Davis Bunn's Blog, page 37

Reviewer Tastes the Grit of Iraq in 'Lion of Babylon'

By Joy Hannabass

Guest Reviewer

*This review was originally published on the Splashes of Joy blog. This excerpt is reprinted with permission from the author.

If you love suspense, thrillers, fast past, war stories, then Lion of Babylon is a must-read for you. And guys, you will love this book too!

Marc Royce lost his job as a U.S. Intelligence Operative because he chose to stay home and take care of his dying wife. Thinking this job was over for him, he pursues a different career, that is until his former boss shows up one day with an assignment Marc couldn't turn down. His best friend Alex Baird was missing along with 2 lady Americans and he wanted to find his best friend.

Knowing no one in Iraq, Marc had to rely on and trust those giving him orders as to what to do. As the story unfolds, join Marc on this thriller ride, taking you into the depths of Iraq, in the heat of Baghdad and across the border to Iran on a journey that will keep you awake and on the edge of your seat until the very end.

I wasn't sure if I would like a story with the setting in the Middle East, but Wow, was I surprised and impressed. Bunn creates a cast of characters and a dialogue so real you feel as though you are sitting right in their mist communicating with them. I was in awe at the vivid descriptions of Iraq, its people and culture and religion. I could almost taste the grit and feel it crawling on my skin from the dust settling everywhere.

You couldn't help but fall in love with Sameh and his family and the others struggling to live in Iraq with its many difficulties and dangers. And as always with any Davis Bunn book, I appreciate the heavy Christian content throughout this book which clearly directs a person to the Lord.

If you like thrillers, you will love this book!  Go out and grab a copy of Davis' new book and sit for a spell and read it, and be assured you will enjoy the thrill of a lifetime!

Readers Ask: Will There be More Storm Syrrell Adventures?

Ruth writes:

I thoroughly enjoyed reading both Gold of Kings and The Black Madonna and own copies of both of them. Will there be more Storm Syrrell adventures?

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Dear Ruth:

I'm thrilled that you connected with the two Storm Syrrell mysteries. The answer is yes, I do intend to return to the treasure and the people, but it will not be for another eighteen months, as I've committed to write a new series in the meanwhile.

Readers Ask: How Do You Come Up With Your Story Lines?

Amy writes:

How do you come up with the amazing story lines–it really makes you stop and think–I wonder if that actually could have happened–keep up the great work!!

Dear Amy,

Most of the story ideas come from one of three directions.

I can have a superb concept for starting off, a character or a 'what if' that just ignites me. I love the 'what if's' most of all.

Or I can come across the special source, or information, or bit of research, or news item that is so astonishing I have to run with it. This happened with Lion of Babylon.

And then there is the rarest of all, when I see the story, beginning to end, a climax thrown in for good measure. Just bang, the whole thing is there suspended before my eyes. The Quilt was one such book. The Meeting Place, with Janette Oke, was another.

Michelle Rayburn Reviews 'Lion of Babylon'

By Michelle Rayburn

Guest Reviewer

When I closed the last page of Lion of Babylon, I think I actually tasted the desert sand of Iraq and felt the searing heat of the sun. In Lion of Babylon, Davis Bunn takes the readers on an action-packed adventure to the middle east. Marc Royce is on special assignment to find several missing Americans in Iraq, and he's driven by his personal connection to one of them. The story is full of twists and turns, leaving the reader wondering right up to the end if certain events are related to one another.

The story had just the right balance of faith content blended with mystery and history. Readers will gain a better understanding of Christians in the Middle East, and increase their awareness about the different religious and political parties in Iraq. I enjoyed Davis Bunn's writing style, and he does a good job of blending description, narrative, and dialogue.

His writing isn't preachy even though he clearly demonstrates the life-changing affects of biblical faith.

At first, I had some difficulty following the story until the paths of the two characters at the beginning of the book finally crossed paths. Then it made more sense.

I think some readers might have a little problem with how perfect the character Marc Royce comes across. It's as though he's incapable of failure and he possesses a magnetic likability that is almost supernatural.

Despite this, I still enjoyed the story line very much. However, I would be curious to find out how people more connected with the Middle East would feel about Royce, an American, being the hero and savior so many Iraqis.

It's obvious that Davis Bunn has researched this book well and I could totally see this made into a movie. It's a very timely subject and culturally relevant in light of current world events.

*This review was originally published at Michelle Rayburn's blog, Faith… Creativity… Life.  Michelle also posted a separate Q & A interview with me on her blog. Reprinted with permission from the author.

Michelle Rayburn is a speaker, freelance writer, and musician with a passion for helping people connect the dots between faith, creativity, and everyday life. She's an avid reader and book reviewer. You can find her blog at Faith… Creativity… Life.

