Benjamin Merkle

The White Horse King tells the tale of King Alfred and his battle to reclaim his throne and take back England from the Viking invaders. This biographical book deals with intricacies of Alfred's thinking, the Viking's lifestyle, and the reasons why Alfred got his throne back.

The writing is top-notch, easy to read but not simplistic. Merkle draws us in so well that he could elicit emotion from us with a simple phrase. Everything seems so meticulously planned; as if Merkle had written the story in his head, and then simply copied it down on paper. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if something like that had happened.

As for the actual story, Alfred's is fascinating. Merkle has a strong platform to work off of, and he does it wonderfully. I especially like how he ties it together by talking about how Alfred's two most important battles were both fought in an area that had a hill, which in turn had a white horse carved into it. Nobody knows anything about who these white horses are, who put them there, or what they are for, and Merkle doesn't try to answer those questions. This could have been a gaping weakness, but instead it just goes to show how well Merkle is telling this story.

Another excellent quality this book has is how the author immerses us into English culture without throwing it all at us in such a way that we feel like we're drowning in all this complex--albeit good--information. English culture and simple don't belong in the same sentence, but Merkle does it in such a way that we know enough, but not too much. He only tells us precisely what we need to know for the purposes of the book.

There isn't anything wrong as far as quality in this, nor morally. However, there is one incredibly gruesome description of a Viking form of execution. It's not pretty. And, it goes on for several pages. It certainly is graphic, but it is needed to show the brutality and complete heartlessness that defined the Vikings. This might be a setback for some, and I would encourage parents to check that section out first. It's located in the second chapter. However, besides that there isn't anything that to my knowledge would be even remotely offensive to the reader.

All in all, 8 out of 10. My age recommendation is 9+, but with a parental check on that one rather gruesome description. Find the link to Amazon here.

Cheers,
Cal

I recently did a guest post for The Director over at Castles Quills and Cameras. Here's the link to my post.

http://castlesquillsandcameras.blogspot.com/2012/02/guest-post-christopher-of...

The post is on how do we, as Christians, decide what to read or watch?

Cheers,

Cal

Well, Spring Break is coming up, so I thought I would put out a book list. This one is pretty short, and I’ve included some recommendations on some of the books. Here’s the scale: A=Great book. Get it. Nothing questionable at all (i.e The Wingfeather Saga)  B=Some questionable things, but very brief. Still very good (i.e. Out of the Silent Planet) C=More questionable things, and more intense as well. Great stuff, but not for anyone under 12

A.

Noah Webster: Master of Words/David Collins/The Sowers

Carry A Big Stick/George Grant/Cumberland House Publishing Inc.

The Sarah and Paul series/Derek Prime/Christian Focus Publications

Sarah and Paul Have a Visitor
 Sarah and Paul Go Back to School
Sarah and Paul Go to the Museum
Sarah and Paul go to the Seaside
Sarah and Paul Go on Holiday Again
Sarah and Paul Make a Scrapbook

Note: This series is almost exclusively for younger readers. These are great short stories to use as books to start reading in, and also are extremely fun to read. I highly doubt any older children would like these, but nonetheless, they are great for younger children.

The Wingfeather Saga/Andrew Peterson/Waterbrook Multonomah and Rabbit Room Publishing

a.On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness/Waterbrook Multonomah
b.North! Or Be Eaten/Waterbrook Multonomah
c.The Monster in the Hollows/Rabbit Room Press
d.The Warden and the Wolf King(to be released)/Rabbit Room Press

B.

The Lord of the Rings/J.R.R. Tolkien/There are so many different versions out there. There isn’t really one that is the best, so any version will work.

The Chronicles of Narnia/C.S. Lewis/Again, any copy will work.

Out of the Silent Planet/C.S. Lewis/I’ve seen many copies. Any will work.

