Welcome back to the CSFF Tour for February. This month’s featured book is The God Haterby Bill Myers.
For a synopsis, check out yesterday’s post introducing the book.
This book fits a “speculative fiction” category by supposing that we can build an artificial computer world, with completely independent artificial intelligence, that can be used to see how humanity will respond to variables and make better predictions.
My prediction is that this book will do well with general Christian fiction (specifically CBA readers). And that is perhaps a shame.
This book is written for a purpose. It has a specific aim – to show the logic God used in creating our world and the need for divine intervention (per the Questions to the Author in the back of the book). The book is designed to be a challenge to the New Atheists who are challenging Christian belief with old arguments and renewed fervor. It is a noble purpose, certainly. From a personal standpoint I would love to see it succeed.
Reviewing it for artistic purposes is another story.
Often Christian art is considered to be in one of two categories: it is made with creativity as the primary goal, and the theme taken from the book is incidental, or it is made with a message as the anchor, and the story is conceived and created around it. I don’t think it is necessarily bad to have a book written with the second point as the motivation, but it means that the story will require a very deft touch to make the work stand on artistic merits, apart from the theme (however holy it may be).
The God Haters, in my opinion, fails to rise above the forced preconceptions and stand as a quality piece of fiction. The story suffers from several flaws. The characters are generally 2D cut-outs, created to hold a place in the story without much depth or empathy. The Christian professor Annie escapes this to a degree, but she doesn’t carry enough of the story to overcome the other flat people. He uses several writing techniques that jarred me out of the imaginary world he was attempting to create, from using parentheses for several asides to a character with an annoying vocal tic (“bro!”). There were also a couple of scientific mistakes that threw me as a biology major, but that is me being overly picky.
The suspense and plot is pulled along well enough, and isn’t all that bad. It just isn’t all that good either. I didn’t get bored, but I wasn’t invested in what was happening. There are some touching moments as he delves into the computer simulation and the professor’s avatar gains more and more compassion for the “creation,” but it is too little, too late to save the book. A major issue seems to be that the book is too short to give the depth needed to make everything more believable. Perhaps it would be a different story if it had the length to give the depth required.
The book gives the whole back copy to quotes of endorsements. There’s no place to get a synopsis of the book, and I think that will be a disservice to readers as well.
I don’t like to give such negative reviews, but I have to be honest in my impression of a book to have some integrity as a reviewer. Christian art can be especially tricky, because the charge can be brought that I’m harming a brother in their ministry or something similar. Like I said, I admire the intent, and wish it could have worked out better. It was an ambitious project, but my opinion is that it isn’t a great book for those looking for a story with in-depth characters and a carefully crafted plot. If you’re looking for a book to shore up your Christian beliefs, then this book would be entertaining enough. I wouldn’t recommend it to a non-believer, but I really won’t be recommending it anyway.
If you make it past this gloomy review, tomorrow I want to talk about the issue of art and theme raised by this book, and compare it with another recent read.
I did receive a copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes, and was obviously not required to give a positive endorsement in exchange for the book. The opinions are my own.
Oh, and check out my tourmates at Becky’s blog for the latest and greatest from the others in the CSFF Tour. —
I love it when artists can challenge us. Hopefully you have heard about The Civil Wars by now. The duo of Joy Williams and John Paul White have made a big splash in the last few weeks with their debut album, Barton Hollow, releasing on Feb. 1. I’d say appearing on The Tonight Show and having their album be #1 on iTunes for its first week as a pretty good start.
Their music is haunting and beautiful, stripped down to the basics: White’s guitar, some occasional piano by Williams, the scattered accordian or percussion, and the intertwining harmonies of the two singers. In this day of auto-tuned, electronic noise being blared on iThingies and the random Super Bowl halftime show (brought to you by Lite-Brites), the organic, simple nature of these songs works into your soul. As opposed to bashing us over the head.
Their style would be best described as folk or Americana, although it resists easy labeling. They hail from Nashville and are getting airplay on CMT, but I wouldn’t call them country (especially to those who know me – I’m not a country music fan). The point is that they make lovely music together. A majority of the songs are slow paced with a melancholy feel, longing for love. The title track is a foot-stomper with soaring vocal gymnastics, while “Poison and Wine,” featured on an episode of Grey’s Anatomy speaks in a raw, honest way about the dichotomies of love.
The two singers are refreshingly real in a day of pre-packaged artists fed to top 40 radio. I was intrigued when I found they were produced by Charlie Peacock, one of my favorite artists himself. They aren’t the typical music I would listen to, but I’m all for quality, and their musicianship and chemistry makes Barton Hollowmy first album purchase of 2011, and one of my favorites in a long time.
In my next point, I want to discuss how they are not only easy on the ears, but challenging to some of my convictions as well. Keep your eyes peeled for that, if you will. —
I love it when artists can challenge us. Hopefully you have heard about The Civil Wars by now. The duo of Joy Williams and John Paul White have made a big splash in the last few weeks with their debut album, Barton Hollow, releasing on Feb. 1. I’d say appearing on The Tonight Show and having their album be #1 on iTunes for its first week as a pretty good start.
