Book Review and Giveaway: The Last Christian by David Gregory

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In David Gregory's The Last Christian, Abigail Caldwell is the daughter of Christian American missionaries in Papua, New Guinea.  After spending all of her 34 years in the jungle, she travels to America and modern civilization for the first time.  She discovers a world that is not only in huge contrast to her life in New Guinea, but also to life in our present-day America.  The year is 2088 and technology has exploded, inundating every aspect of culture.  Virtual Reality (VR) has become a prime residence for many American minds.  Post modernism has run roughshod over religion, making it “hate speech” to share the Christian Gospel to others.  However, this is not a problem in general, as the country has become predominantly atheist.

Within this culture are those who desire to take VR to the next level: transplanting human brains in order to give people silicon ones that would enable their consciousnesses to live seemingly  forever.  As physical bodies wear out, minds are incredibly “uploaded” into VR to then be downloaded into new bodies.  Abby comes to this transhuman reality with a special mission that will not only affect the lives of those around her, but also the lives of the entire culture.

I was attracted to The Last Christian not only for its science fiction theme, but also because of the technological and worldview issues surrounding the story.  David Gregory’s America seems so far removed from our current way of life, but it's easy to see how we could easily venture down the same road.  The Christian worldview is becoming an object of disdain for many, and technology is advancing at an incredible rate. 

The Last Christian was a fun and entertaining read.  It’s a science fiction thriller with Christian apologetics mixed in.  Although it was certainly a page-turner, it also caused me to really think about some serious issues in our culture today.  This novel would be great for those studying apologetics or for those simply considering the Christian faith.  Parents should also know that while no explicit details are given, there are occasional mentions of Virtual Reality sexual issues.

As a blogger, DVD reviewer and iPod user, I’m not one to overly malign technology.  But as with most things in life, it’s very easy for good things to be warped and used in detrimental ways.  The Last Christian illustrates how things could go horribly wrong if we aren’t careful with the choices we’re making in technological advances.  David Gregory also shares the real (and not Virtual) life we can have with Christ living within us.  Through Him will we find not only eternal life, but a fulfilling reality as well.

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Sound interesting?  If you'd like to read Chapter 1 of The Last Christian, click here.

View the book trailer:

**GIVEAWAY CONTEST**

If you'd like to win my copy of The Last Christian, here are the contest rules:

• Leave a comment below; this counts as your entry.
• Entries accepted until 11:59pm on Saturday, June 12th
• Open to U.S. addresses only.
• Make sure at least one posted comment includes your email address. If you'd rather not have your email posted here, you may contact me directly to give me that information after you've entered here.
• I will compile the entries and the winners will be chosen by Random.org, so even one entry can make you a winner!
• Should you win, I will contact you on Sunday the 13th for your mailing information.  Please take measures to ensure that my email will make it past your spam filters, lest you miss my message! (CalicoCritic@gmail.com) You'll have 72 hours to respond before I pick another winner.
• More information on the giveaway policies can be found on the Contact / Policies page.

Bonus Entries

Please make note of all your bonus entries in your comment(s).  You may post separate comments or a single large comment.  Here are your bonus entry options:

• Follow The Calico Critic by clicking on the Google "Follow" button on my sidebar (old or new followers both get the bonus entry, just please let me know that you're following).

• Follow me (@LHartness) on Twitter and tell me your @UserName.

• Tweet about this book's giveaway on Twitter.com; be sure to use an URL linking back to this blog posting in your tweet. You may do this as frequently as every 8 hours between now and June 12th at 11:59pm EST.  For each tweet, please come back and post the direct URL link to that specific tweet, not just your @Username.

That's it!  Thanks for stopping by, and good luck to all the entrants!

This title was provided to me by Random House/WaterBrook Multnomah.  No obligation other than an honest review was required.

Wednesday Contest Report - May 26th

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On most Wednesdays I begin a new post, detailing contests that I'm entering around the blogosphere for that week.  Some of these might appeal to you as well.  Check them out!