The Silmarillion/J.R.R. Tolkien/Houghton Mifflin Publishing

Little Women/Louisa may Alcott/Young Readers Library

House of Love/Elizabeth Chaney/Lamplighter Publishing

Huguenot Garden/Douglas M. Jones III/Canon Press

The Little House on the Prairie series/Laura Ingalls Wilder/Harper and Row Publishers

Little House in the Big Woods
Little House on the Prairie
Farmer Boy
On the Banks of Plum Creek
By the Shores of Silver Lake
The Long Winter
Little town on the Prairie
These Happy Golden Years

C

The Children of Hurin/J.R.R. Tolkien/Houghton Mifflin Publishing
(For intense fantasy violence, and a dark tone)

The Giver/Lois Lowry/Random House
(For some brief, albeit disturbing, violence, and some brief sensual elements)

Till We Have Faces/C.S. Lewis/Harcourt Brace & Company
(For some properly handled, but perhaps not age-appropriate discussions on human reproduction)

Note: I was hesitant to put these last two on the list. The Giver has some brief, albeit disturbing violence in it. The only reason I included it was the wonderful questions it asked, and its view of absolute truth and morality, among other things. Till We Have Faces was a brilliant book. There wasn’t anything wrong with it, but it contains talk about virginity/reproduction that, while treated in a right and good way, may not be what some parents want their children reading. I would be very careful giving this to anyone under 12, and maybe not to some 12 year olds. I would be sure they know about reproduction and how it works. But the book on the whole is terrific, and should be read by everyone, once it is appropriate for them to do so.

Cheers,
Cal

C.S. Lewis

Three princesses are born into a dying Kingdom. The Oldest is ugly, the two younger are beautiful. This is Till We Have Faces, a retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche, from the point of view of the oldest sister.

Comments: At my church, a blurb is printed in the bulletin every Sunday. This little two paragraph essay talks about the holiness in the Sanctuary. The difference between this place of worship and the world outside. The profaneness of the world, and the sacredness of the Sanctuary, where the almighty being of the universe teaches his people about himself. It talks about how, when you enter the Sanctuary, the unholy world is left behind, and the holiness of God is in every corner.

In a sense, this is what Till We Have Faces is all about. The profane, the holy, the unholy, and the sacred. This book, while labeled fantasy, is more of a weighty study about what happens when the sinful dirtiness of the world comes into contact with a perfect, all-powerful, and immortal being. What happens? The sinfulness is destroyed.

That is the point pressed in Till We Have Faces.

Those who know the myth of Cupid and Psyche will certainly see differences between Lewis' version, and the classic tale, but when you look at the book as a whole you clearly see why Lewis changed the plot. The result is a far more beautiful, a far more allegorical, and far deeper book than the myth is.

While we're on the subject of plot, I would like to make a quick observation about the writing. I have come to the following conclusion: mediocre writers can take a bad plot and make it worse; average writers take a bad plot, and you still end up with a bad plot; good writers can take a bad plot, and make it excellent; genius writers take a genius plot, and make it better. This last category is by far the hardest feat to accomplish, and only the elite writers can be placed there. And it is in this category that Lewis has–at least in my mind–cemented himself into with this book. From the first page you are thrown into this world of heartbreak, sadness, and a totally barbaric kingdom. What's more, this is in first person narration. I've read a couple books written in the first person, and I've written in the first person myself. I'm doing it now. But what I find with the books I read that are in first person, is that one of two things happen. 1) I feel disconnected from the characters, and usually see a good plot–almost never worth a reread though–and boring characters. 2) A good, unique plot, and stock characters, where you can afford to write in first person, because there's no reason to connect to the characters, because its impossible.

Both these assumptions were dashed to pieces with this novel. Lewis writes in the first person, and emerges a victor. I am with the characters all the way, and the plot is brilliantly intriguing. Oh, and let me mention that not until halfway through the book is the person from who's view the story is being told name revealed. That is a feat to be admired.

So, to conclude, let me say this.

Ever since the fall there has been an ongoing struggle between good and evil. The profane abhors the sacred, and seeks to defile it. But every time the profane touches the sacred, the profane is destroyed, leaving behind only the pure that is in that thing. That is evidenced by Till We Have Faces. There is so much more here, but let me say just one more thing. There is a question raised throughout the book. And that is: why? The main character constantly asks that question. Why? Why me? Why do I have to go through this? But after the book is over, you realize that this was simply a prejudice. The main character hates the Gods of her world, calling them cruel. Earlier in the book Lewis had made this observation: People do evil because they don't know the difference between it and good. But what he meant by that is shown in the end: The sacred is pure, but when you believe something hard enough, you will become blinded, and refuse to see any other view, and that is the profane. The profane are those who are prejudiced, and those who refuse to see the difference between evil, and good. When Lewis said that men do evil because they don’t know the difference between it and good, he meant this: all of us have an unshakable sense of good in us, and in a way, we all believe in absolute morality. But because of our prejudices we suppress that belief to the point that we convince ourselves that we never believed that.

