Synopsis: The second book in Anne Rice's hugely ambitions and masterful life of Christ.
It's a winter of no rain, endless dust, and talk of trouble in Judea. All who know and love Jesus find themselves waiting for some sign of the path he will eventually take. After his baptism, he is at last ready to confront his destiny. At the wedding at Cana, he takes water and transforms it into red wine. Thus, he's recognized as the anointed one and called by God the Father to begin a ministry that will transform an unsuspecting world.
I was very surprised when I started reading Anne Rice's books about Christ the Lord. She's always known for her vampire books (which I haven't read yet, but are on the list). I enjoy them though, which is why I picked up the second one as soon as I saw it. I am not steady in my beliefs and I'm not going to talk about them here, but this book makes me think about those things. I like how she portrays Jesus as a real person, life didn't always seem so peachy for him. She tells the story from his point of view which makes it interesting and seem more real. And then when he does perform miracles they seem even more incredible. I don't know if these books cause controversy in the Christian world, but I certainly enjoy them.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Thud! by Terry Pratchett
Synopsis: Commander Sam Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch admits he may not be the sharpest knife in the cutlery drawer--he might not even be a spoon. But he's dogged and honest and he'll be damned if he lets anyone disturb his city's always-tentative peace--and that includes a rabble-rousing dwarf form the sticks (or deep beneath them) who's been stirring up big trouble on the eve of the anniversary of one of Discworld's most infamous historical events.
Centuries earlier, in a gods-forsaken hellhole called Koom Valley, a horde of trolls met a division of dwarfs in bloody combat. Though noboy's quite sure why they fought or who actually won, hundreds of years on each species still bears the cultural scars, and one views the other with simmering animosity and distrust. Lately, an influential dwarf, Grag Hamcrusher, has been fomenting unrest among Ankh-Morpork's more diminutive citizens with incendiary speeches. And it doesn't help matters when the pint-size provocateur is discovered beaten to death...with a troll club lying conveniently nearby.
Vimes knows the well-being of his smoldering city depends on his ability to slove the Hamcrusher homicide without delay. (Vimes's secondmost-pressing responsibility, in fact, next to being home every evening at six sharp to read Where's My Cow? to Young Sam.) Whatever it takes to unstick this very sticky situation, Vimes will do it--even tolerate having a vampire in the Watch. But there's more than one corpse waiting for him in the eerie, summoning darkness of the vast, labyrinthine mine network the dwarfs have been excavating in secret beneath Ankh-Morpork's streets. A deadly puzzle is pulling Sam Vimes deep into the muck and mire of superstition, hatred, and fear--and perhaps all the way to Koom Vally itself.
I love Terry Pratchett, he has probably turned into one of my favorite author's in the past few years, I read Going Postal first and have always wanted to read another one of his, so I choose this and wasn't disappointed. He keeps you entertained and interested the whole time. I love the humor he throws into things and yet he still has a message and meaning to what he writes. This book is about the differences (in species) and how people hold grudges for so long they forget what the truth actually was. I would definately read this book again.
Centuries earlier, in a gods-forsaken hellhole called Koom Valley, a horde of trolls met a division of dwarfs in bloody combat. Though noboy's quite sure why they fought or who actually won, hundreds of years on each species still bears the cultural scars, and one views the other with simmering animosity and distrust. Lately, an influential dwarf, Grag Hamcrusher, has been fomenting unrest among Ankh-Morpork's more diminutive citizens with incendiary speeches. And it doesn't help matters when the pint-size provocateur is discovered beaten to death...with a troll club lying conveniently nearby.
Vimes knows the well-being of his smoldering city depends on his ability to slove the Hamcrusher homicide without delay. (Vimes's secondmost-pressing responsibility, in fact, next to being home every evening at six sharp to read Where's My Cow? to Young Sam.) Whatever it takes to unstick this very sticky situation, Vimes will do it--even tolerate having a vampire in the Watch. But there's more than one corpse waiting for him in the eerie, summoning darkness of the vast, labyrinthine mine network the dwarfs have been excavating in secret beneath Ankh-Morpork's streets. A deadly puzzle is pulling Sam Vimes deep into the muck and mire of superstition, hatred, and fear--and perhaps all the way to Koom Vally itself.
I love Terry Pratchett, he has probably turned into one of my favorite author's in the past few years, I read Going Postal first and have always wanted to read another one of his, so I choose this and wasn't disappointed. He keeps you entertained and interested the whole time. I love the humor he throws into things and yet he still has a message and meaning to what he writes. This book is about the differences (in species) and how people hold grudges for so long they forget what the truth actually was. I would definately read this book again.
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