Seeking the Star / Traci Borum

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Genre: Literary Fiction/Inspirational/Christian Fiction

Approximate word count: 50-55,000 words

Availability

Kindle US: YES UK: YES Nook: YES Smashwords: NO Paper: YES

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Author:

“Traci Borum is a writing teacher and native Texan. She's also an avid reader of women's fiction, most especially Elin Hilderbrand and Rosamunde Pilcher novels. Since the age of 12, she's written poetry, short stories, magazine articles, and novels.

Traci also adores all things British. She even owns a British dog (Corgi) and is completely addicted to Masterpiece Theater--must be all those dreamy accents! Aside from having big dreams of getting a book published, it's the little things that make her the happiest: deep talks with friends, a strong cup of hot chocolate, a hearty game of fetch with her Corgi, and puffy white Texas clouds always reminding her to ‘look up, slow down, enjoy your life.’"

To learn more about her check out her website or stalk her on Facebook.

Description:

“One December night, in the sleepy Cotswold village of Chilton Crosse, a drifter named Ben collapses on George and Mary Cartwright’s snow-covered doorstep. As Christmas cheer spreads throughout the village with a Dickens-themed festival, Mary nurses Ben back to health, but she becomes curious about the secrets he seems to carry.

On Christmas Eve, one of Ben’s secrets accidentally comes to light, forcing him to confront the darkness of his past and to rediscover the faith he once knew.”

Appraisal:

Chilton Crosse is such a unique little town. If a scrooge actually ended up anywhere near this town he would be transformed in short order. Ben is not a scrooge, he is a broken man. Luckily his path ends in front of the Cartwright’s house in the middle of a snowy December night, where he collapsed from exhaustion. Mary had been working on her needlepoint when she heard a thud from outside. Waking her husband, George, from his slumber was no easy matter. Neither was bringing in the tall vagabond-looking man, who had been more or less dropped at their doorstep suffering dehydration and hypothermia.

Revisiting this picturesque village and its colorful characters was enjoyable. It’s like catching up with old friends. So was watching the hustle and bustle of the whole town getting ready for Christmas and their Dickens Festival the last week of December. Of course there is no way to hide the fact that Mary and George have a strange man staying at their house. When questioned at choir practice for the Christmas church program, Mary tells a lie! Perhaps the only lie she has ever told in her life… She says Ben is her nephew who has come for a visit.

So, who is Ben and what is he running from is the focus of this novel. To get to the bottom of his story Mary must be careful to not scare him away by prodding. She can tell by the look in his eyes that he could take off any time and that his pain is soul deep. But she feels in her heart he was brought to her for a reason and she must bide her time and be there for him when the time is right. George and Mary invite Ben to stay through the Christmas holidays as he gains back his strength. Needing something to occupy himself with Ben starts working with Ned the local handyman. In Ned, Ben finds someone he trusts and confesses he is not Mary’s nephew. Ben is a quick learner with carpentry skills as the two men build a crèche for a nativity scene to be erected in front of the local church. This is the shortest of the three stories so far, but no less inspiring. This is a wonderful Christmas story with fitting quotes from Charles Dickens at the beginning of each chapter.

FYI:

Seeking the Star is the third book in the Chilton Crosse Series. I believe this story could be read as a stand-alone. Each book so far has not relied too heavily on the other stories.

Format/Typo Issues:

Nothing to speak of.

Rating: **** Four stars

The Job: Based on a True Story (I Mean, This is Bound to Have Happened Somewhere) / Craig Davis

Reviewed by: Arthur Graham

Genre: Christian Fiction

Approximate word count: 30-35,000

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: NO  Smashwords: NO  Paper: YES

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Author:

Craig Davis was born and bred in Memphis, TN, land of Elvis and pulled pork, although neither of them ever did him any good. After earning bachelor’s and graduate degrees at the University of Missouri, he toiled for 20 years at newspapers, and has spent a lifetime in biblical scholarship. An amateur musician, he was once wrestled to the ground by a set of bagpipes. He is the father of two grown daughters and owner of one dog who refuses to grow up.

Description:

“Joe B.” is Vice President of Development of International Integration of Core Technological Orientation (Emerging Nations Division) at Universal Whirligig – that is, until a jealous coworker has him demoted to mail clerk....

Appraisal:

Davis writes with colorful description, measured pace, and a careful balance of comedy and drama, making The Job a quick, easy read that is bound to please a variety of readers. That said, some will no doubt have the same difficulty with this book as the one that originally inspired it.

About a third of the way in, it finally dawned on me that the trials and tribulations of Joe B. were a modern retelling of Job. In retrospect, this seems rather obvious (faithful servant is wrongly punished, perseveres and finds reward), so either I need to start going to church more often, or the motif is simply too common to pin on any one ancient belief system. The problem is likely a combination of the two, since A) I am not a Christian, and B) Job is not the first and only fictional character to experience a crisis of faith after hitting a stretch of bad luck (see Sumer and Babylon for earlier examples).

