Title: A Tale of Two Cities Author: Charles Dickens Published by e-artnow Editions Edition Year: 2013 Format Read: Kindle Pages: 474 Language: English ASIN: B00GMIM9QC First Published by Chapman & Hall, in 1859 Dates Read: 2023, February 2 to 24
People rave over this book! The only book I’ve read by Dickens in its entirety is Oliver Twist. I probably should have read more of his works by now, so I decided to give this one a shot. I wanted to watch the movie with Ronald Colman, but it was recommended to read the novel before watching any of the movie versions.
Something cool about this edition is that it has the original pictures from Phiz/H.K. Brown. After reading the famous first line, I struggled to follow some passages of text. I had to reread a few several times. Dialogue is easy to understand, but the narrator’s descriptions can be long and intense. I wonder if this is because I haven’t read 19th century literature in a few years, so I have to readjust to the writing style. Sometimes, I had issues with knowing which character the author was talking about. However, chapters tend to be short (about 10 to 20 minutes to read) which helps. Also, the narrator gradually introduces characters and only focuses on one to a few a chapter which is also helpful. It was interesting to read the descriptions of the miserable conditions with some humor sprinkled throughout the text.
The story’s suspense slowly builds; despite the difficulty reading some sentences, I wanted to continue reading. The story gradually becomes easier and more intriguing to read. The story ends with another famous quote that I would hear, but I had no idea that it was from this book. There were a few side characters that I wish had more of an ending. I liked this novel better than Oliver Twist, but it’s not my favorite novel ever. I look forward to reading other works by Dickens.
I was trying to find Christian fiction to read, and I found this series listed on the www.christianbook.com website. I thought that it was a Christian fantasy series, but it is more of a medieval fiction series with historical liberties.
Title: Tahn: A Novel Series: The Tahn Saga Serial: Book 1 Author: L.A. Kelly Published by Fleming H. Revell Year: 2005 Format Read: Kindle Pages: 337 Language: English ASIN: B00B85CMR0 Dates Read 2022 November 24 to November 26
Before the story begins, Kelly includes an author’s note explaining why she wrote the book. She was propelled to write it, and she hoped that the message of God’s mercy, love, and forgiveness are evident throughout the work. She does state that the book cannot be defined as truly historical fiction that takes place in Europe. The story “claimed a place and time all its own…” (page 8).
Within the first chapters, there is a lot of action and violence; Tahn kills a few people just within the first few pages. Tahn has to do the bidding of his evil mercenary master Samis. Samis took Tahn from a city as a child. Samis trained him to steal, kill, and destroy at his request. Even before the woman Netta, who Tahn kidnaps, shares the gospel with him, he is already somewhat redemptive. He had made the decision to disobey Samis and rescue several children from his lair. Tahn is trying to protect Netta’s life, honor, and he is not mercilessly mean. Despite all that she goes through, Netta is very devout: she teaches and preaches about the Christian faith throughout the entire novel. There are a lot of mini sermons and lessons; this book seems like something that Lynn Brooks could narrate on BBN radio during the time slot that they have her narrate a Christian story. There are several characters in this novel that have more characterization and emphasis in the next two novels. Not everyone accepts Christ, but a lot of the characters do. The events do have a good resolution, and a person could stop reading the series at the first novel.
Title: Return to Alastair Series: The Tahn Saga Serial: Book 2 Author: L.A. Kelly Published by Revell Year: 2006 Format Read: Kindle Pages: 369 Language: English ASIN: B00B85CN8I Dates Read 2022, November 27 to December 5
As of writing this, the book series is still out of order on Amazon. The website has this book listed as the last book in the series, but it is the second. There is no author’s note in this one. This book has many of the same characters as the first one, and it introduces some new characters, namely Tahn’s sister Tiarra. You learn how Tahn is related to nobility, and it’s another adventure. However, Tahn is sick for several pages, and it seems like the dreams he has while sick reveals a lot of the plot’s mystery.