The folks at Two and a Half Book Lovers are giving away a copy of Lady Vernon and Her Daughter by Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Bradway.  Deadline to enter is June 17th.  Here's the link:

http://twoandahalfbooklovers.blogspot.com/2010/05/giveaway-lady-vernon-and-her-daughter.html

Book Review and Giveaway: Life, In Spite of Me by Kristen Jane Anderson

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Welcome Litfuse Blog Tour Participants

Kristen was a troubled 17 year-old girl who struggled with feelings of hopelessness, pain and defeat.  When life became unbearable, suicide seemed like the only solution.  So she made the devastating choice to lie down in front of an oncoming train.  Miraculously, she survived.  Life, In Spite of Me is the story of Kristen Jane Anderson’s journey from despair, to faith in Christ, to her ministry to the world.

I don’t mention it much here on The Calico Critic, but I’ve been struggling with depression since the spring of 2009.  Medication has been a huge help, and this blog has also brought much sunshine to my life as well.  However, I consider my relationship with Christ to be the most important factor in making it through this difficult time.  It’s with this perspective that I requested a copy of Life, In Spite of Me. 

While Kristen’s book is an autobiographical account of her life since the train incident, it reads like a novel.  From the opening pages, I was riveted to her story and how God is working in her life.  Her co-writer, Tricia Goyer was an excellent partner as Kristen shared her struggles.  On more than one occasion, I was brought to tears as I related to some of the emotional pain she was dealing with.  I was also moved in how the Lord has touched her body, mind and spirit.

If you’re dealing with depression, I highly recommend this book.  If you know someone who’s struggling, I recommend that you get them a copy.  Kristen’s story is amazing, and it has much hope for those looking for even a glimmer of light at the end of their very long, very dark tunnel. In addition, Kristen’s ministry Reaching You has an excellent website for resources for those who need assistance. 

From one perspective, Kristen Jane Anderson’s story is tragic. The flawed decisions that she made as a teenager will affect her for the rest of her life.  But in that tragedy, God is working in her to bless others.  She is a new person with a new perspective, filled with hope and love of life.  And it is in reading Life, In Spite of Me that her readers can be encouraged by that same hope and love as well.

Videos of Kristen

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**GIVEAWAY CONTEST**

If you'd like to win one of two copies of Life In Spite of Me, here are the contest rules:

• Leave a comment below; this counts as your entry.
• Entries accepted until 11:59pm on Saturday, June 5th
• Open to U.S. addresses only.
• Make sure at least one posted comment includes your email address. If you'd rather not have your email posted here, you may contact me directly to give me that information after you've entered here.
• I will compile the entries and the winners will be chosen by Random.org, so even one entry can make you a winner!
• Should you win, I will contact you on Sunday the 6th for your mailing information.  Please take measures to ensure that my email will make it past your spam filters, lest you miss my message! (CalicoCritic@gmail.com) You'll have 72 hours to respond before I pick another winner.
• More information on the giveaway policies can be found on the Contact / Policies page.

Bonus Entries

Please make note of all your bonus entries in your comment(s).  You may post separate comments or a single large comment.  Here are your bonus entry options:

• Follow The Calico Critic by clicking on the Google "Follow" button on my sidebar (old or new followers both get the bonus entry, just let me know you're following).

• Follow me (@LHartness) on Twitter (Please tell me your @UserName).

• Tweet about this book's giveaway on Twitter.com; be sure to use an URL linking back to this blog posting in your tweet. You may do this as frequently as every 8 hours between now and June 5th at 11:59pm EST.  For each tweet, please come back and post the direct URL link to that specific tweet, not just your @Username.

That's it!  Thanks for stopping by, and good luck to all the entrants!

This title was provided to me by Multnomah/litFUSE.  No obligation other than an honest review was required.

Wednesday Contest Report - May 19th

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Every Wednesday I begin a new post, detailing contests that I'm entering around the blogosphere for that week.  Some of these might appeal to you as well.  Check them out!

