Dragons, Demons and Skeptics

It has been a while since my last post - travelling is no excuse - but it is a good chance to read! 

First the dragons - I am now well into my reading of A Dance with Dragons - the 5th book in the Game of Thrones series. I liked this a lot more that the Feast of Crows - the 4th book.  I was a bit lost in the 4th - but the 5th brought back all those connections I loved from the first 3 books - and the TV series!  We are back with the dragon queen Daeneris - now with grown up dragons and lots of problems after freeing slaves and trying to run a state.  There is Tyrion "the Imp" going from one disaster to another with his now half nose - but surviving; Jon Snow - now boss of "the Wall" and many others - some who I can't recall from earlier books!  The pace is incredible and the way George Martin keeps the pieces moving, in character and in vivid detail is amazing.  It is generally dark - murder and mutilation is a regular feature among the mayhem - but also quite "believable" in the sense that it holds together.  I am yet to finish the book - but I don't think that book 5 will be the end of this trilogy - and I would certainly read more!

The other dragon was another Harry Bosch adventure by Michael Connolly.  I tried to keep reading in sequence, but they were not on kindle and the one I found in the bookshop skipped a few.  His daughter is now grown up and living in Hong Kong with her mother (the dragon connection!).  I think the author is stretching for plots at the moment - and this one was a little "out there" - but I will read more.

Now the Demons.  I came across a  book called The Painted Man by Peter Brett.  I had never heard of him -  but Terry Brooks endorsed it - so that was good enough for me.  This was a good read.  the general theme was where demons ruled the dark of night - materialising as the sun went down and disappearing as the sun came up.  Humans had a religion based around this and they had to protect themselves in their houses - often not terribly successfully - during the dark hours.  The overwhelming attitude was one of fear and the lack of any way to overcome the demons and retake the dark.  The story, of course, was about a young boy who ended up taking on the demons and leading the human fightback to retake the dark.  It was well written and tackled many themes of how religion  - and fear - can stop us reaching our potential.  How do we take on the fear that instilled in us and cross boundaries that society says are un-crossable?

And Skeptics?  Well, I picked up a Skeptic magazine (Vol 16 No 4 2011, USA & c\Canada) the other day and read through the articles.  There were a couple of good articles - and I particularly liked the one on "What is the Most Effective way to be a Skeptic? - the great debate between confrontational activism v. educational outreach".  It seems as if Skeptics can be just as un-empathetic and uncivil as some fundamentalists - and there is a recognition that this is not helpful!  The magazine tackled other topics such as: antioxidants; sound therapy; precognition; and whether creationists were listening to each other about arguments not to use (the answer was no). I think there is a place for such magazines questioning dubious practices, beliefs and ideas - although the risk is that they lose some generally credibility because some good articles/ideas just get labelled as coming from the skeptics. The more scholarly debate that occurs in mainstream media and publications the better for all I think.

Whispers, Bosch, Gabriel and Games of thrones and dragons

Well - a bit of a mix after a long break.  Last blog I mentioned starting a book called "The Whisperer" by Donato Carrisi - touted to be an Italian version of Stieg Larsson.  The book is about finding a grave of arms cut off from abducted girls - a tad macabre I would have htought - but it did get your attention.  The book followed the story through a young police officer her spent her life finding lost children and her interaction with the criminologist and his team who were searching for the serial killer.  I am not sure if it is at Larsson level, but it was well written with lots of twists and social commentary - and well worth the read! It came to a satisfying conclusion - quite unexpected .... but as you look back it even makes sense..... 

After that break, I continued on my roll with Michael Connelly and his series following through Harry Bosch of LA Police Department - his dogged determination to find the bad guys, his fight with giving up smoking, his clashes with the police hierarchy, his romances and not - and all in all a really good read.  So after the Last Coyete and Trunk Music, I read Angel's Flight, A Darkness More Than Night, City of Bones and Lost Light!  I told you I was on a roll!  And there are more of the series to read.  But I thought I should vary my reading or go totally mad.  [What is the attraction in such plots as homicide stories?  Is it the trying to work out  "who dunnit?"  Is it because we "become" part of an important mission to right a wrong?  Or is it sheer escapism that provides our brains with an escape from other pressing demands?]

So, I bought a hard copy of Daniel Silva's "Portait of a Spy" where Gabriel is forced out of his retirement on the coast of Cornwell to take on suicide bombers.  I have only just started - but it seems like it is as good as those before it!  So nice being able to follow a series - particlarly when you see the characters develop over time.

I have also downloaded "A Dance with Dragons: Book 5 of A Song of Ice and Fire" by George Martin!  I read the first of the series some time ago and now look forward to the culmination.  The TV series "A Game of Thrones" based on the first book - is awesome!  So well filmed and so close to the plot and feel of the book.  More of this later!

So I languish in fiction and again fail to get more into philosophy and theology.  If you know a good book out there to get me back on track in considering the weightier issues of life, religion or the world, please let me know - I would hate to become Alice in Wonderland and lose site of "reality" amongst the good stories.

Escape with Connelly - and a bit of existentialism

It has been a while since I have blogged - mainly because I needed to sort something out with my google blogger account.  But in the meantime - I have kept up with some reading!

