Book Review - Worlds Unseen

Beyond the everyday existence of men and women lies a realm of ancient beauty and goodness and light. An exiled King calls his people to awake and remember him. But an unspeakable evil is seeking to break into the world of men and rule by misery and cruelty. The Veil that keeps that evil back is wearing thin.

Worlds Unseen follows the stories of several young people who realize that the miserable world of the Empire is not all that exists. Maggie has a song in her heart, just waiting to be drawn out. Nicholas hears what others don’t. Virginia, the blind girl, sees visions.

From the grey city of Londren and the highlands of Anglsie, through the forests of the gypsies, and deep in the ancient tunnels of the Eastern city of Pravik, Maggie and her friends will need all the courage, faith, and love they have to stand against evil. And they will be changed in ways they never dreamed.

Here is what I wrote to Rachel, the author, upon finishing the book the first time:

Oh my goodness. When you put Worlds Unseen on your site as a free download, you certainly knew what you were doing. ;-) I am so hooked. Now I need to decide if my budget can handle hard copies of it and Burning Light. I definitely want these to keep, in tangible papery form!

Thank you for this story! I am in rather a state of shock (the end-of-an-amazing-read sort of shock), and it might be a while before I can write a coherent review for my blog. But for the moment, I mainly wanted to thank you for your well-told story of life and death and tears and growing up, of ashes and newness and the bright, starry thread, of monsters and scoundrels and everyday heroes stepping bravely into battle against evil. Thank you for a picture of worlds unseen, of faith that hopes and believes when the night is dark. Of a King who is coming. Oh, I loved it!

I love your descriptions of all the mysterious, otherworldly characters, like the wind and animal and tree spirits, and Virginia's visions. Ah, beautiful! That is stuff that really encourages me. It reminds me of how little I really see of reality. What all is going on beyond my senses? It's far more than I think, both worse and far better than I can dream.

Now, after reading it for the second time four months later, I found the book just as compelling. The writing is excellent. From the sweeping scale of lands and peoples to the vivid details of small moments, this book shines. The characters are real, each with their own struggles and strengths, and I already love them dearly. Nicholas, the kindhearted Gypsy boy, was probably my favorite character, and I was thrilled to learn that the second book is mainly his story, as the first was Maggie’s.

As far as Christian fantasy goes, I thought it was beautifully done. Magic glinted from these pages, but when it was used selfishly it was always shown to be bad. The source of the good power was always the King, and nothing brought greater joy and comfort and hope than when characters realized He was with them. Nor was there so much direct allegory that it took away from the story, which seems to me to be the other ditch Christian fantasy writers can fall into. Overall, a sense of bittersweet longing pervades the whole book. 

I’m sure I shall be reading this again, as well as recommending it to friends. In the meanwhile, please excuse me while I dive into Book Two – Burning Light.

(You can visit Rachel's website HERE.)

~

Book 2 - Burning Light   | Book 3 - Coming Day

Writing Styles - Personalities

I just realized today that when I find myself begrudging people I know of their talent and skill and knack to write, it's like wishing I could have the same or "as good" of a personality as them.  That's silly.  And quite wrong.  If I would instead rejoice in their wonderful abilities, and try to be the best I can be at my own writing, I can enjoy the delightful range of personality and variation God created.

Father, help me be humble in my writing!

Do Not Fear

Do not fear.

Those three words are at the heart of the good news of Jesus. Before he enters into our wrecked lives we have good reason to fear. Before his grace restores us we are a ruin, a foggy graveyard in the dead of night. We’re too lost even to ask for direction, too feeble to beg for help. We may be wealthy, successful, beautiful, even happy–but we know that our deepest heart is a wasteland, a vast, black emptiness of stone and sorrow. To know that emptiness is to be afraid, and that fear is good. That’s the kind of fear that leads to humility, the kind of helplessness that leads to repentance.

But once we’ve heard the Lion roar, once we’ve felt the earth tremble beneath his feet as he strides through the valley of death to gather us up, when we have looked into his loving eyes and seen the forges of heaven there, when we have finally stopped running, when we have given up and have at last let him heal us where we’re truly broken, everything changes. The wasteland is green. The graveyard is a garden. Our senses sometimes tell us otherwise, and it’s hard to believe, but faith gives us eyes to see his invisible face, ears to hear his silent voice.

