I, Saul

"A young seminary professor, Augustine Knox, is drawn into a deadly race to save priceless parchments from antiquities thieves and discovers a two-thousand-year old connection with another who faced death for the sake of the truth.  I, Saul consists of two riveting adventures in one, transporting you between the stories of Augustine Knox and Paul of Tarsus.

Filled with political intrigue, romance, and rich historical detail, I, Saul is a thrilling tale of loyal friendships tested by life-or-death quests, set two millennia apart, told by a master storyteller."  (From the back dustcover of I, Saul, written by Christian author Jerry B. Jenkins with James S. MacDonald.)

I've always been a huge fan of Jerry Jenkins, so I might not be the best to write an impartial review.  However, personally I feel a review that offers what I LIKE about a project can prove just as valuable as a review that only breaks down the problems of a book as well.

As always, Mr. Jenkins puts a good amount of effort into character development in his books.  Making your characters believable is one of the biggest challenges of making your story believable. 

He does have one habit that drives me crazy (but really in a good way).  You will be reading along in one of the two sub-stories, its building to a climax ... something is about to happen ... and POOF!  You switch to the other story! 

Dr. Augustine "Augie" Knox is following in his father's footsteps.  His father is a senior professor at a prestigious (albeit small) theological seminary in Texas.  Augie has long lived in his father's shadow.  While the Senior Dr. Knox can recite chapter and verse of the Word of God, and can expound on apologetics, exegesis and theology, he does not seem to have the one thing important in sharing the message of the Gospel.  He does not have love.  Clearly, he has a passion for knowledge.  But he is loved.  Augie's mother Marie is the stark antithesis of his father Edsel.  She has the knowledge of Jesus love, but she also shows that love as a lamp shines the light of the flame within.  While Augie has some challenges, he is learning to show both sides of his heritage, with his father's intellect and his mother's compassion and passion.

Augie is contacted by a friend.  Roger is in trouble and reaches out to his friend.  He needs Augie to come to Rome, but he also needs Augie to destroy his cell phone which he tells him is now compromised.  What has Roger gotten himself into?

In first century Rome, the Apostle Paul is awaiting execution by the Roman authorities.  He has asked his friend Luke to assist him, to keep him alive until his execution.  He also needs Luke to bring his manuscripts to him.  Paul is writing of his early life, of his upbringing.  As a youth, young Saul wanted more than anything to walk with God as the Patriarchs did.  To his young mind, this meant that he needed to learn everything that they knew, to walk with the Law of Moses precisely, to become the greatest of all Pharisees.  We learn of the lessons Saul gained, sometimes painfully in seeking such a goal.

Near the end of the story, a detail of an unsolved puzzle is spoken of ... and is not resolved.  I wrote to Mr. Jenkins on his Facebook page and asked him if the puzzle would be resolved in his next book, I, Paul, which is due out in 2014?  His reply:  You're kidding, right?

Waycross Botticelli

Waycross Camp
and Conference
Center
Morgantown IN

I grew up spending part of my summers at a wonderful summer camp in southern Indiana, Waycross Camp and Conference Center. 

One of the special sessions was a chance for entire families to come and spend a week (in later years, a weekend) in a place I would put up against any resort for a place to relax without a care.

Among my fondest memories was playing a game called Botticelli.  There are other versions of the game, such as the one here, but the one we played at Waycross was slightly different.  I'd like to share the rules so that you and your family and friends can give it a try.

One of the best things about the game?  No equipment needed!  Just you and a group of as many friends as you have at hand.  I would however say that the game plays best with at least 6-8 people, but you can play with 20+ of the opportunity presents itself!  Just make sure you're some place comfortable, because the game can run as long as people are interested in playing.

