Splashdown Authors Write Short Stories For Anthology -- Review of "Aquasynthesis" edited by Grace Bridges

NEW SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY REVIEWS

Reviews Of Recently Published Science Fiction And Fantasy Books

Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258

Blog Address: http://newsciencefictionandfantasyreviews.blogspot.com

November 29, 2012

SPLASHDOWN AUTHORS WRITE SHORT STORIES FOR ANTHOLOGY

A Review of

Grace Bridges, Editor Aquasynthesis (Splashdown Books, 2011)

196 pp $5.98 ISBN: 978-1-927154-00-7

Reviewer: Forrest W. Schultz

Both the quantity and quality of speculative fiction writing by Christian authors continues to rise. One of the notable contributors to this phenomenon hails from New Zealand: Grace Bridges, who is the Owner of the Lost Genre Guild email discussion group (founded by Frank Creed) and the Owner and Founder of Splashdown Books Publishing Co. In the "Aquasynthesis" anthology Bridges gives us an opportunity to sample some of this fiction from Splashdown authors. One of these authors, Walt Staples, is the Narrator, and eleven other authors contribute short stories. These are among the best Christian writers of speculative fiction today.

There is a great variety among these stories, as is usually the case with anthologies. My favorites were the two into which an authoritative personage suddenly appears to convey unexpected and important information: in one case this person is God; in the other case the person is the real Saint Nicholas.

Now a word about the meaning of "splashdown" and "aquasynthesis". The kind of splashdown to which Bridges refers is not like that of the returning astronaut's space capsule, but rather is like that of the splash of the diver as he jumps off of the research ship and plunges into the ocean depths to study its strange denizens. And the aquasynthesis is analogous to the compilation of the results of these studies into the science of marine biology. The fictional worlds built by the anthology authors are the mileus into which the reader is plunged. the narrator is the tour guide for these newly created regions of The Mythosphere.

This anthology provides a good introduction to these authors. Information is available at http://www.splashdownbooks.com/.

Realism and Humor Continue To Flourish in "Infinite Series" Books -- Review of "Judge" by R J Larson

NEW SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY REVIEWS

Reviews Of Recently Published Science Fiction And Fantasy Books

Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258

Blog Address: http://newsciencefictionandfantasyreviews.blogspot.com

November 29, 2012

REALISM AND HUMOR CONTINUE TO FLOURISH IN INFINITE SERIES

A Review of

R J Larson Judge (Bethany House, 2012)

354 pp $14.99 ISBN: 978-0-7842-0972-7

Reviewer: Forrest Schultz

The world created by R J Larson for her Books Of The Infinite Series is similar to the ancient world in which the Old Testament events transpired, which is useful in helping us to imagine what it was like to be a prophet back then. It is true, as someone recently pointed out, that in some cases this makes it easy for the reader to figure out what is going to happen. But this also provides an opportunity for the author to give the reader some idea of what the particulars of these experiences might feel like. One good example of this in "Judge" is what happened to Kien Lantech when he balked at God's command to him to deliver a warning of impending destruction to ToronSea: he had a Jonah-like experience when he was swallowed by a whale-like sea creature. Yes, you can guess that this will happen but the author helps you to imagine what details of what it must have been like for Jonah!

Meanwhile Ela of Parne is caught in a Jeremiah-like scenario as she experiences the wrath of her fellow-citizens when she delivers to them The Infinite's prophecy of the impending judgement which will fall upon them because of their many apostasies. Here again, you can guess what will happen to her as a result -- and it DOES happen! -- but the story also helps you to imagine what it must have been like for Ela and for Jeremiah to go through such a trauma.

The particulars are not only realistically depicted for these strongly developed characters but the conversations involved are also realistic and often laced with humor, a good example being the bantering depicted on pages 113-115 between Kien and the Chief Guardsman of Adar-iyr. And there is humor in the frustration of Kien in this episode taking him away from his training to be a judge, which is what the book's title refers to. And, as if this were not enough, there are those characters in the story who regard him as a lord or a king! Kien gets ever more frustrated: "I am a judge, not a prophet or a king of a lord!!", he proclaims!

