This was a fast read...a quick-hitting thriller that really makes a statement about the continuing suppression of Christianity in this country and how the government is slowly usurping the Constitution to infringe on the religious freedoms of people. John Luther finds himself in the middle of this issue, as his fight for religious freedom and the expression of his beliefs in God and Jesus are ripped from him and he is framed for a crime he did not commit. With him out of the way, certain politicians in D.C. are free to move ahead on "religious fairness" legislation, a serious blow to American freedoms and ideals. I enjoyed the book, but I had forgotten how brief and chopped a book based on a movie can seem. There are elements in the book that could really have been expounded upon more, as well as important characters that needed more depth and conviction with respect to the overall plot. Still a good read, but I was once again reminded why I try to read the book before I see the movie based on the book.

Season 1 of The 'Naturals.

 

Some kids find out they have super powers. I think.

 

It's really hard to say anything really about these first four episodes. It's so short. It's four different main characters, written by four different authors. Which means that every story that I read, all these individual episodes are nothing more than set-ups for what I expect is going to happen in the rest of the 'season'. 

 

Thing is though, because it's so short (and it's already a collection of FOUR episodes) I couldn't really make my mind up about it. Do I like it? How can I tell, it's too short for me to base my opinion on any reason really. The fact that all the storylines are written by different authors makes that I can't really say anything about the writing either. 

 

It was not a bad start, but to soon to say whether or not I would like it. I would not sell or buy these four episodes without the rest because this alone will not make you feel like you've read something. 

 

Awakening is the first season of The 'Naturals. The second season, Evolution, has just started.

 

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Yep you saw it right, I am reviewing a Christian Fiction book. I was caught WAY off guard about 2/3 of the way through when a character states:

"Life is poetry," said Mae. "Stop. Watch. Listen. There's poetry all over. And the thing about poetry? It don't write itself"

I stopped and went hmmmmm OK, but I highlighted it and saw all the commenters who had also highlighted it and they were obviously Christian readers (insert "Praise Jesus.." "God is Love.." etc.. So I had to go look here on GR to see if this was Christian Fiction I had picked up. Want to talk about a DUH moment? But I was 67% through and it was not bothering me. Heck I just had complained about another book tricking me into reading a rabid conservation commentary and spiritual agenda and this was far from that. It was a great read so far! And I cannot say I was tricked!

And then I finished it, and it was full of Christian symbolism in the end, but it was a message of hope and a message of warning, like many of these books but you know what else it was? It was a fun sci-fi thriller. It was post-apocalyptic-ish. It had all the conventions of sci-fi thrillers and PA books are suppose to have. It has a strong message, there is love, heartache, but there is also a lot of violence, so watch it there if you are expecting it to not have any of that because it was written by a well known Christian Author (which I learned later).

I really liked it! So, I am giving it 4 stars, and it is well deserving. I would recommend this to any readers even those who do not read Christian Fiction. I am not Christian, I am a proud pagan priestess. I dig Tolkien, CS Lewis, Frank Herbert and Orson Scott Card and they are all writers who construct stories with strong Christian mythos, ethics, lessons etc. But they are not preaching or witnessing between the written word. They just are telling me a tale, and this was one heck of a great tale!

PREMISE: What happens to a group of astronauts who come back to earth after being the first men on Mars. Back to a world which seems to be completely empty. No humans, no animals, nothing, they all seem to have disappeared. How do people who already have been living in confined isolation cope to living in a world with infinite empty spaces where there should be walking talking people. What if they are not as alone as they thought? What if there seems to be something out there that cannot be explained, can they accept it on faith alone?

Triggers - violence and I was triggered by the idea of an empty world. It was a dark read but the ending made it worthwhile.

good read.

Alright. First the good; this is interesting. The premise is new, the meshing of current events with past investigations flows and manages to advance the story smoothly. It was a fast and enjoyable read, and I was actively curious to find out what's going on. The ending felt a bit abrupt; the tone shifted from investigative to... faintly stylized? Symbolic?

I'm not counting it as a horror novel; the driving force behind the story seems to be investigation and mystery. Given the supernatural elements I'm tagging it as fantasy, and suppose it might go on some urban fantasy shelves.

On the downside, the writing has a few lightning bugs. There are phrases like "squeezing off his ability to breathe" or "a few inches down in the sediment of a fresh grave" or "in my mind, the thought of doing X was a violent procedure" or "I stared at the pages again, still not believing the words it bore" or "the creepy feeling it imparted so easily on all who visited." And "reign" used for "rein". "Fiancé" for "fiancée". And an injury to skin described as both "inflamed" and "enflamed" on the same page.

These don't make the story illogical or nonsensical. But words mean things, and when the words mean something that doesn't match what's happening in the story, it's annoying in much the same way as someone's cellphone going off in the middle of a movie theatre. You have to readjust, filter out the nonsense input, and it pulls you out of the story.

I'm glad I got the book; I'm going to look up his other stuff. But I want to say rather sharpish things to whoever let this book out into the world with its shirt inside out and backwards.