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Scandal Takes a Holiday: A Marcus Didius Falco Mystery Novel Review

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(More customer reviews)Marcus Didius Falco is not, despite his claims, visiting Ostia for pleasure, but to track down Infamia, whose scandalous column in the Daily Gazette gets him in trouble more often than not. He said he was going to visit an Aunt in Ostia, but he never returned and the only thing he leaves behind him are some personal effects and a trail of several odd clues.
For instance, shortly before his disappearance, he attempted to take on various different jobs, even applied to the Vigiles. One of the last people to see him is a reclusive old sea merchant who claims, despite rumors otherwise, to have never been a pirate...piracy being one of the things that, officially, no longer exists.
This sixteenth book following the adventures of Falco has several interesting twists. An informer (private eye) of some renown, he, along with his best friend Petronis and his love Helena find themselves in an increasingly dangerous situation, filled with Cicilain pirates, kidnapping and murder.
The series is famous for its rich depiction of Ancient Rome and each one seems to focus on a slightly different area of the culture and history, teaching us a great deal. This time, as you may have gathered, it's piracy.
It was interesting to see how the pirates were used by the Roman government, then declared completely stamped out, though, unofficially, everyone knew it was still going on. Also, the rules that these pirates abided by to make sure that their victim's families paid up showed them to be shrewd businessmen as well as criminals.

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Ministry by the Book: New Testament Patterns for Pastoral Leadership Review

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(More customer reviews)Whether you are a scholar, student or just interested in Biblical study, Ministry By The Book by Derek Tidball, is a book you need to add to your library. It is well-researched and well-written. For the academic, there is enough fodder to keep you going for awhile. For the pastor, their is substance on each page that will enrich your sermons. For the casual reader, you will dramatically enhance your understanding of the New Testament and the unique contribution each of it's authors make while appreciating the unity of the whole. Each of Tidball's titles have been enjoyable but this one tops the list so far. Order today. Dr. L. Douglas Dorman, Myrtle Beach, SC

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The World That Shaped the New Testament Review

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(More customer reviews)In order to have a better grasp of the new testament, one of the many things needed is to have some understanding of the culture around the new testament times. This introductory work does a pretty level headed job of touching on quite a few of these issues. Deals with: Political setting, forms of religious/philosophical expression and thought, institutions and scripture interpretation at the time. The aim of this book is not to explain the new testament, but to give one a sense of these types of issues at the time of the new testament period, thus setting the new testament in it's wider cultural context. Good place to begin exploring background material for the new testament. Another good one for beginning new testament background studies is: Exploring The New Testament World by Albert A. Bell Jr.

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The Gospel According to Mark (New Collegeville Bible Commentary series) Review

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(More customer reviews)My professional study of Mark's Gospel began with a course at Catholic Theological Union given by Don Senior, C.P. After receiving my M.A. from CTU I have taught Mark's Gospel and preached it over several liturgical cycles.
To my enthusiastic awe, this commentary gave me many new insights. To highlight a few: 1) Marie Noonan Sabin's explanation of one of Mark's key words, "ectasy" opened up meaning in the conclusion of Mark's Gospel at chapter 16:8. Her translation: "And going out, they fled the tomb, for trembling and ecstasy possessed them, and they said nothing to anyone because they were filled with awe." 2) This translation then helped to discount with careful explanation the later addition of endings to Mark's Gospel. 3) She comments on the Transfiguration in this way: "Mark has not placed the scene of Jesus' resurrection at the end of his Gospel but here in the middle, where it illuminates both halves of his Gospel." 4) Her portrayal of Jesus as a Wisdom figure is illustrated in numberous ways through the Gospel. 5) She emphasizes the difference in the treatment by Mark of women, contrasting it with Mark's treatment of men disciples. 6) Her comments on the scene in the Garden: "...all the elements of the transfiguration scene are reversed. ...instead of being radiant and dazzling, Jesus is troubled and distressed. Instead of ascending up a mountain, Jesus falls to the ground. Instead of being blessed by the Father, Jesus cries out to the Father to take away his coming suffering and death. Peter, who is so roused by the moment of transfiguration that he wants to celebrate it, falls asleep. ...Mark shows Jesus not addressing him here as Peter but reverting to Simon, the name he had before he became a disciple." 7) She elucidates Mark's direct reference of the Hebrew Scriptures as well as veiled references.
The commentary is in understandable language which nourishes one's relationship with Jesus.