9 out of 10 stars. 13+ There is some content in there, that while not bad, may not be age appropriate. I strongly urge that parents read the book before letting their children read it. The link to Amazon can be found here.

Cheers,
Cal

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

A family has long met their doom from a large black hound. Many say that it is simply imagination, others, that it is something supernatural, still others do not bother with it.

(download)

Click here to download:

the-hound-of-the-baskervilles-agdIpxHjyEhvCvcpDwxs.zip (19 KB)

Finally, he discovers the answer to his problems. But him and Watson may not be ready for what they are about to meet.

Comments: I had never read The Hound of the Baskervilles, though I do love Holmes. When I finally settled down to read it, I was captured. From the first page to the last, I was kept in suspense, and was constantly surprised. Doyle used his characters so beautifully, each fulfilling their purpose, and more.

The beginning, in particular, was incredible. Doyle likes to begin his books with a little mystery. This one was no different. It uses curiosity and mystery to get us thinking instantly. When we hear the legend of the Baskervilles, the suspense begins, and when the legend finishes, we are left wondering what the answer could possibly be.

Speaking of the legend of the Baskervilles, that was arguably my favorite part of the story. I love hearing the background, the facts, and basically the setting up in mystery stories. I usually dislike Doyle’s legends in his short stories, because they never really pull me in enough. They’re good to get the story started but they don’t give me enough to wonder about. The Hound of the Baskervilles shows no sign of that weakness, and instead it is a terrific legend.

I have found, that in many books, mystery included, a key part to making us read the story, and making us care for the characters is to raise the stakes. Doyle does that in chapters two and three of this, and he does it beautifully. They are fun, action-packed, and as I said, they raise the stakes.

The characters were probably the weak point in this book. Holmes and Watson were as brilliant as ever, but some of the other characters were subpar. Henry Baskerville, one of the main characters, while he did fulfill his purpose, he wasn’t given much time. He showed that he might be a very multi-layered character, but you never saw passed the cardboard side. Also, Dr. Mortimer, could have been a great character. At the beginning he was very prominent, but then, he just dropped out. He was underused and just dropped out of the story after he had fulfilled his purpose (explaining some things) and he never comes back in.

The plot was incredibly well done. It’s hard to create suspense, include action, and still have good characters but Doyle manages to juggle the trio very well, and comes up with a good result. The suspense side gave enough to satisfy, and then some. Doyle delivered action by throwing in an escaped convict, and a desperate chase across the moor to catch him. The characters, as I stated above, were good to.

There was one simple problem with this book. The legend states that “every Baskerville since has met the same fate,” but an explanation is only given for the two most recent deaths. There was no explanation as to who the other Baskerville’s were killed by. However, if you can drop that plot hole, you should be fine.

Here’s just some info on it.

It is scary. I found myself terrified by it more than once. Younger children might have an issue with the suspense.

There are some things having to do with mistreating women. A man abuses his wife. This is not described, or shown, but the after affects are shown.

There is some implied immoral relationships between boys and girls. This is never given much time or described much, but it is there. I wasn’t really bothered by this, since I just ignored it, but I did think I should put it in this

So that’s my review. My age suggestion is 11+. And my final rating is 9 out of 10. It truly is a good book, and worth a read, and probably a re-read as well. The link to Amazon to buy this can be found here.

Cheers

Cal

Just a short little post here.

Jake, over at Tenage Writer is having a contest. He writes, and is going to self-publish his book in e-book format. He is asking for pre-readers, so hop on over there and help him out! The conest ends on February 3rd, so hurry up!

That's all.

Cheers,

Cal

The Movie Poster

Dwarves

Thorin!

Dwarves again...

Move your mouse over the images and select "view in full screen" for bigger sizes.

