Affecting Culture through Stories

How important are stories? Next to actual Bible study, I suggest they are the most powerful teaching tools available.

Way back when—more than fifteen years ago, I believe—I read a book by Gary Smalley (which, it turns out, was re-released last year) entitled The Language of Love. In that book, Smalley suggested a communication technique that would especially help women reach men, not with abstract information but at the heart level. The technique, in essence is, tell a story.

After reading that book, I began to see ways in which our culture was shaped by the stories we embraced. Changes in attitudes often follow the gradual changes in depicting a subject in the media. (The typical pattern is first to make a joke about the subject until joking about it is normative; then joking changes to acceptance—open discussion; acknowledgment, especially of the rights an individual has in connection to the subject—which morphs to an attitude of “everyone does it” or “they’re just like us.” This pattern is evident in things such as the attitudes toward pornography and homosexuality).

I was reminded of this by two unrelated sources today. One, a letter from a US-based ministry, quoted statistics published in the AARP magazine (that’s for seniors), including questions like, do you believe in God, in heaven, in hell. The startling thing for me was this line: There was a sizeable number of individuals who believed in a second time around. 23% believed in reincarnation (50 years ago the % would have been 1.)

Now for the second source. In a blog post including information from an interview about his soon-to-be-released non-fiction book, Rethinking Worldview Mark Bertrand said this: After all, the average Christian has been much more profoundly influenced by non-Christian art and entertainment than he has by non-Christian evangelism and apologetics.

That line made total sense as I thought about the 22% of our population who have converted to belief in reincarnation, without people standing on the street corners handing out tracts about it. Or holding reincarnation tent meetings.

Mind you, I am not against these kinds of evangelism in the hands of Christians. The point is, persuasion often comes in more subtle ways—through pop culture, through art, through literature.

I’ve ranted before about the “innocent” little Disney movie that so many Christians embraced, The Lion King, in which many New Age teachings were front and center. Shortly thereafter (at least here in SoCal), makeshift shrines began to appear on the street when someone died, followed with claims that “I know my deceased ____” is watching over me/helping me/looking down on me. I’ve heard such anti-biblical comments from people who claim to be Christians. And maybe are.

The point is, the culture, and story in particular, has had a greater influence on forming belief about death and the afterlife than has the Bible and preaching about the subject. Well, to be fair, maybe not a greater influence. After all, the reincarnation number is still not the majority.

Sadly, however, only 29% believed they would go to Heaven because of a belief in Jesus Christ, though 88% said they believed THEY would go to heaven. Clearly, our culture is an eclectic hodge-podge of false teaching with truth mixed in.

And how can we sort through the sludge to show the gospel? Next to Bible study and good expository Bible teaching in church, I tend to think stories can be the most effective tools.

Responding to the Request

In her (double) post, ( ), Sally Apokedak requested a scene from Book Two of The Lore of Efrathah, Journey to Mithlimar. Sally, as you may know, is my crit partner. As such, she is one of the few people who has read both books 1 and 2.

This scene fits into yesterday’s discussion because I was ranting about a need to show God realistically. Which means, He shouldn’t come across as simple or as an invisible Santa Claus. But how to do this?

I believe fantasy is a much easier vehicle for depicting God because a writer can use types and symbols more effectively. Well, as I was typing that last line, I thought of Moby Dick, and Melville used a symbol for God even though his story was set in this world, so it is possible in other genres, certainly. Fantasy readers may be more prone to look for symbols, though. I don’t know.

But here’s the thing about the scene Sally requested: it introduces a type of Christ, but no one would probably know that, not unless you’re reading this post. I thought at first I would not want to post that scene because I want this revelation of this character as a type of Christ to be a surprise. But then I thought, seriously, how many people who read this will even remember it if and when the book is published? So, why not.

Here’s the introduction of Paloh, a hermit our protagonist, Jim, and his Efrathite friends have been told they need to wait for.

Content with his thoughts, he [Jim] almost ignored the slight movement from the other side of the creek. So far, guard duty had been as uneventful as he could wish, but he was only too aware that one lapse might cost his team dearly. It was his job to investigate any disturbance, so he needed to take a closer look. Scrunching his brows together, he stepped toward the water. Probably one of those skittery little fur-balls, the critters that had the bushy squirrel-like tail and the stubby chipmunk legs.

