A big-hearted but unfocused adventure tale.
A Christian parable with an action-adventure twist.
The latest from Hoyer (In the Absence of Orders, 2007, etc.) takes place in a secluded valley called Thanoton, where the weather is permanently cloudy and the residents are taught that “the only thing outside the valley is a wasteland with creatures ready to devour anyone that enters.” Some residents follow the teachings of an ancient group known as the Children of Light, worshipping in secret to avoid punishment by Thanoton’s despotic king. Aided by a complex web of covert organizations and savvy double (and triple) agents, three teenagers set out to restore the valley by studying and following a text called The Book of Prophesies, after they hear messages from a mysterious Whisperer. The plot’s Christian underpinnings are plain; for example, one leader reminds his fellows: “We are here for the people, to set them free—free to worship the Light of the Word. Our highest purpose is to glorify Him.” Readers of all religious persuasions, however, may enjoy the book’s classic action-adventure elements; espionage, secret messages and daring escapes abound. All that duplicity, however, eventually becomes hard to follow. New characters keep popping into the story, and their abundant abilities to deceive one another and operate in secret under an oppressive regime increasingly push the limits of plausibility. Even more confusingly, the original main characters are largely absent from the book’s second and third acts, making the narrative feel disjointed and sometimes directionless. Still, Hoyer draws some compelling shades of gray out of what could have been a black-and-white tale of good versus evil, giving even the heroic characters space for flaws and keeping readers guessing about their true motivations. Reflecting on his own shortcomings, for example, one character thinks of the Whisperer: “He chose to use people to accomplish His will….He uses even their failures to accomplish His purpose.” Although they are couched in Christian terms, this novel’s nuanced values will likely resonate with readers of any stripe.
A big-hearted but unfocused adventure tale.Pub Date: April 4, 2014
ISBN: 978-0692023747
Page Count: 472
Publisher: Christian Publishing House
Review Posted Online: Feb. 23, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.
Pub Date: July 11, 1960
ISBN: 0060935464
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Lippincott
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960
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BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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