Monday, September 27, 2004

I’ve been trying to read more lately. Not that I’m reading anything lofty, but at least I’m reading. Over the weekend I managed to finish Executive Power by Vince Flynn. (Thanks, Tony, for the recommendation of Flynn.) Flynn writes politico/techno-espionage thrillers. I can’t compare him to Tom Clancy because I think he’s better than Clancy (the Clancy of today, anyway), but it’s easiest to lump him in with the likes of Clancy. His characters are pretty solid, the subject matter is very current (almost prescient), and his prose doesn’t get bogged down by too much technical minutae.

His first novel, Term Limits was astounding to me - not just because it was so good, but that it stepped on a lot of lines (moral, PC, ethical, etc.) without quite crossing over to becoming fully objectionable. It caused me to really think how I felt about what his characters were doing. Anyway, if you like this kind of story, then check out Vince Flynn’s novels.

This means I’ve started a new book and thanks to the recommendation of Thinkling Shrode, I’ve borrowed a trilogy of Christian novels by Sigmund Brouwer from my local library. First in the trilogy is Out of the Shadows, which I’m really enjoying so far. This is not your typical second rate Christian fiction and I’m thankful to know that there are some good fiction writers in Christendom who are getting published. But I’m only 5 chapters into the book, so I’ll wait until I finish for the fuller review. After I finish the trilogy, I’ll get back to the newest Vince Flynn novel (which is on hold at my library) and then the rest of The Chronicles of Narnia.

I had picked up most of the Flynn novels at my favorite used bookstore and when I was talking to my friend who is soon to be deployed, I asked him if he had read Flynn. He said he hadn’t and when I described the first novel, he jumped at my offer of the books for his trip.