Thrilling for fans of the series.
The Rev. Curtis Black extended-family saga returns with Black’s son Dillon at the helm of a new megachurch in Mitchell, Illinois.
Dillon may have a congregation of more than 1,000 souls at New Faith Christian Center, but he lacks something every minister ought to have: a true calling from God. Knowing quite well that he’s a pastor called to the pulpit only by his own greed and his desire to avenge his father’s refusal to acknowledge him as a child, Dillon nonetheless prays daily, although his hopes for a true calling are buried underneath several other pleas for fame and fortune. When Raven, Dillon’s beautiful wife—whom Rev. Curtis has spurned for embezzling funds from his own church—decides she has also been called to the pulpit, the wheels of jealousy and vengeance begin to turn. Dillon doesn’t want to share his pulpit with anyone and certainly not with his wife. Nor does he want to give up the attentions of either his wife or his mistress, Porsha. Meanwhile, Dillon’s sister Alicia is finally happily married to Levi, the man whose love not only drove her to infidelity, but also drove her and her previous husband, Phillip, to a fatal altercation over a gun. Phillip’s death haunts Alicia, and she’s begun to hear disturbing voices urging her toward suicide. Will Alicia’s troubles and Dillon’s plans for retribution finally bring down the Black family? With so many novels and novellas in the franchise, Roby (Best Friends Forever, 2016, etc.) must deal with a lot of back stories, which slows down the pace; in several scenes, Alicia and Dillon spend more time ruminating about their pasts than acting in the present. Fortunately, all the breathless exposition often works well to establish Dillon as a heartless villain/protagonist.
Thrilling for fans of the series.Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4555-5959-6
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 2, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
These letters from some important executive Down Below, to one of the junior devils here on earth, whose job is to corrupt mortals, are witty and written in a breezy style seldom found in religious literature. The author quotes Luther, who said: "The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he cannot bear scorn." This the author does most successfully, for by presenting some of our modern and not-so-modern beliefs as emanating from the devil's headquarters, he succeeds in making his reader feel like an ass for ever having believed in such ideas. This kind of presentation gives the author a tremendous advantage over the reader, however, for the more timid reader may feel a sense of guilt after putting down this book. It is a clever book, and for the clever reader, rather than the too-earnest soul.
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1942
ISBN: 0060652934
Page Count: 53
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 17, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1943
Hoffman (The Red Garden, 2011, etc.) births literature from tragedy: the destruction of Jerusalem's Temple, the siege of Masada and the loss of Zion.
This is a feminist tale, a story of strong, intelligent women wedded to destiny by love and sacrifice. Told in four parts, the first comes from Yael, daughter of Yosef bar Elhanan, a Sicarii Zealot assassin, rejected by her father because of her mother's death in childbirth. It is 70 CE, and the Temple is destroyed. Yael, her father, and another Sicarii assassin, Jachim ben Simon, and his family flee Jerusalem. Hoffman's research renders the ancient world real as the group treks into Judea's desert, where they encounter Essenes, search for sustenance and burn under the sun. There too Jachim and Yael begin a tragic love affair. At Masada, Yael is sent to work in the dovecote, gathering eggs and fertilizer. She meets Shirah, her daughters, and Revka, who narrates part two. Revka's husband was killed when Romans sacked their village. Later, her daughter was murdered. At Masada, caring for grandsons turned mute by tragedy, Revka worries over her scholarly son-in-law, Yoav, now consumed by vengeance. Aziza, daughter of Shirah, carries the story onward. Born out of wedlock, Aziza grew up in Moab, among the people of the blue tunic. Her passion and curse is that she was raised as a warrior by her foster father. In part four, Shirah tells of her Alexandrian youth, the cherished daughter of a consort of the high priests. Shirah is a keshaphim, a woman of amulets, spells and medicine, and a woman connected to Shechinah, the feminine aspect of God. The women are irretrievably bound to Eleazar ben Ya'ir, Masada's charismatic leader; Amram, Yael's brother; and Yoav, Aziza's companion and protector in battle. The plot is intriguingly complex, with only a single element unresolved. An enthralling tale rendered with consummate literary skill.
Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4516-1747-4
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Scribner
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2011
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