Monte Cristo Redux

A Prisoner of Birth

Jeffrey Archer

0312944094

Jeffrey Archer's Prisoner of Birth is anything but your run of the mill thriller.  In a typical thriller, action scenes overshadow the characters, who are often flat and somewhat underdeveloped.  By contrast, thrilling though it is, Prisoner lacks the action scenes - it's thrills are exclusively the product of some of the deepest, most well-rounded characters you will find in a fiction book.

Prisoner is a modern day re-telling of Alexander Dumas' phenomenal epic, The Count of Monte Cristo.  Usually such rewrites fail to achieve their lofty goal - imitation without duplication.  Doubtless, Prisoner accomplishes just that, updating the classic tale of revenge for a whole new generation of readers.

What most recommends Prisoner, though, is its vivid portrayal of human emotions and motivations.  The lines between good and evil, right and wrong are blurred as Danny Cartwright - the story's Edmond Dantes'-like protagonist - bends rules and laws in an effort to seek vengeance on those who robbed him of his freedom.  Even more poignant is the contrast between Cartwright and the other protagonists, especially his fiancee Beth Wilson.  While Cartwright works outside the law and is willing to go to all ends to accomplish his revenge, Wilson is a paragon of innocence, clinging to her claim of Danny's innocence and fighting within the law to clear his name.

In my last review, I commented that the book in question was not likely to be read in high school English classes.  A Prisoner of Birth, on the other hand, could very well make its way into some classrooms.  The truth is, though no rewriting of a classic like The Count of Monte Cristo can ever completely live up to the original, Prisoner does an admirable job - and is more than capable of standing on its own as a quality work of literature.

A Swashbuckling Good Time

Arctic Drift

Clive Cussler

0399155295

I have been reading Clive Cussler books for many years now.  Cussler qualifies as one of those rare fiction authors whose books are automatic buys for me.  Most, though not all, of Cussler's books feature the same main character - Dirk Pitt - who is an interesting mix of Captain Jack Sparrow, James Bond and Superman.  

In each book, Pitt and his buddies find themselves in some sort of deadly battle against a megalomaniacal evil genius whose plans, often unintentionally, will destroy the world.  Arctic Drift is no different.  Set in 2011, the villain is a venture capitalist who is trying to profit off of the need for emission controls.  The action, as the title indicates, occurs mostly in the Arctic circle, though there is a healthy dose of Washington DC and other locales as well.

I'm not going to recommend this book based on its literary qualities, because there is no chance of anyone mistaking Cussler for Tolstoy or Arctic Drift for War and Peace.  To be honest, many of the characters are a little wooden and offer little variation or deepening from book to book.  The reader is never in doubt that Pitt and his cronies, no matter how bleak it looks, will win in the end.  Moreover, there is never a question as to whether or not the evil genius or the even more evil henchman will survive the battle.

In spite of all of that, there are several reasons why this book is a worthy read - as long as you know what you're getting into.  The chief reason is its author.  Clive Cussler is a renowned discoverer of lost ships at sea (it was Cussler and his team who first uncovered the wreckage of the Hunley, a confederate submarine from the Civil war, off the coast of Charleston, SC).  In part because of his encyclopedic knowledge of shipwrecks, Cussler's books are always filled with detailed accounts of shipwrecks, and the adventure of discovering the shipwreck is usually integral to the plot of the book.  Shipwrecks, though, are not Cussler's only forte.  He also owns a fleet of classic cars from the 20s-40s and always seems to feature one in his books.

Finally, there is the anticipation of finding Cussler himself in the book.  Every Dirk Pitt book (there are now 20 of them) has a minor character who comes to Pitt's aid at a critical juncture...and who always introduces himself as Clive Cussler.

Look, your kids aren't going to be reading Arctic Drift in English classes and you won't see it win a Pulitzer Prize.  But if you're looking to spend a little time in a world where things always go the way they should and the good never fails to win out in the end, you could do a lot worse than Cussler and his Arctic Drift.

A Deep Well Indeed

(Note: each post that refers to a specific book will include three pieces of information - the title, the author, and the ISBN number.  In other words, all the information that you would need to find the book online or at your local bookstore)

Water From a Deep Well

Gerald L. Sittser

ISBN: 0830834938

I just picked this book up yesterday, after a wonderful member of our church gave me a gift card to the local Christian bookstore as  Christmas present.  I made it through the first three chapters before bed last night, and came away very impressed, dazzled even.

What Sittser sets out to do is provide a brief, engaging history of Christian spirituality from the time of the earliest followers of Christ to the current era.  Distinct from the usual "Church History," Water From a Deep Well doesn't focus on great documents or the foundations of denominations or anything along that line.  Rather, the book focuses on how each group of Christians Sittser addresses (including, among others, Early Christian Martyrs, the Desert Saints, and the Medieval Laity) related to God and lived out their call to follow Jesus.

If you're reading this and thinking that it sounds boring or academic, let me tell you that it is anything but.  Granting that I am a nerd and can enjoy even the most obtuse books, Sittser's writing is both pleasant and captivating.  Each chapter describes the general approach to Spirituality among the group, but also includes a variety of stories of individual Christians, such at Perpetua, the early Christian martyr whose faith was so great that when her executioner faltered, she helped him by guiding his sword to her throat.

More than anything else, though, the book recommends itself for Sittser's attitude about history.  Many church historians take one of two approaches: they either villify the church for its misdeeds or they attempt to sweep all of the church's missteps under the rug.  Sittser takes seriously the two-sidedness of history, writing at one point

"Any movement can go bad, like good food that spoils.  But corruption does not imply worthlessness.  Abusus non tollit usus, reads a famous Latin phrase.  'Abuses do not destroy uses.'"

In short, I heartily recommend this book to all Christians - all the more so to those Christians who want to avoid the all too common modern disconnect between today's faith and yesterday's believers.  We should never forget that we who follow Christ in 2008 do so on the shoulders of those who followed Christ in 1900, and in 1100, and in 500, and in 33 AD.  Sittser's book is definitely a compelling way to remember our past.

A Word of Explanation about the Title...

I decided to name this blog The Bibliomane after first encountering the concept of bibliomania in Joshua Kendall's interesting biography of Peter Mark Roget - The Man Who Made Lists.  Bibliomania is an obsession with books that goes so deep as to be a diagnosable disorder - at least that's bibliomania at its worst.  At its best, bibliomania is a deep fascination with collecting as many tomes as possible, regardless of topic or type.

I fall into the latter category of bibliomanes.  I love books, and am not so much concerned about the author or the topic as to the quality of the book.

In this blog, I will be writing exclusively about books.  Some posts will be about books I've read or am reading.  Others will be about books I'd like to read or great books I've yet to read.  There will be reviews and opinions, questions spurred by reading, and a variety of other writings inspired by, well, writing.  In short, The Bibliomane is a blog about books and a blog dedicated to books.

Enjoy!