M.L.S. Weech's Blog, page 31

Visits From A Man Named Nobody PT 6

 

Paul would normally huddle up and be ready for whatever his father dished out. This time, he stood up and tried to shove his father. However, the man caught each of Paul’s arms. The next thing Paul knew, something snapped and he was launched into the air. He slammed into the wall that divided the kitchen from the living room. 

Silence. Pain. Paul opened his eyes, and he wasn’t sure how much time had passed. His right arm and left leg felt wrong. His arm didn’t look any different, but his left leg looked like it had two knees. 

His mother screamed. Paul squeezed his eyes shut, trying to shake the pain out of his body and the fuzziness out of his mind. He stood to fight! Wasn’t that courageous? Wasn’t it strong to stand up to the man trying to hurt his mother? What was the point of all those words in the Bible if they didn’t make him strong enough to defend his mom?

Paul opened his eyes only to see his father shove his mother down to the ground. 

“Everyone here thinks they’re so much better than I am!” His father unleashed a kick that caused his mother to rise from the ground a little. She let out a strange coughing sound. She couldn’t breathe!

Paul tried to get up, but the moment he put any weight on his arm, he fell in pain. He tried to pull himself up, reaching for the nearby kitchen table. His left arm pulled him to a seated position, but that leg seemed to scream. Paul let go and held his injured limb. Something clattered to the floor. His mother’s cell phone.

His mother had said they’d lose his father if he told anyone. She said the family couldn’t survive without the money he earns. She said she loved him. 

Paul didn’t have the strength to physically fight his father, but did he have the strength to do what nobody, not just the man who visited but no one Paul knew, had the strength and courage to do?

“I slave away, working like a dog for this family, and this is the thanks I get?” Paul’s dad screamed as he lifted his mother up only to punch her down to the ground. She bounced off the floor and stopped moving. 

Paul stared at the phone. It was less than an inch from his head, but it seemed so far away. What would happen to his family if he called the police? What would happen if he didn’t? Would his mom hate him?

A part of Paul thought it would be easier to die fighting his father. Touching the phone seemed strangely more horrifying and difficult than fighting a man twice his size and weight. 

“Get up!” His father screamed. “You brought this on yourself!” He lifted Paul’s unconscious mother off the ground, but she still wasn’t moving.

Be strong and courageous. 

Help me! Paul thought. 

He reached out, activated the phone, and pressed the emergency button.  He heard a soft ringing tone and then a voice he couldn’t quite make out. His head still felt like it was spinning. 

“1009 Centurion Way,” Paul whispered. “If you don’t show up soon, I think he’ll kill us both.” 

Paul muttered the same thing a few times, but a loud smack drew his attention. His father didn’t care that his wife was unconscious. He slapped her again and again. Each blow sounded like the crack of a whip.

“Leave her alone!” Paul screamed. He used his left elbow to slide his body toward his father. “Put her down!”

His father slowly turned his head toward him. “You haven’t quite learned your lesson have you?”

“Actually,” Paul said, “I think I did.” He wasn’t ever able to fight his father, and the man would kill Paul long before he ever got strong enough to fight. What he needed was the strength to do what he desperately wanted someone else, anyone else, to do. 

Paul’s father stomped over to him and grabbed him by the front of his shirt. Paul rose high into the air. His leg felt like it was on fire. Something kept poking out of the skin of his calf. Lifted up like that, he actually had to look down his father’s arm and into his eyes.

“What makes you think you could take me on?” Paul’s father was always so loud. The neighbors or even someone down the block had to hear it. No one did anything. Not until tonight. 

“Why do you feel so weak around us?” Paul asked. The question just sort of popped into his head, but it made sense even as he asked it. 

He was a huge man who’d spent ten years working in a factory. He would always challenge his drinking buddies to arm wrestling matches and even full-on wrestling matches. He did everything he could to show people how strong he was. Why would he do that unless he was afraid they thought he was weak?

His father eyes widened, and his face melted into one of pure rage. He reached back a large right hand. Something blasted Paul in the face. Darkness took him before he could make sense of anything, but Paul thought he heard a siren.

… the end of Chapter 2 … 

Another 4-Star Review for Stealing Freedom

Greetings all,

I’m always happy to share reviews, so it’s with great joy that I present this four-star (sort of) review for Stealing Freedom. This was a review by Margaret for the Audible version of the story, so I have to copy-paste it below for you to access.

