THE VAMPIRE DEFANGED by Susannah Clements

Vampire Defanged, The: How the Embodiment of Evil Became a Romantic Hero by Susannah Clements
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

BOOK DESCRIPTION: Vampires first entered the pop culture arena with Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, Dracula. Today, vampires are everywhere. From Buffy the Vampire Slayer to the Twilight Saga to HBO's True Blood series, pop culture can't get enough of the vampire phenomenon.

Bringing her literary expertise to this timely subject, Susannah Clements reveals the roots of the vampire myth and shows how it was originally immersed in Christian values and symbolism. Over time, however, vampires have been "defanged" as their spiritual significance has waned, and what was once the embodiment of evil has turned into a teen idol and the ultimate romantic hero. Clements offers a close reading of selected vampire texts, explaining how this transformation occurred and helping readers discern between the variety of vampire stories presented in movies, TV shows, and novels. Her probing engagement of the vampire metaphor enables readers to make Christian sense of this popular obsession.


MY REVIEW: As the book description indicates, Susannah Clements is writing from a Christian perspective. However, apart from the conclusion, where the author writes explicitly to Christians, the book is a scholarly analysis of the vampire literature from Bram Stoker to Twilight. The religious themes of the book are rooted in the fact that Bram Stoker's 1897 novel was written by a Christian and saturated in Christian themes. The argument that the vampire myth has become increasingly secularised in each of its reworking is a fascinating and persuasive perspective. However, it would have been good if Clements could have discussed alternative views of the vampire literature and responded to any criticisms of her perspective.

The book reads like a scholarly essay and doesn't have the features of what might be called a popular book. It is written with an objective voice with little (if any) rhetorical strategies that modern lay readers might expect to make the read an enjoyable one. The author, however, writes very clearly and articulately. The analysis is intriguing and, for those familiar with any of the vampire literature (book or film), the subject matter will be fascinating. For those who have not read or watched vampire stories, the book may not hold the same interest.

One explicit aim of the author is to convince Christians to be more comfortable with the vampire myth rather than avoid it. That may or may not be worth it if the author's thesis is correct - that the myth has become entirely secularised.

Christian or not, this book is a fascinating perspective worthy of the attention of anyone interested in the contemporary fascination with vampire mythology. THE VAMPIRE DEFANGED is a good introduction to the role the mythology has played, and continues to play, in society and culture.

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IN SILENT GRAVES: THE CEDAR HILLS SERIES by Gary A. Braunbeck

In Silent Graves: The Cedar Hills Series by Gary A. Braunbeck
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

BOOK DESCRIPTION: One moment, Robert Londrigan is a rising-star newscaster, devoted husband, and expectant father; the next, he's a widower in a morgue, staring at gaping holes in his daughter’s body where surgeons have harvested every useful scrap of her organs and tissue. The rock-bottom falls out from under his life when a disfigured man knocks Robert out and steals what’s left of her tiny corpse out from under his nose, and leaves a gruesome surprise waiting for him back home.

Robert’s search for the disfigured man leads him through a rapidly-fragmenting reality into a chiaroscuro world and the discovery that neither his wife nor his daughter are who he thought they were.

Gary A. Braunbeck’s work has earned, 7 Bram Stoker Awards, an International Horror Guild Award, 3 Shocker Awards, a Black Quill Award, and a World Fantasy Award nomination.

MY REVIEW: I read the first half of this book and skimmed the second half. The writing is good and the author surveys a range of themes, but the pace was just too slow for me to stick with it.

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CHILDREN OF TIME by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

BOOK DESCRIPTION: A race for survival among the stars... Humanity's last survivors escaped earth's ruins to find a new home. But when they find it, can their desperation overcome it's dangers?

WHO WILL INHERIT THIS NEW EARTH?

The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age - a world terraformed and prepared for human life.

But all is not right in this new Eden. In the long years since the planet was abandoned, the work of its architects has borne disastrous fruit. The planet is not waiting for them, pristine and unoccupied. New masters have turned it from a refuge into mankind's worst nightmare.

Now two civilizations are on a collision course, both testing the boundaries of what they will do to survive. As the fate of humanity hangs in the balance, who are the true heirs of this new Earth?

MY REVIEW: What a fascinating read this was! An intriguing combination of fantasy, sci-fi, thriller. The writing is beautiful, the story is complex and genuinely surprising as it unfolds. And the whole thing is based on what comes across as authentic science - the author had a science advisor, which shows. The complex movement across time and space is epic. Brilliant!

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A MANUAL FOR CREATING ATHEISTS by Peter Boghossian

A Manual for Creating Atheists by Peter Boghossian
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

BOOK DESCRIPTION: For thousands of years, the faithful have honed proselytizing strategies and talked people into believing the truth of one holy book or another. Indeed, the faithful often view converting others as an obligation of their faith—and are trained from an early age to spread their unique brand of religion. The result is a world broken in large part by unquestioned faith. As an urgently needed counter to this tried-and-true tradition of religious evangelism, A Manual for Creating Atheists offers the first-ever guide not for talking people into faith—but for talking them out of it. Peter Boghossian draws on the tools he has developed and used for more than twenty years as a philosopher and educator to teach how to engage the faithful in conversations that will help them value reason and rationality, cast doubt on their religious beliefs, mistrust their faith, abandon superstition, and irrationality, and ultimately embrace reason.

