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sarahetc's Reviews (1.17k)
While King wants this to be thought of as Dark Tower Book 4.5, I think it's so much graphic novel fodder that Dark Horse told him was unworkable and so he made it into a short, irrelevant novel. Roland does tell a tale, but it adds very little, that I can see, to the overall Dark Tower mythos or even King's broader body of work. It's a glorified short story by an author who can phone it in and so does. A couple name-checks of Aslan were delightful, but for the most part, King needs to step it up or wind it down. But pick one, and stick with it.
I read this book entirely too quickly. But it was very good, so I don't care! Jacobs wants us to read at Whim and for Pleasure and I did and I would again. So there!
I was halfway through this book before I realized I didn't like it very much. It's interesting enough, I guess. There's nothing specifically wrong with it. And there's no specific spot I can point to and say, "This is where the story devolved." But I will say that it's biblical fanfiction and should be read as such. Take it for what it is and don't expect anything that it's not. So it's not particularly historically accurate, biblically accurate or even well edited. It's just a big old wordy story written by a lady fascinated with a little glimpse of where the lives of Solomon, King of Israel and Judah, and The Queen of Sheba intersected. Props to Edghill for making some ducats off some glorified Yuletide Treasure offerings.
If you're up in the middle of the night with a brand-new baby, panic attacks and sore boobs, this is the book for you! Because even when we can't do anything else for our kids, we can pray. And I haven't stopped praying yet.
This is a tremendously instructional book. I find myself praying now with the phrase, "I know I'm supposed to pray big prayers, but I don't have any big thoughts right now!" But that's because I have a tiny baby and all my effort and concentration is broken down into 90 minute or 3 hour chunks between feeding and changing and caring for her older sister. I will read this book again, certainly. I'll probably read it yet more than that.
I wanted to like this book much more than I actually did. I'm its ideal audience--someone who would be perfectly receptive to the idea that ancient Israel and contemporary America are inextricably linked via their fealty to God. I don't even actually reject the premise of the book: that America is being subject to the same removal of God's favor as Israel was, as describe in Isaiah 9:10 and subsequent verses. Yet the "narrative" style (which is actually a frame story to a dialectic) really, really did not work for me. I suppose if you're not a believer, and you aren't able to automatically see parallels when told that three different people said the same words on three completely different, yet equally significant days, it would work. It would seem stupendous. Yet for me, as a reader, not a believer, all the gobsmacking moments of clarity were rendered null by the way the Messenger had to lead Nouriel by the nose to each and every single conclusion. Except the conclusion of eternal salvation-- that was beautiful and well done.
It's a polarizing book and title, I'm sure. I'm positive that anyone that looks at this and sees any hint of "Bible code for 9/11!" is going to automatically became real adversarial with the text. But it's all right there. It's just written for sixth graders.
It's a polarizing book and title, I'm sure. I'm positive that anyone that looks at this and sees any hint of "Bible code for 9/11!" is going to automatically became real adversarial with the text. But it's all right there. It's just written for sixth graders.