I have escaped into Michael Connelly books - a good detective read.  I started with The Last Coyote, moved on to Trunk Music and now I have downloaded Angel's Flight - yet to start.  I have obviously enjoyed the Harry Bosch series that is covered by these books - a detective who is a little on the edge, a bit of a rough personality, honest with a good heart - on the wrong side of the bureaucrats - and mixed and varied love stories for our loner.  I would like to find something deep in it all - but basically, its all just a good read and well constructed stories.  So I read on - still a few to go in the series yet!  The good thing about crime is that there is a lot of variety and a lot of scope for an author!

I did have a good read of my latest New Scientist - the Existential Issue (23 July 2011).  The whole quantum thing blows my mind - the whole universe emerging from something smaller than a full stop!  Entanglement where one object is affected by another simultaneously regardless of distance; Paralell universes?! and observers affecting the state of something.  One interesting article was titled "How do I know I exist?" - and not a simulation!  The artcile considers whether Descartes' maxim "I think therefore I am" is floored "  "...there is no ghost in the machine; our actions are driven by brain states that lie entirely beyond our control" - so thinking therfore is argued to be an illusion - hence the maxim is floored!  According to the author.  Another article explores "why me?"  It looks at the notion of consiousness being an emergent property of the brain (makes sense to me).  The author considers whether consciousness can continue after death, and quotes an earlier philisopher (Metzinger) as saying it is "extremely unlikely"! (wow - I thought he would have said no chance at all!).  The author also  highlights that it is "extremely unlikely - but not impossible." He suggests that a machine could allow your consiousness to survive death.  Raises some interesting possibilities!

Another author (Lawton) describes how our body changes and is replaced over time - "Imagine being given a new car the day you are born. Over the next 70 years you gradually replace almost every part from the tail pipe to the headlights.  A few bits and pieces remain, buts is it really the same car?  Think about it."

Anyway - I have started an interesting book by a new unknown author - Donato Carrisi - called The Whisperer - likened to the Steig Larsson phenonomena.  I am now half way through it - a serial killer hunt thriller - very well done and lives up to the cover endorsements!  I shall report on this in the next blog.

In the meantime, keep reading!

Brooks and Koontz

Brooks and Koontz are two unlikely bedfellows - in the literature sense.  But having just finished a new book from each, I thought I would report on them together. 

I first "met" Geraldine Brooks through her book "People of the Book" - an incredible good read that followed through different people from a Jewish, Christian and Muslim point of view in their historical settings.  It showed the connections that each had to the Bible (read "early chapters of the Old Testament") and gave a context for their faith and culture in beautiful written overlapping stories.  It made their lives real and highlighted the connections between them (the book!) rather than the differences.  A "must read" really in this increasingly fragmented world of faith.

So I was more than happy to download her new book "Caleb's Crossing" onto my trusty kindle.  This was set in the 1600's in the early English settlement in America of religious groups and their contact and interaction with the indigenous people. The "crossing" referred primarily to the journey of a young Indian to the English faith and culture and completing his degree at the very early Harvard.  It is based on some basic facts about a Caleb who did just that!  This book was also beautifully written - and told through the eyes of a girl/woman who met Caleb on his island prior to his starting on this journey and then travelled with him on the learning and assimilation pathway.  At a deeper level it captured the loss of indigenous culture, the loss of land and standing and the new faith (and a very legalistic one) replacing the old.  There was a moment of recognition that the old gods may not actually have been very different from the new God - reinforced by Caleb "crossing at the end" to the hereafter of his history rather than the English heaven.  A good book.  It lost a little towards the end when it went from day to day experiences to a very rapid reflection from the memory of the now aging story teller about what happened post graduation..... but in the end, it did satisfy.
 
Now Dean Koontz - a very different genre. Horror....Supernatural...Whimsical (now there is a little overlap with Brooks!)...good versus evil (a universal theme)......What I like about his books is the rappartee between characters, the intelligent dogs (mainly golden retrievers) and the way the evil is defeated - but only after they have a left a little trail of horror on the way.  I also like the way in which he never lets biophysical rules stop a good story!  He also goes out of his way to use unsual and rich words - and often I have had to go to a dictionary to grab the full meaning!  Nice in a book - where normally they keep it at 12 year old levels.  I have read most of his books - and enjoy them - even if they are a tad spine chilling at times.  The rest of the family don't go for them even though we generally have a very strong overlap in the books we read. 

The last offering "What the night Knows" started with a young boy having had brutally murdered his family - in a similar fashion to how the central character's (now a police officer) family was killed 20 years before.  His (the policeman's) house and family then becomes the target of the impending horror as the presence from before seeks to repeat the performance again now.  The kids are characterised nicely - with that easy interaction - and the family dog that had died some years previously entering the family domain again (this is quite possible in Koontz's books!) to shepherd them against the evil.

So two different books - but both good reads in their own way.  I think the common element for me is the wonderful grasp of language and human insights that both authors show.  They capture our minds with their words and give us imagry and feelings and empathy for their characters and circumstances.  They give us insights into ourselves, our beliefs and those around us.  So now on to the next book!  Happy reading.