Again something moved. Jim edged behind a leafy bush covered in bluish-purple flowers and stared at a jumbled pile of logs propped against the hillside. The movement came from some place near that woodpile.

As he watched, one of the logs shifted. Jim fumbled for his sword. The log stirred again, then teetered back and forth. Suddenly, it shot outward, landing with a thud against the moist dirt on the bank of the creek.

Jim staggered backward. After days of enjoying the calm in the forest, he’d gotten careless. Was an olive-skinned Kadahak warrior lurking behind the loose timber? Or a nest of Vikal? Jim was the sentry. It was his job to alert the camp to danger, but he needed to see what they were up against first.

He slid deeper into the brush and peered between branches at the clump of wood. Slowly a single hand, gray and frail, emerged from the opening in the log pile. The hand groped the air until the fingers touched the end of another log and clamped on. An arm followed, then a shoulder, and at last a head, covered with matted gray hair and a matching beard.

The scruffy man blinked his wide eyes in maddening repetition and turned his head from left to right as if sweeping the scene in search of something. At last he paused, then slowly retreated. Before his head dipped out of sight, he tilted it toward Jim’s hiding place. His eyelids flickered with maddening speed. “Well, stare if you will,” he said in a shrill voice, “but come help an old man to his feet, at least.”

Jim edged away from his cover. Who was this scruffy guy? How had he gotten himself trapped in that woodpile? And how had he escaped detection earlier?

The old man waved a feeble arm, much like someone drowning. The answers to Jim’s questions would have to wait. Right now the old guy needed help.

He bounded down the path to the creek, hurdled it, and climbed the sloping hillside. As he drew nearer, he studied the heap of logs. Far from being some accidental collection of timber, this pile was a meticulous structure, an intricate lean-to intentionally situated to disguise it. He slowed. The old man was not pinned under some forest avalanche at all.

Creeping next to the pile, he peered into the opening. The old man knelt on a rough pallet nestled under an overlay of intertwined branches.

He reached up toward Jim. “Your hand, then. Give me your hand.” His shrill voice barked out the command, and his matted beard bobbed up and down in time to the beat of his words.

In reflex, Jim extended his hand. The old man grabbed hold with his thin, claw-like fingers, his surprising grip mashing Jim’s knuckles together. Startled, Jim staggered back. Maintaining his grasp, the old man used Jim as leverage and yanked himself up.

“Thanks to you,” he cackled with a toothless grin. “Now then, Sword Bearer, help an old hermit out.”

(from Journey to Mithlimar, Chapter V—The Forest of Qiz)

So What Really Matters?

Sometimes I get so irate about the focus of certain CBA critics, including insiders, not because there isn’t something to criticize, but because the criticism, in my view, misses what is really important. I read one this morning essentially taking the industry to task because of its stand regarding alcohol. At least that was a different slant. The usual target is the “no cursing” restriction. The implication in the post was that these restrictions lessen the quality of art.

I doubt seriously whether secular reviewers consider CBA books as less than best because of these “restrictions.”

In high school and as a literature major in college, I read dozens of classics, and as I recall, few, very few used cursing. Probably more included drinking, but I don’t remember which did or didn’t. It was a non-issue. The story or characters didn’t revolve around these superficial elements. Yes, superficial. Good writers will find a way to characterize and dramatize within whatever guidelines, or restrictions, they’ve been handed.

I read just recently in the local newspaper’s weekend section about how screenwriters in the ’40s and ’50s had to be much more creative when the studio system in Hollywood kept explicit sex out of movies. How ironic, I thought, that secular writers have discovered the strength of art written under restrictions, at the same time Christian writers are claiming restrictions stifle their creativity.

To be honest, this is the line that was the last straw: We may well continue to see the standard in Christian publishing shifting from “clean” to “true.” Where do I start.

There’s the idea that “clean” isn’t true, as if there aren’t Christians (or Mormons or even Muslims) who live their lives without drinking or cursing.