• Monica at The Bibliophilic Book Blog is having a super giveaway!  Enter to win one of several types of e-readers, or a $100 Amazon.com gift card.  I'm not sure what the deadline is.  Here's the link:

http://www.bibliophilicbookblog.com/2010/05/here-we-go-again.html

• Amy at My Overstuffed Bookshelf hosts a weekly giveaway.  This week the selection is New Moon by Stephenie Meyer.  The deadline to enter is May 24th.  Here's the link:

http://myoverstuffedbookshelf.blogspot.com/2010/05/weekly-giveawaycontest_18.html

Book Review and Giveaway: The Man Who Loved Pride & Prejudice by Abigail Reynolds

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Set on the coast of Massachusetts, The Man Who Loved Pride & Prejudice is a modern echo of Jane Austen’s most popular novel.  Cassie Boulton, a talented scientist with a meager background meets Calder Westing III, son of a Senator, born into political royalty.  As in the original Pride & Prejudice, they meet at a local dance, whereupon Cassie is snubbed by Calder.  But as in Austen’s work, he eventually becomes drawn to Cassie and her to him.  Before long they begin a passionate love affair.  And like Darcy and Elizabeth, they too must surmount family resistance in order to be together.

My first impressions of the novel were not very positive.  Within a short amount of time from the start of the book, there were some fairly steamy love scenes that were a bit more than PG-13 in their content.  The characters and plot were fine, but it seemed like almost every time Cassie and Calder got together, they were having their way with each other.  Some moments had quite a lot of detail, while others just cut to the next scene.  The amount of physical passion almost became laughable, given the relative unfamiliarity of these two individuals.

Eventually our lovers seem to simmer down a bit, and the rest of the story focuses on their struggles to be together, despite their opposing backgrounds.  This family drama was intriguing, and caused me to be interested in the fate of Cassie and Calder.  I assumed there would be some type of happy ending, but it was interesting to see the path they would take along the way.

As an Austen fan, I didn’t enjoy this novel as much as I hoped I would.  There are echoes of the source material throughout the story, particularly when Calder writes his own P&P fan fiction.  However, this book seemed to be more about a couple who were attracted to each other sexually at first, indulged in those desires and then began to get to know one another.  In the original Pride & Prejudice, there certainly was attraction, but we can assume that Darcy & Lizzie didn’t consummate that attraction until after marrying.

This is not to say that I prefer to shun all novels with love scenes.  I just found the amount of sexual content to be higher than I’d expected.  Fortunately, Reynolds is able to move on to more substantial material, developing her characters and plot nicely.  I enjoyed the relational dance of the family members and felt true (delicious) disdain for one character in particular. The Man Who Loved Pride & Prejudice certainly had its moments.  Some were interesting and compelling, but unfortunately I would have left several other moments to the imagination of the reader.  If there’s one thing I’m learning from Austen, is that plenty of sexual tension can be conveyed with just a few, well chosen and inexplicit words.  Perhaps if there’s a sequel we’ll see more of that trend.

**GIVEAWAY CONTEST**

If you'd like to win my Advanced Copy of Abigail Reynolds' book, here are the contest rules:

    * Leave a comment below; this counts as your entry.
    * Entries accepted until 11:59pm on Saturday, May 29th
    * Open to U.S. addresses only.
    * Make sure at least one posted comment includes your email address. If you'd rather not have your email posted here, you may contact me directly to give me that information after you've entered here.
    * I will compile the entries and the winner will be chosen by Random.org, so even one entry can make you a winner!
    * Should you win, I will contact you on Sunday the 30th for your mailing information.  Please take measures to ensure that my email will make it past your spam filters, lest you miss my message! (CalicoCritic@gmail.com) You'll have 72 hours to respond before I pick another winner.
    * More information on the giveaway policies can be found on the Contact / Policies page.


Bonus Entries


Please make note of all your bonus entries in your comment(s).  You may post separate comments or a single large comment.  Here are your bonus entry options:

    * Follow The Calico Critic by clicking on the Google "Follow" button on my sidebar (old or new followers both get the bonus entry, just let me know you're following).
    * Follow me (@LHartness) on Twitter (Please tell me your @UserName).
    * Tweet about this book's giveaway on Twitter.com; be sure to use an URL linking back to this blog posting in your tweet. You may do this as frequently as every 8 hours between now and May 29th at 11:59pm EST.  For each tweet, please come back and post the direct URL link to that specific tweet, not just your @Username.

That's it!  Thanks for stopping by, and good luck to all the entrants!

This title was provided to me by Sourcebooks Casablanca.  No obligation other than an honest review was required.

