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Miscellanous Authors
Mike Dellosso Sibella Giorello Parker Hudson Dean Koontz Katheryn Mackel Paul Maier Brian Reaves Phil Vischer There are some authors, for a variety of reasons I've only read one book by them. In some cases, it's the only one they've written. In other cases, I just haven't read more by them, but intend too. So, this is the catch all page for those I've only read one of their books.
The Hunted by Mike
Dellosso—When I was around age 9, I received a poster from VBS. The picture
was of a lion leaping out of the grass with teeth bared and claws extended. Its
purpose was to serve as a reminder of 1 Peter 5:8 which says, "...Your adversary
the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour." While I
was reading The Hunted, this picture kept reappearing in my mind. A vicious lion
seeking to devour. The Surrogate by Kathryn Mackel—It doesn’t take a lot violence and gore to make a chilling story. Sometimes all it takes is a look at the human heart. Kyle and Bethany Dolan have almost everything their heart desires. They have worldly success in abundance, a wonderful relationship with God and each other, a network of supportive friends, but they don’t have a child, which is their greatest desire. The death of their fourth child, when Bethany was five months pregnant, resulted in hemorrhaging and a hysterectomy. No longer able to carry their last embryo, they turn to a surrogate mother, Laurel Bergin (aka con artist Sable Lynde). Chilling is a very descriptive term for this book. It is dark and cold and unsettling. The Surrogate is written in small movie like clips, each digging into the character’s emotions and intents. The character’s motives and thoughts are what make this book. People are scary. Even the hearts of devoted Christians are scary, especially when we turn to pursue our own desires without regard to God or others. As dark as the Dolans become in the book, they are nothing compared to Sable who is without God. Her isolation stands in strong contrast to God’s light and his comfort. The Surrogate is very good until the last quarter when it falls into a fairly predictable story line. Since this is a Christian book, there were several things that would definitely happen, but there were a few directions the plot could have turned that would have been a more interesting conclusion in my opinion. However, overall it was a well written book. Very dark, which allowed God’s light to shine beautifully. A Skeleton in God’s Closet by Paul Maier--I read this book in 2000, and six years later I can still remember most of it. Interestingly enough, it really wasn’t one of my favorites. The writing style was awkward and I remember it having a very slow beginning. It took me awhile to really get into it. The reason it’s stayed with me, though, was the premises. What would happen if someone found the body of Jesus? What would happen to Christianity and how would the world react? It’s a fascinating thought, and it’s stayed with me all these years. I won’t go any deeper into the plot, but the main theme is certainly something to contemplate. The President by Parker Hudson--I know the exact date I finished this book. It was September 8, 2001. The reason I remember, is three days later when the Twin Towers were hit, I could not believe I had just finished a book that so closely resembled those events. It’s obviously been awhile since I’ve read The President, so most of my thoughts are pretty fuzzy. What I do remember of the plot had the US under a severe nuclear terrorist attack. During this crisis, the president turns to Christianity, and with him many in America decide to follow God as well. The President was very well written and I remember staying up very late to finish it. It was pretty easy to figure out what was going to happen, but written in a way that I still enjoyed following the story. I haven't found other fiction books by Parker Hudson. If there were some, I would not hesitate to pick them up and read them. Me, Myself, and Bob: A True Story about God, Dreams, and Talking Vegetables by Phil Vischer—From 1999-2002 we had bought every video that was sold by Big Idea, plush toys, clothes, books, you name it, we bought it. Our kids loved them and we loved them. To us, they were the answer to secular cartoons and children’s entertainment. High quality animation, excellent stories, solid teaching, and all around funny stories. I remember laughing till I cried when Bob told Larry to “grab a cart” in Madame Blueberry. We watched the videos with our kids. All three of our children learned their numbers, ABCs, shapes, and colors by reading the Veggicational Books with them. I read them so many times I can recite four of them from memory. We loved VeggieTales! Around 2002, though, we noticed things weren’t as good as they used to be. The 3-2-1 Penguin videos were weak and the new Larry Boy videos were pitiful. By 2005 we had decided we weren’t buying anymore VeggieTales until things improved. Early in 2007 we decided to investigate and see what happened to our beloved Veggies. That’s when we visited Vischer’s website and read the condensed version of the fall of Big Idea Production. Having gotten the general gist, I decided I wanted to hear the full story and bought Me, Myself, and Bob. I’m so glad I did. This is an incredible book. Vischer describes the rise and fall of VeggieTales. The mistakes and the successes. I admire Vischer for his honesty and taking responsibility for what happened to VeggieTales. Seeing the whole picture makes it very easy to understand and learn from Vischer’s experience. Vischer’s new approach to ministry is so simple, yet so correct. Become a jellyfish—set aside our own visions to pursue God’s, regardless of where it leads. Truly an inspiring book and I’m very glad Vischer took the time to write it. I’ve bought Vischer’s two new children’s books (Sidney & Norm and 47 Beavers on the Big Blue Sea) and my kids are loving them just as much as the VeggieTale books. I pray God will continue to use Vischer in a way more amazing than he could ever imagine. Me, Myself, and Bob is an excellent story and one everyone should read before taking the plunge into ministry. Top The Stones Cry Out by Sibella Giorello (I did not find a website for her. Does anyone know if she has one?)