Then there’s the idea that “true” is the highest value, which would be right if we’re talking about Truth. We’re not. This “true” means “what actually exists in the world.” So why should we stop by showing people drinking? Why not populate our novels with atheists and kiddie-porn peddlers? In our society those things and much, much more are “true.” If being “true” is required to create art, where do you stop disgorging the profane and vulgar of our society? And who’s to decide if your art or mine has enough that is “true”?

But ultimately, here’s my problem. Why don’t people who want Christian fiction to be “true” cry just as loudly about the false or ambiguous or erroneous depictions of God? Why is it we get so worked up about needing to show man in his reality, but we seem to turn a blind eye at showing God as Someone weak or uncaring, Someone to take for granted or use?

If we as Christian writers really believe art must be true, why not spend a bit more time discussing how we portray God rather than whining about whether we can or can’t have a character drinking alcohol, whether in excess or in moderation.

And by the way, the last two CSFF Blog Tour selections Legend of the Firefish and The Return included considerable drinking. Was that a problem? I don’t remember anyone on either tour mentioning it one way or the other!

I suppose in all fairness, I should give you the link to the blogger’s post. You may well have a different take on the topic once you read the whole article. Which is fine. I freely admit, this just hit one of my hot buttons—Christian writers complaining about the non-essentials while overlooking the vital.

If you care to, you can find the article here

Fantasy Challenge II

It’s official. Donita Paul did, in fact, win the ACFW Book of the Year first place award in the General Fiction category for DragonKnight. As in the Christy Awards, there evidently were not enough books entered in the SFF category to have it stand alone. Interestingly, Susan Page Davis won third place for Feather a juvenile fantasy that would probably have been placed in the YA category if there had been enough of those entrants. Congratulations to both authors.

Speaking of contests, all the Harvest House Talk Like a Pirate winning “essays” have been posted at Cap’s Pub. I can’t help mentioning that the entry posted on the twentieth was written by a former member of my critique group. She is a talented, talented humor writer, and if she can keep writing, I’m confident you’ll hear lots more about her.

Now, to the real subject for today’s post: Fantasy Challenge II.

This is a two-month-long contest designed to encourage you all to talk up Christian fantasy at your local book stores. If Christian fantasy is to succeed, people must buy the books. For people to buy the books, they need to be on book store shelves.

Of course, I do know that many of you buy your books at Amazon or Christianbooks.com or the like. You are the computer savvy folks. But I recently read that something like 30 percent of books are being sold on line. So the bulk of sales still come from book stores. And I can guarantee you, unless a person has a specific title in mind when they go into the store, they will buy what’s before them, often never knowing something else they might enjoy more even exists.

So here’s the challenge.

Go to a local book store, Christian or ABA, chain or independent, and do one of three things:

1. Buy a book. This is especially a good thing to do, and since Christmas is just behind this two-month challenge, you might start thinking who you know that would enjoy a Christian fantasy.

2. Talk to a clerk or manager about a specific Christian fantasy title, either asking if they’ve heard of it or why they don’t stock it, or commending them for having it on their shelves. You might even put in a plug, saying you hope they carry many more titles like it.

3. This one has several parts. Click over to Latest In Spec (or when the call for news goes out, email the information to me) and leave information on your Favorite Book Store—name and address. When the issue with your book store releases, print out the entire copy and take it to the book store to give to your store manager. It really does work.

Here’s a list of suggested titles (sorry, sci fi’ers. This really is a fantasy challenge).

By Sharon Hinck

The Restorer
*The Restorer’s Son

By Wayne Thomas Batson

The Door Within
The Rise of the Wyrm Lord
The Final Storm
*Isle of Swords

By Kathryn Mackel

Outriders
Trackers
*Vanished

By George Bryan Polivka

Legend of the Firefish
The Hand That Bears the Sword
*The Battle for Vast Dominion

By Donita Paul

DragonSpell
DragonQuest
+DragonKnight
*DragonFire

By Karen Handcock

Light of Eidon
Shadow Within
Shadow of Kiriath
*Return of the Guardian-King

By R. K. Mortenson

Landon Snow and the Auctor’s Riddle
Landon Snow and the Shadows of Malus Quidam
Landon Snow and the Island of Arcanum
Landon Snow and the Volcer Dragon
*Landon Snow and the Auctor’s Kingdom

