September 29, 2010 by Cris Jesse

Review- Venom & Song, by Wayne T. Batson & Christopher Hopper

Before getting into this month’s book, I have to apologize for being a little late on the reviews this summer. There have been a lot of things going on, and I’ve not been able to live life in the ways I’ve planned. I’m really hoping things turn around in the next couple months, because my body is telling me it cannot continue this way for very long. Please pray for me.

Last month I did get a post in, but because I missed the July dates my name was (rightfully so) dropped from the August list. So here’s a link for the August post for those who missed it… https://crisjesse.wordpress.com/2010/08/25/csffbt-august-favorites/

Ok, now on to some good stuff!

So for September’s CSFFBT book we get to finally read the second installment in Wayne Thomas Batson’s and Christopher Hopper’s “The Berinfell Prophecies”, and the book is called “Venom & Song”. I’ve been looking forward to this book since we went through the first book… “Curse of the Spider King”!

Book 1 was great! It started off kinda weak to me, but by the end I was completely impressed. I was a fan.

And now this book comes out! It’s getting even better!

In Venom and Song we learn a lot more about the world of Allyra. The world building is very well done in Venom and Song, bringing to life not only the populated lands but even the lands of the past. The stories of the past. Long lost stories and places are brought to the forefront of what our young heroes must face. Stories that were prophesied about long ago unfold before our eyes, and anticipation is built up for the prophesies not yet seen. And I have a feeling there’s more to be revealed (past, present & future) that hasn’t even been hinted at yet. I hope our authors do not let Allyra get away from us before it is fully explored.

The main characters are also developed well in this book, good and bad guys alike. Some real surprises on all sides will keep the reader eager for the next chapter, and the chapter after that one as well. Most of the characters were very well done and easy to get into.

The pace of the story is great. Even the “slower” parts didn’t seem slow. Nothing felt like it was being forced upon me so other parts of the book would make sense or be exciting. Every part of the book stood well on its own and added to everything around it.

I still haven’t explored much of the “out of the book” material the authors have drummed up. The book itself contains teasers for these extras. I hope they are enjoyed by the readers! If you’re interested, check out www.heedtheprophecies.com.

From beginning to end (including the amazing job Thomas Nelson did on the cover!), Venom & Song is a book that stands on its own. It also meshes so very well with the first book in the series. I have no doubt that the next book will be just as good as the first two.

Now for my only real complaint… why didn’t you guys include a chapter for book 3 at the end of Venom & Song? I really liked that the first book had a teaser for book 2, and was sad when I got to the end of book 2 and found nothing for book 3.

;(

Ok, I’m done whining now.

Thanks again for another great adventure Wayne and Christopher!

No matter who you are, if you enjoy fantasy fiction then I highly suggest you pick up this book… “Venom and Song”, you can get a copy at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400315069

You should also make sure to check out the authors’ sites at:

Wayne Thomas Batson – http://enterthedoorwithin.blogspot.com/
Christopher Hopper – http://www.christopherhopper.com/blog/

And finally, check out what fellow blog tour members had to say:

Angela
Brandon Barr
Keanan Brand
Amy Browning
Beckie Burnham
Morgan L. Busse
Melissa Carswell
Jeff Chapman
Valerie Comer
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
D. G. D. Davidson
April Erwin
Tori Greene
Ryan Heart
Bruce Hennigan
Timothy Hicks
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Leighton
Rebecca LuElla Miller
John W. Otte
Donita K. Paul
Chawna Schroeder
Tammy Shelnut
James Somers
Kathleen Smith
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Jason Waguespac
Dona Watson
Phyllis Wheeler
Jill Williamson

In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

November 19, 2009 by Cris Jesse

Review- Curse of the Spider King, by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper

This month’s CSFFBT book is “Curse of the Spider King”, book one of “The Berinfell Prophecies” series. It is written by Wayne Thomas Batson & Christopher Hopper.

My first impression when seeing the title & target audience was that it was going to be a good book, but not super impressive. So I wasn’t as excited about reading it as I was with other books.

Then the book arrived. I was immediately impressed (extremely impressed) with the look, feel and quality of the hardcover edition I received. Thomas Nelson knows how to make their authors look good! The fact that there’s so much forest green on the cover helped to, since it’s my favorite color (I have a feeling that if God has a favorite color it’s green too).

So with my hopes lifted up I began the book. Then… my hopes started dropping again fast. The first chapter or so just didn’t seem well done. I thought “Well, at least now I know my book will have absolutely no problem getting published with Thomas Nelson!” Then I thought, “One of the authors is obviously not meant to write a book, but maybe the other author will be better.” So I read on, and sure enough when there was a shift in the book (seeming to be a switch in writers) the book got WAY better. I was hooked! But then I realized it was going to shift back to the other author…

Well, it was at that point I realized that Thomas Nelson found a winner in this duo of writers. The novel took off and never looked back. Maybe the beginning was just rushed, or the maybe the editor wasn’t as focused on it. Whatever the case, I devoured the rest of the book faster than anything I’ve read before. Both authors did an amazing job!

