Nathan James Norman
  • Blog
  • Writer
  • Pastor
  • Bookshelf
  • Links
  • Contact

Nathan James Norman

Husband. Father. Pastor.
Storyteller. Reader. Comic Fan.
Slave of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Orchard Church

Review: The Tears of Nero

8/25/2014

3 Comments

 
Picture
Summary: When a madman calling himself Nero abducts five strangers to a mysterious island, events are set in motion that may very well trigger the catastrophic events of the Book of Revelation. These five strangers quickly discover that Nero intends to torment these five people in his sadistic games as he asks the question, "Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?"

Review: Jason Brannon opens The Tears of Nero with explosive intrigue and action. The reader, like the protagonists, are thrown right into the conflict without reason or explanation. This is a gutsy move on Brannon's part. On the one hand, it grabs the reader's attention. On the other hand, though, it results in very little upfront characterization. Indeed, the opening chapters of the novel are propelled forward by plot and not by the characters. But something interesting happens as the five strangers traverse the dangers and traps of the island... as they get to know each other, we begin to bond with them. It took me time to care about most of the characters, but before I knew it, I really did.

The Tears of Nero is an amalgam of genres. Adventure, spy, supernatural tale, and esoteric religious thriller all accurately describe this story.

This book took me a long time to read. Not because it is massive (although it is long) or because it was boring. By no means! Personal life events severely limited my free time. The result, though, was that I was able to spend months inside this supernatural mystery. The story built over months, and the tension paid off in the end.

I only have mild criticisms for the book. The Nero character's timeline of life events didn't always seem to add up for me. And the main crux of the book, Why does God allow bad things happen to good people? has a reasonable answer by the end of the book, but as a theologian I anticipated a more robust response to this age-old "problem of evil."

Beyond those hiccups I enjoyed the world Jason Brannon has created. And while this is a stand-alone novel, Brannon sews into the narrative a few subplots that will work their way into a follow-up novel.

Fans of spy, cult-plots, supernatural warfare and religious thrillers should check out The Tears of Nero. It's a great book.

Rating: 4.5/5 (I REALLY Liked It!)

Picture
If you want to check out Jason Brannon's writing style, be sure to listen to his short story, "The Fourth Key" featured on Episode 12 of the Untold Podcast!

Picture
(Same name... Different Nero!)
3 Comments

The Crossover Alliance Anthology Trailer

8/20/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
The Crossover Alliance is releasing a short story anthology next month.

Spearheaded by David N. Alderman, the Crossover Alliance
is a community built around readers and writers of edgy Christian speculative fiction.

I have two stories in the upcoming anthology. One is an absolutely disgusting piece I wrote years ago. It is both disturbing and intensely biblical. Up until now, there was simply no place appropriate to publish it. The second story is the single most beautiful narrative I have ever written.

So, there is ugliness and beauty.

Sounds a lot like real life, right?

You can check out the book trailer below, and find more information about the upcoming book over at the Crossover's website.

0 Comments

Review: Elders in the Life of the Church

8/15/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
Summary: Phil A Newton and Matt Schmucker explore the role of elders in the church through personal experience, historical evidence, contemporary support and the biblical text itself.

Review: Once again I find myself in a book that came along just at the right time. In the church I serve it is a public matter that the Administration Team is reworking our constitution. One of the major changes we are moving toward is having a plurality of elders.

Elders in the Life of the Church is a timely and helpful guidebook toward this transition.

It is written largely for a Baptist audience, which tends to have a single elder (pastor) and perhaps a deacon board which functions as both an elder board and deacon/servants.

Newton and Schmucker explore the biblical evidence for a plurality of elders leading the church very well. They also point to the difficulties of transitioning from a single elder model, and help their readers navigate some of those problems.

Furthermore, I appreciated their balanced approach. They are not making a call in this book to get rid of the senior pastor, but instead for the senior pastor to be joined in his duties by godly persons who will lead the church with him.

I found many of their keen insights timely for my own transitional process. They give practical guidelines for this transitional process. They even go as far to give a script for the ordaining/installation of new elders (as well as a charge to the congregation)!

Overall, this book will be useful for persons who need a robust look at elder plurality in the New Testament. It will also be useful for churches trying to transition into the biblical model.

Rating: 5/5 (I Loved It!
)

Find it at Kregel here.
Find it at Amazon here.


Picture
Note: I received a physical copy of this book for free in exchange for an unbiased review.
0 Comments

    RSS Feed

    Picture

    Categories

    All
    Adoption
    Art
    Axiom
    Beowulf
    Christmas
    Comics
    Drabble
    Flash Fiction
    Foster Care
    Good Friday
    Humor
    Infertility
    Interviews
    Memes
    Music
    Politics
    Practical
    Preaching
    Reviews
    Speculative
    Theology
    Tragedy
    Trinity Watch
    Untold Podcast
    Video
    Writing

    Blog Roll

    Albert Mohler
    Breakpoint
    Christian Humanist
    Christian Geek Central
    Critical Press Media
    David N. Alderman
    Doug Geivett

    Good Book Blog
    Living With Cogan
    Open Biola
    Project Rooftop
    Reasonable Faith
    Running Slowly w/ Kids
    Spirit Blade Underground
    Strangers and Aliens
    The Table Podcast
    This Old Farmhouse

    Archives

    April 2022
    March 2022
    November 2021
    August 2021
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    March 2020
    October 2019
    September 2019
    February 2019
    October 2018
    September 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    February 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012