By Bryan Davis

Dragons in Our Midst
The Candlestone
Circles of Seven
Tears of a Dragon

By Jeffrey Overstreet

*Auralia’s Colors

By Gregory Spenser

*Guardian of the Veil

By Christopher Hooper

Rise of the Dibor: The White Lion Chronicles
*The Lion Vrie: Book II of The White Lion Chronicles

By Stephen Lawhead

The Paradise War: Book One in The Song of Albion
The Silver Hand: Book Two in The Song of Albion Trilogy
Hood (The King Raven Trilogy, Book 1)
*Scarlet (The King Raven Trilogy, Book 2)

By Jonathan Rogers

Bark of the Bog Owl
The Secret of the Swamp King
*The Way of the Wilderking

By Robin Parrish

Relentless
*Fearless

This list, of course, is not exhaustive, and you can see I’ve mixed in adult, YA, and juvenile into one list, in no special order.

+ACFW Genesis Award Winner
*Latest release

Here’s how you become eligible for one of the various prizes several of our authors are donating. After you visit your book store, come back here to A Christian Worldview of Fiction and leave a comment with this information.

1. Who you talked to (clerk, manager)
2. When you visited the store.
3. What book you purchased, ordered, discussed. Or which issue of LIS you gave them.
4. What response you got.

That’s it.

You may enter as many times as you wish. The more the merrier, I always say!

Have fun.

Fall Into Reading

I’ve spent more time this weekend scouring the web to find out who won the ACFW Genesis and Book of the Year contests—the first because I have friends who finaled and the last because I was a judge.

So far, only partial results have been posted—ANYWHERE. It’s curious.

Since I’m a fantasy writer I will happily share results I found that include writers in my genre.

GENESIS

Sci Fi/Fantasy
First Place – Sally Apokedak
Second Place – Chris Mikesell
Third Place – Rebecca Grabill

YA
Third Place – Sally Apokedak

BOOK OF THE YEAR
General Fiction
First Place - Donita Paul (I’m pretty sure, but not a hundred precent)

Congratulations to all, y’all!

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I was planning on introducing Fantasy Challenge II today, but there is a more pressing something I need to draw to your attention.

As you might realize, Sunday marked the beginning of autumn, better known as fall.

This fall’s events include Fall into Reading hosted by Katrina over at Calapidder Days. If you want to jump in and be eligible for the $10.00 Amazon gift certificate drawing, you’ll need to post no later than Wednesday.

Post what? you say. Why, your list of books you hope to read this fall.

So here are mine, in no particular order:

Auralia’s Colors by Jeffrey Overstreet (WaterBrook). This is a fantasy I’m reading to see if we may wish to feature it on the CSFF Blog Tour. So far the reviews I’ve seen make it look like a viable candidate.

Scarlet by Stephen Lawhead. This is the November CSFF selection. I probably should read Hood first and will try if I get time.

Crimson Eve by Brandilyn Collins (Zondervan). I’m reading this one for the CFBA tour, but I also respect Brandilyn as a writer and want to learn from her.

The Dun Cow by Walter Wangerin. I started this a looong time ago and got stalled. It’s a good book, so I do want to finish.

Then on my wish list—these are the books I want to read just because I think they’ll be fun to read. There are many, many more I would love to read. Practically though, it looks like fall will be tied up with editing and writing, so this is a short list:

DragonFire by Donita Paul (WaterBrook). The bookstore called me Saturday to let me know the copy I ordered is in. I hope to pick it up today.

Landon Snow and the Volucer Dragon by R. K. Mortenson (Barbour). Still some of the best covers for juvenile fiction.

Restorer’s Journey by Sharon Hinck (NavPress). This depends on whether or not I can get my hands on an ARC. I hope so because I can hardly wait to read the third book.

Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince by J. K. Rowling.

Your turn. Make your list, then link to Fall into Reading and let’s get it on!

Latest In Spec Classifieds

It works!

