Forbidden

                Forbidden, by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee, is an intense, futuristic thriller about a man named Rom, his three friends and a dead world. Dekker and Lee do a fantastic job of keeping the reader’s fingers busy… meaning; this book is quite a page turner. Although set over five hundred years in the future, they paint the world as not having changed much. It almost seems more Victorian then modern.

            Rom is a young, handsome funeral singer. He has never known love, hate, or any other emotion because he is emotionless. But then so is everyone else on planet earth. The story goes that, in 2005, scientists found the DNA chemical that creates the emotion of fear. Over the next few years, they similarly found the chemicals that made up every other emotion that a human feels. A nuclear war broke out and thousands were killed, so the scientists realized the only way to save the human race from annihilation was to rid it of emotion. They released an airborne virus into the atmosphere that stripped humanity of all emotion… except for fear.

            On a certain overcast day, Rom is making his way home from a funeral when he finds an old man, or rather, an old man finds him. He gives Rom a package and tells him to take it and find a man called the Book. Before Rom can ask any questions, the man is killed by some police officers. Horrified, he runs for his life, not thinking that all will be well if he just gave the package up. When he arrives home, his mother asks why he has blood on him so he tells her what happened. She becomes equally scared and tells him to take it in, but he counters that, because he ran, they will still kill him. The argument is cut short when the police show up at the house. He runs, but not before he sees them but his mother’s throat. Running out of options for safety, he goes to his friend, Avra’s, house. He asks her to help him and she agrees. They run and in a church where Avra asks him what is in the package. Realizing that he doesn’t yet know, they open it and find a vial of blood wrapped in leather, which is covered in writing. The writing tells them that in drinking the blood, they will find life. Rom takes the vial, seeing that there is nothing left to lose, and drinks a portion of it. The energy that courses through him is so powerful that he passes out. While he is unconscious, Avra also drinks a portion of the blood and she collapses under the force of life. When they wake, they realize that they really never were alive and that the whole world is dead. Two more of their friends drink some of the blood and the foursome begin to uncover the past… in order to save the present and restore life to a dead race.

            With many twists and turns along the way, this book is virtually impossible to put down. Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee have written this in such a wonderful way that it is gripping yet not just entertaining. Smoothly woven into this novel is biblical imagery and beautiful description. The most interesting part is describing what emotion is like from the perspective of one who has just found it. I would recommend this book to a more mature audience because of the graphic nature of the murders and a detailed (rather bloody) fight sequence.

The Screwtape Letters

Have you ever wanted to know what the demons think? Have you ever wondered how they go about tempting you every day? Well, many years ago, C.S. Lewis penned a book that might give you a little glimpse into the other side.

            The Screwtape Letters is a fictitious assortment of letters written by Undersecretary Screwtape, a retired tempter, to his nephew, Wormwood, a beginning tempter. These letters are filled with tidbits of advice that are supposed to help Wormwood “secure” the soul of his “patient.” Although the reader never hears what Wormwood says or does, the attitude of Screwtape’s letters convey what is evidently happening. He is a blundering, clumsy idiot of a demon and Screwtape has much fun in telling him so. Whether or not the soul is captured I will leave up to you to find out…

         Although it is, as said before, a fictitious writing, C.S. Lewis brings up many good points throughout these letters. The wisdom written here should be heeded and spread so that less and less of Christians will fall into the devil’s clever, imperceptible traps.

The Bone House

The Bone House is the intriguing sequel to The Skin Map, both written by Steven R. Lawhead, in the Bright Empires series. Following the myth that telluric energy is a time travel or time jumping force, Steven has penned another mind twisting book. Filled with unexpected plot twists and adventure, this sequel has  come to par level with its precursor.

