by Jason Joyner | Jan 4, 2010 | Blog, books, reading, top books
Ah, that time of year. What books stood out in 2009? I didn’t read nearly as many books in ’09 as I did in ’08. I read 44 books in ’08, but I didn’t have 4 kids for most of the year, and I rode the bus to work all the time. Almost an hour both ways makes for good reading time.
The following are all books released in ’09. I have a couple of other comments on books not from last year at the end.
5. Through the Fire by Shawn Grady. This impressive debut from a former firefighter weaves a tale of revenge and finding oneself through the haze of smoke and embers.
4. Cyndere’s Midnight by Jeffrey Overstreet. The second strand in the Auralia thread, this fantasy series continues with lyrical writing, wounded characters trying to reach for nobility, and a little more action than the first book. This is a stand-out series in Christian fiction, and I’m looking forward to further strands.
3. Blaggard’s Moon by George Bryan Polivka. Polivka has created a rich fantasy world rich in pirate-y tales. Moon is a prequel of sorts to his Trophy Chase trilogy, but stands on its own with humor and a heart-felt story of two lost souls intertwining, along with colorful buccaneer commentary!
2. Try Fear by James Scott Bell. The third installment of Bell’s legal thrillers starring smart (and smart-mouthed Ty Buchanan) continues the fast paced, zig-zagging, and humorous prose which Bell has about mastered. I don’t know if this series is going to continue, but I certainly hope it is. The last 3 years now he’s held down my #2 spot for favorite books.
1. Pirate Hunter by Tom Morrisey. Yes, this blog has a soft spot for anything related to pirates, but that doesn’t explain the allure of this book. Morrisey wrote two stories in one, bouncing between the tale of a freed slave in the 1700s and a modern setting of shipwreck diving. He is an adventure aficianado, so his books have great detail, but his characters make the books so compelling. Tom Morrisey doesn’t get enough credit in the CBA, and this is a shame.
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The top three books were almost interchangeable, and there were a couple of near misses for the list as well:
Exposure by Brandilyn Collins wins the most exasperating award for spinning my head around with the twist at the end.
North! Or Be Eaten by Andrew Peterson wins for best title (and there’s a pirate!).
Curse of the Spider King by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper gets best cover and best blurb by a 7 year old.
Bust of the year:
I’ve heard so much about Flannery O’Conner, how a Christian writer has to read her books. I read Wise Blood recently, and only finished it to try and figure out “why.” I’ve never read a more pointless, bizarre book. I must not be sophisticated enough…
Tune in tomorrow for my favorite book (that’s not new) I read in ’09, by my favorite author!
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by Jason Joyner | Jan 4, 2010 | Blog, books, reading, top books
Ah, that time of year. What books stood out in 2009? I didn’t read nearly as many books in ’09 as I did in ’08. I read 44 books in ’08, but I didn’t have 4 kids for most of the year, and I rode the bus to work all the time. Almost an hour both ways makes for good reading time.
The following are all books released in ’09. I have a couple of other comments on books not from last year at the end.
5. Through the Fire by Shawn Grady. This impressive debut from a former firefighter weaves a tale of revenge and finding oneself through the haze of smoke and embers.
4. Cyndere’s Midnight by Jeffrey Overstreet. The second strand in the Auralia thread, this fantasy series continues with lyrical writing, wounded characters trying to reach for nobility, and a little more action than the first book. This is a stand-out series in Christian fiction, and I’m looking forward to further strands.
3. Blaggard’s Moon by George Bryan Polivka. Polivka has created a rich fantasy world rich in pirate-y tales. Moon is a prequel of sorts to his Trophy Chase trilogy, but stands on its own with humor and a heart-felt story of two lost souls intertwining, along with colorful buccaneer commentary!