Finally there is humor in the "Destroyers", which are dragon-like creatures which make a great contribution to the story and are fun to read about. As such the book is also suitable for reading as 2012 -- The Year Of The Dragon -- draws to a close. And it will make a good gift in this season to be jolly, and to focus people's attention on the things of God.

Information is available at http://www.rjlarsonbooks.com/.

Prophet: A Gem Of Christian Speculative Fiction -- Review of "Prophet" by R J Larson

NEW SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY REVIEWS

Reviews Of Recently Published Science Fiction And Fantasy Books

Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258

Blog Address: http://newsciencefictionandfantasyreviews.blogspot.com

April 9, 2012

Prophet: A Gem of Christian Speculative Fiction

A review of

R. J. Larson Prophet (Bethany House, 2012)

$14.99 352 pp ISBN-10: 076420971X ISBN-13: 978-0764209710

Reviewer: Forrest W. Schultz

The number of Christians writing science fiction and fantasy (and other forms of "speculative" fiction) continues to rise. The latest addition to these ranks is R, J. Larson, who debuted this month with an other world fantasy Prophet, the first in her Books of the Infinite series.

Like Keven Newsome's Winter, Larson's Ela is an eighteen year old woman called by God to a prophetic ministry. Unlike Newsome's story, which is set in contemporary America, Larson's is situated in a context like our ancient world. As such it can provide some insight into what it was like to be an Old Testament prophet. In fact, one of the discussion questions at the back of the book asks the reader to compare Ela with the OT prophets.

A word needs to be said in praise of the magnificent art work on the front cover of the book. On Larson's website, http://www.rjlarsonbooks.com/index.html are found two more gems, a map of the land in which the story takes place, and a picture of one of its vicious animals, the Scaln. These should be placed somewhere in the book.

Comparing Ela to the Old Testament prophets is not as easy as it might sound. Contrary to what some people might think, there was considerable diversity among the OT prophets. Jonah, for instance, was very atypical. What I shall do here is the same thing I did in my review of Winter, namely conclude that Ela can be compared favorably with the paragon of OT prophecy, Elijah, because of her godliness, her sharp logical mind, and her sense of humor.

Her verbal dexterity is also worthy of note. Consider how she replies to the query posed to her by the Istgardian king (p. 101),

"How do you know it is the Infinite who speaks?

"He tells me everything I don't want to hear, sends me where I don't want to go, and aks me to fulfill tasks I consider impossible."

I love that -- one of the most memorable and significant things in the book!

The story itself is well developed and the characters are skillfully crafted to provide us with a picture which is in some ways unique and in other respects quite similar to the history depicted in the Old Testament -- although this is another world, it has the same old same old sins and their ruinous consequences which are present in our world, and the same opportunities for new life for those who repent. And the same kinds of hardships experienced by the OT prophets also befall Ela of Parne.

One thing which is different is the romance which develops between Ela and the Tracelands Ambassador Kien. To find out how that develops, one will need to read the sequel, Judge, the second book of the trilogy, which is expected to be published fairly soon. I plan to read that one also!

This is a must-read book if you want to keep up with the best in Chrisitan speculative fiction.

The "Coming Of Age" of Super-Heroes And Author in "The Gifted" -- Review of Steven Wilson's "The Gifted Book 2: Coming Of Age"

NEW SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY REVIEWS

Reviews Of Recently Published Science Fiction And Fantasy Books

Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258

Blog Address: http://newsciencefictionandfantasyreviews.blogspot.com

February 25, 2011

 

The "Coming of Age" of Super-Heroes And Author In The Gifted

A review of

Steve Wilson The Gifted, Book 2: Coming of Age (Create Space, 2011)

$10.00 204 pp ISBN: 9781456574994

Reviewer: Forrest W. Schultz

One of the toughest stages in the human maturation process is the transition from adolescence to adulthood. The focus in the book under review here is a group of teens for whom this transition is more difficult than usual because they also need to mature in their usage of the super-powers with which they have been endowed. This super-hero maturation involves not only mastery of the technical skills involved in using these powers but also the development of an ethical concern to be certain they are used for good and not for evil.