Africa complete

Its been a while since my last blog - too much travelling, too much work, too little time.  But, I did read in the spaces - one good thing about flying!  And I managed to finish the final Beverey Harper book "Footprints of Lion".  It is a great book!  And, as I mentioned in my previous blog, was the second of a two part series finished by her family - and Peter Watt - after Beverly died.


This book was about the Boer War and continued on with the family that Beverly introduced us to in the first book - Dallas and Lorna and their children and friends.  It was a really good read and told the story of the times and the family very well.  It captured the displacement of the Zulus post their wars with the invaders - and then the culmination of the clash between the German/Dutch settlers and the British colonil interests.  This included the scorched earth policy and the putting of women and children into concentration camps. The characters delivered well and matured over time.  The story was evenly paced with a nice range of excitement, history and relationships and the plots and sub-plots came together well.  So congratulations to those who completed Beverly Harper's legacy - it was a job very well done.  My only dissapointment was that the stories ended - and I wonder if any in the family might go on with what they stated!

And, in between, I did read Jenniver Fallon's "Undivided" - a mix between celtic fantasy and mystery and moving between an alternative world where the Roman's didn't conquer England and modern day where they had in history.  It was hard to tell wheter the audience was for teenagers or for we hardened fantasy readers.  But it was likable and whimiscal enough that I will look out for the next in the series.

I also managed to slip in two books by David Debord (ther first 2 books in a trilogy I think) - recommended to me by a friend - "The Silver Serpent" and the "Keeper of the Mists".  This follows the classic pattern of a group of young people who find themselves on a quest and with one of them being the chosen one for a particular magical sword and role of deliverer.  It has some interesting characters and the story moves along reasonably well - though I am not sure about how well the characters are developing and maturing (a big thing with me after my frustration with the "wheel of time series").  Still, quite readable and again I liked it enough to be on the lookout for the next book in the series.

Must be time to read some more theology or philosophy - rather than the Dean Koonst book that I have just started - "What the night knows" (not one to read home alone at night)..... happy to hear any ideas!!  Happy reading.

Africa afresh

I was searching for new authors and came across Beverly Harper!  I met her son at a  workshop and heard a little about her story.  Beverly has written (at least) 7 books about Africa.  She died in 2002 after a struggle with cancer - leaving her notes for a sequel to a book she had just published.  Her family with the help of another well-known Australian writer - Peter Watt - finished the sequel in her honour.  I heard that she had been writing for magazines for some years and finally had a book accepted for publication - I think it must have been "Storms over Africa".  I was told that when she was told that the book had been accepted she had a carton of eggs in her hands and the eggs got thrown into the air (from excitement) and smashed on the floor!

I had seen her books on the book shelf, and even glanced through them some times, but had never actually bought one - am not sure why.  But after this personal connection - and my bad experience with Wilbur Smith's last book, I thought that now was the time to start!  The only book available on kindle was the final one that the family finished (Footprints of the Lion) - so I went searching for the prequel "Shadows in the Grass" and found it. So I have started with the very last book she finished.  Although her other books seem to be set in more modern times, these two books were set in the time of the last zulu war.

The book was quite a delight to read.  It reminded me of the very early Wilbur Smith books - raw and interesting and set in a time of history when great events were occurring in early Africa.  The characters were well portrayed and quickly became friends (with me, the reader).   They had their flaws and they also developed through the story - and so had some depth.  Two themes that stood out to me were: the freedom to break out of societal conventions; and also the strength of women.  There were other themes too - about the respect for the zulus (without overglamorising the nation) - and the British politics and stupidity in dealing with their 'subjects'.  Dallas finds himself on the run from Scotland after being caught in the act with the mother of his childhood sweetheart (enaged to an old man against her will) who was pregnant with his baby!!!  Hence the flight to South Africa - and being in place for adventures in the new colony and the zulu wars.  He teams up with a couple of apparent mis-fits and friendships develop.  Despite ending up married against his will himself, (blackmail about his status), he manages to end up with the girl he wants.... That's the thumbnail sketch!  And it is a good read!  So lucky I have the sequel downloaded - it will be interesting to see how the tone changes as others took her notes to finish the saga.  What a good way to honour a mother, wife, friend and colleague!

In between, I have started  reading a new Jennifer Fallon book - "Undivided" - a celtic story moving between the modern and ancient worlds.  It has a nice Jennifer Fallon feel about it and I am looking forward to the ride!  I will report. Maybe I will even get back to some philosophy and religion soon!  Enjoy reading.

Evolution of authors and faith

This blog reports on 2 books I have just read, both 'involving' evolution!  The first is Evolving in Monkey Town: How a girl who knew all the answers learned to ask the questions - by Rachel Held Evans, and the second is the Latest Wilber Smith's book Those in Peril. 

First to monkey town (where the original public debate between evolution and creation occured early last century).  When I was advised by a friend to read this, I was a little skeptical.  I thought it would be another attempt by Christians to defend the indefensible.  But I was wrong!  This was one of the most honest Christian books that I have read (Adrian Plass is another who writes authentic Christian books!)  Rachel is only just hitting 30, brought up in a full-on fundamentalist Christian environment but managed to break out and come to the point of asking the questions that it took me nearly a lifetime to formulate (well I am 56!).  Her issue is not with God as such - but rather at the inconsistencies within the Bible, its teaching and its defense.  Interestingly, despite all her questioning of the way it is used (wrongly) to hit people over the head and defend indefensible doctrines - she still seems to hold the Bible with respect.  She caught on early to the illogic of people from other cultures, places and religions being tortued forever by a "loving" God because they happened to be born in a different place and brought up with the beliefs of their fathers and mothers. And that was just the start!  Her use of the word 'evolving' related to her - and the Church's - need to evolve as new knowledge and ideas emerged so she/ they stayed strong within the changes around them.  That continually defending old interpretations of writings, cultures and doctrines in the face of emerging realities adn discoveries was on a course to extinction.

