Book One of my new series “The Halls of the Shadow King” is now up on Amazon. I’ve been working on it since 2016, on and off.
Yes, I got a little distracted!
Category: Book Reviews
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New Novel Released February 2025!
It has been a few years since my last novel was released. At the time I did a long series on self publishing (find it here). I found that the series was helpful to me even in this latest effort.
Check out the new novel over at Amazon (e-book or paperback) or Lulu (paperback). The free e-book promotion has finished, but we saw nearly 1K downloads, which placed the book at #1 on Amazon Kindle for a couple of days. Just a couple of days, of course.
I asked claude.ai to build a promotion less than 350 words for this book and this is what it gave me. Not bad!
A biblical epic of faith, power, and prophecy in the ancient world
Journey to the tumultuous world of the ancient Near East in this gripping reimagining of the prophet Jeremiah’s extraordinary life. As empires clash and Jerusalem faces destruction, one reluctant prophet stands at the crossroads of history, torn between divine calling and human frailty.
Jeremiah never wanted to be The God’s voice. Yet as Babylon’s armies threaten everything he loves, he finds himself caught in a dangerous spiritual battle against the seductive Queen of Heaven who tempts his people away from their faith. From the mud-filled cistern where his enemies left him to die to the courts of Pharaoh himself, Jeremiah’s journey reveals the high cost of speaking truth to power.
With rich historical detail and psychological depth, “The Prophet and the Queen” explores:
- The fall of Jerusalem and the exile that changed Judaism forever
- The complex web of ancient empires—Babylon, Egypt, and Assyria
- The intimate struggles of a prophet who questions his own worth while remaining faithful
- The timeless tension between cultural assimilation and preserving identity
Perfect for readers of Francine Rivers, Geraldine Brooks, and Tessa Afshar, this meticulously researched novel brings biblical history to vivid life while exploring questions of faith, purpose, and personal integrity that resonate across millennia.
“A mesmerizing tale that humanizes one of the Bible’s most enigmatic prophets while illuminating the turbulent world he inhabited. Readers will be swept away by this powerful reimagining of ancient events that shaped religious history.”
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“The Portrait of a Lady” by Henry James: A Study in Independence and Its Costs
Bernardino Luini, Milanese, c. 1480 – 1532 , “A Portrait of a Lady”, National GalleryHenry James’s The Portrait of a Lady (1881) stands as one of the author’s finest achievements, exploring the tension between individual freedom and social constraint through the journey of its spirited protagonist, Isabel Archer. After struggling through Joyce’s Ulysses—whose experimental prose often prioritizes style over substance—I found James’s measured complexity a welcome relief. While both authors are undeniably verbose, James employs his elaborate sentences to illuminate character and reveal profound truths about human nature, rather than simply creating atmospheric effects.
America vs. Europe: Symbols in Conflict
James masterfully uses the Atlantic divide as a metaphor for competing worldviews. America represents youthful independence and moral innocence, while Europe embodies sophisticated tradition bound by rigid social conventions. Though this symbolic framework may seem dated to contemporary readers—our globalized world has blurred such distinctions—the underlying conflict between personal autonomy and social expectation remains eternally relevant.
Isabel Archer emerges as a refreshing figure of independence, particularly striking for readers of James’s era. Her rejection of conventional paths, including marriage proposals from both a British lord and an American businessman before her inheritance, establishes her as a character determined to chart her own course. Modern readers might find her independence less remarkable, given our cultural emphasis on individual choice, yet James’s deeper examination reveals how genuine independent thinking—as opposed to merely fashionable nonconformity—remains as challenging today as it was in the 1880s.
The Corruption of Fortune
Without revealing too much, the novel’s central tragedy lies in how Isabel’s inheritance transforms her from an agent of her own destiny into a target for manipulation. James introduces genuinely sinister characters: one whose Machiavellian self-regard borders on evil, another who employs social propriety as a tool for elaborate schemes. These figures represent the predatory nature of certain social circles, where vulnerability—even when disguised as good fortune—invites exploitation.
Among the supporting characters, Henrietta Stackpole deserves particular mention. Isabel’s American friend, a forthright journalist whose initial nosiness might irritate readers, undergoes significant development to become a true ally. Her evolution mirrors the novel’s broader theme of looking beyond surface impressions.
The Complexity of Pansy Osmond
Perhaps the most intriguing secondary character is young Pansy Osmond, Isabel’s stepdaughter. Initially appearing as a convent-educated cipher—passive, obedient, seemingly devoid of imagination—Pansy challenges our modern assumptions about agency and strength. James subtly suggests that our contemporary prejudices may blind us to forms of resilience and complexity that don’t match our cultural expectations. Pansy’s apparent submissiveness may mask depths that our preference for overt rebellion prevents us from recognizing.
