BOOK REVIEW: Danger in the Shadows by Dee Henderson. Tyndale House, 2002

Dee Henderson’s literary craft is a pleasant read for any lazy afternoon and highly recommended if you enjoy reading light romance and/or light detective fiction (light, in that there is neither graphic detailing of crime scenes or love interest, nor is there a shift in narrative to the kidnapper’s perspective). Henderson adds a bonus to her novel, because she writes with a Christian worldview.

Danger in the Shadows by Henderson is loaded with plot details that move the story along easily. The main character, Sara Walsh, is in protective custody with FBI agent Dave Richman in the lead. There are several constant conflicts, external and internal, in Sara’s life. First, there is an underlying one presented by Sara’s long-ago kidnapper who remains unidentified and at-large, but with Agent Richman closing in. Within herself, fear plagues her, manipulates her doubts, and at peak levels of stress, threatens to break her. Lastly, Sara struggles with the intensity of high security protocol and the cost it requires of her – no personal relationships; she longs to be free of fear and to be free to find happiness in her future. Through the course of Sara’s story, her understanding of God’s provision, security, and strength take on new and deeper meaning.

BOOK REVIEW: From the Garden to the City: The Redeeming and Corrupting Power of Technology by John Dyer.

BOOK REVIEW: From the Garden to the City: The Redeeming and Corrupting Power of Technology by John Dyer. Kregel Publications, 2011. ISBN: 9780825426681.

From the Garden to the City by John Dyer is the suggested reading assignment for the group participants of the monthly ILRC Share and Care meetings facilitated by Associate Dean of Administration and Collection Services Lowell Walters. The first review session was only an overview of Dyer’s introduction and first chapter, but it was a full session of philosophical Q&A regarding good versus evil and where technology stacks up. Continued reading will hopefully generate as animated a group review in future meetings. 

The book’s message is wrapped up in its medium (one learns this application by reading the book); its medium begins with its author. John Dyer’s background is one richly mixed with information technology and theology, and so, his insight includes both in equal measure. From the Garden to the City is an easy read, does not require much on the part of its reader, and is logically developed between the points he wishes to make. What are those points? 

There are several points about technology which he investigates, but two speak the loudest to me. First, that technology has been around since the Garden of Eden and, second, that classifying technology as neutral simply because it lacks a moral compass, or soul, is an incomplete and inaccurate summation of its existence. Dyer offers great detail, both with historical anecdotes and Scripture, which argue these points. For me, I appreciate his assessment that technology is “the means by which we transform the world as it is into the world that we desire [and] what we often fail to notice is that it is not only the world that gets transformed by technology,” but us as well.

The Hunger Games Trilogy

Suzanne Collins' trilogy is a story told before in other places; places distanced as much by centuries of history and geography as by even its media (literature, reality television, and film). It is a fundamental error of Man to believe that we ever create anything truly and authentically new. Take for instance the premise of the Hunger Games -- the combatants are selected by a totalitarian government, forced to battle to the death, and then are glamorized by the entertainment value promoted by the capitol. A selection process as tainted as the Ancient Romans used. Their gladiators comprised most of the amusement craze for their insatiable immoral and inhumane desires.

What Collins accomplishes in her books The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay is a literary cobbling of history, classic mythology, and universal human depravity. She employs a proven formula of plot development: take the character through conflict. Good old-fashioned conflict. Internal, external and so many possible mixtures of both. Collins crafts a plot bombarded by an onslaught of conflict. And her characterization is plausible. Katniss, for all of her strong sense of self-reliability, her wrestling with the questions of morality and ethics, her self-doubt regarding emotional attachments, all of this a reader can accept as possible.

Many aspects of the story were discussed amongst my family, but Katniss' act of sacrifice and the weave of ethical struggles seen throughout the series were those we dissected. How does Panem's society construct and the Capitol's mandates and subsequent oppression of the people compare to our global history? In what ways do we treat others in similar fashion? Do we carry an attitude of self-righteousness where it's our way or no way?

I picked up a review of The Hunger Games some time back and now have some words to offer as an articulate response. The review targeted Katniss' act of sacrifice and her role as the savior of Panem. The review compared her action as similar to our Savior Jesus Christ. Misguided! And so misleading. Katniss took her sister's place, yes, but her later actions leading the rebellion to overthrow the Capitol and restore the goodness of Panem's humanity were part of a path she hardly chose for herself, obediently or otherwise. She was clouded by enormous malcontent, propelled by vengeance, and moved with disobedience to rules and structure -- and she lost her sister in the end.

The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay are stories of humanity -- depraved, broken, and in itself, its own hero and savior (tenets of humanism).  Self-reliability, trust in no one, conditional morality, and judgment based in momentary feelings are all shaky foundations to construct a life; an exhausting effort chasing those moving targets.

A piece of fictional literature survives the test of time if it causes its readers to think. Thumbs up to Suzanne Collins for provoking my mind and for the discussions it generated with my children.