Fiction Review: Shawn Smucker's "These Nameless Things"

I picked up a copy of Shawn Smucker's "These Nameless Things" because I enjoyed his previous two-book series, "The Day the Angels Fell" and "The Edge of Over There." What I can say for "These Nameless Things" is that it both contains the mesmerizing mystery of these other books and displays an immense improvement in writing style and readability.

The plot follows a man named Dan, who awaits his brother's escape from a mysterious, torturous mountain. He lives in a village that is slowly dwindling along with a few other people who have yet to "move east." When two girls appear, one from the mountain and one from the East, the residents begin to recover memories, all of sad moments with connections to Dan's brother. Dan must decide whether to let his own guilt go and move onward or to venture back into the mountain he came from to attempt to rescue his brother.

It's a beautifully told tale that feels like one large allegory filled with lots of deep meaning to unpack, but, ultimately, I felt like there were too many questions left open. Who the mysterious girls really are and why they came is never fully explained. Smucker takes his time getting around to why this world feels both modern (in memories) and apocalyptic (in the book's reality). When the mystery of why these people are forgetting and remembering things and where they actually are is revealed, it feels like a quick revelation lacking impact.

In the end, while I really enjoyed Smucker's storytelling, I left feeling like I was missing something, asking "What was the point?" I could tell there was supposed to be some important takeaway, but I just couldn't make out what it was.

*Disclaimer: I received this book in exchange for my honest review.

Nonfiction Review: Growing in Holiness by R.C. Sproul

Sometimes you just want to get back to the simple truths found in materials from classic authors and speakers of the Christian faith. R.C. Sproul is certainly one such public figure, and "Growing in Holiness: Understanding God's Role and Yours," a collection of his speeches and writings, follows as a recent book made available for reflection on select foundations of the faith. Although, I give readers fair warning, Sproul's Calvinist beliefs are very clear in certain parts of "Growing in Holiness."

No matter your own opinion on God's sovereignty, I think there's plenty to digest here. "Understanding God's Role and Yours" addresses a "labor of care and of concern and of diligence that we take every seriously - to the point of fear and trembling," that is, the labor of sanctification. Sproul discusses the obstacles to sanctification and the implications of the fruits of the Spirit, all founded in a confidence and assurance in Christ and ultimately embodied in love. Some readers may find "Growing in Holiness" too basic in its nature, but these are basic facts every Christian should know and consider.

*Disclaimer: I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review.

Fiction Review: The Traitor's Pawn

Author Lisa Harris keeps the action going in her latest romantic thriller, "The Traitor's Pawn." You can always count on Harris for a well-developed story with plenty of edge-of-your-seat moments. In "Traitor's Pawn," detective Aubrey Grayson teams up with the best friend from her youth, now FBI agent, Jack Shannon, to uncover a group of Russian and Chinese spies with a surprising personal connection to Aubrey.

Harris also inserts a few reflective discussions in the second half of her book that briefly cover themes of forgiveness and God's sovereignty in difficult situations. These sections of the novel feel thrown in to fit a genre and could have been developed further throughout the novel. The story also ends on a slightly unclear note, implying, but not solidifying, a major player's guilt. That said, Harris definitely keeps her reader in suspense as the plot develops. At one point, a spy leaves a note challenging Aubrey and Jack to a "game," but that game plays out in other ways that don't involve that character specifically. Other characters come into play, each with his or her own version of events.

Readers of Harris' previous books should know exactly what to expect with "Traitor's Pawn." Harris continues to write in a way that keeps the reader engaged and that makes it easy to finish her novel in just a day or two.

*Disclaimer: I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review.