Go Rachel!!

Now to the next evolution.  I think I have read all of Wilbur Smith's books since his first novels.  I (mostly) found them extrordinary tales of the places and times they portrayed and gave me a real interest in South Africa and its history.  Later novels have evolved  to a more holywood style - as if the great narrative has now been told and there is little left to explore.  The last one - Those in Peril - was about two quite heroic hollywood types  - with almost no chinks in their armour - and facing dangers and trauma with barely a breath.  It focused on islamic extremists typecast to the American portrayal of villans (reminded me of how Edgar Rice Burroughs portrayed the Russian bad guys when they went against Tarzan in his very early books - by the way I still enjoy Tarzan books!).  It dealt with pirates off the African coast with the main characters summarily defeating the menace!  It gave too many pages to detailing torture (good guys to bad guys as much as vice versa) with a focus on an eye for an eye.  So it all left me a little cold.  Wilbur, are there some real stories about the current modern Africa that you can enage us with????

Two sides of the coin - and another wooden ship hero

Well I just read a treat!  My daughter alerted me to a book of short stories - The Inheritance -  by Robin Hobb (who, as you may realise by now, is one of my favourite flights of fantasy!) and her other pen name Megan Lindholm (who I now want to read more of).  The interesting point being that the topics and style of writing are quite different (although she mentioned one friend/colleague who could see her DNA in both books).  Writing as Megan the stories are modern, quirky and fun (addiction from the skins of penguin like aliens..... boiling up dead cats to find magic bones).  Writing as Robin, the stories are deep, detailed and meticulously constructed (the story of establishing the Rain Wilder colonies... a cat assisting a woman to escape from a brutal husband)!  But both styles are quite enjoyable.

Kind of relates to the story of the Soldier Boy series by Robin Hobb - two personalities in one body - and the struggles to accommodate each other - or let the other freedom to express themselves.  How do we embrace our different aspects - particularly when we are not fully comfortable with the totality that is us?  How do we write both/multiple life stories and keep our personal integrity and well being?

And a surprise book! - Since the partial demise of some of the big book chains, I have endeavoured to buy more "real" books - rather than just downloading them!  As I was prowling in a bookshop recently at the coast, I came across a second book by Sean Thomas Russell called A Battle Won.   I had read his first book - Under Enemy Colours - and really liked it - but had thought it to be a one off.  Now the find of the next in the series!  Wow!  Russell writes after the genre of Forester (Hornblower) and Alexander Kent (Bolitho) on the British navy back in the time of Napoleon and Nelson.  All start with a rather lowly ranked navel officer and trace his move up through the ranks in the face of bad commanders, French frigates, gales and the wiles of women.  In my view, Hornblower was a bit formal and stilted (still a great read!), Bolitho was a bit too "good" (almost too good to be true - but again a cracking read) and Russell has got a great middle ground - a hero that has a bit of depth and is self effacing - and great in dealing with difficult situations and facing up to difficult admirals!

I am half way through the book - and enjoying it immensely.  But then it will be time to download some more books onto the kindle - but I have no idea what!  Any ideas?????

The End Point

Well, I finally finished the Soldier Boy series (Forest Mage etc) by Robin Hobb.  As I indicated on earlier blogs, the devil was in the detail - and despite my speed/skim reading, it still seemed to take forever to get through (and I was determined to get through to see what happened to the hero!).  Some books frustrate because they stop prematurely and you are left wondering!  Others go on to....."Bill Smith died of cancer 20 years later......"  This one had a couple of endings and potential stopping points.  But it kept going...... and by then end, it took it is far as it could and satisfied those readers who stuck through to the end!  Not post-modern.

So having finished, I was at a bit of a loose end - no longer ensared in living trees that sought to abosorb the bodies to catch nutrients and old lovers.  And so I was able to turn to the books I flagged last blog - Love Wins etc by Rob Bell and then Whats the Least I can believe and still be a Christian by Martin Thielen.  I'm not saying I studied them in detail, but here is what I got out of them:

Martin Thielen: hold to the Biblical Basics (essentially the Anglican Creed) - but its OK to believe in theistic evolution, equality of women and to hug trees - and you don't have to condemn homosexuals or stone those caught in adultry. So stay in the Church and allow yourself to embrace some of advances in sceince and morality.  Oh - and leave God to be the judge about the things in grey such as people in other religions.

Rob Bell:  When Jesus said "go to hell" he was really using a metaphor of the dump outside the city and making the point that ugly works belong in the dump.  When talking about heaven to come, Jesus was first talking about making heaven on earth - working with God and each other to bring about the type of society that follows the principle of love.  He didn't give definitive answers about how he saw any afterlife, but changed the focus to what we know.