Cheers,

Cal

Here is the cover for N.D. Wilson's new book, The Drowned Vault. This is most definitely my most anticipated book of 2012. But alas, I must wait an entire year almost for it...

Lois Lowry

Jonas is a young boy who lives in the Community. Every part of his life is regulated by the strict laws that govern the Community. But when Jonas is assigned to an old man, simply called The Giver, things start to change very fast. And all that Jonas knew–all the lies he has been told his whole life, they are all about to fall away. But when you have been told lies your whole life, is the truth possible to accept? Whatever the outcome, Jonas knows he will never be the same again.

The plot doesn't take off from the first page. There is no huge battle, no mysterious conversation. Instead the book portrays a life in the day of Jonas. The thing that hooks you is the writing style. The writing is reminiscent of C. S. Lewis' witty style, or J. R. R. Tolkien's grand writing. And the characters... These characters are incredibly three dimensional. By the end of the first chapter I'm there with Jonas. I care about him and his father, and his mother, and his sister. I care about the people the book wants you to care about. Which helps significantly in setting up the emotionally stunning ending. Near the middle the plot does pick up, but you won't be bored for one second. Because near the middle is when things start changing, but there is plenty of foreshadowing to build up so much suspense you feel like skipping to the middle just to find out what happens. Oh, don't do that, by the way. That would really spoil everything. 

Now that's done I can get down to what I really want to talk about. The questions raised in this book. Right from the word "Go" you are bombarded with weighty questions. One of the first given is also one of the most important. A question about authority. Where does parental authority end, and personal rights begin? For Christians like myself this is especially hard to figure out. In the book the mothers who give birth have the babies taken away from them and given to a family unit, run by two people. These two people are not married, nor are they in love. The family unit is a place to keep the children until they grow old enough to start their own family unit. The "parents" in each unit are not really the children's parents, so do they have authority over the children? My answer would be yes. But something bothered me here. In this Community, there is no discipline. None. There is correction, but the correction is more like what you would do to a dog, or a pet. Not a human being. Rebuke and redirect is a good dog-training technique, but humans are quite different. The two adults in a family unit are powerless in training their children. The Community, not the parents, are the ones who train. And they don't train. They shield. 

Shielding may be good, but this is shielding forever. Shielding out of fear–out of fear of sin and wrong. God calls us to go into the world and spread the light of the Gospel. He does not tell us to run and hide–to build trenches to protect ourselves from the sin that is around us. Why? Because there is no reason. 
"For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."–John 3:17
The world through him has been saved. There is nothing to fear now. 
"He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you, and on their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone."–Luke 4:10-11
We are protected from evil. Being shielded might be a good thing, but it isn't good to be shielded forever. Sometime, you have to face the world. But when we cower in fear, is that trusting God that "He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you?" The characters in this book are not Christians, but that doesn't mean that we can't learn from the mistakes that they made.

Another question raised is one of morality. This one is an incredibly disturbing question. When you don't know that you are doing wrong, is it then okay to do that wrong? When you are drained of all ability to feel, all ability to know remorse, apprehension, sadness, are you then absolved from the laws that God laid down. One might argue yes–because you are no longer human. In order to be human one must feel emotion. True emotion. Be able to feel pain, sadness, happiness, joy, love, anger, hatred, and all the rest. For now, in this world, we must be able to feel those things. So when you are drained of the ability to feel all that, are you still human? Are you absolved from right and wrong? No. Because whether human or no you are still in God's world, and his rules govern you so long as you are in his world. Just because you're a puppet doesn't mean you don't have to worry about right and wrong. When your authority tells you to sin you must say no. 

This truth is brought into heavy bombardment by the leaders of the Community. I'm not going to tell you how for fear of ruining the story, but the strict rules force some to sin. And how the main character reacts raises a lot of questions as well.

The final question I want to look at (but far from the last question raised in the book) is one of lying. This question also connects to the previous two questions I considered. That's another thing about this book. Everything is connected. It's so tightly plotted there's no room for any pointless characters or scenes. 