Title: The Scarlet Trefoil Series: The Tahn Saga Serial: Book 3 Author: L.A. Kelly Published by Revell Year: 2007 Format Read: Kindle Pages: 305 Language: English ASIN: B007TV0VVG Dates Read 2022, December 9 to December 17
This book was more perilous and darker than the last two. It was hard to pause reading because many chapters end pitifully, and I kept wanting to take a break from reading on a happy note. It was a bit anguishing to read about Netta’s kidnapping and Tahn’s abuse at the hands of the bandits and others paid by Lionell Trent. Throughout the story, there is such an overwhelming amount of thoughts and emotions that to me, it started to get a bit repetitive. I know how all of the characters feel, please let’s continue advancing the plot. In my opinion, it was too much talking and feelings and not enough action.
Overall Impressions and Other Comments
This is a decent Christian fiction series. I thought that the series had a lovely ending. Although several priests are mentioned, and the setting is loosely based on Medieval Europe, there is emphasis on general themes of Christianity common to Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox. There is no mention of Mary, saints or The Five Solas. There is emphasis mainly on God’s providence, trust, prayer, assurance, forgiveness, stewardship, and redemption.
If any of the characters are memorable to me, they would be Tahn and Lucas. I loved their platonic relationship the most. I appreciated the camaraderie that Tahn, the Trillets, and others had with the children.
The one thing that I found confusing is what dialogue belonged to which character. Usually, when a different character speaks, a new paragraph is started, but here not so: “What can you tell us?” Netta whispered to Amos. “He rests well. Breathes stronger.” This is on pg 195 of The Scarlet Trefoil and it was hard for me to see that Amos started taking after Netta because both sets of dialogue are in the same paragraph.
There were some unrealistic elements to me. This could be historically accurate, but I did find it weird that people wear boots without stockings, socks, etc. Also, another odd thing is how Tahn’s relative complains about being barefoot throughout several pages, but I kept wondering what does she do during the winter. It was odd that Tahn is forced to walk barefoot for miles, but his feet do not hurt, just other parts of his body from injury. The scene where Tahn takes off Netta’s shoe to examine her ankle just seemed really forward of him, and I felt it could have been written better. The series increasingly has a lot of dialogue with a lot of emphasis on the various characters’ thoughts and feelings; I started to desire more action. The plot and story advancement takes a halt in order for us to review every thought and mental process of various characters.
Unfortunately, the author passed away in 2011 years ago with one of her children in a car accident. She wrote other books under her name Leisha Kelly. They look interesting, and I may try to read her other works.
I am trying different authors and genres. I found this author on a blog; the blogger reviews a lot Christian fiction, and she was reviewing one of Griep’s books. I had a look at her books on Amazon, and I decided to read this one. This is probably the first time travel fiction novel that I have read since middle school. I really enjoyed this book! Although the opening chapter is sad, the rest of the story is extremely fun to read. The writing is both witty and profound, and the figures in the story have fantastic characterization. I am definitely interested in reading some of the author’s other writings.
In the acknowledgments, I love that Griep writes “To my own Captain of the Guard who will soon come for me. Rev.22:20”. The story emphasizes faith, God’s presence, God’s mysterious ways, burying grief, love, forgiveness, releasing pain. It’s interesting how the first chapter starts with Dan’s demise. Then, the story picks up with Jessica on a trip to England after the passing of her husband. She meets a stranger on the plane who gives her ideas for sightseeing. Eventually, she is caught in a storm while searching for Gallimore castle. She is “whisked away” to the 14th century. She meets several colorful characters including a forthright knight, the ancestor of the stranger on the plane, and his creepy villainous brother- the Earl who practices divination. Jessica’s exchanges with the characters are engaging! Some comments she makes about her dress, the foul odors, and treatment of the servants are realistic yet coated with humor. I was so caught up in the action that it was bittersweet when the storm came again and Jessica returned to the present. You know that she gets together with the guy from the plane and the miraculous event in her life is discussed in the epilogue. I love how the scenes are drawn and depicted.
A Love So Wordy 