In some ways, both took us along some way to what they saw as the end point - but I am not sure where they left us.  Both leave many questions and futures unanswered.  I wouldn't make the cut for Martin Thielen - but then again, he wouldn't stone me.  Rob would encourage me to forge ahead and not get bogged down.  It does leave me, however, with the same question that my sister once asked me: "If the Bible isn't true as we understand it (or understood it), then why not pick any old bloke with a good message and follow him (or her) - what is left to make Jesus  special"?   Why is it so hard for the Rob Bells, Brian Mclarens and.... me.... to just walk away and consign Jesus to one of the many?

Free Will and Heaven or Hell

Well, I am still struggling through my Renegade's Magic by Robin Hobb - and its still a bit slow and torturous - even though I am trying to savour the moment!  Still, I cannot second guess the end, so I will soldier on.

One aspect that the book does bring out is the struggle we have in our minds in terms of the choices we make and who we are.  In Renegade's Magic, the hero is trapped in his rather bloated magic fuelled body with his "other half" running things.  The other half is part of him - but who is aligned to the "enemy" rather than his own country.  The struggle between the two sides of self is a very interesting and thought provoking artefact in the book.  It reflects our own struggle with our "shadow self" - our body seeming to make choices that are different from our mind.  Think of addiction.  Think of just poor daily choices in food, activity, responses, actions etc.  In the Bible, Paul (I think) talks of ""the good that I would I can not" - or something to that effect.  His solution is that Christ can help us to be true to ourselves and Him.

In the latest New Scientist (16th April 2011),  there is another article on free will - an ongoing theme within the pages of the magazine - the science of free will.  A key issue is how much our genes and past directly guide our choices beyond what is called free will - and how much our choices as individuals and society are fully predictable.  The article (The Free Will Delusion) concludes that belief in free will doesn't depend on having a soul, but on feeling in control of "your actions" .  All interesting grist for the mill!

Which leads me on to 2 books I have just downloaded onto my kindle:  Love Wins: A book about Heaven, Hell and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived, by Rob Bell and Whats the Least I can Believe and Still be a Christian by Martin Thielen.  I haven't got into them yet - but the fact that there is a lot of vitreol about Rob Bell amongst conservatives, is probably a good sign for his  book.  He says in his introduction:  I've written this book for all those everwhere, who have heard some version of the Jesus story that caused their pulse rate to rise, their stomach to churn, and their heart to utter those resolute words, "I would never be a part of that".  So I will read on and see if I make it in at least one of the books!

Capturing the moment

Sorry, no recent deep theological or philosophical reading or reflection - just another fiction trilogy.  And again one of Robin Hobb's!  Well, I haven't fully mined the lode of her writing yet!

I was told that this series (Shaman's Crossing, Forest Mage, Renegade's Magic) was either loved or disliked by her regular readers.  Currently I am getting towards the end of Book 2 - Forest Mage, and I can see why.  In many ways it is so unlike previous books/series.  This one takes forever to "get anywhere"!  Well, in the adventure sense, or in the timeline.  Whe I started reading and the hero went to the military academy, I thought it would be a chapter or 2 and then bang - he would be on to the big stuff!  Wrong! It took all of book one to get through the academy - and even then, didn't.

I found myself skimming a lot of pages trying to get past what I saw as the preliminary stuff.

The key to the book, however, lies in the minutia. In earlier blogs I have talked about the decisions that authors make in terms of painting the picture - how much detail, how many pages for a certain scene etc......  In this book, Robun Hobb focuses down to the detail.  There are places where she describes the hero being short of food - hungry/starving - but then gaining some small mouthfulls. She then describes in detail how he savoured each taste, each morsel, each substance - taking hours to eat the small offering.  This seems to be a message to the reader - savour the pages - don't see the words as a means to get to the story's end - rather savour each word, each phrase, each sentence.......

So I an trying........

For about 3 years, we had the pleasure of having our daughter, son-in-law and grandsons living close bye - and then with us before they dissapeared to Canada (well, they are still there on skype, on blogs, and we have the tickets already to visit them later in the year!!).  We knew they were going.  In the last weeks and days I did particlarly try to savour the moments...drink in the experience of sharing our lives with them.  Children seem to live in the present - the butterfly in front of them, the story book you are reading to them, the chocolate frog poking out of the shopping basket.

Back to the book.......

Winter and dilemmas

Well, I find that I get into a bit of rut with my reading.  Back to the Graham Hurley series with Winter and Faraday - and Baz and the family - in Beyond Reach........ I love the way the stories build on each other - and how the characters develop - how they become almost like family.  And always some good detectiving - and Winter saving the day for his new boss - and some interesting information about birds (the feathered variety) through Faraday's bird watching exploits.

There are also interesting moral dilemmas - and this book had  a few.  A mother taking the law into her own hands - after the law was helpless in saving her son or bringing his killers to justice.  How solving an old crime can have awful consequences for the present - including the victim - law versus common sense.  It highlights that absolute laws may help provide a structure for society and "justice" - but that life is lived very much in the grey.  Religion often lis about the black and white.  I wonder if God is in the grey?