A Mirror to Our Own Prejudices
The Portrait of a Lady forces uncomfortable questions about cultural bias. We readily condemn the restrictive European society James depicts, yet our own cultural assumptions shape our judgments just as powerfully. The novel’s manipulative characters engage in narcissistic behavior that transcends historical periods, revealing patterns of exploitation that persist across centuries.
James’s enduring achievement lies not in taking sides in the conflict between independence and tradition, but in exposing the complexities and contradictions inherent in both positions. Isabel’s story serves as both a celebration of individual spirit and a cautionary tale about the costs of freedom—particularly when that freedom attracts those who would exploit it.
This novel rewards careful reading and challenges facile assumptions about progress, independence, and moral clarity. In our age of performative individualism, James’s nuanced exploration of genuine autonomy feels more relevant than ever.
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Book Review, “Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
My rating: 5 of 5 starsAnna Karenina stands among literature’s towering achievements, and each return to Tolstoy’s masterpiece reveals new layers of psychological insight that speak to our evolving understanding of ourselves. What distinguishes this novel from other classics is its rare ability to grow alongside its readers—the book you encounter at twenty-five differs profoundly from the one you meet at forty-five.
The Contrast that Drives the Story
At its heart, the novel presents two contrasting journeys through Anna Karenina and Konstantin Levin, though Tolstoy masterfully obscures which character ascends and which falls until the tragic architecture becomes clear. Anna captivates from her first appearance—intelligent, charismatic, and possessed of that effortless social grace that opens doors throughout Russian high society. Yet her greatest strength, her decisive nature during crises, becomes the instrument of her undoing as passion overwhelms prudence.
Levin offers a different kind of protagonist entirely. Where Anna moves through drawing rooms with practiced ease, Levin struggles with fundamental questions of purpose and meaning. His journey toward self-understanding culminates in a profound realization about the nature of goodness: “if goodness has causes, it is not goodness; if it has effects, a reward, it is not goodness either. So goodness is outside the chain of cause and effect.” This philosophical breakthrough represents one of literature’s most compelling examinations of moral development.
Why Post-Serf Russian Themes are Still Relevant
The novel’s thematic richness extends far beyond its central characters. Tolstoy weaves together the massive social upheaval of post-serf Russia, contrasting the frivolity of urban aristocracy with the authentic struggles of rural life. The loosening of class restrictions creates a backdrop of uncertainty that mirrors his characters’ personal transformations. Some who begin with apparent advantages find themselves spiraling downward, while others who start in confusion gradually discover grace and purpose. Of course nothing has changed in the state of humanity since Tolstoy’s time—he simply studied and shone light on these trends better than we do.
Tolstoy’s craftsmanship also deserves particular recognition. His ability to embed crucial scenes and revelations so naturally into the narrative flow that they feel inevitable rather than constructed demonstrates storytelling at its finest. The novel’s considerable length never feels excessive because every detail serves the larger portrait of a society and its people in transition.
Perhaps most remarkably, Anna Karenina functions as both intimate psychological study and sweeping social commentary. Tolstoy repeatedly demonstrates that genuine fulfillment stems not from wealth or status, but from deeper wells of human connection and moral purpose. This message resonates across generations, making the novel as relevant today as when it first appeared.
Tolstoy on Our Modern Entrapment in Materialism
For contemporary readers, the book offers particular value to anyone grappling with materialism’s hollow promises. Recognizing this and summoning the grit to fight one’s way out are two separate but important things. Tolstoy has something to point out to us and subsequent generations. Through both Anna’s tragic pursuit of passion and Levin’s hard-won wisdom, Tolstoy illuminates realistic paths toward authentic living that transcend his historical moment. The novel challenges us to—like the serfs of Tolstoy’s time—break out of servitude by redirecting our focus to others, digging deeper into life’s fundamental questions, and seeking out meaning beyond surface appearances. These lessons are not foreign to us, but it feels like we urgently need to remember them in our current age.
Anna Karenina remains essential reading not merely for its historical significance, but for its continued ability to reveal new truths about human nature with each encounter. It stands as proof that great literature doesn’t simply entertain—it transforms.