Back to lying. This book takes on lying in a new way. The MC (Main Character) struggles with the problem of lying. Except he is commanded to lie. Again the point "if you live in God's world you are bound to God's rules" comes up. But there are appropriate times to tell falsehoods. If a persons life can be saved by lying it is acceptable to do so. There are various other situations, but is lying appropriate to simply get away from an awkward question? In the book the MC is commanded to lie if he is asked about certain training he is undertaking. But the MC has been taught to never tell a lie. Eventually he does lie, but I don't think the situation in which he did it was appropriate. But a question was asked about his training. And he was commanded to lie. So he did. 

Maybe you can see here what's going on. The Communities strict rules are coming back to bite them. Their rules leave no room for human choice. And the question of authority, and another one of rules comes up. The Community tells you to obey whatever they say without questioning the rules. The Communities' rules say to never lie. The Community then tells one of its citizens to lie. The clash of rules here creates problems and fascinating situations that allow for some incredible questions and terrific character development. 

In the end this book is a great read for anyone who loves story. If you can get your hands on it, read it! If you can't get your hands on it, get your hands on it anyway. You won't ever forget this book. 

There are some disturbing scenes that are not appropriate for young children. My age suggestion is 12+ My final rating is 10 out of 10. Find the link to Amazon here. Read this book or else...er...just read the book. You won't regret it.

Cheers,
Cal

Happy Birthday Mr. Tolkien! J. R. R. Tolkien’s birthday is today (January 3rd). He would be 120 years old. So once again, Happy Birthday! In honor of him, I shall post two of his poems, both created by the same character in his books. Bilbo Baggins.

The first is Bilbo’s walking poem, and a very mysterious walking poem at that.

Roads go ever ever on,

Over rock and under tree,

By caves where never sun has shone,

By streams that never find the sea;

Over snow by winter sown,

And through the merry flowers of June,

Over grass and over stone,

And under mountains in the moon.

Roads go ever ever on

Under cloud and under star,

Yet feet that wandering have gone

Turn at last to home afar.

Eyes that fire and sword have seen

And horror in the halls of stone

Look at last on meadows green

And trees and hills they long have known.

The second is Bilbo’s poem for Aragorn. This is one of my favorites.

  All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

Cheers,
Cal

This actually came out before The Hobbit Trailer (see my post on the trailer here), but I neglected to post it till now. I really liked this production video because we got to see some of the sets of Mirkwood. So, ladies and gentemen, I introduce The Hobbit Production Video 4

Here is the Production Video 5! Barrels and Esgaroth!

This is a really cool video of Tolkien on The Hobbit. Sorry about the sound quality; it's the best I could find.

Throughout the entirety of the following video I sat in wide-eyed wonder and amazement. This is J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of LOTR and The Hobbit as well as numerous other works reciting the Ring Verse.

That's it for now!

Cheers,

Cal

George W. Bush

Decision Points chronicles George W. Bush's life by focusing on important decisions, instead of a day by day biography. He addresses such subjects as: the war in Iraq, 9/11, the Afghanistan war, the economic breakdown, and many more. This is the presidency through his eyes.

Decision Points could be called a biography, but I found it to be different from a biography. It talked little about his early years, devoting a mere five pages or so to that period of time. But that does not detract from it. It departs from the cliche of early life, middle years, death, and instead focuses on the major events and decisions that President Bush faced. I found that I preferred this approach over the standard formula.

Another thing I liked about this was the style of writing. It's not Tolkien nor is it Lewis, but for what it is trying to do, it does it very well. The style is clear, Bush uses a good vocabulary, but never overwhelms the reader with a plethora of unknown words. The organization of this book, however is questionable. I understand it does focus on the important decisions, but I fail to see how that forces Bush to organize it out of chronological order. It is chronological up to his discussion of 9/11 and from that point on it talks about any time in his presidency; going from 9/11 to his final days as president to back to some point in the Iraqi war. This can get very confusing.

Description is seriously lacking in this book. Yes, yes, yes, it's a biographical work, and those types of works don't tend to have lots of description, but at least some would be helpful. What exactly was your feeling when the violence in Iraq escalated, Mr. Bush? Besides, "I wondered why it wasn't working," could you please give us a little more insight into your emotions when that news came? Overall, I just felt like it really needed some work in the description domain.

However, these are a many good things about it. The topics chosen were excellent! They never bored me, but instead sparked my interest in them, and Mr. Bush usually, if not always, delivered on the expectations. The book never takes for granted that you know what it is talking about, and explains in an efficient way what certain terms mean, and so on.