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4/5 for narrators ability, 3/5 for having two

This is the first book I have read/listened to by this author. It is a very poignant, original book. It was written before 2020, but resonates now due to recent government and law enforcement actions. The book constantly reminded me of the recent excessive military responses to peaceful protesting and false, inconsistent and contradictory narratives provided to the public from governmental bodies. In this story, everyone over the age of seven must wear a collar that would punish people for speaking or publicly displaying emotions (hugging, smiling, negative facial expressions). Drones and cameras monitor everyone every moment of their day to ensure no one rests longer than allowed, spends more than allotted time in the bathroom, etc.. Everything was regulated. It was possible to purchase words, a cost that was prohibitive to most people to the point our main character purchased six words to say to her daughter and that is the first she had spoken to her in two years. Knowing this was no way for people to live and believing they had the ability to do something about it, the main character and a few other people attempt to shut down the servers that operate the collars. They do it at extreme risk to their lives. Their plan reminded me of the movies Ocean Eleven and Now You See Me. I really liked the ending part with the main monitor and his final moments.

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This is the first book I have listened to by these narrators ( Lisa Negron, J.M. Needham ). They both do well narrating. She narrates the parts that have Laurie and Laurie’s conversations (even if it is with a male) and he narrates the parts from the perspectives of the male characters when they are not having a conversation but just re-counting their thoughts or actions. Since no one can speak, the narrative often switches perspectives many times within the same chapter. This meant the narrator switched many times throughout the chapter. Lisa did a fine job giving voice to both male and female characters and had very nice pacing and cadence. I think it was quite unnecessary to have a second narrator. I found it uncomfortable for the first half of the book until I got a little more used to it. The only reason it was not fully disruptive, was both narrators were good at what they were doing. There are no explicit sex scenes, excessive violence, or swearing. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this unbiased review. Please feel free to comment on whether you found my review helpful.

As you can see, she would like feedback, so if you have the time and want to help a reviewer, please pop onto her link above and offer your thoughts. Just as I love feedback, some reviewers also seek and desire feedback.

I’m noticing a trend of reviewers be less happy about a team of narrators. I’m not sure how I feel about that. I love having a male for the male POVs and a female for the female POVs. What are your thoughts?

If you’ve read my work, please consider leaving a review on Amazon, Audible, Goodreads, or all three. It really means a lot.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

Book Review: The Truth War by John MacArthur

[image error]Image taken from the book’s buy page on Goodreads for review purposes under Fair Use doctrine. 

The Truth War by John MacArthur is essentially a call for the defense of Biblical truth.

Dr. MacArthur was in an interestingly difficult position, not because he wanted to take a stance for the truth of Biblical doctrine, but in that he wanted to also distinguish between righteous defense of the truth and needless contention or even disagreements among brothers on smaller, less-clear issues.

This book does have some repudiation of other religious texts, but it’s much more necessary here in the context of discernment, which is another major topic of the book.

This book was actually a motivating call to action for me. And it starts with the most important truth. Jesus Christ, God in flesh, came down to Earth to free mankind from its sin by dying on the cross and being resurrected on the third day.

MacArthur spent a significant amount of time seeming to shift from a firm declaration of truth, and justification of why the truth must be defended. The book spends the bulk of it’s time explaining that one can not stand for truth by avoiding possibly contentious doctrine.

This is the great challenge facing Christianity today in my thinking. I imagine many Christians such as myself feel torn between wanting to stand for Biblical truth but not being lashed out at simply for stating my beliefs and standing by them. The big take away is, so long as you lovingly and patiently defend the truth, you can actually rejoice in persecution as it sets you apart. I certainly don’t mean to say one can stand on a street corner shouting at people with megaphones, and I don’t believe that’s what MacArthur is stating either. I believe he advocates for the patient but firm contribution to discussions without sidestepping culturally charged issues. It is here I always find myself conflicted.

[image error]This image of Dr. MacArthur was taken from his church’s website for review purposes under Fair Use doctrine.

If I were to post a blog on how I feel that chicken was best and listed my reasons, I might receive some response and even some polite discourse. If I then post that I don’t eat pork, and I don’t like the food, I may have some people shrug and call me weird. I might have some disagree, but in this we allow a person to have their point of view. But point at a sin that the Bible clearly speaks against, and watch how many people call me narrow minded even as they narrow-mindedly call me any sort of name they can think of.