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Book Review, “Fathers and Sons” by Ivan Turgenev
Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A classic of Russian literature, “Fathers and Sons” describes the conflict between generations in a way that may be quite recognizable in our modern era. Bazurov is a talented force of nature who studies medicine and proclaims loudly that he believes in nothing at all, “I look up to heaven only when I want to sneeze.” Arkady is his admiring friend, who probably doesn’t believe nearly as strongly as Bazurov does. Turgenev uses Bazurov as a foil against his believing and eager parents’ generation, some of whom look upon the idea of rejecting all truth and reality rather skeptically, “The fact is that previously they were simply dunces and now they’ve suddenly become nihilists.”
“Fathers and Sons” is written beautifully and economically and provides great depths of knowledge about families, love, heartache, religion, and even the institution and elimination of serfdom in 19th-century Russia. The beauty of Turgenev’s mind is his compassionate treatment of all the generations present and his unwillingness to take a side. This should be exemplary to all writers, but in fact, it infuriated the sophisticated reviewers of his day, much in the same way it would irritate the elite of our day. Because of this even-handedness, however, Turgenev has created a thoughtful and timeless novel that reveals the power of an author who truly loves his characters and their stories, no matter how absurd they may seem.
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Book Review – “Ward No. 6” by Anton Chekhov
Ward No. 6 by Anton Chekhov
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
In Ward No. 6, one of Anton Chekhov’s novelas, readers are introduced to the colorful residents of Ward 6, a gloomy facility for the mentally ill attached to a run-down Russian hospital. The patients are diverse and interesting, but the story centers around the doctor in charge of the hospital, Andrei Yefimitch, who comes to the hospital with vision and energy, but is then ground down by the despair of not having resources or abilities to have any real impact. Chekhov’s description of the horrific downfall of this middle-class doctor due to his intellectual conceit and tendencies to idle routine is fascinating. The reader just can’t take their eyes away.
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Book Review, “The Princess and the Goblin” by George MacDonald
The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Irene is the bright and joyous Daughter of the King and lives in a place crawling with the worst sorts of goblins. Amazingly mature for her young years, she is of interest to the goblins for some reason. Two people intervene to protect her life, Curdie, the young son of a miner and her ghostly and powerful great grandmother who lives in the castle, but only Irene knows she’s there.
MacDonald’s works on the Faeries were intended for the entertainment of children, but there is great wisdom buried therein. MacDonald’s depth of learning and indeed, understanding, about the world is on full display, such as when Irene learns from her mysterious grandmother, “We are all very anxious to be understood, and it is very hard not to be. But there is one thing much more necessary.′
‘What is that, grandmother?’
‘To understand other people.‘”
The genius of MacDonald is that even when being entertaining, his books constantly whisper to us about the need to humbly respect and seek to understand the others who travel with us.
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Genius or Delusion – “The Black Monk” by Anton Chekhov
Genius or Delusion – “The Black Monk” by Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov’s haunting novella “The Black Monk” masterfully explores the treacherous boundary between genius and madness, examining what we might today recognize as grandiosity or narcissistic delusion.The Chosen is Announced
The story follows Andrei Kovrin, a scholar who begins receiving visits from a spectral figure—the Black Monk—who whispers seductive promises that Kovrin is among the chosen few, blessed by God and destined for greatness.
What begins as intoxicating validation gradually transforms into obsession. The monk’s visits become more frequent, and Kovrin’s behavior increasingly erratic, causing profound suffering for his devoted wife Tanya and father-in-law Yegor Semyonovich. When his family discovers his condition and arranges treatment, Kovrin descends into bitter depression, lamenting the loss of his transcendent visions. “How happy were Buddha, Mohammed, and Shakespeare,” he tells his well-meaning but devastated family, “that their relations and doctors did not try to cure them of their ecstasies and inspirations!”
Genius or Delusion?
This poignant observation lies at the heart of Chekhov’s psychological complexity. The novella doesn’t offer easy answers about whether Kovrin’s visions represent divine inspiration or dangerous delusion. Instead, it probes the tension between individual transcendence and social responsibility, between the pursuit of personal greatness and our obligations to those who love us.
Would Chekhov Have Recognized this Today?
The story gains particular resonance in our contemporary moment, when self-centered individualism is often celebrated and the line between confidence and narcissism frequently blurred. Indeed, the obsession with social media and self-marketing seems to encourage the darker side of this dualism. Chekhov’s nuanced portrayal reminds us that the cost of unchecked grandiosity extends far beyond the individual, rippling outward to destroy the very relationships that give life meaning.
A short reading of the news today reveals numerous of these disasters are occurring with immense fanfare daily.
“The Black Monk” stands as one of Chekhov’s most psychologically penetrating works—a meditation on creativity, madness, and the price we–and those we love–pay for both our delusions and our dreams.
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