Tuesday, May 8, 2018
From Instagram: March 19-May 8
Whew! It's been awhile since I've posted instagram embeds. Fortunately there's not an overwhelming amount of catching up to do.
Thursday, May 3, 2018
Book Review: Christian Nation by Frederic C. Rich
Two reviews in one day, yippee!
Rating: 5/5
My favorite genre of any media is horror. I don’t scare easily. This book, however, terrified me.
This book begins with an alternate history of the US’s 2008 Presidential Election: instead of Barack Obama winning, John McCain does. Then, shortly after assuming office, McCain dies of a sudden illness, and his Vice President Sarah Palin takes over. This sets American on a course to becoming a Christian theocracy.
This dystopian novel is a great companion to the film Jesus Camp, only it shows how Evangelical Christians actually could take over the country and do away with the separation of church and state. And it’s so realistic and believable it is chilling.
One thing that I like about this novel is that it doesn’t generalize Christians—it is an extremist minority that causes the problem. In fact, said extremists are shown discriminating against other Christians, such as Mormons.
Nevertheless, the extremist minority in this novel is very real, and Frederic C. Rich examines how they could not only achieve their goals, but how horrible the results would be. If you want to be scared into voting, read this book. It’s just that terrifying.
Book Review: Great Sky Woman by Steven Barnes
Another book review! Again, I both wrote out a review and made a voice-over video.
Rating: 5/5
This is an excellent book, and an Own Voices novel, so I highly recommend you check it out.
This book takes place thirty thousand years ago in prehistoric Africa, exploring a tribe that lives near Mount Kilimanjaro: the Ibandi. There are two main characters, T’Cori and Frog Hopping, and when invaders threaten their homeland, they must climb Mount Kilimanjaro to seek advice from a god.
I loved this story’s depiction of an ancient African culture, especially the coming-of-age rituals. This is also a welcome addition to the “ancient history” genre. Most books I’ve come across focus on either Europe or North America. It’s nice to find a book that centers on prehistoric Africa, considering that is when and where humanity dawned.
I have to say that this book is a very reasonable length. One criticism of Jean M. Auel’s books has been that the later entries in her Earth’s Children series are very long with very little plot. This novel is of average length and is very well plotted.
As I said before, this is an Own Voices book, written by African-American writer Steven Barnes. If you’re looking for a read next Black History Month, I recommend this novel: it’s essentially about the birth of black history.
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