~Andrew Peterson~

Read the rest of his post HERE.  I've been struggling against all sorts of fears lately.  This was a great reminder to me that my Hero has come to chase those fears away, if I will let Him.   

Book Review - Green

Since Green is part of a series, I shall try to explain the big story first.


The Circle - Black, Red, and White

Every time he dreams, Thomas Hunter goes back and forth between two worlds, fighting evil.  In our world, terrorists wield a deadly virus which threatens to wipe out all humanity.  In the world of colored forests and pools and deserts, the evil black bat Teeleh plots to turn the people against Elyon (Hebrew for Most High), their Creator and Lover.  In both worlds, Thomas must understand the threat, and do what he can to save those he loves.

I love this stories.  They're fast-paced and modern in style, but the sense of parallels to Biblical truths are amazing.  At the heart of them, they're about the Great Romance, the love story God is writing for His people.  They show our utter fallen nature, our complete repulsive and rebellious nature, and yet how God still woos and calls and comes to rescue us.  They show how He wants our hearts, and how He gives us the freedom to reject Him, but how that can never stop His love.    




Green (short summary)
After three books, the series basically concluded, though there were a few odd loose ends hanging.  But it was satisfying.  So I was surprised to see a fourth book come out now, years later.  What else could Dekker do with the series?

Write a Book Zero, apparently.  A beginning and ending.  What a strange idea!  More on that later.

Green starts up years after the end of White, in the world of forests and sand.  Thomas and the Circle are losing hope.  They have waited for Elyon's return for a long time, and Thomas' son, Samuel, wants to rid the world of the Horde forever with his sword.  But the Circle has been told to love their enemy, and Thomas' wife still has hope for the Horde's redemption.  Thomas seeks hope for the Circle, and in the process creates a doorway between the two worlds once again.

Thomas returns to our world.  And unspeakable Evil enters the other world, seeking to crush the Circle's last breaths of hope.

An apocalyptic chain of events follows, and we rush along to the ending, wondering who will believe in Elyon at the end when everything seems hopeless, and who will reject Him and fall into darkness forever.

The ending is strange.  In an odd way, it connects back to the beginning of the series.  Hence, it is "Book Zero."



Likes

- First, as confusing as it still is, I think it was very clever to connect the beginning and ending like this.  It was definitely a unique idea!    

- Certain characters did get redeemed, which was marvelous.

- Loved how the theme of waiting and longing and wishing to see signs of God's presence were so similar to our time today.  Come, Lord Jesus!  But in the meanwhile, teach us to live by faith and trust You when all else seems hopeless.

- There were evil vampires.  Yes, this actually made me happy.  I could have done without some of the nastiness, but there was no question that the very idea of vampirism is completely opposite of sacrifice.  One takes life, the other gives it.  And I feel there were still some truths in this book regarding blood's significance (a biblical idea) which I may have missed. 

- Again, wonderful contrasts between good and evil. 


Dislikes


- I don't mind seeing some of a story from evil's perspective, but in my opinion this book went overboard. I kept feeling dirty, reading about the sensual evil and blood lust of the bad characters.  The bad guys get way too much page time, as I see it.  Almost felt like more than the good guys.  Maybe that's why I never felt as close or invested in the protagonists of Green as in the other books.  And not being so invested made me just not care as much about the whole book. 

- For the above reason, I would not recommend this book to kids, whereas I might recommend the other three if I thought they were mature enough.  This one was definitely darker and contained more sensual descriptions.  Those spots really bothered me, and I'm 25.      

- Another certain character didn't get redeemed, which was very bothersome.  Necessarily heartbreaking, perhaps.  But not a wonderful way to end the story.
 
- Theologically, I was bothered by the ending.  In fact, the structure of the whole thing bothers me, though as I said it was a nifty idea.  But history as circular, not linear?  Maybe Dekker is playing with the idea that God is outside of time, and that therefore it's not as clear-cut and understandable as we think.  But theoretically, the whole series could be seen as an eternal time loop, wherein one character is never redeemed...  Ahh!  The thought drives me crazy.