I mentioned recently I made a stop at my local Christian bookstore. One thing I didn’t tell you was that I went in armed. My weapon of choice was a copy of Latest In Spec which I’d printed out. This wasn’t any old copy, mind you. This was the copy in which this particular bookstore was named.

For those of you who are scratching your heads, wondering what in the world Latest In Spec Classifieds is, you can read the earlier short posts describing it here and here.

One section in this newsletter/classifieds (the latter term is really more accurate)—a relatively new section—is “Favorite Bookstores.” I turned in three or so in my area that I frequent from time to time.

On this latest visit to the nearest store, before I even bought anything, I went to the counter and asked for the manager. “Moi,” the woman said (though I put it in French just to make the story sound more interesting—hey, I’m a fiction writer! )

I told her what LIS is and turned to page two, pointing to her store name under Favorite Bookstores. Her eyes lit up at once and she picked up the paper to look more closely. That’s when I told her she could keep that copy.

And in that copy? New speculative book releases, lists of reviews, author appearances, AND how to subscribe to LIS. Lots more, too. Now she has that paper in her hands, to look over, to pass along, to subscribe. Has she? I don’t know.

What I DO know is, because that manager saw her store listed in the publication, she took a copy of LIS Classifieds. And because it is in her hands, the likelihood of her reading the other content is greater.

I mention this because next week I’ll be introducing Fantasy Challenge II, and one of the easiest ways of connecting with a store manager is to give them something, especially if it includes a listing of their store.

Definitely Fantasy Challenge II will include things like turning in favorite bookstores to LIS and taking a copy of the issue to the manager of said store. I know first hand now, not just in theory, that this little marketing ploy works!

The Wow Factor

Commercial: Beth Goddard has a wonderful interview with Kathryn Mackel, author of the Birthright Project, and now of Vanished. If you drop by and leave a comment, you’ll be eligible to win a copy of the new novel. (Why am I telling the rest of you this??? )

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This post is for me, but if you care to, you can listen in.

One of my favorite blogs to read is From Where I Sit by Michael Hyatt, President and CEO of Thomas Nelson. He doesn’t write every day, which is why I subscribed to his blog on Bloglines. I don’t want to miss any of his posts.

Not that they are all relevant to me. He’s had three or four posts about the iPhone. As fun and innovative as that little gadget might be, it is not something I can afford, so I tend to tune out talk about it. Except on Hyatt’s blog.

Maybe because he makes it personal or maybe because he is a good writer, these posts are still interesting. But the real reason I read the blog is because I want insights into the publishing business.

In a recent post, Hyatt discussed learning how to conduct the book business from the retail model, specifically from Apple.

He had visited a mall where the only busy store was Apple. He stopped in and was impressed with the service—the knowledge and enthusiasm of the clerks, the quick check-out, the friendliness and relaxed atmosphere. His first thoughts concerned what bookstores could be doing, but he took this analogy of computers and books one step further.

People would never have enjoyed the service in the store if they hadn’t come for the product. What, then, he asked, would be the book equivalent?

So what would it take to create books that have the “wow factor” that Apple products have? I’m not sure. Certainly, we can improve the content. But we also need to improve the presentation and delivery.

Here’s where I jumped into the discussion that followed. Content, content, content! How often has the point been made here at A Christian Worldview of Fiction—Story is King.

Without a doubt, good packaging and diligent marketing and celebrity authors will hook a potential reader, but as long as books sell most due to word of mouth, no book will have the “Wow factor” unless the story is captivating.

Even typing that causes me to shiver because it puts the onus squarely on the shoulders of the author. First, foremost, always, we need great stories. Unpredictable plots with lots of tension and suspense and conflict revolving around characters we care about placed in a setting that seems tangible. And all of it showcasing our worldview.

Great stories. Wow stories.

If Christian writers deliver the content, then the publisher can deal with presentation.

Before God and with His strength, this is the challenge I want to take up.

CSFF Blog Tour – The Return, Day 3 (And a Little More)

Well, once again I have some announcements to make before we get to our content. Thing is, that’s ANNOUNCEMENTS.

