Reviews By Charline

“Dark Fire; Krisalys Chronicles of Feyree: Scroll 2″

Author: Claudia Newcorn

I just recently finished reading “Dark Fire” by author Claudia Newcorn. “Dark Fire” is an entertaining story which takes two separate prophecies, two separate dimensions and weaves them seamlessly together into one book which is difficult to set down. The crux of this tale is that when the inhabitants of each dimension believe so strongly in their own prophecy which one of them is to be believed? More importantly, when all is not what it appears to be, who then is to be trusted?

In this second book of the Krisalys Chronicles of Feyree trilogy readers will also witness the coming of age of some of the younger Feyree sprytes. I am sure they will empathize with the young Feyree’s trials and tribulations. They will no doubt mourn with the sprytes over the loss of their friends, their loved ones and even more importantly the loss of their innocent views of their world. Unfortunately these are all hard lessons which must be learned quickly and quite often they find those they trust implicitly are actually traitors hiding within their midst. One can only hope that the players in Newcorn’s final book of the trilogy will have the strength to deal with that which is still to come.

All in all I found “Dark Fire” to be a wonderful and entertaining read. I can honestly say that I am also anxiously awaiting the publication of Newcorn’s final book in this series. I found her storyline to be compelling and I felt the characters were well thought out and easy to relate to. Newcorn writes with sincere attention to detail but not so much so as to cause boredom by over description. I believe anyone who enjoys reading fantasy or who just enjoys an afternoon or evening spent on the couch with a good book will not be disappointed should they pick this one up to read. I feel that “The Krisalys Chronicles of Feyree” trilogy would make a great addition to anyone’s library and that they belong there right next to other great series like “Lord of The Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien or “Inheritance” by Christopher Paolini.

“Through The Triangle”

Author: C.P. Stewart

Here I sit, idly staring at this blank page, and wondering where I should start in my review of “Through The Triangle” by C. P. Stewart. I guess the beginning would be as good a place as any…

Let me preface this by stating I am an avid reader of almost everything. I love Science Fiction, Asimov’s works grace a shelf in my library, and like many people I am fascinated by the “phenomenon” that is the Bermuda Triangle. In reading the back cover of Stewart’s book I was elated to learn his tale encompassed both these things; therefore I immediately tagged it as a “must read!” The premise of the story is this: Five strangers come together for a deep-sea fishing expedition off the coast of Florida. It’s a beautiful day on the water when suddenly an unexpected storm overtakes their ship “Oblique View.” Once the storm recedes they are able to make it to shore and this is when the captain realizes nothing is as it should be. Through exploration and more often than not just dumb luck they learn they have been transported almost three hundred years into the future. This is the story of the fate that befell them on August 13^th, 2005 and their life after…

So I finished the book and there I sat; wondering how to handle writing this review. I don’t want to say I was “let down” however, in all fairness, I must say I was not nearly as happy as I expected to be upon completion. Stewart’s writing style is at times either too detailed or very mechanical in nature. Because of this I was quite distracted during the opening chapter when his writing flowed from being interestingly descriptive to being over-descriptive and then back again. Not to be nit-picky but most of us already know a receipt from the gas pump is printed. It’s great to tell us the driver waited for cars to pass but do we, the reader, really care if there are five of them? If you are going to write two paragraphs that describe stopping for gas and what happens at the pump and you also include a detailed description such as “After punching in his debit card PIN…” then there probably should be some reference made to the actual insertion of the debit card. Better yet that part of the sentence could be left out as extraneous. By themselves each of these examples would have been fine were they a rare occurrence. However, at times, they appeared more often than not and consequently they became distracting.

On the bright side! Once I got further in, Stewart’s storyline was sufficiently interesting enough, for the most part, to keep me from noticing the verbose and often too technical explanations of certain things… Like parabolic shapes…  This is a book for our reading enjoyment, not to be confused with a textbook. I was also somewhat disappointed by the use of our most common scientific theory as explanation for the Bermuda Triangle. There are many different hypotheses “floating” around pertaining to the Triangle. Since this is a work of fiction I would have rather seen a different scenario presented within it.