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Contest Winner Announcement, Plus Upcoming Giveaways!

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The winner of From Twilight to Breaking Dawn: Religious Themes in the Twilight Saga is Kelsey of The Door to Wonderland.  Congratulations, Kelsey!  You have 72 hours to confirm your address with me before I pick another winner.

And if you're interested in more Calico Critic giveaways, here are three that are coming up this month:

• The Man Who Loved Pride & Prejudice by Abigail Reynolds.  I'm finishing this book now, and whenever I get my review posted, the contest to win my ARC will be included.

•   Life, In Spite of Me by Kristen Jane Anderson.  I will be participating in a blog tour for this, so my review and giveaway will post on May 21, 2010.   Amazing story. Girl tries to commit suicide, gets her legs chopped off by the train she laid in front of, survives, and is now reaching out to help others struggling with depression.

•  The Last Christian by David Gregory.  This is another title with which I'll be participating in a blog tour.  My post dates are May 24-28, and I will be offering my copy in the accompanying giveaway.  I've only read a few pages of this one, and so far it's been very interesting and thought-provoking.  And this Sci-Fi girl loves the genre, too.  Hopefully the rest of the book will be good.

So come back soon to check out these latest titles, and enter to win! 

Contest Results & Latest Movie Review

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This weekend we had two contests finish up, and here are our winners!

• The Darcy Cousins by Monica Fairview.  Winner: Michelle at The True Book Addict

• Arson by Estevan Vega.  Winner: Carrie from In the Hammock

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In addition, my latest movie review has been posted on Movie Room Reviews.  The film is called The Lightkeepers. It stars Richard Dreyfuss & Blythe Danner.  If you like quiet family films, this might appeal to you. Here's the link to the review:

http://www.movieroomreviews.com/the-lightkeepers-movie-review

Contest Results - The Highest Stakes & The Bridegrooms

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Well, after more than one attempt, I finally have the winners of our Highest Stakes and The Bridegrooms giveaways.  Here they are:

• The Highest Stakes by Emery Lee:  Kelsey of The Door to Wonderland.

• The Bridegrooms by Allison Pittman: Our reader Kathryn313.

Congratulations to our winners!  And don't forget about the other giveaways going on here, some of which are ending Saturday night!

The Darcy Cousins by Monica Fairview (Deadline 5/8)

Arson by Estevan Vega (Deadline 5/8)

From Twilight to Breaking Dawn: Religious Themes in the Twilight Saga by Sandra L. Gravett.
(Deadline is May 15th, 11:59pm EST)

Wednesday Contest Report - May 5th

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Every Wednesday I begin a new post, detailing contests that I'm entering around the blogosphere for that week.  Some of these might appeal to you as well.  Check them out!

• Head on over to The Bibliophilic Book Blog and enter to win Monica's "Clear the Decks" contest! She's got quite a few books to be given away. Enter to win before 5/30. Here's the link:

http://www.bibliophilicbookblog.com/2010/04/clear-decks-giveaway.html

• Over at Christine Fonseca's blog, she's giving away the three books in Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy.  Deadline is May 7th.  Here's the link:

http://christinefonseca.wordpress.com/2010/05/03/spreading-the-awesome-a-tribute-to-suzanne-collins/

Book Review and Giveaway: From Twilight to Breaking Dawn: Religious Themes in the Twilight Saga

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Sandra L. Gravett’s book From Twilight to Breaking Dawn: Religious Themes in the Twilight Saga is another publication which examines the Twilight saga through a religious lens.  Dr. Gravett is a philosophy and religion professor as well as a biblical scholar.  She takes her expertise in these areas and uses it to show the reader how religious themes are clearly evident in Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight saga.

Gravett begins with a brief introduction, reminding (or in a rare case, enlightening) us of the societal impact that this book series has had in recent years.  There is also a short summary of all four books, plus the mention of the online work Midnight Sun.  These summaries are helpful for readers (like me) who have not read the entire series and do not mind plot spoilers.

Continuing, the subsequent chapters take on individual characters or issues and examine them in light of scripture and religious tradition.  For the most part Gravett references the standard Christian Bible, but she also uses Mormon texts and other non-canonical books as reference points.  As a Southern Baptist Christian, I personally had no need for the comparisons to issues found in non-canonical works.  However, if you’re looking at these themes in a purely literary manner, they do provide some interesting things to ponder.