The simple truth is anyone willing to stand up for what he or she believes in must also be willing to endure anger, hostility, or even down-right hate. Christianity demands even more foreknowledge because it takes such a clear stand on several issues. This book explains that refusal to avoid these uncomfortable conversations only contribute to the degradation of the faith. If Biblical truth is to be upheld, it must start at the pulpit and extend through the congregation, and Christians should never compromise or alter God’s word for the sake of political correctness or inclusion.

That statement alone could lead to a lengthy debate, so I just state that once more everyone has a right to their own decisions, but they are also subject to the consequences of those decisions.

Once more, neither I nor MacArthur endorse needless argument for the sake of argument. Neither does MacArthur endorse resentful arguments over issues on which scripture isn’t clear.

What I wish this book had was more actionable information on how to go about it. I wish there was a section on social media. I wish there was more direction in those areas, and I hope MacArthur speaks to that in other books.

This book was a motivating call to action even though I wish it had more actionable information. I always enjoy MacArthur’s exegetical insight, especially because it is (almost) always based in scripture.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

Visits From A Man Named Nobody PT 5

Two

May 1, 2021 

26.5 Years Ago

Paul sat at the dinner table quietly eating his food, which was chicken and mashed potatoes. His dad was home, so the house was quiet. The occasional piece of silverware clanked against the white porcelain plates, but those were the only sounds. 

The quiet gave Paul more time to think, but he seemed to only have more questions. It’d been just about six months since Nobody had visited. It had also been five beatings. It probably meant Nobody had been some weird game his own imagination had played on him. Except Paul went out to check the next day, and the cracked window was still there. Also, the Bible Nobody had given him was there, so Paul read it.

He’d kept his promise to a man who apparently didn’t care that Paul was still being attacked. But Paul couldn’t blame him. It wasn’t like anybody did anything about his dad’s beatings. 

He’d reached the book of Joshua, and one part kept bugging him. “Be strong and courageous.” 

Everything he’d read in the book so far frustrated him. If God were real, and he kept bailing the Israelites out, why didn’t he step in for Paul? Why didn’t he stop COVID any sooner? Vaccines had made their way around the country, but if there was a God, why not just miraculously heal everyone? Why not cure cancer and stop death? Why help thousands of Israelites generations ago and no one today? 

Whatever frustrated him, that one part just kept ringing through his mind. Why did they need strength if God was going to do everything? Why did they need courage if they knew they had the creator of everything on their side? What does it mean to be strong and courageous. 

“Eat your food!” Paul reflexively obeyed. 

His father’s tone was angry. It was scary when his father was drunk, but when he used that tone, and he was sober, it was terrifying. 

Paul shoved another few bites in his mouth, trying to keep the meal running smoothly. 

“What’s wrong?” Paul’s mother asked. 

“It doesn’t matter if something’s wrong,” his father’s tone hit a new octave. “I told him to eat.”

Paul glanced at his mother, hoping she’d understand that he was far more worried about his father’s mood than anything else. Anything else. The chicken nearly vanished off the plate as Paul ate it, trying to make sure he didn’t overfill his mouth. His dad hated it when he looked like some sort of chipmunk. 

Even as he worked to keep his father happy, Paul’s thoughts drifted. He’d kept his word to Nobody, but he read a lot more than just the Bible. He was trying to figure out how Nobody did it. He read books on science and even a biography on Harry Houdini. Paul really didn’t expect there to be any magical explanation. No, the answer was science. It had to be some sort of teleportation. So Paul had honed in on physics. He had to know how Nobody did it. He wanted to know why he hand’t come back any of the last five times.

Then he read that most recent chapter. It seemed a challenge to Paul. The only reason someone would have to be strong would be if God expected them to do something. 

“I’m going out,” Paul’s dad stood from the table, leaving his plate where it was. 

Paul shot from his chair and snatched the plate before his dad had made it out of the dining room. Paul rinsed the plate and put it in the dishwasher. He winced as he heard his mom speak.

“Do you have go out?” she asked.

“Gonna spend time with the boys,” he answered. That meant he was going to get hammered. 

“I thought you said we needed to watch what we spend?” 

Oh no! Mom, why would you say that?

His father had made it to the front door when she asked her stupid question. His head slowly turned around, and his face melted into a look of pure rage.

