I am Phyllis Wheeler, Editor
The Christian Science Fiction/Fantasy Blog Tour this month is asking each of us to review a favorite book. I chose Stephen Lawhead’s Taliesin, Book One of his five-book Pendragon Cycle. Unfortunately I no longer have a copy of this book–I am sure I enthusiastically lent it to various people until someone forgot to return it. But I do remember it pretty well I think.
I found out that Bryan Davis is a former computer guy turned writer, and his favorite literary character is Atticus Finch. Now, I’m pretty fond of Atticus too.
This opening book in the series doesn’t have a major resolution, but points to the books that will follow. Eventually I got into this book and did not want to put down–it has plenty of suspenseful moments. My only objection to it is that I found Jason and his brothers’ obsession with helping the Lost Ones to be a bit unrealistic. They were risking their lives big time to rescue some people they had never met. Is altruism that strong a motivator?–Phyllis Wheeler
It’s a lot of fun, full of truth, and peppered with laughter. It’s the perfect thing for my teen son’s Sunday school class.
The CSFF blog tour on By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson ends tomorrow. I checked out what is posted so far and am really impressed. There were many reviews and some criticisms, but everyone recommends this book.
In particular I liked KM Wilsher’s interview with the author, discussing how she got the ideas to write the book, and even including her sketches of the characters.
Last night I checked the blogs of others on the CSFF blog tour and found a number of posts. This tour is unusual: everyone who posted loved the book. Last time that happened, it was Lawhead who was the author. Does this mean Jill Williamson is the next Lawhead???
The kingdom of Er’Rets is pretty hard on its orphans. It calls them “strays” and beats them up. So Achan grows up a stray in the household of a minor nobleman, picked on and beaten regularly…
In short, this book engaged me on mental and emotional levels, and tickled my beauty appreciation sense. I suspect other lovers of fantasy will want to feast on this book too.
I had a bit of trouble getting into this book and identifying with Auralia, who seems somehow otherworldly. But once I got into the book, I had trouble putting it down. The characters are well drawn, the plot has wonderful twists and turns, and many subplots with a variety of characters weave together to create a cohesive whole.
Q. Did you intend parallels involving the duo of the warring friars and the duo of the rich man and the pastor? A. Oh, absolutely. Everything that happens in LOST MISSION is connected across both space and time, just as it is in life.