This ethical development is complicated by the fact that there is still a lot of mystery concerning who all was involved in the bestowal of these super-gifts and what their purposes were and are. Perhaps the most immediate pressing concern involves one of the main characters in the story, General Raines. Can he be trusted? Is he working for the good guys or the bad guys? And exactly who are the good guys and the bad guys anyway? And these guys involve not only humans but extraterrestrials as well, which appear to be what is ultimately behind the bestowal of the super-powers.

The teens mentioned are "The Gifted" and the "Coming of Age" refers to the maturation discussed above.

As I noted in my review of Book 1 of this series, there is a resemblance between "The Gifted" and the television series "Heroes". Speaking of that, I feel, with what I know at this point, that The Gifted would be far easier to make as a movie or television series than as a series of books. The author should seriously consider making this into a film or series of films. I believe this would be helpful not only in displaying these superpowers but also in making the characters more memorable. These powers are easily shown on screen; showing them on the printed page is not easy. The characters in Heroes were so memorable not just because of their development by the writers but especially because of the really great way they were portrayed on film. So far, the characters in The Gifted are not nearly as well developed as, for instance, Claire the Cheerleader -- you know the one for whom the slogan "Save The Cheerleader: Save The World" was coined. I have a feeling that some of the characters in The Gifted have such a potential but it has so far not been realized: at this point we only see hints of it.

One of the greatest experiences of a novel reader is seeing a character there who is so memorable you would like to meet him or her. The challenge the author faces is developing his characters so that they have that effect on the reader. I see a potential here but it is not yet reached. In the Heroes I would love to meet Claire and those two funny Japanese guys and some of the others. So far, I cannot say that about any of the characters in The Gifted. Maybe in the future books we will see a Coming of Age in this character development!

As to the story line, it is hard to know what to say without knowing what is really going on behind the scenes, esp. with the ETs. I find that frustrating but it is clearly part of the story and we shall have to wait for the future books to find out what is going on. But I do not wish to say more about this now because my real concern is with the characters.

This author clearly has potential. I shall look to see its development in the future stories. I really want to see someone like Claire The Cheerleader emerge -- wouldn't that be exciting. Sooo, stay tuned!

A Christian Fiction Version Of "Heroes" -- Review of Stephen R. Wilson's "The Gifted, Book I: In The Beginning"

NEW SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY REVIEWS

Reviews Of Recently Published Science Fiction And Fantasy Books

Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258

Blog Address: http://newsciencefictionandfantasyreviews.blogspot.com

December 22, 2010

A Christian Fiction Version of "Heroes"

A review of

Stephen R. Wilson The Gifted, Book 1: In The Beginning (self-published, 2010)

$12.00 314 pp ISBN: 978-0-615-40421-9

Reviewed by: Forrest Schultz

The book under review here immediately reminded me of the television series "Heroes". I do not want to say much more about the comparison than that because I never got around to watching all the shows in the series. The main parallel I would like to draw is the mystery of how these "heroes" received their supernatural gifts and why.

In The Gifted we are told that the gifts were given to these people by an extraterrestrial civilization intending to use them in its war against another ET civilization. This we learn at the beginning and the end of the book. But that does not completely solve the mystery because of the ambiguity of the exact nature of this group. A few of their names sound like Biblical ones -- Trinity and Zedek Kessed; but most of the names are those of the ancient Greek deities: Zeus and Hermes and Dionysus and Athena and Apollo. And the comments on the rear jacket of the book indicate that whatever plans for these gifted children which these extraterrestrials do have may be oveturned by "Someone" (presumably referring to God) who "has entirely different plans for them".

This is not to be unexpected when we consider that the author, Stephen Wilson, is a Pastor and the book is a work of Christian Fiction. Wilson, in fact, is so concerned about Christian Fiction, that he not only is writing his own, but also does a lot of reviewing of Christian Fiction, and that he is an active member of The Lost Genre Guild, whose members are Christian authors of science fiction and fantasy (and other types of "speculative" fiction). Information about him and his writing activities is available at http://thegiftedbookseries.webs.com.