MY REVIEW: This is a great book for so many reasons. Firstly, it is empathic. Boghassian treats those he is trying to rescue, from what he describes as a "faith virus", with respect, a willingness to listen, and a genuine concern for the welfare of those he writes about and for. Secondly, Boghossian speaks from experience. He clearly has had in-depth conversations with believers, listened to them, and responded to them with targeted "interventions" that fit the person, rather than using blunt instruments to beat people over the head. Thirdly, his approach is philosophically rigorous and rational. So much of what the author says makes sense and resonates with what we know from our own experiences. Fourthly, his suggestion that people move away from discussing conclusions/beliefs to exploring the way we arrive at beliefs, is profound and powerful. Finally (at least for this list - there is so much more that could be said), the book is easy to read. Boghossian is articulate and, despite his expertise in philosophy, speaks in language that is down-to-earth and entirely understandable. Atheists need this book so they can move on from angry rhetoric to respectful conversation.

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THE FACTS OF LIFE AND DEATH by Belinda Bauer

The Facts of Life and Death by Belinda Bauer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

BOOK DESCRIPTION: 'Call your mother.'
'What do I say?'
'Say goodbye.'

This is how it begins.

Lone women terrorised and their helpless families forced to watch - in a sick game where only one player knows the rules. And when those rules change, the new game is Murder.

Living with her parents in the dank beach community of Limeburn, ten-year-old Ruby Trick has her own fears. Bullies on the school bus, the forest crowding her house into the sea, and the threat of divorce.

Helping her Daddy to catch the killer might be the key to keeping him close.

As long as the killer doesn't catch her first...

MY REVIEW: A thoroughly good read! Told through the eyes of Ruby and done with authenticity. The evocation of the community in which Ruby lives is superb. Very atmospheric. There's palpable tension as the story unfolds and the killer is revealed ... With even more tension after that! Well written at a great pace. If you like reading crime fiction, give this one a go. I'll be reading more of this author.

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Value and Virtue in a Godless Universe by Erik J. Wielenberg

Value and Virtue in a Godless Universe by Erik J. Wielenberg
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

***1/2

BOOK DESCRIPTION: Suppose there is no God. This supposition implies that human life is meaningless, that there are no moral obligations and hence people can do whatever they want, and that the notions of virtue and vice, right and wrong, and good and evil have no place in the universe. Erik J. Wielenberg believes this view to be utterly erroneous and, in this thought-provoking book, he explains the reasons why. He argues that, even if God does not exist, human life can still have meaning, humans do have moral obligations, and human virtue is still possible. Wielenberg offers readers a cognent [sic] explanation of the ethical implications of naturalism--a view that denies the existence of the supernatural in human life. In his view virtue exists in a godless universe but it is significantly different from virtue in a Christian universe, and he develops naturalistic accounts of humility, charity, and hope. The overarching theme of Virtue and Value in a Godless Universe is what ethics might look like without God. Erik Wielenberg takes readers on an extraordinary tour of some of the central landmarks of this under-explored territory.

MY REVIEW: A very thought-provoking book and a robust attempt to develop a framework for ethics on the assumption that God does not exist. The author presents some interesting, fresh arguments. In the first part of the book, the he critiques common arguments for the existence of God. In the second part of the book, arguments are presented for a moral framework from a naturalistic perspective. I wasn't entirely convinced by some of them but, as a whole, this book is worth reading for those who already have some background in philosophical thinking - it could be a difficult read for some as it is quite scholarly. It certainly demonstrates that it is possible for atheists to develop grounds for ethics without the need for a god as the foundational starting point. It is good to see rigorous thinking being done around this topic. A good contribution to the conversation around humanist ethics.

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The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate by John H. Walton

The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate by John H. Walton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

BOOK DESCRIPTION: In this astute mix of cultural critique and biblical studies, John H. Walton presents and defends twenty propositions supporting a literary and theological understanding of Genesis 1 within the context of the ancient Near Eastern world and unpacks its implications for our modern scientific understanding of origins.
Ideal for students, professors, pastors and lay readers with an interest in the intelligent design controversy and creation-evolution debates, Walton's thoughtful analysis unpacks seldom appreciated aspects of the biblical text and sets Bible-believing scientists free to investigate the question of origins.

MY REVIEW: A brilliant book for anyone interested in the relationship between science and the Genesis 1 creation story in the Hebrew Bible. The idea that the first chapter of the Bible must line up with science is completely undermined once this ancient text is read on its own terms in its historical and cultural context. The author works through a series of propositions solidly based in scholarship about the ancient world and its cosmology. Written with clarity and rigorous logic. Highly recommended for those interested in the subject.

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