Biblical – DaneCobain.com

Philip Pullman – The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ | Review

Title: The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ

Author: Philip Pullman

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 252

Rating 4.5/5

Finally, a retelling that I can get on board with! I’ve never been a fan of retellings as a general rule because I don’t really see the point. Sure, sometimes they can be disruptive, but as a general rule they seem to be used to crowbar inclusivity into fiction, and it seems to me that the best way to be truly inclusive is to create original stories featuring minorities, rather than just rehashing the same story but changing the gender, sexuality or ethnicity of the main character. But perhaps that’s just me.

Here, though, Pullman basically uses a retelling to investigate our attitudes towards religion and ultimately poses some uncomfortable questions for those who follow the Christian faith. Luckily, I’m an atheist, and so I pretty much just read this in the same way that I’d read the bible: as a work of fiction. Except that this has much better story telling.

But I do think you could still enjoy this if you were religious, too. In fact, Pullman’s spin on biblical tales is kind of refreshing, taking a subject matter that I’m not particularly fond of and bringing it to life. I also liked how he managed to make both Jesus and Christ feel like two very different characters, and I know which one I prefer. Read it.

Click here to buy The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ.

Duncan Ralston – Salvage | Review

Title: Salvage

Author: Duncan Ralston

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 348

Rating: 4/5

Duncan Ralston – Salvage

This is a book by an indie author friend of mine, although I guess he’s more of an acquaintance. I came across Ralston back in the day when we were both published by BookTrope, and even though we’ve since gone our separate ways, I still grab his books when I can because he’s a pretty decent horror writer. On a par with a lot of the professionals if you ask me, and that holds true from the quality of the writing to the editing, layout and cover design. When you buy this book, you’re getting the finished article from someone who’s done this before a bunch of times.

In this book, we’re basically dealing with a ghost story that’s set partially underwater. A dude has to look into the mysterious drowning death of his sister and figure out what she was looking for in a town that was buried by water after the construction of a hydroelectric dam. That’s really all I can tell you without spoilers, but what I will say is that if you’re looking for a decent indie horror then this is a good place to start. It’s spooky, the ghosts are downright sinister, and the little lick of religion gives it a sort of Biblical horror feel too, although I was getting kind of tired of that by the end of it. I don’t like religion.

Overall, Salvage isn’t the best book I’ve read this year but then I read a lot. It’s not the best ghost story either because it’s behind Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill, but only by half a rating point. For an indie book, it’s easily in the upper echelons and it can hold its own against a lot of the stuff coming out from major publishers. I enjoyed it for what it was and actually liked it more than I thought I was going to when I went into it. Good job, Duncan. Now which of your books shall I read next?