I, Saul - Jerry Jenkins with James MacDonald

Dear Readers,

I really did not expect to like I, Saul by Jerry Jenkins and James MacDonald nearly as much as I did.  I forgot what a great story teller that Jerry is.  He has written several novels including the Left Behind series with Tim LaHaye.  In fact most people know him from that series, but know this is not a “Left Behind” book.  

What if we would find a manuscript written in Paul’s own hand about his life as a child leading to when he is an adult?  That is what the idea is behind this book.  It is a completely fictional story of Paul’s writing and even his stay in prison before his execution.  History isn’t completely sure of how he died, but there is much agreement that he was beheaded after a lengthy stay in prison.  After saying that, it is still a very compelling part of the book. 

The modern part of the story is what if the manuscript was stolen before anyone got a chance to know what they had found.  Dr. Augie Knox is going about his life at Arlington Theological Seminary. He is looking to marry the love of his life and continue on in a life that was chosen for him by his name and who his father was.   He receives a call from a long time friend in Greece that the friend’s life is in danger and he need Augie’s help as soon as possible.

I don’t want to go into too many details as the adventure/mystery part of the story is also a fun read.  I kept thinking the historical part was the best part and then I would start reading the contemporary side of the story and start thinking that was the best part.  So you can see that I was engaged in the story and wanted to find out what was going to happen next.

I think part of what I like the most about Augie and his friends was they were completely normal when they were on the run.  They didn’t suddenly turn into super spies.  They didn’t own all kinds of spy gadgets or drive the perfect cars.  They made some good choices and bad choices as they tried to stay one step ahead of the bad guys.  It made the story much more believable. 

It also gave me a good peek into what Saul’s life might have been liked as he was growing up.  It is a small snap shot of what may have caused him to be such a tormentor of the new Christians of his time.  The story will continue in I, Paul in 2014.  I was wondering how they were going to keep this story going, but it sets up very well to the next book and I look forward to a chance to read it.

Happy Reading

Jerry Jenkins

Dear Readers, 

I belong to several different publisher blogsites where you can request a book in exchange for a review of their book.  I do this because it forces me to read books that I would normally not read.  The Brotherhood by Jerry Jenkins is one of these books that I received from Tyndale publishers.

Several years ago I fell in love with Jerry Jenkins'  writing and it had nothing to do with the Left Behind series. (Which I thought were very well written, but I didn't really care to read that many of them.)  It had to do with a little book called Though None Go With Me.  If you haven't read it, it is worth tracking down a copy and reading it.  Last I heard it was out of print, but I can check that out for you.  Just let me know.  He has also written a couple of other books I have enjoyed, but the last two of his I have read I haven't been overly impressed with, so I wasn't sure I was even going to read this one.  I will admit one of them was a re-release of an older book of his, but still... 

I am going to admit I liked this book in spite of myself.  I kept thinking I wouldn't like it and yet I enjoyed the story.  It is mostly a story of a man recovering from one of the most devestating things that could happen to him.  The lost of his wife and child.  The first 2/3's of the book are the story of Boone and how he is trying to put a life alone together without having anything else hurt him.  He works hard to keep control of everything he can and yet work towards healing. 

His faith is tested once again when he is brought up on brutality charges.  He could lose the last thing important to him.  It is a crisis of faith that forces his hand on deciding whom he will choose to serve. 

The last 1/3 of the story is where I actually started really enjoying it.  It is where the organized crime/gangs get involved.  It is a bit more high suspense and what I actually hoped for from the book.  Jerry is good at writing an emotional story, but he also can write a good action story.  This book has both and even though that didn't really bother me and I enjoyed both storylines, I wish he had done one or the other.  I felt like there were gaps in the story that we were left to conclude on our own.  We jump ahead about a year and half with little warning.  It just seemed to me that the story was forced to move quickly so we could get to the next storyline. 

]I do recommend this book, but go in knowing it isn't action packed from start to finish.  It only took me two days to read so it isn't a long book or one that I wanted to slow down and enjoy. 

Happy Reading

P.S. If you are interested in a chance to win a free copy of The Brotherhood.  Post a comment to this post and the drawing will be the week of the 21st.

Jerry Jenkins

Dear Readers,
First you need to know this book is a re-release of a book Jerry Jenkins wrote back in the 70's. It was originally called The Operative. Second, The Last Operative is not Jerry's best book. I, personally, had a terrible time connecting with the main character, Jordan.

Jordan Kirkwood was an experiment of NSA (National Security Agency). He was recruited specifically to spy on the the other spy organizations of the USA. He was a very specifically and patiently trained by Chuck Wallington. He gave up much for his career and his family is on the top of that list. He is finally getting to the point where he and his wife can finally take a vacation together.
When Rosemary is killed stepping off a plane to meet him, Jordan decides he has had enough and is ready to resign, but NSA tells him that the shooting in the airport was really a hit on him. They won't let him go until they know who called the hit and why. Jordon is not happy, but for his family's sake he stays and takes part in the assignment. It starts to look like someone inside is actually to blame for the attempt on his life. Will he be able to figure out who it is before they finally catch up with Jordan?
I do not like to write negative reviews. I figure authors get enough of that, if I don't like a book I just don't write a review. In this case, Tyndale sent me this book for free and asked me to post a review for it. They may not like it, but this is what I feel about this book. I am also going to say, I dd not read this when it first came out in the 80's as I wasn't reading Christian fiction at that time.
This book is a billed as a spy novel, but I would like to think there would be a bit more action and a lot less talking. There is way too much conversation between characters and the action is secondary. Don't tell me what happens, "show me." Several of the key incidents happen 'off page' and then are discussed by the characters. I would rather be part of the action than hear about it. That is why I read spy novels. I also have to admit several of the incidents that happen to Jordan I could see coming and yet he couldn't. Which surprised me as he is supposed to be one of the best in the business.
To be honest with you, as I was reading this I kept thinking, I hope that the real NSA, CIA, and FBI agents are more competent than Jordan and his fellow agents. Because if they aren't then our country is in big trouble. I was fairly disappointed in this book as Jerry is a much better writer than this. I guess I thought with a complete rewrite he would have improved this book to the level of some of his more recent books like Hometown Legend or Though None go With Me. Both of which are out of print, but well worth trying to get your hands on. I would pass on this one.