“Are you telling me what to do with my own money?” His tone was low and angry. His dark eyebrows furrowed together. The sneer alone should have sent both of them running. 

“No!” His mom said. She started speaking quickly, but Paul knew it was already too late. “I was just wondering if you’d remembered what you’d said.”

That’s even worse, Mom!

Paul’s father turned. His thick, black boots sounded like thunder as they stomped across the carpet. Be strong and courageous!

Paul moved without thinking.

“Are you calling me a liar?” He screamed the question. Why didn’t the neighbors ever call the police? People in the next county should be able to hear when his father was like this!

Paul’s father reached up a hand to slap her, but Paul made it in time. He charged at his father and drove a shoulder into him as hard as he could. 

He bounced off the thick man and crashed to the floor. 

Everybody else seemed to freeze. Paul didn’t hurt his father one bit. He seemed stunned. A corner of his father’s lips curled into and amused smirk. 

“Well look who decided to grow a backbone.” Paul’s father chuckled and pointed a square finger at him, shouting. “You’re all tough now, aren’t you?”

Until that moment, Paul had always just tried to stand between his father and mother. Every now and then, he’d had to lay over top of his mom to keep his father from stomping on her or kicking her. Those boots were thick!

But whatever he did, it was defensive. This was the first time he’d tried to actually fight, and his first attack simply made his father laugh in derision. 

… to be continued …

I’m Pretty Sure Naruto Took A Bunch From Hunter X Hunter

The family and I started watching Hunter X Hunter specifically because the television told us it was similar to Naruto.

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Similar? I am utterly convinced Naruto’s creator was a huge fan of Hunter X Hunter, and took a great deal of inspiration from the show. How much?

So the main character (the names in Hunter X Hunter are very confusing) wants to be a hunter (ninja in Naruto) because his father (yep) left to be a hunter. His father, a mysterious, famous, and legendary hunter (or Hokage) seems to have impacted the whole group of Hunters (ninjas).

The series picks up when the main character has to take a test, which is almost plot-point for plot-point the same as the Chunin Exams.

I’m not going to dive into a point-for-point review, and I’m not trying to say Naruto is nothing more than a trumped up rip off of Hunter.

What I actually want to say is that Naruto clearly respects Hunter, and shows it in using material from that predecessor and adding something new and refreshing to it.

Naruto has a ton of original angles in comparison to Hunter. I’m only about one season into Hunter, and for all I know everything changes after that season. But it was cool to see so many pieces that matched.

[image error]I actually vectored this image from an original source, so it’s pretty much my own fan art.

For instance, the main character of Hunter takes on a master, who simply wants him to take away a set of bells. Wait? No, that was Naruto. With Hunter it was a sort of dodge ball. You get the point though.

After doing a bit of research, I’m not quite sure what ran when, but the anime style of Hunter indicates an early release date, and I found one date as 1999, which is easy to believe. However, what may be surprising is they are contemporaries.

The Mangas for each title only came out about a year apart.

So I guess I’m just wondering what you all think? Is one a rip off of the other? I don’t think so. Yes, they are very similar. However, I like to think of it more as similar tropes done in equally entertaining ways.

What are your thoughts?

Thanks for reading,

Matt

Book Review: Dawnshard by Brandon Sanderson

Buy Stealing Freedom

Spoiler Free Summary:  Dawnshard by Brandon Sanderson is considered book 3.5 of the Stormlight Archive. A ghost ship is found seeming to come from the mysterious island of Akinah. What secrets does that land hold? Why are some so driven to protect them? Mysterious beings composed of cremlings seem intent on keeping people off the island, and Rysn, a shipowner, must go there. Her pet Chiri-Chiri is sick, and only a visit to its home island, you guessed it, can give the creature a chance to survive.

[image error]Cover image was taken from the book’s buy page on Amazon for review purposes under Fair Use doctrine.

Character:  The Lopen always steals the show for me when he’s in a story, and this one is no different. I mention him first because he’s so charming. That said, Rysn is a fascinating character. I don’t know that I’ve ever read a story where someone who couldn’t walk is the main character. Rysn is intelligent and driven. She’s sympathetic and proactive, but her vunerability (perceived (I said perceived) powerlessness) makes her story interesting. Rysn doesn’t compare to Kaladin or Dalinar by any means. It’s not an insult to her; it’s just that she doesn’t grab me the way those two do. Still, she’s a great character, and Chiri-Chiri is awesome.