Kit has been saved by Wilhelmina, Uncle Henry and Cosimo are dead. What next? Mina (Wilhelmina’s nick name) has taken Kit and Guiles to her home in the 1600s era Prague. But soon after they get there, Lord Burleigh comes out of nowhere with Lady Fayth. Knowing that Burleigh has made frequent visits to Prague and that they are never long, Mina attempts to hide Guiles and Kit in a nearby ley (time jump portal) until he leaves and then she will retrieve them after Burleigh leaves. Plans change when Guiles is shot by Burleigh while distracting him so that Kit can get away and Kit barely escapes… into the Stone Age. Although the plan was to wait for Mina at the crossing point, Kit decides to take a bit of a stroll and ends up being taken to a caveman-like village where the natives welcome him as one of their own. Mina comes arrives in the period moments later and, after searching for Kit everywhere within a radius of the ley, gives up and returns to car for Guiles. After many months, Kit is still among the Stone Agers and waiting for his chance to escape back to Mina, when, by accident, he falls through a ley and into a lush jungle where he finds Arthur Flindres-Petrie… the Man Who Is Map. The man whose skin Kit has held is his very hands.

This book was very interesting. Following many different plot lines might seem hard to do, but really, it isn’t. The way Stephen Lawhead writes is different from other authors. Because time boundaries are obsolete in this series, some one who is dead, could very well be alive. Confusing? You should read the books for yourself, it is explained there much better than I could ever do it.

The Skin Map

Countless people have wondered if time travel is possible. Others believe that telluric energy¹ (a.k.a. an earth current) is a time-travel force and we only have to learn how to harness it in order to travel back or forward in time. The Skin Map, written by Steven Lawhead, is a fictitious novel about the “what-ifs’ involving telluric energy and time travel. It is the first book in the Bright Empires series.

            Kit Livingstone is a twenty-seven year old loser, he works a job in London, only to survive; and he willingly admits that he needs a new girlfriend. He keeps the one he has just for the sake of being in a relationship. On a random, Sunday afternoon, he is on his way to her house because he had promised her that they would go shopping together. Through a series of unfortunate events, he is forced to walk the several blocks to her house. On his way, he passes down an alley that he has never been down before. A freak storm comes and then, just as quickly as it came, it was gone. As he nears the end of the tunnel, he hears someone call his name. He turns to find his great-grandfather, Cosimo Livingstone, following him. Thinking that it is just some crazy man, he walks on and comes out the other side of the alley, but finds himself in a seaside village, not London. He demands to know what happened and the Cosimo informs him that he has walked through a portal into the past, although not history. It is another dimension of history (meaning, if he changes something there, it will not necessarily change the future in real time).  Cosimo goes on to ask Kit to help him with something, but Kit wants nothing of it. He walks back into the alley which is back into London. A few minutes later, he comes to his girlfriend Wilhelmina’s house and is thoroughly confused when she is upset with him for being so late. Not quite sure what she means by “so late”, he looks at his phone and sees that it was 4:30pm, a full eight hours from when he left his house. He tries his best to explain what happened, but she doesn’t believe him. Finally, he decides to take her to the portal. When they get to it, he walks through first with her following directly behind him, but when he gets through, she is nowhere to be found. Cosimo finds him and tells Kit that he knew that he would return soon, but asks him what caused him to come back. Kit sighs and explains what happened. Cosimo is not at all thrilled with this, saying that this could be very bad for all the dimensions of reality, because she might upset the balance of things. It turns out that the portal that Kit and Mina came through has several ‘drop spots.’ Cosimo and Kit then set out to find her… before it’s too late.

            When an author sets out to write a series, he must make the first book intriguing enough that the readers will want to read the next book. Steven Lawhead has done this well, weaving many different story lines together into one amazing plot.

¹Telluric energy is an electric current that moves underground or through the sea. Telluric currents result from both natural causes and human activity, and the discrete currents interact in a complex pattern. The currents are extremely low frequency and travel over large areas at or near the surface of Earth.

Safe

Pause the book reports for a post. Here's another short story that I wrote... I entered it into a competition. What do you think?