Their music is haunting and beautiful, stripped down to the basics: White’s guitar, some occasional piano by Williams, the scattered accordian or percussion, and the intertwining harmonies of the two singers. In this day of auto-tuned, electronic noise being blared on iThingies and the random Super Bowl halftime show (brought to you by Lite-Brites), the organic, simple nature of these songs works into your soul. As opposed to bashing us over the head.
Their style would be best described as folk or Americana, although it resists easy labeling. They hail from Nashville and are getting airplay on CMT, but I wouldn’t call them country (especially to those who know me – I’m not a country music fan). The point is that they make lovely music together. A majority of the songs are slow paced with a melancholy feel, longing for love. The title track is a foot-stomper with soaring vocal gymnastics, while “Poison and Wine,” featured on an episode of Grey’s Anatomy speaks in a raw, honest way about the dichotomies of love.
The two singers are refreshingly real in a day of pre-packaged artists fed to top 40 radio. I was intrigued when I found they were produced by Charlie Peacock, one of my favorite artists himself. They aren’t the typical music I would listen to, but I’m all for quality, and their musicianship and chemistry makes Barton Hollowmy first album purchase of 2011, and one of my favorites in a long time.
In my next point, I want to discuss how they are not only easy on the ears, but challenging to some of my convictions as well. Keep your eyes peeled for that, if you will. —
Have you been following the discussion in this month’s CSFF Tour featuring The Wolf of Tebron? If not, you’re missing out on fairy tales, allegories, and how these can fit into speculative fiction. As always, Becky Miller keeps track of all the rabble and their varied posts – check it out!
If you’re wondering what The Wolf of Tebron is about, my synopsis is on day 1 of our tour. Yesterday I talked about the tricky place Tebron is in marketing-wise with it being a “fairy tale allegory.” I promised a review today.
Let me start off by saying that in learning more about Ms. Lakin, I can see that she is a well-read individual who has attempted an ambitious project in her Gates of Heaven series, which Tebron kicks off. She has a discussion in the back of the book that describes her desire to meld a fairy tale structure with allegorical images of God’s relationship while weaving in apologetics, philosophy, and poetry.
Sounds impressive, and is certainly a lofty goal to shoot for in book.
The book starts with a prologue and then takes the protaganist, Joran, through different journeys as he seeks the Moon, the Sun, the South Wind, and the Western Sea in progression. Lakin enjoys a descriptive style, and it usually serves the story well, creating a vivid picture of the different locales – once Joran gets there. Sometimes though, the journey gets repetitious, and the description struggles at the lack of variety. Other times the action is nebulous (see p182-184), so the description is confusing. I had to skim some sections as there were gaps without a lot going on, it seemed.
There aren’t a lot of characters in the book. Joran is an everyman type, and he didn’t connect with me very well. A lot of his struggle in the book is internal as much as external. I know that in life we most often deal with internal strife, and it is hard to make that exciting. The other major character is Ruyah the wolf, who becomes Joran’s companion throughout the journey. He is a noble creature with a unique voice, and he is the best part of the book. He is a wise mentor to Joran, and even though it would be easy to compare him with Aslan the lion, Ruyah stands apart from his Narnian counterpart. As others have noted, sometimes Ruyah’s wisdom seems a little outside of Biblical standing, but he was enjoyable overall.
Do you hear laughing?
The major destinations of the Moon, Sun, etc. are personified, and this technique is used well. The Sun’s mother, Sola, was very interested in knowledge, and she offered up some things like listening to specific symphonies and mentioned “rocket science,” which threw me out of the fictive world of Tebron each time.
The conclusion of the book ties together various threads from the book with varying success. I felt the most emotional connection to Joran and his wife Charris at this time, but other things came across too contrived.
Overall, I obviously had a hard time with The Wolf of Tebron. I admire what she was trying to do – I just think there was so much attempted it didn’t come together well. I don’t like being critical, because I realize the hard, hard work it is to pour yourself into writing a book, but as Fred Warren says in his day 3 post, it doesn’t work for everyone. Others on the tour really enjoyed the plot, spiritual allegory, and characters. I felt distant to it the whole time. Do check out other people on the tour to get a balanced view, and I wish Ms. Lakin much success in the future.
I think the CSFF is playing catch up a little, and there will be another tour later in January. Hope to see you then! —
Have you been following the discussion in this month’s CSFF Tour featuring The Wolf of Tebron? If not, you’re missing out on fairy tales, allegories, and how these can fit into speculative fiction. As always, Becky Miller keeps track of all the rabble and their varied posts – check it out!
If you’re wondering what The Wolf of Tebron is about, my synopsis is on day 1 of our tour. Yesterday I talked about the tricky place Tebron is in marketing-wise with it being a “fairy tale allegory.” I promised a review today.