Exposition: Being a short story, there simply isn’t enough time to have too much bad exposition. There are some moments that we get a bit of a data dump in the form of conversation (negotiation) or internal monologue, but the story reads fast. I think I read about thirty percent a day.

Worldbuilding: This is what excited me. First, we get to see that island that’s been teased to us. Second, we get some expansion on the Cosmere. This book really opens up the origins of the Cosmere, so if you’re a fan of it, you really should read this book.

Dialogue: This isn’t as good as Sanderson’s work normally is. It’s not bad at all, it’s just not as amazing as it usually is (though I understand this was a rather rushed story). The Lopen gets another pass here because his dialogue is always fun. I think this book falls a bit short for me because the plot hinges (as is appropriate for Rysn) on a negotiation, and that scene didn’t really sing for me. I still loved and enjoyed it, but more so because of what I learned about the Cosmere and what this book teases about future books than the plot.  

[image error]This image of Mr. Sanderson was taken from his website for review purposes under Fair Use doctrine.

Description: Sanderson has some wonderful description. I’ve always appreciated how he balances good description with the pace of a story, and this is no different. I almost always feel like I’m watching a movie more than reading a book when I’m reading Sanderson, and this book was no different.

Overall: This book is awesome more so what it implies and promises about the Cosmere more than the story itself, which is probably not something Mr. Sanderson would want to hear. The book isn’t bad at all, but it was less Rysn and her arc that intrigued me than the greater implications this story offers to future books. Again, this story was good; it just wasn’t great. I will say this was a great primer for Rythm of War, and that alone makes it worth reading.

Thanks for reading

Matt

Buy The Journals of Bob Drifter

Visits From A Man Named Nobody Pt. 4

Paul stood up, shivering as his foot hit that strange wet spot in the floor where Nobody had appeared. He walked over to investigate the window. Sure enough, there were two levers on the top of the cracked pane of glass. 

Paul quickly unhooked the broken window and replaced it with the one Nobody had left. He thought about how Nobody had brought it. It definitely couldn’t have fit in the backpack he had. Maybe he just brought it with him and set it down before Paul had rolled over to see him. That still didn’t really explain how Nobody got in Paul’s bedroom and out of his closet with nothing but a strange shift in temperature and a flash of light. 

Paul kept trying to figure it out even as he crept down the hall. His father lay passed out on the couch like always. Sure, the window wouldn’t be noticed, but if Paul woke his father up trying to sneak the broken part out of the house, nothing else would matter. His father had an odd habit of never being as drunk as Paul wished. The man would be dead to the world when Paul wasn’t even making the slightest noise, but then he’d jerk awake and angry after Paul used the bathroom. 

It had something to do with how drunk his father was when he’d passed out, but Paul never really could figure out the pattern. 

There was nothing to do but go for it. Paul rose to the tips of his toes and crept through the living room. The brown carpet made it easier to muffle his footsteps. Paul held the window close to his chest to keep it from hitting the coffee table or the wall. Then he reached the living room door. 

It was big and heavy. It almost always could be heard opening and closing through the house. Paul considered trying to go back through the living room for the sliding glass door. It was quieter, but it was also less than two feet from his father’s head. Paul looked from one door to the other. The choice could mean his life. Waking his dad up was life-threatening enough. Waking his dad up while holding a broken window, no matter that the replacement was already up, would mean the end. 

Paul took a deep breath. He’d already walked through the living room. He turned the doorknob as slowly as he could and opened the door. As always, there was a soft crack as the seal of the door separated from the frame. The strange bristly bottom of the door, maybe there to keep dust from forming along the door’s path, whisked as Paul opened it just enough to fit through.

“Shut that door!” Paul’s head jerked to see his father shift his body on the large leather recliner he’d passed out in. He was just getting more comfortable. Paul let out a breath of relief. An empty bottle of booze fell over as his father repositioned himself. Maybe he would trip on it when he got up to pee. 

A tear rolled down Paul’s cheek. Am I the only kid who dreams of his father tripping and dying? I don’t really want him to die; I just don’t want him to hurt us anymore!

Paul shook his head and used a shoulder to wipe away the tear. The screen door was much easier to keep quiet than the main door was. Paul dipped out, rushed to the trash can at the top of the driveway and gently pressed the window into the bin. There was no need to worry his father would see it there. Paul was always responsible for the trash. Paul once considered running away. He could easily tie a bag of clothes and supplies and hide it there and sneak out, but he couldn’t leave his mother. Someone had to protect her. 