First, as you know, Merrie Destefano has been running an interview with me over at her blog, Alien Dream. Today she kindly included an excerpt from one of my novels. Now if you’ve explored here at A Christian Worldview of Fiction, you may have stumbled upon the first chapter of Return to Efrathah, book one of The Lore of Efrathah. Then too, you may have read the opening scene of book two Journey to Mithlimar which Nicole posted over at Into the Fire as part of her “Saturday Sample” some weeks ago.

So, when Merrie asked for an excerpt, I thought, do I give something that’s a repeat? Do I give the opening of book three, Battle for Revín (which, in my opinion would give too much away)? Or do I offer something outside The Big Project.

I opted for the latter, so if you stop by Alien Dream, you can read the opening of The Only, a 2006 Genesis contest finalist entry.

Speaking of contests, we’re on to the other announcements. The winning entries of the Harvest House Talk Like a Pirate contest (and I think today might actually be The Day, the National Talk Like a Pirate Day) are being posted over at George Bryan Polivka’s blog, the very cool Cap’s Pub.

And that reminds me, Bryan has his Web site up. WOW! This one is very kewl—a worthy fantasy site, to be sure. I suggest you take a peek at Nearing Vast. (This actually reminds me of some of the ideas I have for my some-day Web site. )

One more announcement, and this another contest. Wayne Thomas Batson, in offering books for my next Fantasy Challenge, thought up an idea for his own contest, and he doesn’t mess around. This one is a good one! And the sooner you start, the more you can win. You have to read it yourself to get all the details. I suggest copying off the Treasure Tasks Key (you’ll understand when you stop by Enter the Door Within) and keeping it handy so you don’t miss an opportunity.

And now, at long last, back to The Tour. I am of course referring to Austin Boyd’s The Return.

Here’s where I have to come clean. I am not finished reading The Return. I have something like 150 pages yet to go. At first I thought I would offer a partial review, but then realized there was a better option. The Christian Fiction Blog Alliance, of which I am a member, is featuring The Return October 10-12, so I can post my complete review then.

Anyway, I still have more to say about the Mars Hill Classified series, so the final review will have to wait.

As I was stopping by a number of other blog tour participants’ sites and reading their comments, I realized I have said very little about the Christian part of these books. The thing is, they are VERY Christian in a completely natural way, so the Christianity doesn’t stand out as a thing separate from the story. It fits into the story because the protagonist is a Christian. His wife is a Christian.

These Christian characters then do what Christians do—they struggle, pray, trust, fear, obey, grieve, depend, love, sacrifice, hope, stumble, believe, endure, share. In other words, their Christianity is a part of them and therefore it comes out in the way they deal with life, just like the need for air makes one breathe.

The world that astronaut John (Hawk) Wells lives in, whether it is Mars, the Space Station, Earth, the Epsilon space ship, is not a “Christian” world. Most of the people he relates to are not believers. Occasionally he’s chided for his faith, and he’s “accused” of being “such a Boy Scout” as if this is a bad thing. At one point, he’s even left off the final selection for the Mars mission primarily because of his beliefs.

Hawk takes the negative in stride and doesn’t back down from what he believes. He even finds ways to tell those who want to listen more about his faith. And when he can’t—when it is too late for some he cares about—he grieves and feels remorse.

In other words, I believe Austin has written these characters in a thoroughly believable way, which translates into him writing about Christianity in a thoroughly believable way. It is definitely one of the strengths of the novels.

I’ve kept you long enough. Explore (notice the space theme there ) what others are saying about The Return.

Trish Anderson Brandon Barr Jim Black Justin Boyer Grace Bridges Amy Browning Jackie Castle Valerie Comer Karri Compton Lisa Cromwell CSFF Blog Tour Gene Curtis D. G. D. Davidson Janey DeMeo Merrie Destefano or Alien Dream Jeff Draper April Erwin Linda Gilmore Beth Goddard Marcus Goodyear Jill Hart Katie Hart Sherrie Hibbs Christopher Hopper Becca Johnson Jason Joyner Kait Karen Dawn King Tina Kulesa Terri Main Rachel Marks Karen McSpadden Eve Nielsen John W. Otte Lyn Perry Deena Peterson Rachelle Cheryl Russel Chawna Schroeder Mirtika Schultz James Somers Speculative Faith Steve Trower Laura Williams Timothy Wise

CSFF Blog Tour – The Return, Day 2

First the commercia … uh, the reminder … yeah, the reminder I promised to post – Merrie Destefano, science fiction author and editor of Victorian Homes Magazine, is running a two-part interview with yours truly over at her Alien Dream blog. On Wednesday she’ll have an exclusive, but you’ll have to learn about that at her site.