- Since writing the original three books of The Circle, Dekker has written The Paradise Novels and The Lost Books, all of which apparently tie in somehow to The Circle.  I have not read those, so there were lots of characters and events referred to in Green which I felt I should know about but didn't.  Dekker fanatics who have read those series may find the ties back to other books fabulous.  But not having read them made me confused.  I think there would have been a better flow between Green and the other books if Dekker had written it right after White, before he got so wrapped up in side plots and characters.


My Verdict

I did not think Green was nearly as good as the original three books (Black, Red, and White).  It had some very good moments, and I wanted it to wrap up nicely, but it left me feeling unsatisfied.  Most of the time it just didn't feel like the same series.

I've been debating about whether I would  recommend this book.  I 'spose if you're a Dekker fanatic, or you really want to see some loose ends tied up, go for it.  Then tell me what you thought.  But if you're expecting another book like the first three, I think you'll be disappointed.

Maybe there's a reason why three is such a perfect number.  I rather wish Dekker had agreed.

For the Sake of My Sisters

(another picture from my mother, taken on the snow day last week) 

I don't have anything monumental to share.  Plenty of little things have kept me busy... 

On second thought, I suppose one of those little things is big enough to post about; I've started hanging it with our youth group at church.

Depending on my reader, the topic of youth group might be controversial.  I might be making everyone shake their head in wonder at my confused and unwise little head, either regarding my past ideas or my current stance (again, depending on my reader).  So if you're getting ready to throw snowballs of disagreement, please throw gently, and don't put rocks in them! ;-)  This is my journey.  Yours may be different.  Let's love each other anyways, shall we?    

Funny, I never thought I'd be helping with a youth group.  Even a year ago I would have protested loudly.  Anything but that!  Some of this had to do with my own feelings of uncoolness (at 25 I can still feel, and unfortunately look, like an awkward 18-year-old).  But that was actually insecurity and pride in disguise.  Also, I thought youth groups were usually more damaging than helpful, since they have potential to splinter family time and lump a buch of immaturity together where it can be even more immature.

Some dear friends (on both sides!) may gasp in shock to hear me say all this, but I think I'm changing my mind: not all youth groups are fundamentally wrong. *gasp! shudder! stagger in shock!* 

Of course I still wish all familes would do everything together.  But until I have a husband to follow who decides how we will do things, and since neither of my parents object, I'm throwing my lot in with my curent church family, full of wise and godly folks.  I was asked to be an adult female presence at youth events, to engage in conversation with girls, to provide that five or ten minutes of attention that let them know they're loved and cared for.

To my own surprise, I was compelled and eager to say yes.  It's already exciting!

I still have my reservations.  (Hope those are allowed!) I still believe youth group can be damaging if it's only a way the younger set isolates itself from the rest of the church family.  And I still believe even the best youth group in the world cannot compare with parents discipling their own kids well.

But I also see a church in which those two concerns are largely answered by parents who really are discipling their kids and showing by example what godly adulthood is.  I see young people who serve each other, who serve the younger kids in nursury and AWANA, who serve their families and the community.  And I see little girls growing in young women, girls I know "of" but want to actually know, who I now have the opportunity to hang out with regularly in the midst of their busy schedule.  

Finally, I remember my short time in a different youth group about 8 years ago, when my world was falling apart, and how a dear youth leader's wife showed me love and attention and got me started journaling my thoughts to the Lord.  I've never been the same since.  If I can encourage even one young lady as much as I was encouraged, I would count my time worthwhile.    

That's not an arguement per se, just some of my rambling thoughts on how God is changing me, teaching me to walk with people in real life (Ephesians 4:1-3).  Sometimes my paradigms shift so wildly, it's embarrassing to tell anyone about the shift - ether they can't believe what I think now, or they can't believe I ever thought what I did.  But I want to record these for my own benefit, and perhaps they will encourage someone else, too.