Creative Madness Mama Interviews Davis Bunn

Margaret Chind, aka Creative Madness Mama, recently featured an interview with me on her blog. We discussed the Acts of Faith series (which I co-authored with Janette Oke), and specifically, Book 3 in the series, The Damascus Way.

You'll find the complete interview here:

http://creativemadnessmama.com/blog/2011/05/24/qa-for-davis-bunns-the-damascus-way/

First UK Review of 'The Damascus Way'

Here is a lovely review of The Damascus Way that I received from The Good Book Stall.  I believe it's our our first review in the UK.

By Mary Bartholomew

I have so enjoyed this series. Each one I have thought could not be bettered, but I was wrong, my enjoyment has increased with each book. The historical research that lies behind any fictional re-telling of Bible times, means you can learn a great deal, and this is certainly so with this trilogy.

The fear among the Christians in Jerusalem after the stoning of Stephen and the appearance of Saul with his mission to destroy them is palpable, and that fear follows them as many flee the city into remote parts of Judea and Samaria. Here they find others of like persuasion who are willing to help them, and in this story we follow Stephen's widow and child to a new life at a trading post on the edge of the desert.

The description of a journey through a sand storm in this desert and many other incidents in the story help us to understand more fully, the background to this part of the Gospel story.

We meet with many familiar characters and new story lines and characters are introduced which makes for a thoroughly good read.

A boxed set of these books is available for £25, ISBN 978-0-764-29509-6

Characters in 'The Hidden Flame' Like Dear Old Friends, Says Reviewer

By Pam Nelson

Guest Reviewer

The Hidden Flame is the second book in the Acts of Faith Series and continues with some of the same characters that we met in The Centurion's Wife.

Abigail now appears as the main character. She lives in Jerusalem where the first century church is struggling. Not for lack of converts, but because the Roman rulers and the religious leaders would like to stamp it out. They all thought that when they killed Jesus, his followers would cease to exist as a group, but they didn't count on what would happen next.

First of all, the church is now growing at a remarkable rate, and secondly, the Holy Spirit has been sent to give the believers power. So, instead of disbanding they are actually very bold in their efforts to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

In the middle of this chaos, Abigail finds great joy in working for the Kingdom by serving her fellow Christians. Only one thing is lacking in her life, a husband and family. She soon finds herself being sought for marriage by two different men. Ezra, a rich Hebrew merchant who is also a widow is looking for a mother for his children; and Linux, the Roman soldier and close friend of Alban is enamored by Abigail's beauty and charm. But Abigail finds herself interested in someone else.

In this book, Davis Bunn & Janette Oke do a great job of continuing the story of the early church. The combination of rich new characters and familiar old ones (some from The Centurion's Wife and some out of the pages of the Bible) draws you into the book from the start.

You feel like you know them, like dear old friends. It also gives you good insight into the lives of the early Christians and makes you feel what it must have been like to live in that era. I found myself thinking of the characters more as real people rather than as "characters in a story."

I enjoyed this book very much and feel like a learned a lot about the time and the people. I feel it would appeal to readers of many different genres. I would recommend it not just to people who love historical fiction, but also to anyone who is interested in finding out more about their faith, or to anyone who just loves a good book. I can't wait to start reading The Damascus Way.

**Read Pam Nelson's review of The Centurion's Wife, and watch for her review of book 3 in the Acts of Faith series, The Damascus Way, coming soon.

'The Centurion's Wife' has a 'Flowing, Engaging Plot,' Says Reviewer

By Elaine Dalton

Guest Reviewer

Plot: Leah may be the niece of Pilate, the famous or perhaps infamous governor who had Jesus scourged and then washed his hands of His blood, but she serves as Procula's handmaid and feels tainted by her family's disgrace. Haunted by her two elder sisters' unwanted arranged marriages, Leah vows never to marry and never to trust a man.

Her heart hardened yet her hands gentle and her eye quick to attend her mistress and the aging Dorit, Leah's only friend in Pilate's household, Leah is as content as can be expected. Until word reaches her that Pilate has received an offer of marriage for her from a centurion whom she has never even heard of before.

Distressed, Leah carries on with her duties while all around her swarm the reports of the Prophet Jesus' death and what a good man her centurion is. With Procula's mysterious dreams and painful headaches still lingering, Leah and her mistress pack up and head back to Jerusalem where Procula sends her out to find Jesus' disciples and learn if an attack upon Rome is in question.

