men are being housed in the castle under King Olaf. To fulfill the ancient prophecy and spare the people of ruin, Bjorn must not seize the crown which is rightfully his. Instead, he must show the stubborn king that the only way to spare the land is to peacefully turn over his rule to Bjorn, Eiathan’s Heir.

As one disaster follows another, the people of Astarkand grow desperate. Bjorn continues to seek the Dreamsender, believing the prophecy will come to pass only if he chooses a path of nonviolence. Struggling to stay one step ahead of the king and his plots, Bjorn and his men travel the countryside helping those beneath Olaf’s notice. The king’s army frays and the people continue to suffer, but Olaf’s vise-grip on his kingdom never wavers. Bjorn clings to his faith desperately, longing to save the people and lead them into peace and prosperity once more.

Known to the people as Prince Dragonsbane, Bjorn Horsa is everything a good prince ought to be. He is kind and courteous, yet strong and courageous. His men follow him loyally but take care to check any foolish judgment that their leader might make. While Kercher shows a remarkable knack for filling each scene with fine detail and firmly anchoring the story in a fantastic, medieval-type of setting, sometimes the details overrun the plot. In the king’s absence, his son obsesses over the schedule for guard duty. Bjorn and his men provide supplies to help outcast widows and orphans escape to new lives. They discuss how many wagons, wheels of cheese, and bags of flour might be needed, details which add a certain amount of richness but slow the forward motion of the story to a crawl. Despite this, fans of medieval settings will enjoy the attentive details and will find it difficult not to like the good prince.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
The prince and his men worship the Dreamsender, another name for the Christian God. Scripture references are laced throughout the story. King Olaf and his followers worship a dark god called Woden who demands human sacrifices. Few details are given about these rituals.

Violence
There are some scenes of battle violence, but no graphic details are given about any of these encounters.

Drug Content
References to wine and beer.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

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Review: Starflower by Anne Elisabeth Stengl

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Starflower (Tales of Goldstone Wood #4)
Anne Elisabeth Stengl
Bethany House
Published November 1, 2012

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The entire court of immortal faeries is distraught when beloved and beautiful Lady Gleamdren is kidnapped by a fearsome dragon-witch. Two of her most devoted admirers race to her rescue, and the Bard Eanrin is determined to be first to reach his ladylove. On his journey he encounters a human girl locked in a spell of sleep and finds he cannot simply leave the unlucky mortal to her fate.

Eanrin wakes Starflower from her sleep, intent upon sending her on her way, but the maiden knows little of the treacherous Wood. As she accompanies Eanrin on his quest, a deep connection emerges between the girl and the dragonwitch. It may be Starflower alone who can rescue Gleamdren and battle an ancient dark power.

Fans of the Tales of Goldstone Wood will recognize Eanrin as the wise and mischievous cat who often kept company with the Princess Una in Heartless, the first novel in the series. Starflower predates Heartless and tells the tale of a much younger and more, often humorously, self-centered Eanrin and adding still more depth and breadth to the already rich and lustrous story world Stengl has created.

Starflower is a tale of love, not strictly romantic love, but of the journey toward choosing to put others first, to risk losing total autonomy, and to show love to others even when they are not outwardly deserving of it. It is the fourth book in the Tales of Goldstone Wood series and was just named a finalist for the 2013 Christy Award. The fifth book, Dragonwitch, will be released in the summer of 2013.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Sexual Content
A kiss.

Spiritual Content
Starflower’s people are under a curse and cannot speak. To remove the curse, she has to learn to love her enemies. Over and over through the story, characters are challenged to love others at expense to their own desires or safety.

Violence
References to a dog being beaten by its owner. A girl is surrounded by young men who mean her harm (she is not injured). Two dogs fight. References to human sacrifices. A man is killed saving his daughter. These scenes are short and do not contain a high level of detail.

Drug Content
None.

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Review: Beyond Corista by Robert Elmer

Book Review and Content, Christian World-View, Clean Fiction, Sci-Fi, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

Beyond Corista
Robert Elmer
Zondervan
Published May 1, 2009

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After a narrow escape from an intense battle on her home planet Corista, Oriannon and her friends head toward a way station, guided by the mysterious pilot stone. Oriannon’s mentor, Jesmet, appears to her and instructs her to take word to each way station, warning the people of an impending attack by the merciless Troikans. Oriannon wants to obey, but there are two problems:  she is saddled with the presence of their enemy, Sola Minnik, blinded in the attack on Corista, and no one seems to believe her visions of Jesmet and his message about the doom to come. Is Oriannon wrong? Are her experiences with Jesmet mere hallucinations? Can she lead her friends in her holy quest or will she have to face this task alone?

Beyond Corista is the third book in the Shadowside Trilogy. The story follows Oriannon, a young girl with a special gift to remember anything she reads, and a love for the Owling people– a humble group who dwell on the dark side of her home planet, Corista. In the footsteps of her father’s leadership, she struggles to make choices that protect the innocent, even in the face of great evil.

I liked this book better than the first book in the series, The Owling. Oriannon remains a sympathetic character, and the story world continues to be interesting. I like that it has kind of a Jesus thing going on with the Jesmet character. Sometimes it felt a little bit like a Star Wars derivative to me, which could be good or bad, depending on your feelings. I wanted some more original spark. But over all, I did enjoy reading the book and would recommend it to fans of light sci-fi.