On we go! My contribution today to the September CSFF tour for The Return is to do a review of The Proof, Book Two of Austin Boyd’s series, The Mars Hill Classified (NavPress).

The Story. At the end of book one, the protagonist of the series, John (Hawk) Wells and his wife Amy, agree he should accept the assignment to participate on the first manned flight to Mars. The Proof is primarily the story about that flight, and yet, at the same time, it is so much more. The political intrigue and religious fervor that began in the first book because of the apparent appearance on Mars of alien life forms, become even more intense. John’s inner demons—and Amy’s—must again be faced and conquered. And just when triumph is within grasp … a critical event that serves as the catalyst for The Return takes place.

Already that brief summary tells you more than I would like, but I don’t see how it can be helped. If you want a much more specific summary check out John W. Otte’s review of all three books. He has a real knack of distilling the story to its fundamentals. If you want to know what happened in books 1 and 2 before you read The Return, John’s summaries will be especially helpful.

Strengths. So far The Proof is my favorite of the three books. I suspect this is because the interpersonal relationships move to the forefront, as do the inner conflicts. I also felt like I at last connected with the characters. Their struggles worried me. I found myself thinking about them, and grieving for … what they grieved. (Almost, you caught me giving a spoiler! )

But I think there is plenty of science and exploration for those who enjoy that aspect of science fiction. There was much more intrigue, mystery, and suspense, too. Lots of good action and some crime solving/terrorist hunting, such that one of the minor characters emerges and becomes a secondary hero.

Obviously there is an abundance of subplots, but in this book I did not feel yanked about. The points of view didn’t seem to shift as often. And if they did, perhaps I had become more familiar with the characters, so the shifts didn’t leave me trying to remember who was who nearly as often as in book one.

Weaknesses. I had one moment of deep disappointment, but it turned out to be the final twist in the unpredictable plot, and in the end left me wondering about the characters and looking forward to diving into the The Return. In other words, I can’t think of anything I’d consider a weakness. This is the book I think you’d miss out reading if you started with The Return. Not because Book Three would be confusing. No. Austin has done a good job reminding readers of what took place in Book Two.

The big loss, in my opinion, would be in knowing these characters and what makes them tick, in allowing the suspense to grow, in trying to see through the intrigue, in being surprised at the plot twists, in agonizing with the protagonist over the amazing, fearful adventure he must take.

No, the only weakness is that The Proof, like a middle child, might be overlooked.

Recommendation. Highly recommend for all readers.

Here are the others participating in the tour. (Be sure to check out Deena’s interview with Austin).

Trish Anderson Brandon Barr Jim Black Justin Boyer Grace Bridges Amy Browning Jackie Castle Valerie Comer Karri Compton Lisa Cromwell CSFF Blog Tour Gene Curtis D. G. D. Davidson Janey DeMeo Merrie Destefano or Alien Dream Jeff Draper April Erwin Linda Gilmore Beth Goddard Marcus Goodyear Jill Hart Katie Hart Sherrie Hibbs Christopher Hopper Becca Johnson Jason Joyner Kait Karen Dawn King Tina Kulesa Terri Main Rachel Marks Karen McSpadden Eve Nielsen John W. Otte Lyn Perry Deena Peterson Rachelle Cheryl Russel Chawna Schroeder Mirtika Schultz James Somers Speculative Faith Steve Trower Laura Williams Timothy Wise

CSFF Blog Tour – The Return, Day 1

Before we get started talking about our blog tour feature for September, I need to pass along some information I promised to mention. For the next three days, over at Alien Dream, Merrie Destefano is running an interview with yours truly (go figure—some people are just hard up for blog content, I guess! ) Anyway, stop by and leave a comment. She has lots of other material, so you just might get lost in the fun.

