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TWO FOR JOY

Name: TWO FOR JOY
Author: Mary Reed
ISBN: 1-890208-37-X

by Mary Reed & Eric Mayer ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1, 2000

Plotting as byzantine as you’d expect, along with gore, whores, and an eight-page glossary.

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Justinian I, emperor of Constantinople from a.d. 527–565, is not nearly as bothered by the seemingly spontaneous combustion of three stylites—holy men who sit atop pillars as they pray and preach—as he is by the missives from another holy man, Michael, who wants to share his power and insists on a meeting. Justinian sends his Lord Chamberlain, John the Eunuch (One for Sorrow, not reviewed), along with Aurelius, a well-to-do senator (is there any other kind?), to confront Michael, and the two set off, leaving behind Aurelius’ son, court dandy Anatolius, who is planning a fancy dinner party for his dad, and Philo the philosopher, John’s former teacher at the Academy, who has been his impoverished houseguest since the closing of the school. As Michael, surrounded by worshipping pilgrims, is demanding that Justinian deal with him personally, Aurelius is poisoned at the dinner festivities back home, and a dancing girl, one of Isis the madam’s prostitutes, spontaneously combusts. And when Justinian sequesters himself to think, his licentious wife (and brothel alumna) Theodora takes control and arrests Anatolius, plots against John, and lets Constantinople seethe under the warring Christians, Mirthraists, and pagans. Meanwhile, Philo is murdered, the inland sea explodes into flames, and John and his manservant Peter, after pretending to go into exile, sneak back to solve the burnings, decipher a code left by Philo, discredit Michael by revealing the meaning of an ankle tattoo, and arrange Anatolius’ freedom.

Plotting as byzantine as you’d expect, along with gore, whores, and an eight-page glossary.

Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2000

ISBN: 1-890208-37-X

Page Count: 335

Publisher: Poisoned Pen

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2000

Categories:

RELIGIOUS FICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
AN EMPIRE FOR RAVENS
by Mary Reed & Eric Mayer

- BOOK REVIEW
MURDER IN MEGARA
by Mary Reed & Eric Mayer

- BOOK REVIEW
NINE FOR THE DEVIL
by Mary Reed Eric Mayer

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THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS

by C.S. Lewis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 1942

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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

Categories:

RELIGIOUS FICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
ALL MY ROAD BEFORE ME
by C.S. Lewis

- BOOK REVIEW
PRESENT CONCERNS
by C.S. Lewis

- BOOK REVIEW
BOXEN
by C.S. Lewis

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THE DOVEKEEPERS

by Alice Hoffman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 4, 2011

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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.