What Leah, amidst all her duties and the memories of a former life locked away in her heart, doesn't know is that her centurion, Alban, has a heart as emotionally scarred as her own. Sent away from home upon his father's death, Alban remains stationed in a little corner of the dusty empire near Galilee where his main concern is keeping his men alive and dealing with those pesky raiding parties of Parathians. When his request for Leah's hand is seemingly accepted and he is summed before Pilate, Alban is nearly knocked off his feet at the idea of a Judean betrothal and the task he must undergo in order to claim Leah as his own. Now both of them are on the hunt for the truth, but what they find shakes their separate worlds to their cores.

Likes/Dislikes: Beautifully written with a flowing, engaging plot and wonderful well drawn characters that immediately became my best friends, this book is an epic Christian look at the events surrounding the birth of Christianity. Mixed in with all the seriousness and the beauty of the setting is good clean humor among the characters that had me smiling all the way from cover to cover and the last final twist at the end brought happy tears to my eyes! Highly recommended!

Rating: PG-13 and up for reading level.

**This review was originally published at E.J.'s Library. Reprinted with permission from the author.

Elaine Dalton is the firstborn of five children, all homechooled by loving Christian parents. Books are what she knows and does best; she's been devouring them since she was ten and writing them since she was thirteen. Classics, historical fictions, action/adventures, and epics are her favorite genres, and if they're Christian, she's in book heaven! Elaine writes, "After my graduation I shall go to work for my parents tutoring my siblings and will continue to read and review great books as well as write them. My goal is to provide families with good wholesome reads that point them to our Savior without any unnecessary or inappropriate surprises."

Library Journal Says 'Lion of Babylon' is a 'Standout Title'

Library Journal published the following review of my new novel, Lion of Babylon:

[image error] Bunn, Davis. Lion of Babylon. Bethany. Jul. 2011. c.384p. ISBN 9780764209932. $22.99; pap. ISBN 9780764209055. $14.99. CF

Four people have gone missing in Iraq. The Taliban abducted two CIA operatives, but an Iraqi civilian and an American doing humanitarian work in the region have also vanished. Ex–intelligence officer Marc Royce is sent on an undercover mission to investigate the disappearances. Are they related?

VERDICT: Bunn's (The Black Madonna) exciting, action-packed thriller features a strong sense of place in its depictions of the people and politics of the Middle East. It is sure to please his fans and win him new ones. And it might be a good pick for readers who like the Christian suspense stories of Oliver North.

Basking in Basque

Lou Ann writes:

I recently reread Elixir, which is set in the Basque region of France and Spain. I have lived in Basque Spain for over 25 years, and there are some things in your book that do not ring true.

You captured accurately the spirit of the Basque people, the land, the surfing, the architecture, and even the existence of caves and herbal medicine traditions.

Your character Inyakie and his father are very believable. So is the mother. Their last name, Dupin, is not a Basque name, rather French. A short Basque name would be Ochoa. (Other Basque names are long, like Bedialauneta and Larrañaga.)  You are probably aware that Inyakie is spelled Iñaki, but I understand your "Americanization" of it for printing and pronunciation reasons.

I know this is a work of fiction, but it would be much more believable with just a few details changed for future editions. One would be that the Basque men in your book have very dark eyes. Actually, the most typical color for Basque eyes is blue. They have dark hair,

beautiful rosy skin, and blue eyes. Some Basques, from the Spanish part, are blond and blue-eyed.

You have the young men wearing traditional Basque dress. You NEVER find young men dressed like that here, except for costumes during fiestas. They don't wear bandanas or berets, and they especially would not wear the homespun-looking blouse and trousers.

Now, I live in a Basque village in the mountains, among people who have cows and sheep. ONE of our elderly neighbors wears the traditional garb. All the rest of them wear jeans.

Old men wear berets. No one under 60 wears a beret. The gendarmes (French police) wear regular police clothing, and the Basque police (Ertxaina) wear red berets as part of their uniforms. (By the way, I loved your portrayal of the French policeman. Very true-to-life.)

Elixir is a page-turner, especially since I live here and am familiar with the surfing, countryside, and the people. I loved it!

Dear Lou Ann,

You are the first American who has read this who has lived in the Basque country, and the intimate connection you showed with the places and the characters really made my day.

I do appreciate your candid comments regarding those several issues. While I do not agree with some of them, the fact that you would read with such an eye to detail confirms your deep connection to the story. And for this I am indeed most grateful.

I started going to the Basque country the year I started writing, the year I came to faith – 1979. I was looking for a place where I could surf and write the climax to my first book, and I had heard that the Basque coast had some great waves.

I drove down from Dusseldorf, where I was living, a journey of some eleven hundred miles. I have returned there almost every year, and at one point planned to live there when it became possible to support us from the writing.

Then Oxford offered Isabella a chance to do her doctorate, and we moved to the UK instead. I missed the chance to live in the Basque country, and yet am certain that God's hand was upon our relocation to Oxford. We are where we are meant to be.