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Today, over at Speculative Faith I wrote an introduction to our CSFF BT September feature, The Return (NavPress) by Austin Boyd. I had heard early on that the trilogy of which this is a part, the Mars Hill Classified, was the one-story-in-three-books kind, so I decided I would read the books in order.

It didn’t hurt my motivation any that I’d also had the privilege of meeting Austin several years ago at the Mount Hermon Christian Writer’s Conference. In God’s providence, I ended up sitting next to him in an early-bird session geared to teaching unpublished authors how to pitch their projects to editors. Towards the end of the workshop, Austin was one of several who volunteered to give his pitch and receive critique. It didn’t take much to realize that he had what editors were looking for.

The following year when I attended Mount Hermon, sure enough, I also had the privilege of getting my copy of The Evidence, Book One of the Mars Hill Classified trilogy, autographed.

All that as a lead-in to my decision to review each of the books, one a day, as my contribution to the blog tour. As you’d expect, I’m starting with The Evidence.

The Story. Fighter pilot and astronaut candidate John “Hawk” Wells learns he has been accepted to the space program and is headed for the space station. While he and his crew orbit the earth, a series of terrorist attacks occur back home, setting in motion political intrigue, religious upheaval, and criminal investigations. From his vantage point in space, Hawk has a unique perspective that allows him to postulate an idea that helps set the FBI looking in the right direction.

Meanwhile, Hawk has to deal with his own problems—the difficulty of leaving his wife and four children while he pursues what he knows to be his God-given purpose. He also has to face temptation in the form of a needy, vulnerable female crew member.

Strengths. The story is compelling, especially if you like intrigue (and I do) and suspense. For those science fiction fans, there is plenty of technology here, too, though this first book begins only four years in the future. Of the three books, this one feels less like science fiction and more like a suspense story than the others, simply because the topic of life on Mars is open for debate. But the seeds are there for the science to take off (and it does).

Generally I’d say I am not a sci fi fan, yet I had no trouble enjoying this story. Austin’s writing is concise for the most part, and clear. I understood weightlessness better than I ever have before and marveled how much Austin gave readers the sense of being in space.

Weaknesses. I’m feeling a little like a broken record. As with a number of Christian novels, I had a hard time feeling connected with the protagonist at first. Now that I am into the third book, that’s changed, but in the beginning, I didn’t feel like I had enough to care strongly for him.

Part of that comes, I believe, as a result of a wide variety of points of view, including numerous segments from the antagonist’s perspective. Couple that with the fact that each segment is relatively short and that some are about people we do not initially see as “fitting in,” it was a little hard to keep everyone straight and to care enough about Hawk.

Recommendation. Because I knew this was an old-fashioned trilogy, I understood that some of the segments were “set-up” and because they were brief, I didn’t feel overly burdened with material that seemed irrelevant. Instead, I could file those pieces away for the future when they became key. And by the way, because of Austin’s writing style, I found those segments interesting even though I couldn’t see what part they played.

For sci fi fans wanting a story from a Christian perspective, this book is a must read. For others, I highly recommend The Evidence.

And now, take some time this week to see what other bloggers have to say about The Return:

Trish Anderson
Brandon Barr
Jim Black
Justin Boyer
Grace Bridges
Amy Browning
Jackie Castle
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
Lisa Cromwell
CSFF Blog Tour
Gene Curtis
D. G. D. Davidson
Janey DeMeo
Merrie Destefano or Alien Dream
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Linda Gilmore
Beth Goddard
Marcus Goodyear
Jill Hart
Katie Hart
Sherrie Hibbs
Christopher Hopper
Becca Johnson
Jason Joyner
Kait
Karen
Dawn King
Tina Kulesa Terri Main
Rachel Marks
Karen McSpadden
Eve Nielsen
John W. Otte
Lyn Perry
Deena Peterson
Rachelle
Cheryl Russel
Chawna Schroeder
Mirtika Schultz
James Somers
Speculative Faith
Steve Trower
Laura Williams
Timothy Wise