And MBC youth, you're stuck with me and my funny hats, silly accents, and uncoolness for a while! ;-)

~ ~ ~

Now, on a very different note, here are a few thoughtful posts on Christmas I can across lately.  They were so lovely, from two beauty-loving Christian ladies, that I wanted to share them:

The first is from farmer's wife, homeschooling mom, and poetess, Ann Voskamp:

4 Ways to Celebrate Christ in Christmas

And the second is from a sweet southern lady, Lanier Ivester, a homemaker, literary artist, and shepherdess:

Glad and Golden Hours

A fine weekend to you all! 

It actually did snow!

My lovely mother and I took a walk around the neighborhood this morning.  School and other things were canceled because of ice on the roads, so we got to enjoy the fresh lovely whiteness!  And as you can see, I decided such a walk called for a cloak and a bit of melodramatic excitement. 

Here are a few other pictures my mom took:  

Lots of trees had not lost their leaves yet, but they were falling this morning with the snow, like showers of lovely green and gold snow themselves, making such a loud pattering sound!

Beautiful and Christmas-like, eh?

Farewell for now!  I need to get back to work... and I think I need to finish off the snow ice cream.

"Can you do the Battle Song?"

I am currently drinking Earl Grey tea, reading Hope for Relationships stuff, hearing about the possible snow and ice tomorrow, and listening to the Narnia soundtrack.  And thinking of Samantha, who loved to come into my room while I was staying with her family in college, leap onto the bed, and beg to hear "the Battle song."

Marvelously good times. Don't you love it how certain songs can remind you so strongly of dear places and people and special times?

Just Barely, by the Skin of My Teeth!

NaNoWriMo Begins!

I won't be doing my writing until this afternoon or this evening, as it turns out.  But the adventure begins today!  Frightening, exciting.  Hard work and long hours ahead.  Here we go!

(Short post, I know.  But I couldn't leave an ingredient list up on a day like this, could I?)

Better than $5 a serving

Today I made chicken, vegetables, and noodles with sauce for supper.  

Chicken - $1.50
Noodles- 50 cents
carrots and zucchini - 75 cents
Seasonings - 10 cent
Onions from our Grandparents' garden - free
Herbs from our garden - free


Meal for about eight (only four of us here now, so we had lots leftover) - not quite $3, if my estimations were right.  Nice.  :-) 

Rainy Days - Perfect Cooking Weather!

(image from the BBC production of Little Dorrit)

It's been rainy here today - I love it!  While I was driving Whit to school, we listened to Andrew Peterson's Clear to Venus album and kept hearing rain mentioned in songs.  I thought that was cool. :-)

Today I have done the following:

-Smashed my finger in the suburban door.  Ahaha, that was painful.   But what could I do but laugh?  I only smashed it because ... well, not quite sure how it happened. It had something to do with the umbrella...

- Made chocolate cheesecake, with raspberries and whipped cream as topping, for my brother Whit's birthday.  Hurray!  He's 16, and quite a fine young man.  I am a blessed sister in each of my brothers. :-)

- Baked chicken from the freezer, since the oven was hot... I guess we'll have chicken again...  Hey, in pita bread! Mmmm...

- Ground some wheat...

- ...And mixed up some dough for pitas, which is rising at the moment

- Washed dishes 

- Listening to musicals and Frank Sinatra

- Spent too much time on Facebook...