Had dinner with a priest who we met many years ago in PNG - and I used the words that I had lost my faith. His reply was that I had more probably found my faith - as faith wasn't contained in musty old books that are quite violent in parts - but in humanity and in love.  Maybe that was Jesus' message as well?  The priest used a story from one of the saints about him coming across a boy pouring sea water into a hole in the sand.  The saint asked him what he was doing - he said I am trying to put all of the ocean in this hole.  The saint called him stupid for thinking he could do that.  The little boy asked him what he did - he explained that he was trying to understand God.  The boy replied that if he tried to put all the knowledge about God in his head, then he was truly the stupid one.

Hmm - does this mean that I am not going to have it all worked out before I leave this life?  What arrogance to think I coudl even scratch the surface!  On with Winter and Faraday!

Shamons and Horses

After listening to the first 3 discs of The Horse Boy while travelling by car in Western Queensland, I was keen to know more about it - and found the DVD on line to watch!  It is a very heartwarming story of a couple whose child was diagnosed as autistic and their struggle to break through to him (and survive!).

The only glimpses they had had of getting through to their son, Rowan, was from an interaction with Shamons from the indigineous people from around the world (they had come to a meeting in the US) and then from the horse next door - Betsy.  So the farther, Rupert,  put both together and, with his wife Kristin, headed off to Mongolia where Shamons and horses went together.  Having travelled in Mongolia, I was quite entranced by their journey.  The DVD was the documentary that they made to help fund their journey.  It was quite raw and apparently unscripted - a "fly on the wall" documentary.  It had its dramas and was suffused with honesty - and had a relatively positive ending (or rather beginning when we heard about the foundation that they established to help similar kids and connect them with horses too). 

The issue arose whether the drum pounding and other rituals (including the parents being whipped and the mother having to wash out her vagina!) actually helped.  The topic was dealt with well.  Rupert was a human rights campaigner for the bushmen in Africa and had experienced bush healings before - and he had seen how Rowen had reacted to the inital Shamen encounter - and he believed.  Although Kristen (a budhist) went along with all the rituals - for herself and Rowen - and had gone on this very difficult trip - she was less convinced about the Shamon influence - there was the break in routine, the overall experience for Rowen etc - but neither was she dismissive.  It was part of the expereience whether it was "magical or not". 

All in all it was compelling from so many angles - and left a challenge I thought.  That was to extend yourself and not to limit your experience by your own prejudices and bias.  Read, listen or watch "The Horse Boy"!

Ends and beginnings

Well, so much for my varied reading.  I am just coming to the end of the essesntially 6 book series by Robin Hobb about the Farseers, Fitz and the Fool..... and as per previous blogs, I remain totally captivated by the writing, story and characters.  Coming to the end of such a series leaves you somewhat stranded..... like you are losing friends or family to a far place...... (but at least in that case, their story continues and you can continue to follow it, be part of it and drop in sometimes!).  Robin Hobb said on her web page that she does not think she will continue the story of Fitz and the Fool any more - but there is always that chance!

And, in relation to my earlier blogs about the confrontation - diffierences rather than similarities - in the religious/ (new) athiest positions - I was so encouraged to read a story passed on to me about Francis Collins who is Director of the National Institutes of Health, the researcher behind the Human Genome Project and a his interaction  with Christopher Hitchins (can't get the italics off!!!) Despite strong differences in faith positions, Collins says (from The Washington Post On Faith): "

"Some observers have expressed surprise that the atheist intellectual and the Christian physician-scientist could become friends. After all, in the current political climate in Washington, anyone who doesn't agree with you is supposed to be your enemy. But I would like to think that Christopher's sharp intellect has challenged my own defense of the rationality of faith to be more consistent and compelling. "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another" (Proverbs 27:17).  On a personal level, I have been blessed by getting to know Christopher and Carol better - despite the "enfant terrible" reputation, Christopher has a warm humanity that is easy to perceive. And his willingness to be utterly open and transparent about his cancer diagnosis provides a breathtaking window into his personal integrity." He finishes with "Over these last few months, we have not talked directly about faith. He knows that I am praying for him. But my prayer is not so much for a supernatural intervention - as a physician I have not seen evidence for such medical miracles in my own experience. Instead I pray for myself and for Christopher along the lines of James 1:5 - "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him." And I then give thanks for the chance to share in a deepening friendship."

This quite warmed my heart and  gave me hope that maybe dialogue and care can surpass "die in the ditch" positioning!

Back to the foolish

I outdid myself reading McLaren - needed to retreat to the follow up trilogy by Robin Hobb.  Oh the joys of a trilogy following a trilogy.  Currently on book 2 of the Tawny Man Trilogy - which is really book 5 of the Farseer trilogy - and who should walk onto the pages but the characters out of the Liveship series by Robin Hobb!!!  Slightly faded in my memory, but carrying the glow of another series well written and read - they are in a room with these new characters!

An assult to the senses?  Its like seeing a close friend from the past having tea with close friends from now and feeling in a time warp!  Authors can do that!  Life can too...

How do we put our sequential life together.  We live analog but our brain is digital - sorting memories where it will.  Clustering not in a time sequence but with other logic.  So a scene we view suddenly brings back painful - or beautiful - or familiar feelings from a past time - now.  And we reel a bit trying to make sense of the mix.

