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josiahdegraaf's reviews
1185 reviews
Greeks & Romans Bearing Gifts: How the Ancients Inspired the Founding Fathers by Carl J. Richard
4.0
The Southern Essays of Richard M. Weaver by Richard M. Weaver
3.0
This book helped me to understand a lot more the cultural, or collective mindset, of the South. Weaver had a lot of very interesting insights into why the South thinks the way that it does, and how different historical events have changed it. In particular, his point that the South is arguably the only part of the country that has suffered defeat (a fact which has strengthened its literature) was particularly noteworthy. I didn't agree with all of Weaver's points, being decidedly on the Union's side of the civil war. However, it really helped me to understand a lot of different facets of Southern culture. As a result, it was a thoughtful and intriguing read.
3-3.5 Stars. (Good)
3-3.5 Stars. (Good)
The Last Sacrifice by Hank Hanegraaff
3.0
While an enticing sequel to the previous book, The Last Sacrifice suffers heavily from a lack of clear direction.
Pros:
A lot of the pros from the previous book still stand. The characters are still interesting and complicated, the eschatological view is still great, and the book is still page-turning and very hard to put down. While none of these are as top-line as in book one, they're still good enough to keep the book interesting.
Cons:
While this was present in the previous book, this becomes very noticeable in this book: namely, that the book as a whole doesn't have a real plot. There's no discernable goals for many of the characters, other than to stay alive and escape. As a result, the story is mostly driven by the character's reactions to events rather than acting to events. And so you don't really feel like the story has gotten anywhere at the end of the book. It has set up the last book really well. But it feels like, plot-wise, that's all the story is: set-up. And so while it was an enjoyable read, it feels like it should be 50% shorter and part of Book 3, instead of its own separate book.
As a follow-up to the above point, the book has a really abrupt ending. Not as in a cliff-hanger ending--I love good cliff-hanger endings like Empire Strikes Back or Catching Fire. But it really feels like the author just chose an arbitrary point to split Book 2 and Book 3. There's no real climax to this book.
Overall:
This book is a lot weaker than Book One, mostly because, while this happened in book one as well, it just becomes really clear that there's no real plot for each book in the series: the plot is just an overarching one in the series as a whole. This makes each book feel more like an installment in a TV series than a book that is solely good on its own merits. Because most of this book is a set-up for Book 3, then, a lot of how good this book is depends on how good Book 3 ends up being. If Book 3 blows me away, then the set-up was at least partially worth it. Otherwise, while the story is engaging and a fun read, the lack of structure really hurts the story.
2.5 stars. (Okay)
Pros:
A lot of the pros from the previous book still stand. The characters are still interesting and complicated, the eschatological view is still great, and the book is still page-turning and very hard to put down. While none of these are as top-line as in book one, they're still good enough to keep the book interesting.
Cons:
While this was present in the previous book, this becomes very noticeable in this book: namely, that the book as a whole doesn't have a real plot. There's no discernable goals for many of the characters, other than to stay alive and escape. As a result, the story is mostly driven by the character's reactions to events rather than acting to events. And so you don't really feel like the story has gotten anywhere at the end of the book. It has set up the last book really well. But it feels like, plot-wise, that's all the story is: set-up. And so while it was an enjoyable read, it feels like it should be 50% shorter and part of Book 3, instead of its own separate book.
As a follow-up to the above point, the book has a really abrupt ending. Not as in a cliff-hanger ending--I love good cliff-hanger endings like Empire Strikes Back or Catching Fire. But it really feels like the author just chose an arbitrary point to split Book 2 and Book 3. There's no real climax to this book.
Overall:
This book is a lot weaker than Book One, mostly because, while this happened in book one as well, it just becomes really clear that there's no real plot for each book in the series: the plot is just an overarching one in the series as a whole. This makes each book feel more like an installment in a TV series than a book that is solely good on its own merits. Because most of this book is a set-up for Book 3, then, a lot of how good this book is depends on how good Book 3 ends up being. If Book 3 blows me away, then the set-up was at least partially worth it. Otherwise, while the story is engaging and a fun read, the lack of structure really hurts the story.
2.5 stars. (Okay)
Holy Baptism: Word Keys Which Unlock The Covenant by Duane E. Spencer
4.0
I admit that I was a bit skeptical when I read the premise of the book. Could you really prove that sprinkling was the only proper mode of baptism? Given how many times immersion seemed to be practiced in the New Testament, I wasn't sure that this was a provable thesis. However, through the course of the book, Spencer did a magnificent job of convincing me of his thesis. By utilizing lots of biblical and historical context to support his points, Spencer gave a very thorough look at the topic. In the end, I wasn't completely convinced that immersion was wrong, since some of his explanations seemed stretched. However, he definitely convinced me that sprinkling was the more biblically correct mode of baptism. Great book for anyone looking to study this topic.
4 stars. (Very Good)
4 stars. (Very Good)
The Work of Christ: What the Events of Jesus' Life Mean for You by R.C. Sproul
4.0
Good book about the work of Christ. I already knew a lot of what Sproul was saying, but hadn't seen before how those aspects of who Jesus is are as clearly reflected in the work that Jesus accomplished. Most of it was reviewing familiar doctrines for me, but I did get to see the doctrines from a different perspective.
3.5 stars.
3.5 stars.