The Rules:

• Game play starts with one person being designated as "it".  For the sake of the rules, we'll say that I am it.
• As the it person, I think of the name of a reasonably famous person.  This person can be living or dead, can be real or fictional.
• I tell you the first letter of the famous person's last name.  I'm thinking of Helen Keller, so I tell you that the first letter of the last name is K.  
• Your job is to earn the chance to ask me a yes/no question about my famous person.
• You earn this chance by stumping me with a trivia question that the answer starts with the letter I've given you. (in this case K...)
• One tricky bit:  If your trivia question has more than one correct answer that starts with the same letter, even if the answer I give you is not the one you were thinking of, the answer is acceptable.  (If you were to ask, "What is a marsupial found in Australia?" and I answered "koala", even though you  were expecting "kangaroo", my answer is still correct.)  
• If I answer your question correctly,  it is the next person's turn to try to stump me.
• If instead you do stump me, you can now ask me a question about my person, but this question can only be answered yes or no.  You might ask, "Is this person a woman?" I would answer yes.  If you asked, "Is this person a man or woman?" I would be unable to answer because this was not a yes/no question.  Play then shifts to the next person.
• The game proceeds this way, revealing details of my person.
• Finally, when you think you know and your next turn comes around, you can say "Is it __________________?"  If you guessed correctly, it is now your turn to be it, and you get to choose the next famous person.  If you guess incorrectly, I am still it and play continues.

There is no technical end to the game, nor is there a final winner.  Its simply a chance to gather, have some fun and relax.  Food should be shared.  Other conversation is encouraged.   Enjoy!

Terminus

Review
Book Title: TerminusBook Author: Joshua Graham

From the back cover:

How far can an angel fall to find his destiny?

Having witnessed one too many senseless deaths, Nikolai, a disillusioned Reaper 3^rd Class, resigns his commission with the Angel Forces after a tedious century of gathering souls.

Immediately, another division recruits him with the promise of a more rewarding career, and issues his initial assignments: To bring down a few very dangerous threats to the human race. In the process, Nikolai falls in love with one of his targets – Hope Matheson, a woman who will lead thousands astray.

Caught between conflicting agendas, Nikolai chooses to “fall” from his celestial state and become mortal in order to circumvent angel law and be with her. But for angels and humans alike, things are not always as they appear. Still a target, the threat against Hope's life intensifies.

Now, in order to save her, Nikolai must rally the last remnants of his failing supernatural abilities to prevent her assassination, as well as the destruction of an entire city by a nuclear terrorist strike.

But his time and power are running out.

Terminus is a perspective-altering saga that delves into ageless themes of redemption, destiny and the eternal power of love.

(Any quotations from the book or cover are used for review purposes only, no intent of making money from this work should be considered)

Off the cuff, while the book had a slow start and some bits were a little confusing. However, once I got the characters sorted out and what some terms meant, I found it an enjoyable read.

The book starts with angel named Nikolai (who prefers to be called simply Nick) doing his daily duty; escorting a recently deceased girl to the Terminus, which is a way station of sorts where the departed go. Some to be taken up to Heaven, others maybe to be taken to Hades.

We find out that this job had been a demotion. Nick had previously been a Guardian, one of the highest forms of angels. But, he had followed his heart rather than his orders and had fallen in love with a human woman. Such relationships are forbidden, so Nikolai the Guardian Angel is demoted to Nick, Reaper (3^rd class). For over 100 years – which mind you is a twinkling in the eye of ANY angel – Nick has been shuttling back and forth between the Terminus and various points around the globe.

He is approached by a member of another division … does Nick want the chance to get out of his rat race job and have adventures and excitement? He's given a chance. All he has to do is make sure something happens that otherwise might be stopped. A woman, distraught over the loss of a child is pondering ending her life. Nick is told that if this woman lives, thousands of lives will be forever changed. But things aren't always what they seem.

There's also the story of the pastor of a very large ministry, Pastor Jonathan Hartwell. Pastor Hartwell is followed by millions. Thousands flock to his services. One evening, a young woman came to his office seeking counseling. It was late, so Pastor Hartwell had sent his secretary home. Maria Guzman was running from her family. Temptation rears its head when Pastor Hartwell offers to put Maria up in a hotel so that she can be away from some of bad people in her life. He'd walked her to her room, he unwisely went inside her room. When Maria kissed him, he turned and left. But security cameras see everything, even when things aren't always what they seem.

Carlito Guzman is head of a crime syndicate. His father, whom he knew as Papi, has left control of the family business to him even though he doesn't think his son is hard enough to make the decisions needed. With Papi dead, Carlito finds out that some of his lieutenants are not what they seem.

Each of these skeins of the story culminate in a final confrontation. Things that are not as they seem are brought into the light of Truth in a way that I thought was rather explosive!

If you have a chance to read Terminus, I have every confidence you shall enjoy it as I did.