A grandchild becomes for an instant the child who then bore them.... your mother becomes for an instant your grandmother - her mother.... your father becomes you for a whish as you look in the mirror with tired eyes and see his just before he died.

How does a book of fiction so capture our minds and imagination amidst our own realities and imaginings?

Beyond the arguments

Now that I have finished Brian McLaren's generous orthodoxy some reflections!  My overwhelming impression is that Brian is not going to let theological arguments come between him and encouraging the kingdom of God on earth!  Not arguments about hell, or denominational stances on baptism or liturgies, or approaches like pentacostalism versus meditative, or rationales for Jesus' death, or even one religion versus another.  He goes for a "post" position - beyond theological turf!   He says that Jesus didn't plan to start a religion - just encourage people to follow the fundamentals of loving God (without a rigid definition) and your neighbour (whether from different churches, religions, beliefs - friends or enemies)..... and the rest is kind of .... well... superfluous!  And I liked his style.

Some passages from his book that I particularly liked:

"How many children in Sunday school learn (that) radical sense of Christian servant identity as opposed to Christians are nice people and know the truth and do good.  Non Christians are bad people who don't.  Therefore we need to avoid non-Christians or convert them as fast as possible or try to pass laws to keep them under control and protect ourselves from them - until we can escape them forever in heaven?"

"The more I learn from Jesus, the more I cringe when I read passages in Exodus or Joshua where the God of love and universal compassion, to whom Jesus has introduced me, allegedly commands what today we would call brutality, chauvinism, ethnic cleansing or holocast.  I ache when biblical passages are used to reinforce an escapist, determinsitic or fatalistic view of the future, to assert the subjugation of women by men, or to justify a careless attitude towards our beautiful God-given planet".

"...I don't beleive that making disciples must equal making adherents to the Christian religion. It may be advisable in many circumstances (not all!!) to help people become followers of Jesus and remain within their Bhuddhist, Hindu or Jewish contexts".

So go Brian!  Such a refreshing, "now" centred faith that is inclusive, humble and outward focused.

Fools and Philosophy

I have been totally absorbed in my Robin Hobb books on Fitz and the Fool (The farseer trilogy).  Rarely have I been so taken by a series.  And I had to read it from paperbacks because you just can't get them in Australia via kindle - no idea why....copywrite issues or something.  Not sure why it was so captivating - it certainly had all of the fantasy elements I discussed in an earlier blog.....and some interesting philosophical discussions between some of the characters (the "fool" was quite entertaining).  It didn't finish with the hero running off with the damsel..... but still was very satisfying.

And then I found out that there was a follow-up series!!! The tawny man's trilogy!!!!  what a find.  But I guess they won't be available on kindle either.....but it is nice to feel paper in your hand sometimes too....

So with the triology finsihed, I turned to something different and dowloaded a book by Brian Mclaren called A Generous Orthodoxy.  I have read earlier books by him and been impressed - a new kind of Christianity. I had wondered once whether this might be my "in" to stay in the Christian church - and it came close.  Brian seems to be in a general movement to free up the thinking in the Church away from building walls and to be more open with the way they approach the world. In this book he says..."people who try to label me an excluvisist, inclusivist, or universalist on the issue of hell will find here only more reason for frustration.  To them this categorisation is essential for determining whether I am orthodox (by their definition); but in my definition of  orthodoxy, these terms and the question they seek to answer easily become "weapons of mass distraction".  To say that I seek to believe whatever Jesus taught about hell, and for whatever purpose, will not satisfy them, even though it true..."  This is starting to sound good..... not coming up with a doctrinal truth as such - but rather trying to understand why something was expressed in a certain way - the underlying message at the time.  This is very "new history" and Foucoudian.  And I like the sound of it.  So I will read on and see what this book offers me in my dealing with my Christian heritage.

Speaking of Christian writers who I have some time for, an English writer Adrian Plass, is certainly right up there on on the list - helped me to see that it is possible to follow the essentials of Jesus without being dsitracted by the silliness of the Church.  His latest book is a collection of poems that encompass many years and different phases of his life and is very rich and honest and refeshing.  Its called "Silences and Nonsenses".  As he says in the forward "To have  them all, good, funny, serious, sensible and silly, collected into one volume is more exciting than I can say".  And I can agree and recommend it to all.

Fantasy et al

Getting lost in reading at the moment - but nothing heavy.  So much for my plan to report on deep Philosphical readings. 

I enjoyed finishing another Graham Hurley book - No Lovelier Death - and am now quite a fan of Winter and Faraday - even if Winter now works for the dark side so to speak.  But I have taken a break from Hurley and started a paper (!) book series - as opposed to a kindle copy - to read The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb.  These were her first novels!!! And how excellent are they?!!!  I had read a later series set in the same location called The Liveship Traders which quite captivated me.  And now I am half way through this first series.

Good writers have always amazed me with how the paint their books.  The decisions about plots, sub-plots and characters...time lines....level of detail.  So someone comes into a room - what level of detail do we need as a reader?  do we need to know the size, height of the room?  the type and size of windows?  the lighting?  the floor cover?  the furniture? the smell?  Do we need to know everone in the room and what they are wearing...what they are doing... their reactions - words?  Does a room entry take a sentence, a paragraph or a chapter?  The skill in weaving in this detail to hold a reader captivated is immense!  and Robin Hobb has certainly done it for me.