Several of the chapters single out one of the main characters in order to examine them.  In one, Edward’s character is shown to be a Christ figure (according to the Kozlovic model).  In another, Bella’s possibilities as an Eve figure as well as a Mary figure are explored.  Father Carlisle is shown to be a God figure, and Renesmee also shows characteristics of a Christ figure.

Other theological and philosophical issues are addressed, such as determinism, moral choice and Armageddon.  In these chapters we get to hear more about Mormon philosophy, as they highly value moral choice (as other faiths do).  Armageddon’s ties into the final moments of Breaking Dawn are not as strong, but Gravett finds a few ways of comparing them.  Overall, she concludes that “on the surface, nothing about the Twilight saga explicitly expresses a religious agenda.” (p.99)  Yet at the same time, she notices that Meyer often suggests a Christian-themed progression.

Overall I enjoyed Dr. Gravett’s work.  She came to this subject from the standpoint of a literary and philosophical scholar, not as one standing in any kind of negative judgment of the series.  Everything was stated in observation, just as if she was holding a light up to parallels that may not have been easily seen in the past.

Gravett’s writing is well crafted and decidedly collegiate, and she ends each chapter with interesting discussion questions.  This lends this title toward easy implementation in a classroom or any other small group discussion. The questions she raises and the ideas she presents have given me a deeper appreciation for not only themes that are in the Twilight saga, but also for other works of fiction that I may read in the future.  Not every book, character or plot will perfectly mirror those found in scripture, but it becomes interesting to see how God’s word and philosophies can permeate all of life.

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**GIVEAWAY CONTEST**

If you'd like to win my copy of Sandra L. Gravett’s book, here are the contest rules:

• Leave a comment below; this counts as your entry.
• Entries accepted until 11:59pm on Saturday, May 15th
• Open to U.S. addresses only.
• Make sure at least one posted comment includes your email address. If you'd rather not have your email posted here, you may contact me directly to give me that information after you've entered here.
• I will compile the entries and the winner will be chosen by Random.org, so even one entry can make you a winner!
• Should you win, I will contact you on Sunday the 9th for your mailing information.  Please take measures to ensure that my email will make it past your spam filters, lest you miss my message! (CalicoCritic@gmail.com) You'll have 72 hours to respond before I pick another winner.
• More information on the giveaway policies can be found on the Contact / Policies page.

Bonus Entries

Please make note of all your bonus entries in your comment(s).  You may post separate comments or a single large comment.  Here are your bonus entry options:

• Follow The Calico Critic by clicking on the Google "Follow" button on my sidebar (old or new followers both get the bonus entry, just let me know you're following).
• Follow me (@LHartness) on Twitter (Please tell me your @UserName).
• Tweet about this book's giveaway on Twitter.com; be sure to use an URL linking back to this blog posting in your tweet. You may do this as frequently as every 8 hours between now and May 15th at 11:59pm EST.  For each tweet, please come back and post the direct URL link to that specific tweet, not just your @Username.

That's it!  Thanks for stopping by, and good luck to all the entrants!

This title was provided to me by Chalice Press.  No obligation other than an honest review was required.

Contest Results - Twilight Gospel and Time Pirate

This week my gmail account was a bit slow.  It decided to deliver only some of my messages, and last night I got a flood of emails, some several days old.  As a result, I was finally able to get the responses from the winners of our Twilight Gospel and The Time Pirate giveaways.  I apologize for any inconvenience this delay may have caused.  Thanks to everyone who entered, and here are the results:

• The Twilight Gospel: The Spiritual Roots of Stephenie Meyer's Vampire Saga by Dave Roberts.  Deadline was April 24th, 2010.  Winner: Our reader Ashley.

• The Time Pirate by Ted Bell, 3 advanced reader editions.  Deadline was April 24th, 2010.  Winners: Kelsey of The Door to Wonderland, Bill of Dr.Bill's Book Bazaar and Sarah of Puss Reboots.

While you're here, check out the other giveaways going on this month. Two are ending tonight!

Click here to go to our giveaways page