Paul made his way back inside and held his breath as he shut the door as quietly as the darn thing could shut. His father muttered and shifted around again. Paul watched, terrified of what it would mean if his father woke. Thankfully, he didn’t.

Paul started to cross the living room again when he saw the bottle that had fallen over. His father really could trip. It was just close enough to the recliner to be unseen and far enough away to maybe roll. The coffee table was right there. 

It could happen.

Paul slowly got down on his hands and knees. He reached over and lifted the bottle up the correct way. He didn’t know why he did it. Sure, maybe his father would trip, and maybe he wouldn’t, but it’s not like it would have really been Paul’s fault. Nevertheless, Paul made sure to creep on all fours past the recliner and to the steps before getting up to make the climb. 

Even as he crept back to his room, Paul couldn’t understand what caused him to take the precaution. It just felt right. But what was right? Was it right to protect his father from something as stupid as a fall when his father wouldn’t hesitate to beat him to within an inch of his life. 

What is right?

Paul crept into his room and looked at the Bible that was still on his bed where Nobody had dropped it. What could it hurt?

Paul grabbed up his little light again and gently got into bed, still trying to avoid the welts and cuts on his back. He opened the Bible and flipped through the first few pages. Genesis. The first chapter was only about five pages. He could read that in no time. 

He’d take Nobody’s challenge. It’s not like anyone’s life could really change just by reading a book.

The end of Chapter 1. 

… to be continued … 

A 4-Star Review for The Power of Words

Greetings all,

It’s always nice to have a review to share. For starters, it makes it easy to post a blog every Saturday. More importantly, it allows me to share the reviews people leave with you readers.

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Today is a four-star review from Cyber Cowboy on Audible.

Decent

I’ve always been one to say that words have power more than just their meaning and lived by that idea, so I was excited to see this book. For some reason the first 2 stories didn’t speak to me much, but the last two, the ideas behind them. The acts of defiance they displayed via the use of words was incredibly powerful, and I intend to check out both of those authors’ other works. That doesn’t mean the first two stories weren’t good, they were good stories, just didn’t illicit a strong reaction either way in me. I received a copy of this book at my request in exchange for a FAIR review.

I did another Audio Book Boom for The Power of Words, so I’m hopeful I’ll have a handful of reviews to share with you soon.

As always, I humbly request that you consider leaving a review if you’ve read my work. I’d be happy to share it on this blog, and reviews really help an author out.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

Book Review: Dragon Outcast by E.E. Knight

Buy Stealing Freedom

Spoiler Free Summary:  Dragon Outcast by E.E. Knight is the third story in the Age of Fire series. It’s the story of a hatchling who betrayed his whole family and seeks to find some way to redeem himself.

[image error]Cover image taken from the book’s Goodreads page for review purposes under Fair Use doctrine.

Character:  The Copper is one of the greatest story arcs I read. He does some terrible things, but then he starts working toward being something better. The more one hates a character, the more rewarding it is when you see that character truly change, and this story has that.

Exposition: This might just be my favorite book in the series. It’s paced so perfectly, and the emotion of the story just has you riding a perfect literary roller coaster. If you read the series just to read this book, you’ve made a wise decision.

Worldbuilding: Just as with the last two books, this book starts out much the same. Naturally, this book is told from The Copper’s point of view. In doing this, Knight takes one rather typical story of a young dragon hero and turns it into a whole world filled with deep characters, who are all main characters in their own right. Each character also takes you to different places to see different races and creatures. This story is no different. The coolest part here though, is we get to see an earnest dragon society.

Dialogue: The dialogue of this book isn’t as good as the last one. I don’t necessarily mind. Once we see a huge cast like this begin to expand, it has to get pretty hard to have people stand out. That’s not to say the dialogue is bad by any means, it’s just not as awesome as it was in the last book because not all the characters sounded unique in my imagination.  

[image error]Image by Ebert Studio taken from the Penguin Random House website bio for the author. This image was taken for review purposes under Fair Use doctrine.

Description: This, however, is probably the best in the series as well. There are just more cool places and more cool characters to meet. Seeing more of the world in which this story takes place just activates the imagination more.