In this series, we follow the life of Fitz - a bastard son of a Prince - who ends up in the Royal Court struggling to find his place amongst all the intrigue.  Raiders are hitting the land turning people into zombies and half brother princes are compteing for succession to the throne.  There is a skill that allows people to converse with each other from a distance (the mobile phone effect!!!!) and influence actions (advertising!!?) and one that allows links with animals.  There is forbidden love and adventure, loyalty and betrayal.  And we know we are reading the genre of fantasy!

My father was taken with book heros like Tarzan and the Saint.  Not fantasy as we know it since Tolkien - but many of the same elements.  What is the fantasy formula and attraction?  It is often someone born with humble beginnings, being chosen for a great task and helped by some wizard, wise man, great warrior.  Against the odds and against beasts, demons and great oppoistion, they rescue/save a woman, town or country and achieve some sort of hero status.  It is an age old message - that life is an adventure and we can start on it regardless of our circumstances.  That there are old books or creeds and gurus/priests/srong people who can help us.  That our role is to sacrifice ourself for others - and in so doing, we find ourselves. 

Standard religion seems to offer a framework for people which follows this road.  A way of lifting people to envisage a destiny rather than a hard practical road until age and death takes us.  It offers a way of making up for our failures and shame and turns it into a spiritual battle for our souls and the world itself.  We are warned of unseen demons and wonderful angels to help us - and wise leaders to explain the holy books.  We are given the skill to project our thoughts through prayer to God and influence outcomes in people and the physical world.

I do so enjoy my fantasy reading - and find it had to begrudge those who take it as their life framework.  Just maybe, however, they can miss the truly great adventure.

Falling Giants and Hurley continued

Having just had a week or so away on holiday, I took my trusty kindle with three new books downloaded: Ken Follett's Fall of Giants, and Graham Hurley's Price of Darkness and No Lovelier Death.  I managed to get through the first two books - and thoroughly enjoyed both!

My experience with Ken Follett had been through his books about building cathedrals in the middle ages in England - World without end and Pillars of the Earth.  These were extremely well written books-  great stories, feelings of the time, technically interesting and left you with a feeling of getting to know some new characters rather well!   In fact I took from World without end a quote which I have on my wall. The context was a Sister called Claris, talking with a dying outlaw.  The outlaw asked "Are you afraid you'll burn in hell?" The story goes on with: "It was a question she normally sidestepped, but she felt this dying outlaw deserved a true answer, "I believe that what I do becomes part of me" she said.  "When I'm brave and strong. and care for children and the sick and the poor, I become a better person.  And when I'm cruel, or cowardly or tell lies, or get drunk, I turn into someone less worthy, and I can't respect myself.  Thats the divine retribution I believe in".  I liked this - although a Christian friend of mine saw it and dismissed it as being unbiblical.  Funny, but I thought it reflected Jesus' attitude quite well!

So, back to the Fall of Giants.  What a great expose of World War 1!  I had always known that an assination was a  key trigger for the war - but now I understand why and how!  It seems as if Ken Follett was very careful to present the facts intertwined with the stories of his characters and so history comes alive!  The fact that the book starts before the war commenced right through to the aftermath gives you a context around it.  I was surprised to read how late the USA entered the war - and why - and then seemed to take over.  The stupid strategic decisions made were obvious.  The soviet revolution was also explained beautifully through the Russian working class characters (it was a tad tedious in some of the Russion revolution part - but only a tad) - and the class tensions in the UK evident as characters from the aristocracy, their "help" and the coal miners interacted throughout the events - including the issue of the vote for women and the working class.  They were very believable characters that were no cardboard cut-outs.  Very hard to put down.

But all good things came to end and the ending was good and fitting.

So, without a breath, I took back up with Graham Hurley's the price of darkness.  Once again I entered the world of Faraday and Winter - their lives, hobbies, relationships, families (or lack of).  This time, Winter went undercover to try to undo the ill-gotton gains of the ex drug baron.  Again two stories - but this time they came together at the end.  The only sad part was the loss of the Maddox character - the classy high class prostitute that saw Winter survive his brain tunour in the previous book.  Will she return in future stories?  She does own half his house...but she just dissapeared as a character!  Nice ending for Winter in the book (not ending-ending)!!!  I wonder if Hurley planned that at the beginning?

Now on to No Lovelier Death. The first chapters show great promise - with Winter in a new role......  I will see.

Two Under!

Back to Graham Hurley!  Just finished reading my second book in his Farday/Winter series - the last one being "One Under".  In this case, it started with a man chained to a railway line in a tunnell and the going under the train!  Hence the title "one under" I resume.

This second book did not disappoint!  The chracter development of the main characters - and their relationship - continued - different men, different approaches, different drivers, different private lives (although both lost their wives at some point).  I also like that the cases (seems like there are 2 cases per book - or has been so far) - don't always get sewn up in the way you would expect.  The anti-climax effect - or rather the unexpected endings.  There are even some mild thought-provoking philosophsising amongst the musings of the characters.

So for sheer reading pleasure - I have downloaded the next in the series "The price of darkness".  I will advise what I think of this one - and will it lead me to download the next in the series!  Don't you just love it when you find a new author and can get a run of their books?!