In summary, “Through The Triangle” was a decent read and I am still glad I picked it up. If you like anything Science Fiction, if you like anything pertaining to the Bermuda Triangle or if your personal reading preference is for a more detailed and explanatory book then this one is a must read.

“There Are No Words”

Author: Mary Calhoun Brown

I found “There Are No Words” to be a very interesting, informative and easy read. Jaxon MacKenzie is an autistic twelve year old girl living in the modern world and yet this story seems firmly rooted in a past era. I attribute this “feel” to two separate but intertwined things. Jaxon lives with her grandparents who come from an older generation which encompasses a different set of values and she gets pulled into a painting that sends her back in time to July of 1918. “There Are No Words” is the story of Jaxon’s life here as well as her adventure in the past.

I definitely appreciated the historical facts which were used in the telling of this tale as it made the book very interesting to me. I also enjoyed the various photographs and pictures which were used throughout the book. They were an authentic touch and consequently they made the story that much more realistic. I am sure that the younger readers will greatly enjoy this aspect as well.

It was also wonderful to read the book from Jaxon’s perspective and to be present during her different stages. She starts out as an autistic child unable to really communicate with the world around her yet once she goes through the painting she suddenly finds she is able to interact with people in what we would consider a “normal” manner. How wonderful to finally have the ability to talk with people outside of her head! How amazing to have people treat her the same way they treat everyone else!

I give high praise to the author, Mary Calhoun Brown, for being able to help me understand and experience life in a way that an autistic child might. How many times do we overlook or simplify what Autism is simply because we do not understand it or have never experienced its effects in our lives? How frustrating it must be to be that child. To have to wonder about life every day and yet never have any answers to your questions. Jaxon was truly blessed to live with someone as intuitive as her grandparents.

“There Are No Words” is a charming and likeable story and I recommend it to readers of all ages…

“Do You Love Jehovah”

Author: Shirley Cheng

I found “Do You Love Jehovah?” to be an interesting, challenging and thought provoking read. Shirley Cheng has an easy to follow writing style however, at times, I did feel the message she was trying to share with the reader was weighted down by too many words of explanation.

Cheng is an amazing woman who despite her physical disabilities has thrown herself into living life to the fullest and appreciating the gifts that she feels have been given to her by her Creator. As we read this book many of us would do well to pause and take stock of our own lives; to notice all that we have to be grateful for as well.

In reading through “Do You Love Jehovah?” one cannot help but feel the love that flows from the author when she writes of her Creator. Her message of love is simple. Yet at times this same message seems clouded with personal bias as in the case of the chapter entitled “Do Not Be Stupid.” Up until this point I found the book to be insightful and explanatory but in this particular chapter the tone I heard seemed judgmental and callous. For example: “After their brief party, they will be sent away forever and a day. Good riddance!” If this, as she states in her statement, is what will happen to evil people then should not her feelings and words be those of true sorrow? Rather than a cold and uncaring statement like “Good riddance!” should not sadness be conveyed instead that these people were unable to change their ways in order to leave behind a life of sin so they could embrace Jehovah? Freedom of will is exactly that. If nothing else there should at least be respect for the person’s choosing even if the author does not agree with or understand this particular choice.

In closing I found “Do You Love Jehovah?” to be a very thought provoking read and I applaud Ms. Cheng’s heartfelt sincerity. I definitely recommend this book to readers of all ages. I only hope that those who read it will take into consideration that it is based upon one person’s interpretation of the Bible. I am aware that Ms. Cheng has read seven different versions of the Bible and has backed up her beliefs and statements with what she feels to be appropriate excerpts. However, I also realize that each person will have their own understanding of the Bible based upon their own individuality and circumstances not to mention the Creator will provide them with the understanding or clarification they are seeking if and when they are finally ready for it.