The characters in Wilson's story are interesting and well-developed and the action is fast paced and holds the reader's attention. But, frankly, I did NOT like the inordinate amount of jumping back and forth in time. It was not really needed for the story and tends to confuse the reader.

Book 1 ends with The Gifted, now adolescents, being brought together and readied for transport to their destiny in outer space. I intend to read the following books in the series to discover what awaits these superheroes there: will they boldly go where no man has gone before?? What will they do and how will God overrule the plans the ETs have for them. This I am anxious to discover in the rest of the series.

Can A Vampire Be Separated From His Curse?? How About A Werewolf?? -- Review of Sue Dent's "Never Ceese"

NEW SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY REVIEWS

Reviews Of Recently Published Science Fiction And Fantasy Books

Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258

Blog Address: http://newsciencefictionandfantasyreviews.blogspot.com

August 22, 2012

Can A Vampire Be Separated From His Curse ??

How About A Werewolf?

A review of

Sue Dent Never Ceese (Black Bed Sheets Books, 2010)

356 pp $16.95 ISBN-10: 0976994747 ISBN-13: 978-0976994749

Reviewed by: Forrest W. Schultz

Richard is a vampire who is struggling to be freed from his curse so that he will be able to ask God for salvation, which, for him, will include not only the salvation from sin but also salvation from his vampire nature so that he can be fully human. I am not kidding -- this really is in the story, which, actually, is not so surprising if you know a little bit about Sue Dent, a gal who likes to shake things up!!

Never Ceese has rightly won widespread acclaim as a great story and a good read. And the author clearly has a good imagination. By far the most creative feature in the book, however, is not the story and the characters, but the very concept of vampire salvation, which is radically different both from the classic vampire concept (where vampires are perpetually and irredeemably evil and therefore unsavable) and the various modern notions, such as "sparkly" vampires. I am tired of reading these. Sue Dent's concept of the salvation of vampires may also lead to the salvation of the vampire genre!

And, as if that were not enough, she also has included in her story a werewolf, Ceese, who is trying to rid herself of her (werewolf) curse, so she can ask God for salvation both from sin and from her werewolf nature!! In short, Dent has redefined the very nature of werewolves as well as the nature of vampires! A pretty hefty accomplishment!

This book is the first in Dent's Thirsting For Blood trilogy. The second book, Forever Richard, has been published, and the third book Cyn No More will be published soon. Information is available at http://www.suedent.net/ and www.downwarden.com/BlackBedSheet.

A Fantasy Concerned About Reality -- Review of Reality's Fire by R. L. Copple

NEW SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY REVIEWS

Reviews Of Recently Published Science Fiction And Fantasy Books

Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258

Blog Address: http://newsciencefictionandfantasyreviews.blogspot.com

July 4, 2012

A Fantasy Concerned About Reality

A review of

R. L. Copple Reality's Fire [Volume 3 of Reality Chronicles] (Splashdown Books, 2012)

$11.98 248 pp ISBN-10: 1927154243 ISBN-13: 978-1927154243

Reviewer: Forrest W. Schultz

In a classical fantasy -- such as the one under review here -- there are some physical laws which are different, but the moral and spiritual principles are the same. For example, deception and other evils are just as wrong in Copple's fantasy as they are in the real world. His story is especially concerned with exposing deception in order to lay bare the ugly reality concealed by it. As such it has relevance for today's world which abounds with spiritual counterfeits which are deceiving many.

A good synopsis of Reality's Fire is found on the rear jacket of the book. Its heading "reality revealed by fire" refers to he eschatological expose' noted in I Cor 3:13. Analogies are found in the story, e.g. the expose' of a town falsely calling itself Paradise. And the story focusses on questions concerning whether or not one of the characters is decieved about something. And the main concern in the story is rescuing Crystal from the demon who deceived her and is possessing her.

Although this is a serious story pertaining to serious matters, there is a considerable amount of humor involved as well. One example, was the fear of falling off of the magic carpet while it was flying through the air.

If you like fantasy that is fun and deals with important stuff, then I recommend reading this one.

Information can be found at these websites: