Review: The Jubilee Problem

The Jubilee Problem by Anna Elliott
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Performance: ****

Story: ***

Another Fantastic Addition to the [Pseudo]Canon

First and foremost I really liked the paired narration by PoV (John Watson and Lucy).  The over all performance was fantastic and makes a good mystery adventure story much better (you can also get the book on kindle unlimited and have Alexa read it, but I think the audible narration is worth the premium).  This is my 5th Lucy Mystery, so I am obviously a fan of the series ...

The story builds on the idea that a gathering of elites for the Queen’s Jubilee celebration makes a very tempting target for international intrigue (with a presumed nod to Guy Fox and the Gun Power Plot).  Rather than just stumbling into the mystery this time, Lucy, as Sherlocks previously unknown daughter, is recruited by the powers that be to help with uncovering the plot.  Like many of the Lucy stories, there is a mystery man along with the expected misdirections and betrayals.  While you could read these little adventures in any order, there are some developing themes that work better when read in order … not the least of which is the developing relationship of Lucy with Jack and Becky that was surprisingly sweet.  However, the mystery portion may not work for hard core Sherlock fans as he as his prodigious perceptions stay pretty much in the background (so this is actually similar to the Enola Holmes movies that I also find very enjoyable).

I was given this free advance review/listener copy (ARC) audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

#TheJubileeProblem #LucyJamesMysteries #FreeAudiobookCodes #KindleUnlimited

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Review: Foundryside

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There is no authority outside the four (4) merchant house campos. While each house maintains order within their owns borders with magic and house guards, the city commons is a dystopian world where anything goes and it is a struggle to survive … and it is the author’s take on magic that was so intriguing for me. Magic effects are based upon inscribing sigils on objects that referenced a collection of reality definitions and/or arguments hold within a lexicon. There was a time in the distinct passed where the entire [angelic] language of reality was known and used by hierophants … and the war they fought nearly destroyed everything. Now the [magic] foundries of each merchant house tries to rediscover and add these sigils to the lexicons that “define" control what magic is still working. This allows objects that are within range of these immovable lexicons to be inscribed with sigils that alter the reality for that object … so example … if you convince a wheel that it is always rolling down hill, you get horseless carriages. Change the definition/argument to convince the wheel it is on flat ground and it stops … etc. I absolutely love the world building here.

Sancia is a thief with a mysterious past that is just trying to survive in the commons when a job goes sideways forcing her to run for her life with the stolen artifact still in her grubby hands. In short order, her network of contacts is burned to the ground as the hunters take out everybody who knows anything about her prize. Her only advantage is that she can actually hear the scrived objects used by the enhanced house guards hunting her. Gregor is a house scion with a dream of bring order to the commons … and joins the hunt to find the reason behind the increased chaos in the commons that threatens his dream of a new world order … and Gregor’s past is nearly as mysterious as Sancia’s. But there is a much darker scheme afoot and it can only be thwarted if the two can figure out how to work together. So we get a good balance of action, heist planning, secrets and character interaction that works well to pull you through the story despite a few info dumps to explain the historical context or magical effects.

#Foundryside #TheFounders

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Review: Engaging the Old Testament: How to Read Biblical Narrative, Poetry, and Prophecy Well

Engaging the Old Testament: How to Read Biblical Narrative, Poetry, and Prophecy Well by Dominick S. Hernández
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There are a lot of approaches to reading the Old Testament and all of them have their limits. As a collection of text within a variety of genres and translated from a different language and culture, it is fairly easy to mistake the intended message of the original scribe, especially when you break in down into small pericopes that are divorced of the surrounding context and inserted directly into today’s culture. Engaging the Old Testament goes in the other direction, suggesting a holistic reading of each text in order to recover the original context and message as interpreted by the original audience.

The book begins with instruction on How to read the Old Testament; which is to be humble and open to new interpretations as well as a commitment to reading the whole text as the original redactor intended in order to be how each part interacts with each other. “We cannot dismiss or evade any part of these texts for any reason and are compelled to engage with them as we would the New Testament.” This can be challenging when faced with particularly difficult stories involving violence et al where the temptation to gloss over or even ignore seems counter to the Christian understanding of a Loving God. In other words, there is still an important message in there and the ignored text is important to teasing that out and understanding the whole. The last 2/3rds of the book provides several solid examples of how this works; the only caveat being the presumption or mental framework (aka bias) that would help resolve the intentional tension created by the text and unlock the complete message. For me the key is my understanding of a loving Creator and an intentional plan for reconciling a fallen world to Himself (YMMV).

1. What’s the Old Testament “God” to Do with Me?
2. The Commitment to Really Reading
3. From Talking Tablets to Tabernacle to Today
4. Reading from Today Back to the Text
5. The Confessions of a Close Reader
6. How the Old Testament is Told: Narrative
7. Learning to Love the Law
8. Seeds of Remembrance
9. Redeeming Rahab the Conqueror
10. Why Is the Book of Judges So Weird?
11. Hannah and Ruth: Mothers of the Monarchy
12. King David’s True Legacy
13. Divided Allegiances to Divided Kingdom: The Tragedy of King Solomon
14. How Biblical Poets Wrote Poetry: The Importance of Parallelism
15. How Biblical Poets Wrote Poetry: The Proliferation of Metaphors
16. Metaphors and Retributive Justice in the Poetry of Job
17. How Prophets Prophesy
18. How Engage Poetic Prophecy
19. Who Is Isaiah’s Suffering Servant?

I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

#EngagingtheOldTestament #NetGalley

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Review: The Secret Adversary

The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Performance: ****
Story: ***

A Fun Mystery From a Master

A solid 7+ hour narration for a decent cast of characters involved in a mystery along with a dash of political espionage. This is my first read of the Tommy and Tuppence Mysteries and I very much enjoyed the young protagonists as they are drawn into a growing plot to topple governments following the First World War. The key hinges on finding a young American woman who disappeared in London after surviving the sinking of the Lusitania. Like most in the genre, the plot at the center of everything was a bit of a stretch, but didn’t detract so much that I could not enjoy the story. As T & T stumble toward revealing the secret plot being directed by a mysterious Mr Brown, you get the typical reversals of fortune, red herrings, and surprising betrayals (if you aren’t paying attention … there are enough clues to guess a fair amount before it was revealed). All in all … although some may find this one of the weaker mysteries from Agatha Christie, the audible performance pulls it up to be a fun introduction.

I was given this free advance review/listener copy (ARC) audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

#TheSecretAdversary #FreeAudiobookCodes

 
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