- And now am finally sitting down to do some editing/writing.  With mint tea and a sprinkle-decked donut.  Aren't I so disciplined?  (no answer needed, thank you)

 ~~~

Little Elba, how’s the rain in South America?
Does it fall upon the rooftops of the sick?
Do they thank the Lord for coming up with such a great idea
and dream about a place beyond all this? 

~from Andrew Peterson's song, Land of the Free~

Would you like to read my NaNoWriMo novel? Old and/or New?

Life has been busy lately!  Just yesterday I was blessed to be able to show a mother from my church how to make bread.  She has a daughter with so many food allergies it's a challenge every day coming up with anything for her to eat.  Most bread has either some form of corn, soy, or a grain which she can't eat, so the brave mother is learning to make bread which she can eat.  We had lots of fun all morning, and she went home with a couple of kinds of bread for her family to try.  I'm so glad I do not have a full-time constricting job to keep me from doing random ministries like that!   Food allergies are more scary than I used to think, too.  After talking with the mother of a daughter with a frightening amount of them, I can now be more sympathetic when I meet people (and their families) who have them.      

*drumroll*

Now for the news.  Are you ready?  I would like to give more people a chance to read last year's NaNoWriMo novel, Brecken's Quest (or The Un-monstering) Unfortunately I am still slightly paranoid that some stranger might find my few brilliant paragraphs, and steal them, which would be tragic if I ever re-wrote it enough to try to publish it.  But if I know you in real life, or have shown yourself to me to be a genuine person, then I will share my story with you.  

So, if you want to read, or re-read, a wild adventure of a brother and sister searching for the lost King, encountering monsters of all shapes and sizes, friends winged and friends many-toothed, secret passages and magic gifts, loads of corniness and wonderful moments,  and a young, rediculous, happy, encouraging bard named Melod - then please let me know!  My email is rael.henson[at]gmail.com, only insert @ where it goes... there, do you think that will confuse the Dread Monsters of Spam?  I'll risk it for the sake of my readers. ;-)  Or if I already have your email, just comment! 

Or if, perhaps, you don't care to re-read my old tale, but would like to follow my new one as I write it (beginning in 16 days!), let me know that, too!  It's energizing to write for a live audience, and (if you don't want to steal my marvelous *cough* tale) I would love to have you aboard.  

This year, it is going to be a wild ride. (I'm also much busier - it will be challenging to write/edit four hours for work while I have about 1600 words of a novel to pound out afterward every day!  Should be interesting.  Can I do it?)  This tale will involve some old characters (Melod will be back, of course), outlaws, a lost and unlikely treasure, a cook whose ingredients are never right, a servant girl who sees more than people suspect, a young man who's eyes are being open but must pretend to still be blind, and an enslaved nation of people desperately in need of hope and light and truth.  Surprises await reader and writer both!  Would you like to join me?    

Meeting Andrew Peterson

A few years ago, my older brother Sam and I were driving for five hours across Texan and New Mexican desert to visit old friends.  Sam is a computer engineer, a wise and quiet man of thought, so he brought excellent listening material for the trip - talks from the Truth Project, John Piper speaking on God's glory, and a CD by some guy named Andrew Peterson who he thought I would like. 


Far Country - Listen! 


I did.  Oh, how I did!  Those moments of listening to Peterson's stories and poetry filled me with new longing for Home.  I was lifted above everyday life to get a glimpse of the bigger picture, wider and freer than even the vast plains and endless desert sky.  More homelike than the welcome of candles and music and laughter at our little trip's end.
 
I hope you like it, too.



(By the way, if you know me apart from online, I don't have this, this, or this album yet.  Oh, and my birthday's coming up... *cough, cough*)

Little Pretties

 I thought I'd pop in at my blog for a few minutes.  Greetings from my desk on a beautiful Saturday afternoon!  Doesn't this cup of garden flora look delicious?  It smells like a whole field of wildflowers and honey.  Mmm....

And don't candles make you feel studious and excited?  I love how they brighten up any little corner.  They're almost like cats on the hearth, a dog at your feet, or the perfect background music.  Why in the world does a little fire enchant us so? 

 

Here's Little Dorrit the Desk, and the lower edge of a hat quilt that was handmade by my great grandmother.  

Alright, as you can see, my desk is so pretty and cozy that I must get back to work at it. Goodbye for now! 

Am I too comfortable?

Disturb us, Lord, when 

We are too well pleased with ourselves, 
 

When our dreams have come true 

Because we have dreamed too little, 
 

When we arrive safely 

Because we sailed too close to the shore. 


Disturb us, Lord, when 

With the abundance of things we possess

We have lost our thirst for the waters of life;

Having fallen in love with life, 

We have ceased to dream of eternity
,

And in our efforts to build a new earth, 
 

We have allowed our vision 

Of the new Heaven to dim. 


Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, 

To venture on wider seas 


Where storms will show your mastery; 


Where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. 


 

We ask You to push back 

The horizon of our hopes; 

And to push us into the future 

in strength, courage, hope, and love. 


 

This we ask in the name of our Captain, who is Jesus Christ. 

 

Sir Francis Drake, 1577 

 

 

*"The Hostage" was painted by Edmund Blair Leighton.