Scan barcode
josiahdegraaf's reviews
1185 reviews
The Knight by Steven James
4.0
I really enjoy how all of the Patrick Bower File books link together. It creates a big sense of continuity that I really enjoy. The Knight managed to pull off both a compelling plot, a compelling sub-plot involving Tessa's real father, and a compelling set-up for future books. The fact that the murder mystery was built upon the Decameron was a bonus for crazy lit people like me who have actually read parts of this book in the past.
4 stars.
4 stars.
The Pawn by Steven James
4.0
This is one of those rare mystery books that both depicts a very intriguing mystery case, and also raises some of life's greatest questions from a Christian perspective without being preachy. A lot of the characters were very well developed, making the exchange between characters not relating to the central mystery just as interesting as the search for the killer itself. The villain of the book was also set up very well so as not to be a blank villain that doesn't have any real motivations. On the contrary, while the villain was insane and very twisted, he was also a fascinating--while horrifying--villain. My only qualms about the story is that I felt that the ending was a bit too rushed, and didn't resolve enough of the plot lines relating to the villain's real schemes and other characters involved. Overall, however, it was a very good read.
4-4.5 stars.
4-4.5 stars.
Structuring Your Novel: Essential Keys for Writing an Outstanding Story by K.M. Weiland
5.0
I've read several books on writing before, including ones on story structure.
This book beats them all.
Pros:
Excellent advice on the overall story structure. I was familiar with the Three-Act structure before, as well as various ways of looking at it, such as Vogler's/Campbell's mythical writer's journey concepts. In my opinion, however, this book presents a much better structure that applies to more stories than Vogler's structure.
The wealth of examples used in the book does a lot in order to make all the concepts easily understandable--as well as seeing how well each of them work.
Scene structure was also excellent. I'd read a blog post before by Weiland about the whole scene-sequel idea/progression. But this book did an excellent job in introducing these concepts that I wasn't familiar with and showing how both of them matter, and how to do it well.
Cons:
While Weiland addresses areas how this advice applies to "pantsers" as well, IMO, this book is really most applicable to plotters. As a plotter, this book was amazingly beneficial for me. But I'm not sure it would help as much if I were a pantser.
Overall:
This book presents a great way of doing story structure that works really well. It's convinced me to try to follow this structure for future books that I work on. Highly recommended to anyone looking at delving more into story structure.
5 stars.
This book beats them all.
Pros:
Excellent advice on the overall story structure. I was familiar with the Three-Act structure before, as well as various ways of looking at it, such as Vogler's/Campbell's mythical writer's journey concepts. In my opinion, however, this book presents a much better structure that applies to more stories than Vogler's structure.
The wealth of examples used in the book does a lot in order to make all the concepts easily understandable--as well as seeing how well each of them work.
Scene structure was also excellent. I'd read a blog post before by Weiland about the whole scene-sequel idea/progression. But this book did an excellent job in introducing these concepts that I wasn't familiar with and showing how both of them matter, and how to do it well.
Cons:
While Weiland addresses areas how this advice applies to "pantsers" as well, IMO, this book is really most applicable to plotters. As a plotter, this book was amazingly beneficial for me. But I'm not sure it would help as much if I were a pantser.
Overall:
This book presents a great way of doing story structure that works really well. It's convinced me to try to follow this structure for future books that I work on. Highly recommended to anyone looking at delving more into story structure.
5 stars.
The Last Disciple by Hank Hanegraaff
5.0
This book is kind of like what the Left Behind Series would be if it had good eschatology and good writing.
Pros:
The series is based on the premise that, as Christ promised the events He foretold would happen within the generation, the prophecies of Christ, and much of Revelation were fulfilled in the Destruction of Jerusalem. Thus, while being historical fiction, it also uses a lot of apocryphal imagery to accompany these times under Nero's persecution. The result is a fascinating story of the persecutions leading up to 70 A.D. with a partial-preterist view of Revelation.
A lot of Christian novels fail to present complex and realistic characters. This book happily does not fall into this trap. Hanegraaff and Brouwer allow protagonists to mess up at times and make foolish and sinful decisions--and then show them suffering the consequences for it. In addition, all significant areas of character development in the story feel realistic and not forced because "this character has to convert by the story's end."
Very engaging story that is difficult to put down. While the potential negatives of this approach is described below, the utilization of multiple plot-lines going on at once create a very rapid and quick-paced narrative that always leads you to keep turning the pages.
Cons:
Whether or not this is a real con, there are a lot of characters set up in this book and a lot going on. It can be confusing and somewhat difficult to keep up with all of them. While for me, this created a complex and enjoyable read, it also makes this book one that's best read in a short period of time, and not read slowly over a long period of time given how much you have to take track of.
At some points, the novel can get a bit preachy when evidence is being given for the partial-preterist view of the end times. While I agreed with all the arguments, some of the exposition on this point seemed a bit forced. Nevertheless, this was a small detraction in the midst of the whole book.
Overall:
This book is an excellent example of Christian fiction done well. While I came to the book already agreeing with the eschatological view it presented, there's nothing like being able to see such a view visually presented in a novel in such a masterful way. I found myself continually enthralled both by the apocalyptic world it presented, as well as the fascinating characters which populate the story. Must-read.
5 stars.
Pros:
The series is based on the premise that, as Christ promised the events He foretold would happen within the generation, the prophecies of Christ, and much of Revelation were fulfilled in the Destruction of Jerusalem. Thus, while being historical fiction, it also uses a lot of apocryphal imagery to accompany these times under Nero's persecution. The result is a fascinating story of the persecutions leading up to 70 A.D. with a partial-preterist view of Revelation.
A lot of Christian novels fail to present complex and realistic characters. This book happily does not fall into this trap. Hanegraaff and Brouwer allow protagonists to mess up at times and make foolish and sinful decisions--and then show them suffering the consequences for it. In addition, all significant areas of character development in the story feel realistic and not forced because "this character has to convert by the story's end."
Very engaging story that is difficult to put down. While the potential negatives of this approach is described below, the utilization of multiple plot-lines going on at once create a very rapid and quick-paced narrative that always leads you to keep turning the pages.
Cons:
Whether or not this is a real con, there are a lot of characters set up in this book and a lot going on. It can be confusing and somewhat difficult to keep up with all of them. While for me, this created a complex and enjoyable read, it also makes this book one that's best read in a short period of time, and not read slowly over a long period of time given how much you have to take track of.
At some points, the novel can get a bit preachy when evidence is being given for the partial-preterist view of the end times. While I agreed with all the arguments, some of the exposition on this point seemed a bit forced. Nevertheless, this was a small detraction in the midst of the whole book.
Overall:
This book is an excellent example of Christian fiction done well. While I came to the book already agreeing with the eschatological view it presented, there's nothing like being able to see such a view visually presented in a novel in such a masterful way. I found myself continually enthralled both by the apocalyptic world it presented, as well as the fascinating characters which populate the story. Must-read.
5 stars.