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Nefertiti, Immortal Queen Review

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(More customer reviews)Nefertiti: Immortal Queen is form the POV of Thutmouse, the real life sculptor of the famous Nefertiti bust. The fictionalized story is about how Thutmose met and fell in love with Nefertiti, how he became a leading sculptor in the royal administration, and his enduring devotion to his Queen.
The plot is full of factual history woven through fictionalized lives. I rate this history very high. The literary style fits the author, Cheryl Fluty. Her profile states that she was a high tech advice columnist.
I find that the outstanding feature of the story is how the author wove religious facts with historical characters and political tensions. And one of the key threads weaves around Nefertiti's paternal grandfather and Akhenaten's maternal grandfather - they had a common grandfather - Yuya! The author shows Yuya to be the Hebrew Joseph, thus relating the story to the Israelites concept of one God. This concept of one God was embraced by Nefertiti and Akhenaten, and this concept fanned flames of hatred against the royal couple.
See Ahmed Osman's book "Stranger in the Valley of the Kings" for more on Yuya being the Hebrew Joseph.

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Her husband left her his throne and his One God. Her enemies murdered her and tried to wipe her out of history. But thanks to the talent and devotion of a brilliantly gifted artist, today her face is an icon of beauty, familiar to millions of people around the world.But it almost wasn't so. This is the story of the beautiful Queen Nefertiti; her husband, Pharaoh Akhenaten, history's first monotheist; and Thutmose, the gifted artist who was torn between his love for the beautiful queen and loyalty to his friend and patron, Akhenaten.

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Brigid of Kildare: A Novel Review

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(More customer reviews)Heather Terrel's "Brigid Of Kildare" is a warm book about friendship, discovery, and religion all wrapped around the historical setting of the distant past. The author follows the life of Saint Brigid, the possibly apocryphal saint of Kildare, Ireland, and her attempts to not only win the souls of the pagan Irish for God, but also keep an independent Ireland from the clutches of the Roman Catholic Church while also looking to endear the church to the particularly Irish brand of Catholicism. In the present, we follow Alexandra Patterson as she works with the Sisters of St. Brigid to appraise relics that they would like to auction to raise funds for the convent. Along the way, Alexandra discovers the hidden 6th century Book of Kells, a priceless illuminated manuscript pre-dating the Book of Kells, and two other scrolls of period writing by a scribe named Decius. As the plot continue, we learn more about the lives of Brigid & Decius and their growing bond as well as Alexandra's efforts to date the manuscript and scrolls without violating either the Sister's trust in her or her belief system.
While I greatly enjoyed the book, I can see how people may feel that it is somewhat light fiction. The author somewhat skips across the surface of her characters and spends much more time developing the overall story rather than dwelling in certain places from time to time. However, the book is already 256 pages - a good number - and I can't think of anything that I'd cut to make room to flesh out the characters. As a history buff I enjoyed the "what if's" throughout as well as the historical references that the book offers to help the backstory. Above all else, I thought Brigid was an extremely believable and likable character and by the end of the book, it was hard not to fall in love with her as her friend Decius had done.
The religious aspects of the book are very muted while also being neutral in opinion. The author neither bashes the Catholic faith nor tries to win you to the cause. As a non-denominational born-again Christian, I enjoyed the even-handedness of the topics. Brigid & Decius are devout Catholics and are treated as such. Alexandra is not, but neither does she go on some "religion is evil rant". I also have to truly commend the author on "allowing" Brigid & Decius to have unrequited love for eachother while steadfastly remaining true to their vows. This was an unexpected and welcome aspect.
Other things of note are that the reader needs to pay attention to the chapter headings and the year. The author skips forward and backward throughout the book, not only between past and present, but also within the lifetime of Brigid. If you are not paying attention you can easily get thrown from the plot and start to wonder what the heck is going on. The book is also a page turner. I took very little time to read through the book's 256 pages and was disappointed that I was done when I had finished the book. In my mind, that's the sign of a good novel - whether you wish there were 50 more pages to read when you've completed the last sentence. I though about giving the book 4 stars because although thoroughly enjoyable, I felt that the present-day story line with Alexandra could have been much more developed (along with the character issue I mention above). However, it's hard to argue when the present-day theme is obviously the side story to the main plot line.

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Pharaoh's People: Scenes from Life in Imperial Egypt Review

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(More customer reviews)For anyone interested in knowing how was it like to live under the rule of the great New Kingdom Pharaohs of Egypt, this is the book. With grace and elegant style, Dr. James gifted us with a wonderful overview of everyday life taking as evidence the registers from tomb and temple wallpaintings and inscriptions, from which he has taken nice and amusing "bites of reality". There are texts from private and official letters and bussiness-documents; everything was masterly handed by the great British Egyptologist, so as to let us recover a lively glimpse of ancient Egyptians and their way-of-life in those golden ages.

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