Safe 

            The house shakes around me; I have no time to think. Grabbing a shirt, I dash outside. I’ve heard it said that it’s better to be outdoors during an airstrike, I find this logic undeniable. The whine of missiles and the screams of their victims blast my eardrums, but I cannot cover them. I know that, in order to be safe, I must run to the outskirts of town and meet my— remembering that my parents might still be in the house, I turn around, but as I do, it explodes in a ball of fire and smoke. I continue on my escape course, hoping that they are safe.

            I don’t know when the bombing started and honestly, I don’t care. The only thing that matters is how soon it will end. It has been years since this war began and our town has realized that bomb shelters are absolutely worthless. Instead, we must escape to the fields, where there are no structures to target. I detest modern war technology. The accuracy that it gives people and the havoc it causes on the receiving end.

            I run hard, and fast, passing rubble from past destruction. Before the war, there were some days that I wished would never end. Now, I wish that almost every day would be over; hoping that tomorrow will bring peace. It never does. My father tells me that the reason we cannot have complete peace is because we live in a fallen world. He says that we will one day have perfect peace… in heaven. I don’t know what to believe… about God, at least. Sometimes I wonder if he exists and, if he does, how could he let so much devastation take place? I am a Jew. My people are supposedly God’s chosen people. I don’t believe it; why would he let his people die? Why does carnage reign supreme in the Promised Land? Like I said, I don’t know what to believe about God. Maybe when I’m older and the war is over, I’ll give him a chance.  Now, I only wonder… when will this hell end?

            I reel from the impact of a rocket that has found its mark nearby. It feels like I am on a treadmill and that, no matter how hard I try, I cannot get out of the town. Almost like the scenery is on spools and they just keep turning, while I waste my energy on the belt in hopes of escape. After several minutes of hard running, I give up and hide under a ‘cave’ of rubble. I don’t care if it will protect me or not, I just hug my knees to my chest and wait. I want to scream at the enemy, but I know that they won’t hear me. I want to curse them for taking away my life, my friends… my grandparents. These thoughts bring tears to my eyes, but I wipe my eyes dry. You’re fourteen, I tell myself, be strong.  How can I be strong in the midst of such hatred? The pain is so great; my ears are ringing from the explosions coming from everywhere. I feel as though I am in one of the horror stories that the Americans like… the ones where death is coming for you and you cannot stop it, no matter how hard you try.

            As the smoke in front of me clears, I see the end of town. I think that I can make it. As the missiles continue to pummel the ground, I break from my cover and sprint towards the field. Something explodes to my right, catapulting me through the air… and slipping me into unconsciousness.

            When I wake, I find that I am stuck under a pile of rubble. There are voices speaking in low tones, feet crunching the gravel… They are searching. I don’t know why I didn’t realize it before, but there are no explosions. The airstrike must be over, and now the survivors are looking for anyone to bury. Someone who wasn’t as fortunate as them. I try to call out, but my voice is no more than a whisper. I clear my throat from the dust and grime that I must have breathed in and try again. “Help!” Relief washes over me, I can speak. There is a shuffle of footsteps and I realize that I was having trouble breathing as wreckage is lifted and my lungs fill with air. After an eternity of waiting, I am free. By now, my parents have been alerted of my safety and a crowd has gathered around. Questions bombard me like the rockets from last night. I try hard to answer them, but cannot keep up. I am so happy to find that my parents are safe. Food is brought out and we have a meal, whether breakfast, lunch or dinner, I am not sure. As is tradition before we eat, my father leads us in prayer.

            “Yahweh,” He pauses and begins to cry. I guess that these tears are probably from mixed emotions, happiness, that his family is safe, but also sadness, that the town has been shattered… yet again. He regains his composure and continues, “Thank you for keeping us safe. Amen.”

            Safe, I laugh to myself. I look around at the destruction and see what war has done. I look at the survivors and see the peace that they’ve somehow found. I still don’t quite believe that God is alive, but if he is, I thank him for giving me such good companions, and yes, for keeping us safe. But safe for how long?