2. Try Fear by James Scott Bell. The third installment of Bell’s legal thrillers starring smart (and smart-mouthed Ty Buchanan) continues the fast paced, zig-zagging, and humorous prose which Bell has about mastered. I don’t know if this series is going to continue, but I certainly hope it is. The last 3 years now he’s held down my #2 spot for favorite books.
1. Pirate Hunter by Tom Morrisey. Yes, this blog has a soft spot for anything related to pirates, but that doesn’t explain the allure of this book. Morrisey wrote two stories in one, bouncing between the tale of a freed slave in the 1700s and a modern setting of shipwreck diving. He is an adventure aficianado, so his books have great detail, but his characters make the books so compelling. Tom Morrisey doesn’t get enough credit in the CBA, and this is a shame.
—
The top three books were almost interchangeable, and there were a couple of near misses for the list as well:
Exposure by Brandilyn Collins wins the most exasperating award for spinning my head around with the twist at the end.
North! Or Be Eaten by Andrew Peterson wins for best title (and there’s a pirate!).
Curse of the Spider King by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper gets best cover and best blurb by a 7 year old.
Bust of the year:
I’ve heard so much about Flannery O’Conner, how a Christian writer has to read her books. I read Wise Blood recently, and only finished it to try and figure out “why.” I’ve never read a more pointless, bizarre book. I must not be sophisticated enough…
Tune in tomorrow for my favorite book (that’s not new) I read in ’09, by my favorite author!
—
by Jason Joyner | Nov 21, 2009 | Blog, books, CFBA, fiction, reviews
From one blog tour to another, from Elven lands to cyberpunk, where there’s books, Spoiled for the Ordinary will go!
This week the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is featuring first-time author Kirk Outerbridge and his book Eternity Falls – A Rick Macey Cyberthriller. I mentioned this book last month due to its excellent cover art, and today is my review.
In the year 2081, no one has to die. Thanks to the Miracle Treatment from Gentec, people never age, and can actually be restored to any time in their life they want. But when spokeswoman starlet Greta Darling dies from apparent natural causes, this could destroy the product and company.
When the lovely VP from Gentec, Sheila Dunn, wants to find a reason that would show it wasn’t due to the failure of the Miracle Treatment, she turns to Rick Macey, a retired government operative who has secrets that match his formidable skills. He will need all his experience and abilities to deal with the various forces that want Ms. Dunn and Gentec to fail.
I’ve not read a cyberpunk type novel before, and it’s not surprising that this offering in the Christian fiction realm comes from Marcher Lord Press. Jeff Gerke’s publishing company is the perfect vehicle for a book that doesn’t fit with the mainstream of CBA novels.
Outerbridge has a solid first effort here. He sets a very interesting dystopic future, with the wonders of the Miracle Treatment nicely contrasted with areas of Los Angeles that are home to cybergangs due to the neglect from the government. Futuristic touches such as neural nets that provide instant messaging and computer searches with a thought, holographic ID’s, and other technological advances are well-thought out and used throughout the book.
Rick Macey is a good protagonist with some surprises in store for the reader. He is a complex individual, and he wrestles with his past and his future throughout the story. Other characters such as the mysterious Virgil and the mobster Pooly add to the colorful landscape of the story. Sheila Dunn is mixed, appearing strong, petulant, spoiled, and a damsel in distress at various times, never consistent enough to be terribly believable.
The plot overall moves at a pretty suspenseful pace, but there are several points where the narrative could be edited to keep the story sharper. There’s too much introspection, dialog, and description at times that bog the story down. The imagery of “eternity falls” is potent, but gets overdone at the end of the story.
Overall, I wasn’t sure how “Christian” cyberpunk would play out, but Eternity Falls is an interesting read that has flaws, but is nonetheless entertaining. Fans of near future sci/fi and cyberpunk should check it out, as well as suspense fans. I think Outerbridge has the potential to be a strong player in the development of Christian speculative fiction in the future.