Here's some information on the book that you might like to know.

There are several words in the book including a few uses of the d-word and a few incorrect uses of the word "hell."

Some of the topics discussed could be too sensitive for some. The war in Iraq is talked about, including some of the violence of the revolutionist gangs in Iraq. They kill innocent civilians with saws, and torture them with power drills. Also, some of the interrogation techniques used by the US against terrorists could be disturbing.

My final rating is 6 out of 10. I recommend it for ages 12+. The link to Amazon to buy the book can be found here.

Cheers,
Cal

1 Now in those days a decree went out from (A)Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of (B)all [a]the inhabited earth. 2 [b]This was the first census taken while [c]Quirinius was governor of (C)Syria. 3 And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. 4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because (D)he was of the house and family of David, 5 in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.

6 While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. 7 And she (E)gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a [d]manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
 8 In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And (F)an angel of the Lord suddenly (G)stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10 But the angel said to them, “(H)Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a (I)Savior, who is [e](J)Christ (K)the Lord. 12 (L)This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a [f]manger.” 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
 14 “(M)Glory to God in the highest, 
And on earth peace among men [g](N)with whom He is pleased.”

 15 When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the [h]manger. 17 When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary (O)treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 The shepherds went back, (P)glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

...for Peter Jackson is awesome!

And now, Hobbits and Elves, orcs and dwarves, Rangers and Valar, I am delighted to present the first ever official trailer for the upcoming movie, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

I've watched it too many times already.

Enjoy!

Cal

Well, I have returned from NaNoLand, and I'm here with the book reviews that have been absent in November. In this one I'm going to be reviewing two books–both from the same series. Book number one is King's Arrow, book two of the Crown and Covenant series (proceeded by Duncan's War,) and the second book is Rebel's Keep the conclusion to the Crown and Covenant series.

King's Arrow by Douglas Bond
Summary: Angus lives with his brother Duncan and his family in the moors of Scotland. All of his family are Covenanters, people who fought against religious persecution in Scotland. Angus has developed a particular knowledge about the bow and arrow and is one of the best archers among the Covenanters. But when he faces new challenges, he must stay true to his faith and face the hardest decision of all. When to let the arrow fly, and when to hold it back.

It is more than possible to write a good book and not have a huge cast and brilliant places like The Lord of the Rings. The thing that made Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and Gandalf work so well was that they were all deep characters, ones we cared about. We could easily relate to all of them. But characters like those–ones that seem to be made out of part of you–come along only once in a while. Angus, Duncan, their father, the entire family are good characters but not enough so that I'm able to follow them as much as this book demands me to do.

But these are all cons, and this book has many more positives than negatives. The ending is one of the best battle sequences I have read in a while. Angus is a very relatable character, more so than Duncan at least. The plot was much better than Duncan's War for sure. There are very powerful messages, done in such a way that it wasn't all in sermons like in Duncan's War. This time Bond took the morals and lessons and embedded them in the characters themselves.

Overall, this book has flaws, but so does every book! 8 out of 10 for sure. My age suggestion is 9+, simply because this book is more complex and younger readers might be confused. The link to Amazon is here.

Rebel's Keep by Douglas Bond
Summary: Duncan and Angus have both grown up under the persecution of the Scottish government. They had held out hope for so long that the persecution would stop, but as it increases they make the decision to board the ships and set sail for America. But then Angus is captured by the King's men and his entire family must make the decision. Leave him behind and save themselves, or save him and risk all of their lives?

Bond apparently realized his mistake from King's Arrow, and this time, though the book itself has few characters, it is action packed. This one also has some of the strongest themes in any of the three books. Self-Sacrifice, respect for elders, thinking of others first–they are all here. This book is a masterpiece of emotion, adrenaline pumping action, multi-layered characters and beautiful description.

All in all this book gains a 9 out of 10 for sure. Age suggestion is probably 10+. There is some rather gruesome references to torture, and while none actually happens several characters are threatened with torture, burning, or other more violent ways of death. But it's never over the top violence. Its all there for a reason. The link to Amazon is here.

Cheers,
Cal

P.S. Check out Douglas Bond's website here.