Botulf's Stone Blog

Abstract:  Despite potential difficulties in keeping track of historic names and events, and despite the absence of scenes directly featuring the novel’s titular figure, this is Christian fiction worth reading.  Political and personal conflicts drive tension, and the tone is not preachy or cheesy but engaging and at times inspiring. Content Warning [Highlight to view]:  Physical violence, allusions to fornication, occasional gore, some language,  lots  of people doing terrible things ——— I generally avoid explicitly Christian novels.  You know, the kinds found in Christian book stores and labeled on Amazon and library searches as “religious fiction.”  I don’t have a long list of grievances or detailed critiques about them.    I can’t since I didn’t really read them.  After I entered my teen years, I just got bored after a few poorly done Christ figures and preachy stories, so I stopped reading the genre.  I‘ve never read more than a...

Warning: Contains spoilers for  All the Light We Cannot See  by Anthony Doerr In his essay “The Fantastic Imagination,” George MacDonald describes one of the fundamentals of writing an imagined world: “[An author’s] world once invented, the highest law that comes next into play is, that there shall be harmony between the laws by which the new world has begun to exist; and in the process of his creation, the inventor must hold by those laws… Obeying law, the maker works like his creator; not obeying law, he is such a fool as heaps a pile of stones and calls it a church.” There is a wealth of insight I cut out from between these sentences, so I highly suggest following the link I shall provide below to read the full work, whether or not you care for writing fantasy.  After all, the principle MacDonald describes here applies to all fiction: no matter if the world is fantastic or mundane, there must be harmony with the world building, with the laws the author has established....

Content Warning [highlight to read]:   Swearing, some graphic imagery, a non-graphic rape scene Abstract:  An engaging but also disappointing read.  Characters are likable enough, but the story is too long and shifting perspectives in present tense make events a bit hard to follow.  By the end, the parts are greater than the sum. All the Light We Cannot See  by Anthony Doerr is a beautiful title for a book that doesn’t quite deliver on the promise of that title and the book’s premise. The story follows two scientifically-minded characters, a blind, French girl who loves marine biology named Marie-Laure and a German orphan turned Nazi radio specialist named Werner.  It tells of their lives leading up to, during, and after World War II.  I can’t say much more without going into the critique, so I will begin with the positives.  Anthony Doerr accomplishes what I have seen very few authors do: capture a sense of wonder towards scientific study.  ...