Great Books Were Not Meant to Be Read Alone
For adult Christian fantasy novel fans, reading can feel like a lonely pursuit.
Back in high school, several church friends loved joining me to explore the latest trending fantasy and sci-fi novels. We had a blast reading and discussing works like Cornelia Funke’s Ink Trilogy, Garth Nix’s Keys to the Kingdom, Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance Cycle series, Brandon Mull’s Fablehaven, and many other works. These books gave me joy, and not just through the thrills of reading them. I found joy by discussing their stories with others and trying to predict what came next.
Flash forward to adult life.
Suddenly that sort of community is harder to find—especially in Christian circles.
Flagging the Cheap Grace of Marvel’s ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’
Marvel’s Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier began with star-spangled plans but, like its patriotic heroes, ended up with a complicated legacy.
This Captain America franchise sequel did offer many highlights. I enjoyed learning more fallout from the Blip (that is, Thanos’s “snap” decimation). For a TV series, it shared some fantastic action sequences. It boasted great character moments. And Baron Zemo was an absolute show-stealer.
Several glitches, however, kept Falcon from fully taking off. The story made admirable attempts to deal with real-world themes, but these often came off as clunky and simplistic. (Both conservative and liberal media critics I follow on Twitter recognized this.) As an organization, the Flag Smashers’ goal and ideology seemed terribly confusing. But worst of all, the character arc of John Walker, the new Captain America, ended up a bungled mess.
The Mandalorian is a Religious Fundamentalist, and Here’s Why That’s Awesome
I doubt I’m alone when I say The Mandalorian is one of the best developments in quite a while for live-action Star Wars.
After the disjointed travesty of Disney’s sequel film series, the adventures of Mando and his random assortment of human and alien allies has recaptured much of the allure, atmosphere, and characters that gave Star Wars its success.
To put it simply: The Mandalorian is fantastic.
Top Ten Books Read in 2020
Well, what a year this has been. I’ll spare you the obligatory comments about the craziness of 2020. Needless to say: despite everything else, I’ve managed to continue my standard reading pace I’ve kept up these past four years, including a lot more re-reading than I have for a while! Most of my re-reads were of classical works of literature, but there were a few non-classics as well.
Because I generally keep re-reads off this list (unless it dramatically changed my view of the book), those won’t be represented on this list. But without any further commentary, let’s dig into my favorite new reads I’ve done this past year. (As always, titles are linked to my longer reviews.)
10. Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseni
Khaled Hosseni was on my TBR list for a while before I finally got into him this year. I went back and forth on whether to include Kite Runner or A Thousand Splendid Suns in this slot, but ended up choosing Kite Runner since it was my first introduction to his beautiful prose and haunting themes.
Top Ten Books Read in 2019
With the turning of the year, it’s about time for my annual post on my favorite books I read over the course of this past year. I’m posting it a bit later into the new year this time around due to living pretty internet-free over a couple weeks I spent in Greece (which was amazing!) during the holiday season. But without any further ado, here’s my favorite works I read this past year (book titles are hyperlinked to longer Goodreads reviews for interested parties).
10. Demon in Democracy by Ryszard Legutko
I got the privilege of reading this book for a book club, so the discussion may have biased me a little on this book and I’m not sure how much I agree with all of its points. But as a book questioning the sustainability of Enlightenment-era liberal democracies, it sparked a lot of thoughts on my end and was quite good, nit-pickings aside.
Short Story: A Wish Fulfilled
The god-blessed was hunched in the corner of the tavern again, his body shrouded by a gray cloak. His breeches disappeared underneath tall boots, and his tunic’s sleeves extended to the fingers of his gloved hands. Perfect garb for winter.
Yet, outside, oppressive summer heat drove travelers to the tavern in search of a drink.
“Nothing good can come of him being there,” Erich muttered as he sized the god-blessed up. “You don’t linger in another god-blessed’s town unless you’re a troublemaker.”
“You could report him.” His daughter Erin cleaned off a glass. “Tanner would send men pronto.”
“And if this god-blessed retaliates and ransacks our tavern?”
She shrugged and filled the glass with ale. “Better than facing Tanner’s wrath if he learns you housed a god-blessed.”
“He’s not lodging here.”
“He slept in the stalls the last couple nights. I doubt the authorities will care for nuances.”
Erich dug his fingernails into his palm as Erin left to bring ales to the patrons. She was right, of course. If Tanner found out, their livelihood would be at risk.
But he couldn’t just evict a god-blessed.
Top Ten Books Read in 2018
Didn’t quite hit 100 books this year (ended in the eighty-something range). I suppose the older you get, the harder it becomes to find time to read. Working two part-time jobs on top of a full-time job probably doesn’t help things either…
Anyways, since I’ve made a tradition of doing this the last several years, here are the top ten books I read over the course of this past year (book titles linked to my longer Goodreads reviews). Got to say, issues with finding time to read aside, I got to read some pretty fantastic works over the course of this year.
10. Fawkes by Nadine Brandes
Christian fantasy is a mixed bag, and modern Christian allegory even more so. But Fawkes did a marvelous job of rising above the top with the first modern allegory I’ve actually enjoyed reading—and a dang good story along with that.
Short Story: A Heretic’s Sacrifice
Emiel was twice a heretic.
When he rejected the Twelve Gods for Adolsin, the church labeled him a heretic. And when he held onto the Twelve Gods’ powers after pledging himself to Adolsin, even his fellow heretics called him a heretic.
The numerous enemies Emiel had gathered over the years caused many near-death experiences. But he didn’t mind. Enemies made escapades more fun.
Emiel landed softly on the cold stone floor, his rope dangling beside him. He scanned the area. No guards this time of night. He stretched. Kesean always said he stretched like a cat. He was never sure whether she meant it as a compliment or not.
His back cracked. He grimaced. Hiding above the chapel’s rafters for seven hours had stiffened all his joints. Orin had suggested that he disguise himself as part of the wall. Unfortunately, Emiel’s shapeshifting powers didn’t work that way.
Emiel padded along the stone floor toward the exit. A chill crept through his socks. He probably should have worn shoes. But shoes were so unnatural. How could he stay on his toes if he couldn’t feel the surface he was standing on?
He arrived at twin doors adorned with fancy carvings intended to honor the Twelve Gods. As if the Twelve Gods gave a rat’s tail for the happenings on earth. Emiel considered finding a knife to make some interesting changes to the carvings. But he wasn’t sure Adolsin approved of vandalism—even if he would be defacing false deities. And Emiel had a job to do. He pushed the doors open and tiptoed into the main hall of the manor.