Let me start off by saying that in learning more about Ms. Lakin, I can see that she is a well-read individual who has attempted an ambitious project in her Gates of Heaven series, which Tebron kicks off. She has a discussion in the back of the book that describes her desire to meld a fairy tale structure with allegorical images of God’s relationship while weaving in apologetics, philosophy, and poetry.
Sounds impressive, and is certainly a lofty goal to shoot for in book.
The book starts with a prologue and then takes the protaganist, Joran, through different journeys as he seeks the Moon, the Sun, the South Wind, and the Western Sea in progression. Lakin enjoys a descriptive style, and it usually serves the story well, creating a vivid picture of the different locales – once Joran gets there. Sometimes though, the journey gets repetitious, and the description struggles at the lack of variety. Other times the action is nebulous (see p182-184), so the description is confusing. I had to skim some sections as there were gaps without a lot going on, it seemed.
There aren’t a lot of characters in the book. Joran is an everyman type, and he didn’t connect with me very well. A lot of his struggle in the book is internal as much as external. I know that in life we most often deal with internal strife, and it is hard to make that exciting. The other major character is Ruyah the wolf, who becomes Joran’s companion throughout the journey. He is a noble creature with a unique voice, and he is the best part of the book. He is a wise mentor to Joran, and even though it would be easy to compare him with Aslan the lion, Ruyah stands apart from his Narnian counterpart. As others have noted, sometimes Ruyah’s wisdom seems a little outside of Biblical standing, but he was enjoyable overall.
Do you hear laughing?
The major destinations of the Moon, Sun, etc. are personified, and this technique is used well. The Sun’s mother, Sola, was very interested in knowledge, and she offered up some things like listening to specific symphonies and mentioned “rocket science,” which threw me out of the fictive world of Tebron each time.
The conclusion of the book ties together various threads from the book with varying success. I felt the most emotional connection to Joran and his wife Charris at this time, but other things came across too contrived.
Overall, I obviously had a hard time with The Wolf of Tebron. I admire what she was trying to do – I just think there was so much attempted it didn’t come together well. I don’t like being critical, because I realize the hard, hard work it is to pour yourself into writing a book, but as Fred Warren says in his day 3 post, it doesn’t work for everyone. Others on the tour really enjoyed the plot, spiritual allegory, and characters. I felt distant to it the whole time. Do check out other people on the tour to get a balanced view, and I wish Ms. Lakin much success in the future.
I think the CSFF is playing catch up a little, and there will be another tour later in January. Hope to see you then! —
Is this the book that changes what Christian fiction can be about? First, the concept:
It is set in Eastern Europe in 1772, a time of war between the Russian and Turkish empires. The small principality of Moldova, neighbor to Transylvania, is wedged between these two powers, and is a strategic interest.
The empress Catherine the Great sends one of her best soldiers, Toma Nicolescu, to guard over the Cantemir estate. This noble family holds the key to politics in this critical area. It is ruled over by the matriarch Kesia Cantemir, and her twin daughters Natasha and Lucine.
Toma enters this world just as a neighboring duke begins to make his presence known to the Cantemirs. The dashing Vlad van Valerik has his sights on one of the Cantemir twins. But Toma has been smitten by one of the beauties as well.
As passions intertwine, a torrid love story bursts forth. Evil seduces. Death will be known. Love will bloom. And as the back copy says, “Blood will flow.”
—
Ted Dekker is one of the most imaginative writers in CBA fiction today. He writes taut suspense that seldom fails to grip the reader until the last page. He takes chances, and Immanuel’s Veins is a bold thrust against some of the prevailing themes in popular fiction right now.
Dekker will not win over the literati with this novel. This book has a strong idea, and it pushes that idea relentlessly. The two main characters are noble but flawed, and their choices have consequences. Other characters serve the plot, and are not fully fleshed out. In other books, this would bother me. In Immanuel’s Veins, this almost seems necessary, as it is a love affair between two people, in the best sense of the phrase.
It certainly is a sensual book. Dekker dedicates it to King Solomon, he who is often thought to be the author of the Biblical Song of Solomon. He doesn’t hold back in driving home the emotion. He doesn’t titillate, but some may not be able to handle the force he uses to write this book.
Some are saying this is Ted Dekker’s version of a vampire story. I suppose you could say that. Perhaps you should check it out for yourself.
The end point: I am a fan of Dekker’s, but not every book of his is a home run. Immanuel’s Veins is unique in his bibliography, and it is a significant contribution to what fiction can do. I enjoyed it, and I ponder it still. It certainly gets the blood pumping, and it may just be my favorite Dekker book.
He asks the question “what is sacrificial love?” It is a novel written to address that one idea. In conjuction with it, I wrote about it yesterday.
And what did I mean by “Is this the book that changes what Christian fiction can be about?”
Well it seems I’m out of time for today ;). Check back tomorrow for that thought.
And I promised a giveaway! One person who comments on this post will be chosen at random to win a special t-shirt designed by Dekker’s publisher to help share the message “spread the love”. It is a cool T, and I think you’ll like it! Leave a comment, and I’ll choose a winner by Monday, Sept 20.