Overall: I say again, this is probably my favorite book in the series. It’s just amazing to see how The Copper starts in bitter anger and evolves to become who he becomes (trying to avoid spoilers). The beauty of it is one doesn’t have to read the other stories to enjoy this one. Readers can actually start with Books 1, 2, or 3 and still get a grate stand-alone story. However, I’m of the opinion that if you read this one first, you won’t be able to stop yourself from reading the rest.

Thanks for reading

Matt

Buy The Journals of Bob Drifter

Visits From A Man Named Nobody Pt. 3

Paul snickered derisively.  “What the hell is that?”

“How to know what the right thing is.” Nobody returned to his backpack and lifted it onto his right shoulder. “You’re laughing like it’s the dumbest thing, but you’re the one standing there wondering how to find the right answers. I don’t imagine you’ve read it.”

A blast of air representing his distain preceded Paul’s response. “No.”

“So how about this.” Nobody strangely made his way toward Paul’s closet. “Read one chapter a day. Read it all the way through. Hold back your judgement and questions until after you’ve read the whole thing. Then see how you feel.”

“I’ve had plenty of preachers and so-called holy men try and tell me I’m a sinner, and I’m going to hell, and I need to be saved,” Paul said. “Why would this book be any different.”

“Did any of those men ever tell you how loved you are?”

The question froze Paul in his thoughts. He honestly couldn’t remember the last time anyone ever told him they loved him. His mother stopped just before she stopped coming into his room to patch him up after a beating. 

Nobody pointed at the Bible. “That’s absolutely a book with rules in it, but it’s not a rule book. It’s a story. It’s the story of a creator who loved you so much, he sent his son to die for you. That son chose to go and die for you. You are loved so much, he died so that you could live. He did that even though humanity had turned away. He did that even though we are sinners.”

“That’s all just a story.” Paul had found his skepticism somewhere. “People don’t die and come back to life. The world wasn’t created by some creator. Miracles don’t happen.”

“How’d I get in your bedroom then?” 

Paul’s mind raced even as he responded. “I don’t know! Some sort of trick or science.”

“And who created science?” Nobody asked. “The very nature of science calls for cause and effect, but if this universe is the result of some effect, what then is the effect?”

Nobody opened the door to the closet. “I’m sure you’ll search for those answers, but they’re far less important. The answers to your first questions, which I think are more important, are in that book there. And if you want to dispute or debate that book, you still have to read it. One chapter a day.”

Nobody stepped inside the closet and shut the door. Paul darted at the closet, sucking in a breath of air as the wounds on his back protested. He stretched out a hand for the closet door when the air again seemed to swing from normal, to freezing cold, to boiling and back to normal in the blink of an eye. A light flashed, causing Paul to dive to the brown carpet floor and hide his eyes. Something cracked nearby. Paul took a few breaths nervously waiting for his eyes to adjust. The darkness of his room caused him to worry for a moment that he’d been blinded, but after a few moments, his vision adjusted, and he could see. 

He gritted through more pain as he shot to his feet and threw the closet door open. The closet was empty. Paul stepped inside and jerked a bare foot back after it stepped onto a  wet spot. It felt like someone dropped a glass of water on it.  

Paul shoved the fact aside and threw the shirts and jeans hanging above him around. Only occasional sharp pains that warned him he might reopen his wounds caused him to slow down as he searched around hangers and pressed against the walls of his closet. As strangely as he’d appeared, Nobody had vanished. 

Paul remembered the sound he’d heard. He stepped out of the classroom and looked around. A crack had split his bedroom window and caused a spiderweb of smaller cracks to spread. 

He panicked. If his father saw that … 

He scurried toward it as if he were going to wish or worry it away. His foot hit another strange wet spot on his carpet. He reflexively shifted his foot, and it banged into something hard. 

He grunted, pursing his lips to keep a yelp from escaping. He knelt down to look at what he’d hit. Whatever it was, it was wrapped in some strange sort of silvery material. He unraveled the object and discovered a window. It looked exactly like his own window except the white paint wasn’t faded. He noticed a note tapped to it. 

He let out an exasperated breath and made his way to his nightstand. He had a tiny pressure-activated flashlight in there, and he pulled it out and used it to read the note. 

“Window is easy to replace,” it read. “Just pull the levers at the top and switch it out. Your dad won’t notice. Remember, one chapter a day.”

…to be continued…