At the end of it all I was saddened for two reasons:
1-the book was over and the next one isn’t out yet…
2-my hopes of an easy publishing contract were flushed away, it was back to a competitive market.

One thing that still puzzles me is how satisfied I was with the entirety of the work. Once I finished it I felt that it was basically an introduction, and a thinned-out one at that. Yet it stands alone very well. I will say that it left me salivating for the next one in the series, but if this was the end of it all I’d be ok with that. I’m not sure how they pulled it off, maybe it’s because they did an excellent job of laying the foundations for a new world to enjoy. I’m a sucker for a well-built reality in fiction and in gaming. However it was accomplished, well done Wayne & Christopher!

The target audience is definitely young adults, though I don’t think there’s an upper age limit on who will like it.

In regards to the spiritual aspect of the book, I think they did a good job there too. There were no life altering spiritual depths (that I can recall), but truths of God were solidly built upon. I believe God is honored by the novel.

Curse of the Spider King is a must have for those who love fantasy and adventure, and I imagine that the whole “The Berinfell Prophecies” series will be quite the collection. Pick it up, read it with your kids, your spouse, or by yourself. Whatever you do with it, if you read it you’ll probably tell others to check it out.

Thanks Wayne Thomas Batson & Christopher Hopper for this book, and thanks ahead of time for the rest of the series!

You can dive deeper into the Berinfell Prophecies at www.heedtheprophecies.com

Pick up your own copy at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400315050

The authors can be found on the following sites…
Wayne Thomas Batson’s blog – http://enterthedoorwithin.blogspot.com/
Christopher Hopper’s Web site – http://www.christopherhopper.com/

Other members of the tour have written about the book on the following pages:
Brandon Barr
Justin Boyer
Amy Browning
Valerie Comer
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Shane Deal
Jeff Draper
Emmalyn Edwards
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Todd Michael Greene
Ryan Heart
Timothy Hicks
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Tina Kulesa
Melissa Lockcuff
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirtika
Nissa
John W. Otte
Cara Powers
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Speculative Faith
Robert Treskillard
Fred Warren
Jason Waguespac
Phyllis Wheeler
Jill Williamson
KM Wilsher

October 22, 2009 by Cris Jesse

Review- Haunt of Jackals, by Eric Wilson

This month’s CSFFBT book is Haunt of Jackals, by Eric Wilson. It’s part two in the “Jerusalem’s Undead Trilogy”.

I’ll start by saying that the book was fun, but please read this whole review if you’re taking my word for it. Even though I’m not into the “undead” sort of thing, I enjoyed much of the book. Younger kids may find the elements a bit to scary or creepy though. The characters were great, the flow of the story was pretty good, and the settings had the perfect amount of description. The inclusion of cultural characters was entertaining, and after a while I had a great time trying to figure out who was writing the journal entries scattered through the book. I was taken in about a quarter of the way through the novel, and the only thing that brought me back out was my concern over Biblical issues.

The cover art is nice.

The first thing I noticed as I began reading Haunt of Jackals was the fact that there were four different sections to read BEFORE coming to chapter one. Add to that the fact that I’m starting in the middle of the series, and you have a book that’s hard to jump into uninitiated. One of the opening sections to read is supposed to catch you up from book one (Field of Blood), but of course there’s no real way to do this without reading the first book.

Since I’ve already mentioned the fact that this is part two, I’ll deal with how the book stands on its own… I don’t think it does. Now that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the book, but at no point did I feel like I was at the beginning or the end of a tale. It felt abruptly cut off on both ends. I would not suggest reading this book without reading the first book first. You may be disappointed if you don’t have the third book (Valley of Bones) ready when your done with Haunt of Jackals. Again, this is not to say the book itself is disappointing… I only mean to say that it shouldn’t be looked at as its own work. It should be considered the middle of one larger novel. I haven’t read the other two books, so I cannot say anything about them.

For the reader who truly knows their Bible well, this book wouldn’t likely be a problem spiritually. However, it touches on elements that could easily plant false information about the Bible in the mind of even a moderate Bible reader. It brings in fads of false doctrine that may cause one to focus on things that are not only untrue, but irrelevant to life period. The Nephilim being angel/human hybrids is just one example. While it was creative the way Eric worked it all in overall, I don’t think that necessarily makes it worth the risk, as is.

I’m not sure how I feel about how Eric used the blood of Christ in the book. It seems like the point was to really honor the Blood, and maybe it did… I’m just not sure.

These Scriptural problems could have been alleviated by having a forward that warns the reader about each element. With the story being set in our world, it just comes too close to reality for the unaware reader to differentiate between Bible truths and fictional elements. A reader needs to know where to go in the Bible to read about the elements contained in “Haunt of Jackals”, so they can see what’s what.