There are some fine bits of existential humor peppered throughout, which tend to pop up in the titular character’s questioning of his employer’s (read: God’s) master plan. Still, I could only take so many of these circular debates before I’d heard enough about this “Big Boss” and his unquestionable, mysterious ways.

As I read further, I had to wonder – is there even an analogy to be made between the supposed creator of the universe and a company’s CEO? Do the better lessons of the “Good Book” have any application to modern day capitalism? I’m certainly not an expert on the subject, but I do seem to recall something about a rich man, a needle, and a camel.... If the celestial penthouse of Universal Whirligig is meant to symbolize Heaven, and the dreary basement mailroom is meant to represent Hell (or at least Purgatory, as Joe B. thinks of it), then what is the connection implied between riches and righteousness? While I sincerely doubt that this was the author’s intent, the subtext is plain to see – Christ and capital go hand in hand.

I can think of one rabblerousing, Jewish hippy who might be inclined to disagree.

Given the gravity of the source material, I also found it difficult to sympathize as much with Joe B. After all, he is not half as beset with afflictions as the biblical Job. Sure, he may suffer metaphorical boils, and he certainly takes a pay cut in his fall from grace, but good health and a living wage are still more than many Americans can boast these days. Even after his demotion, he gets to keep his insurance and retirement benefits. Boo hoo, right?

To be fair, The Job does succeed in what it sets out to accomplish – a clever, well-written remake of an old story. Ultimately, though, it comes off as one very tenuous, very tedious parable. For all its philosophizing, the moral of the story is deceptively simple: The boss is always right, so you don’t question the boss. Coming from a religion based upon obedience to patriarchy, this shouldn’t be particularly surprising. Then again, as a 21^st century writer, the least Davis could’ve done was finally give “Job’s wife” a name.

Format/Typo Issues:

A handful of typos and formatting errors.

Rating: *** Three stars

Between the Savior and the Sea / Bob Rice

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Christian Fiction

Approximate word count: 110-115,000 words

Availability
Kindle US: YES UK: YES Nook: YES Smashwords: NO Paper: YES
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Author:

A popular speaker and blogger, Bob Rice teaches on a variety of religious subjects at Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, where he lives with his wife and six kids. For more, visit the author’s website.

Description:

A retelling of the life of Jesus, based on The Bible, through the eyes of Jesus’ apostle, Simon (later known as Peter).

Appraisal:

In the email submitting this book for review, the author mentioned that we didn’t have any Christian Fiction at that time and made the following point:

My hope is that the book stands on its own no matter what faith background you have. A good story is a good story.

I think this is called an act of faith.

In light of this, it seems fair that I give a disclaimer before my review. Although raised in an extremely religious environment, as an adult I developed issues with all organized religion. If forced to claim membership in any religious organization, it would be the pseudo-religious Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Although I’m the first to concede that religions are a positive force in providing people with a moral and ethical framework in which to live their lives, there are other ways to do that. In my observation, religion also has a downside that frequently includes war and hatemongering. However, I also believe everyone has the right to practice their religious beliefs, as long as doing so doesn’t negatively impact anyone else. I also have a tremendous amount of respect for those who follow their beliefs, insofar as they are positive.

I’ll start with the obvious. If I was able to separate this story from its origins, the genre would be something different, maybe supernatural or paranormal. But making that separation isn’t realistic for me. I doubt it is for many people. The tale, at a high level, is set in stone. Most people will know much of the story, including how it ends. (Jesus dies, for those who don’t know.)

However, Rice’s purpose appears to be two-fold. First, telling the story from a new perspective, that of Peter. Looking at anything from a different point of view can provide new insights. Second, to make the story more accessible without oversimplifying like some of the bible storybooks for children tend to do. I thought he succeeded with both of these. The language is modernized, making it much easier to read. I did laugh when one character told another that “I’ve got your back,” but mostly the language was easy to read, modern, without being slang filled. By arranging the story chronologically, it is much easier to follow.

I’m sure there are spots some biblical scholars would nitpick. I don’t know where those would be, but I have faith that they are there. It would depend on the scholar. Rice freely admits in the afterword that in a few instances he played fast and loose with chronology. He sometimes fills in gaps for a more complete story and in many cases different biblical accounts of the same incident are contradictory. Also, biblical scholars and different Christian denominations can’t agree on all the specifics. However, the big picture, I think Rice got. For believers or the curious who find reading the bible hard going, Between the Savior and the Sea is an excellent compromise. For those who have read The Bible, the new viewpoint and easier reading might be something you’d be interested in reading. For non-believers, decide for yourself. After all, some say this is The Greatest Story Ever Told. For those who haven’t read it yet, sorry about the spoiler.

Format/Typo Issues:

Contained a moderate number of typos and other proofing errors.

Rating: **** Four stars