If you would like to read an excerpt from Chapter 1 of Eternity Falls, go HERE
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by Jason Joyner | Nov 21, 2009 | Blog, books, CFBA, fiction, reviews
From one blog tour to another, from Elven lands to cyberpunk, where there’s books, Spoiled for the Ordinary will go!
This week the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is featuring first-time author Kirk Outerbridge and his book Eternity Falls – A Rick Macey Cyberthriller. I mentioned this book last month due to its excellent cover art, and today is my review.
In the year 2081, no one has to die. Thanks to the Miracle Treatment from Gentec, people never age, and can actually be restored to any time in their life they want. But when spokeswoman starlet Greta Darling dies from apparent natural causes, this could destroy the product and company.
When the lovely VP from Gentec, Sheila Dunn, wants to find a reason that would show it wasn’t due to the failure of the Miracle Treatment, she turns to Rick Macey, a retired government operative who has secrets that match his formidable skills. He will need all his experience and abilities to deal with the various forces that want Ms. Dunn and Gentec to fail.
I’ve not read a cyberpunk type novel before, and it’s not surprising that this offering in the Christian fiction realm comes from Marcher Lord Press. Jeff Gerke’s publishing company is the perfect vehicle for a book that doesn’t fit with the mainstream of CBA novels.
Outerbridge has a solid first effort here. He sets a very interesting dystopic future, with the wonders of the Miracle Treatment nicely contrasted with areas of Los Angeles that are home to cybergangs due to the neglect from the government. Futuristic touches such as neural nets that provide instant messaging and computer searches with a thought, holographic ID’s, and other technological advances are well-thought out and used throughout the book.
Rick Macey is a good protagonist with some surprises in store for the reader. He is a complex individual, and he wrestles with his past and his future throughout the story. Other characters such as the mysterious Virgil and the mobster Pooly add to the colorful landscape of the story. Sheila Dunn is mixed, appearing strong, petulant, spoiled, and a damsel in distress at various times, never consistent enough to be terribly believable.
The plot overall moves at a pretty suspenseful pace, but there are several points where the narrative could be edited to keep the story sharper. There’s too much introspection, dialog, and description at times that bog the story down. The imagery of “eternity falls” is potent, but gets overdone at the end of the story.
Overall, I wasn’t sure how “Christian” cyberpunk would play out, but Eternity Falls is an interesting read that has flaws, but is nonetheless entertaining. Fans of near future sci/fi and cyberpunk should check it out, as well as suspense fans. I think Outerbridge has the potential to be a strong player in the development of Christian speculative fiction in the future.
If you would like to read an excerpt from Chapter 1 of Eternity Falls, go HERE
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by Jason Joyner | Oct 7, 2009 | Blog, books, Christopher Hopper, fantasy, speculative fiction, Wayne Thomas Batson
Hey gang, for those of you interested in quality fantasy fiction, check out the new book Curse of the Spider King by Christopher Hopper and Wayne Thomas Batson. They are encouraging people to pre-order the book today to create an online buzz for it (better than an alcoholic buzz, right?) by having it jump the Amazon rankings. If you do it today, you can get freebies from the dynamic duo mentioned about. Here’s Christopher’s blog post about it, and here’s the direct link to Amazon. It’s a good price by pre-ordering too!
I ordered mine – where’s yours?
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by Jason Joyner | Oct 7, 2009 | Blog, books, Christopher Hopper, fantasy, speculative fiction, Wayne Thomas Batson
Hey gang, for those of you interested in quality fantasy fiction, check out the new book Curse of the Spider King by Christopher Hopper and Wayne Thomas Batson. They are encouraging people to pre-order the book today to create an online buzz for it (better than an alcoholic buzz, right?) by having it jump the Amazon rankings. If you do it today, you can get freebies from the dynamic duo mentioned about. Here’s Christopher’s blog post about it, and here’s the direct link to Amazon. It’s a good price by pre-ordering too!
I ordered mine – where’s yours?
—