So I would not recommend this book to those who’ve not read “Field of Blood” (book one). I definitely would say “DO NOT READ” to those who are not very familiar with all parts of the Bible. If the author is able to put in a warning at the beginning of the book it may not be a problem (though adding to the long list of “pre-reads” is not desireable). I also would not recommend this book to a young audience.

I would recommend this book to those who are studious about their Bible, and who still enjoy fiction dealing with undead elements. I’d be interested in reading a novel of Eric Wilson’s that doesn’t deal with the undead. I enjoy his writing style a lot, and want to see what he can do in another arena.

There’s a section of suggested elements to discuss at the end of the book. If you have a group of readers who fit the recommended readers I’ve suggested, then they may enjoy going through those questions together.

For more information, check out…

Haunt of Jackals – http://www.amazon.com/exec/ class=”hiddenSpellError” pre=””>obidos/ASIN/1595544593

Eric Wilson’s Web site – http://www.wilsonwriter.com/
The Undead Trilogy Web site – http://www.jerusalemsundead.com/

And to read what other blog tour members thought, visit the sites listed below…
Brandon Barr
Wayne Thomas Batson
Jennifer Bogart
Justin Boyer
Keanan Brand
Amy Browning
Karri Compton
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Beth Goddard
Todd Michael Greene
Timothy Hicks
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Julie
Carol Keen
Dawn King
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirtika
Nissa
John W. Otte
James Somers
Speculative Faith
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Jill Williamson
KM Wilsher

May 20, 2009 by Cris Jesse

Review #2 of what you thought you knew: Tuck, by Stephen R. Lawhead

Tuck was definitely a fun read. Let’s consider part of what made that possible… the Setup.

I think most of us have at some point enjoyed the Robin Hood tale. The legend has been presented with a Disney twist to young folks, and they’ve been loving it since the 1973 release of the movie. Of course pop culture has many references to Robin the Shrek slayer and his Men in Tights. So the basic elements of the story are familiar. Studying for an Elizabethan Travel Guide I wrote gave me some additional exposure to the story.

This familiarity with the story likely had a lot to do with why I never really felt lost jumping into the 3rd novel in the series. There were times when I wished I knew more details from the first two novels; but I only wanted them, I don’t remember feeling like I needed them. This not only gives Tuck the ability to stand on its own, but it makes the reader want to see how the author envisionend the rest of the tale in his first two books. Hood (book 1) and Scarlet (book 2) are definitely on my reading list now.

So if you’re new to the series it will likely be better if you read the first two novels first. But don’t feel like you have to wait. Tuck carries the uninitiated reader well, especially if the reader is familiar with the tale of Robin Hood.

I don’t know enough to speak with authority on how historically accurate the book is. Indeed there are a lot of questions surrounding the tale of Robin Hood and I would question whether anybody can truly say how it came to be. But this telling of Rhi Bran y Hud is a believable one.

And more on that in the next review.

To pick up a copy of Tuck, visit – http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1595540873
For Stephen R. Lawhead’s Website, visit – http://www.stephenlawhead.com/

For More Reviews, please visit the following sites from the Christian Sci-Fi Fantasy Blog Tour:
Brandon Barr
Jim Black
Keanan Brand
Rachel Briard
Grace Bridges
Valerie Comer
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Alex Field
Beth Goddard
Todd Michael Greene
Ryan Heart
Timothy Hicks
Christopher Hopper
Joleen Howell
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Kait
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Terri Main
Margaret
Melissa Meeks
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Caleb Newell
Eve Nielsen
Nissa
John W. Otte
John Ottinger
Epic Rat
Steve Rice
Crista Richey
Hanna Sandvig
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Robert Treskillard
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Jill Williamson

May 19, 2009 by Cris Jesse

Bound to Impress! Review #1: Tuck, by Stephen Lawhead.

Tuck, book three of the King Raven Trilogy. By Stephen R. Lawhead. Published by Thomas Nelson.

I enjoyed reading Tuck. But before getting into the content of this book, I want to comment on the class of the publisher. They didn’t send out their cheapest copies for reviews. They sent a hard cover copy, and with a full color, textured cover-sleeve. I was immediately impressed when I saw it.

Because I’ve been looking into home binding some of my own works, I tend to notice the binding of books now. I’m no expert by any means, but it’s not hard to see how well they put this book together. The pages that bind the book block to the hardcover, normally plain paper of a sometimes heavier stock, were not only of the higher quality paper but they had a very nice map of the book’s setting. The binding is solid; sewn and glued, with very clean edges all around.

Considering the cost of making such copies, I was impressed to receive this version of the novel for a book review. The publisher and author obviously care to put their best foot forward, at least with this novel. Good show Thomas Nelson and Mr. Lawhead.

In the next review we’ll consider the setup of the story.