—I picked this book out mainly because of the title. I always loved Luke 19:37-40 37—Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, 38 saying: " 'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!' Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" 39 And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples." 40 But He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out." So, when I saw the title, I thought it sounded pretty interesting. The caption on the back of the book is an excellent summary, "When nobody talks...the stones cry out." Young FBI agent, Raleigh Harmon, is assigned the job of investigating a civil rights case. The problem is, with hundreds of people attending a rally outside an old factory where a white detective and young black man fall to their deaths, no one saw a thing. The FBI wants the case closed quickly, forcing Raleigh to work quickly to discover what the stones are crying out. I very much enjoyed this book. Set in Richmond Virginia, Giorello has done a wonderful job of capturing that old south feel. She pulls the reader in and we're transported to a place where the pace is slower and racial tensions high. Corruption is always an option and the Good Old Boys network is thriving. The story is shrouded in mystery. Since no one will talk, the reader discovers the truth through evidence, dreams, and Raleigh’s instincts. The characters are excellent. Giorello gives the reader a great insight into each character, their strengths, weaknesses, fears, desires. There are many plots and subplots that run through out and in the end, not all are completely resolved. While we find out what happens on the roof, Raleigh’s story is not over. I look forward to reading more. Sole Survivor by Dean Koontz—I normally do not review books that are not considered Christian fiction. However, after reading this one, I had to review it. Not because I thought it was a spectacular work of fiction, but because it is an excellent example of a ‘secular’ book by a ‘secular’ author with wonderfully portrayed spiritual themes. Please forgive the amount of ranting that is bound to be in this review. A year after flight 353 crashed, Joe Carpenter was still dealing poorly with the death of his wife and two daughters. Loathing life and wishing for death, Joe quit his job and isolated himself from his friends. On the one year anniversary of the crash, through a series of interesting events, Joe realizes he’s being followed. Who, he’s not sure, but after they attempt to shoot a mysterious woman taking pictures of his family’s gravestone, Joe is determined to find out. The path he takes leads to some deep and dangerous secrets, including what really happened to flight 353. Many people on the Ted Dekker boards have talked about Dean Koontz and the spiritual nature of his books. Many had said he was a Christian and many of his books had Christian themes. Koontz has about 40 books, so it’s kinda hard to pick one to start with. Thankfully his website is pretty helpful. The books are broken down by genres and one of those genres happens to be ‘Spiritual Suspense’. The local library happens to carry many of Koontz’s books and Sole Survivor happened to be the a ‘Spiritual Suspense’ that was available. So, that’s why I started with this one. Sole Survivor is a deeply spiritual book. However, it’s not blatantly Christian. The themes that are presented are present in many religions, but the references tend to be Biblical. For example, the there is a calendar with Jesus and three of his disciples. In Joe’s grief, he questions the Christian lady with the calendar on how she can keep her faith and believe in a loving God. Anyone familiar with Christianity will instantly recognize her response as being 100% Christian. This is one example, but consistent throughout the book. **SPOILER** Repeatedly we’re reminded of a Creator. The universe is not just a mindless machine. There is hope and there is peace to be had. Conversely, we’re also faced repeatedly with the question of how a loving God can allow so many innocent people to die. The grief and heartache that death causes for so many. Koontz handles these questions in a way that lets the reader understand the truth of God and who He is. Additionally, Koontz gives us a healthy dose of evil, the unethical nature of man, and man’s ever persistent desire to play God. When I closed this book, I was left with several thoughts. Here comes the rant….First off, the main thing that separates this book from being sold in a Christian store is the language. There is some swearing. It is not excessive or gratuitous. In fact, it adds to the story. Many Christian books are so white washed the flow of the story is interrupted. No murderer is going to call someone puke face. A murderer lacks morals and doesn’t care if they use lily white language. Evil is dark and to color it white eliminates its effectiveness. Secondly, this book is very much what I would like to see more Christians write. A good story, with strong characters, that show God. Doctrine and theology does not need to be taught in every fiction book. Readers can determine Biblical truth without it being spelled out. A character doesn’t have to quote scripture to get a message across. Let the characters act and the reader discern. Thirdly, I fully believe this book will have a greater impact on more non believers than the vast majority of Christian fiction books on the market. It’s believable, it’s not a sermon, it’s a great story, and it gives the reader something to think about and to discover for themselves. Lastly, while this is only the first book I’ve read by Koontz, I have a healthy level of respect for him. Even though several had said he was a Christian, I decided to research it myself. He is Catholic and from my very minor research appears to be fairly conservative. In this book, his beliefs were very evident and I applaud him for not hiding, limiting, or softening what he was writing about. This book very much reflected our Creator.
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