Profanity/ Crude Language Content
None.

Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Oriannon learns that trusting God and following His instructions is not always easy. Nor does it always look like she expects.

Violence
There are some battle and capture sequences, but those are not graphic or explicit in nature.

Drug Content
None.

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Review: Me, Just Different by Stephanie Morrill

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Me, Just Different
Stephanie Morrill
Revell
Published July 1, 2009

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About Me, Just Different

Senior year should be everything beautiful Skylar Hoyt can hope for. She has popular friends, a hot boyfriend. But a terrible experience gives her a late summer wake-up call, and for Skylar, it’s time to make some changes. No to parties, and yes to youth group top her list.

Until her family begins crumbling beneath her. Her parents seem to be moving opposite directions, with Skylar and her sister caught in the middle. Then Skylar discovers her sister’s secret. Should she tell? Can her parents’ fragile marriage handle a blow like this one?

With Skylar’s best friend acting weird and her boyfriend’s jealousy skyrocketing, she doesn’t have many places to turn for support. She finds herself lonely, troubled and in need of a real friend. Where can she find one of those?

My Review

ME, JUST DIFFERENT is the first book in the series The Reinvention of Skylar Hoyt and author Stephanie Morrill’s debut novel. Morrill authentically tackles the drama of high school and a troubled home life, balanced with questions of faith. This is a clean, real look at surviving high school and the challenges a new Christian teen faces.

Morrill has this amazing sense of dialogue and always manages to write these quick one-line descriptions of things that leave me saying things like, “I know, right?” This book made me laugh but it also pulled my heartstrings. I loved Skylar and her sister and needed them to come through the difficult parts okay. This is a great pick for fans of Sarah Dessen or Sara Zarr. Definitely check this one out.

Content Notes

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Sexual Content
Mild. Some kissing. References to other behavior that has occurred, but nothing explicit.

Spiritual Content
Skylar begins to attend church and youth group again as she tries to reforge her faith.

Violence
None.

Drug Content
Some references to alcohol.

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Review: By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson

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By Darkness Hid
Jill Williamson
Marcher Lord Press
Published April 1, 2009

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About By Darkness Hid

Achan has known nothing but the life of a stray, lower even than that of a slave. When a mysterious knight, rumored to have once been a stray himself, makes an offer to Achan to train him as his squire, despite laws that should prevent it, Achan finds himself trapped between two lives. In this midst of this, a strange gift seems to wake inside him. But isn’t bloodvoicing just a myth?

When an evil prince seeks her hand in marriage, Vrell hides behind the orange tunic of a stray and masquerades as a boy to conceal her identity. At the same time, her own newly discovered gift brings her to the attention of those in power despite her disguise. As they seek to exploit her gift, they draw dangerously close to uncovering her secret. As the prince’s coronation approaches, Achan and Vrell’s troubles only increase. Will Achan’s gift uncover his true identity? Can Vrell quell her gift to protect hers?

My Review

BY DARKNESS HID, the first novel in Jill Williamson’s Blood of Kings trilogy, is fast-paced, intriguing, and full of clever characters. I loved both Achan and Vrell (though their names are a little tough to say) and the story world contains some really different elements. I’m always a sucker for political intrigue, and By Darkness Hid had a little bit of that happening, too, which kept me guessing. This is one of those books you need to own two copies of: one for yourself and one to lend out to others. Great summer read!

Content Notes for By Darkness Hid

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Er’Rets is a kingdom half in darknes. The people worship many gods, but some believe there is one god, Arman, the creator, above all others.

Violence
Some battle scenes, but gore is minimal.

Drug Content
None.

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Review: In Between by Jenny B. Jones

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In Between
Jenny B. Jones
Sweet Pea Productions
Published March 25, 2014 (Originally published 2007)

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Sixteen year old Katie Parker is not too excited when she discovers she’s moving to a new foster home in In Between, Texas, home of the Chihuahuas. And to top that off, her new “dad” is the pastor of one of the local churches. Not exactly consistent with Katie’s formerly religion-less life. At her new school, she finds herself at home with the other outsiders. At least, so she thinks. When one late night stunt turns to trouble, Katie finds herself sentenced to time with her new nonGrandmother– Mad Maxine. Could things get any worse? And does the God thing really work?

Jenny B Jones tells Katie’s story with just the right mix of tenderness, humor, and sarcasm. It was an entertaining read, one I didn’t want to put down from the minute I read the first page. Katie is lovable and endearing– and even Mad Maxine really gets to your heart. She’s a trip.

There are three books in the Katie Parker Production series. So Not Happening, the first book in a new series by Jenny B. Jones, will be released in May 2009. Can’t wait to check it out!

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Katie wrestles with finding her a place in her new family– and her new faith. The God thing is a unfamiliar and a little uncomfortable at first. Katie wrestles with doubts and a tenuous new hope. Her view as an outsider coming into a pastor’s family and her questions about faith seemed really authentic.

Violent Content
One scene of vandalism pretty early on in the story. Pretty mild.

Drug Content
None.

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