Review: The Foundlings, Peleg Chronicles, Book 1 by Matthew Christian Harding

The Foundlings, Peleg Chronicles, by Matthew Christian Harding

Genre: Pre-historical Fiction, Action/Adventure

My rating: 7 out of 10 stars

     I first ran across The Peleg Chronicles in the Vision Forum catalog, shortly before VF closed down. At the time I was extremely interested and coveted all three books. The descriptions were intriguing and I felt that they would satisfy my taste for rather fantastic fiction while still in a possible and realistic setting - i.e. they included elements like dragons, giants, dwarfs, and priests (who seemed an awful lot like magicians.) You may be wondering how dragons, giants, and dwarfs could possibly be combined in a realistic setting, but the answer is really quite simple: the time frame of the story is during the days of Peleg, who lived approximately 101 years after the flood. There are strong indications from the Bible, ancient traditions, archaeology, and paleontology that there were still dinosaurs and giants on the earth. Dwarfs? Well, I haven't researched that point, yet.

     I have read only the first book: The Foundlings, and the free Kindle sample of the second book, but I decided not to purchase the second and third books, though possibly I may do so in the future.

Summary:

    Lord McDougal and his faithful servant, Fergus, travel across ancient Scotland toward the fabulous city and fortress of Hradcanny. Along the way they fall in with various adventures (which include dragons/ dinosaurs and giants.) Thiery, a young boy with a natural talent for woodsmanship and working with animals, finds his life suddenly turned upside down when he is targeted by the evil Dragon Priests, and he is thrown upon his own resources - and the gracious protection of Noah's God. Suzie, whose childlike faith and overflowing love and joy in the worst of circumstances make her a light to everyone around her, is separated from her adopted older brother, Thiery, only to find new friends raised up for her just when she needs them most.

     A troubled count, a ruthless and wily priest, and a stubborn and confused, but grateful, pagan soldier play varied and important parts in the story. The Dragon Priests are determined to serve their false gods and stamp out the religion of Noah's God wherever they can, but help comes to Thiery and his friends in the most unexpected places and at the most necessary times.

The Top Eight Influential Books in My Life

     Have you ever considered which books have had the greatest impact on your life? Besides the Bible, which obviously is the most important Book, I have read hundreds, maybe thousands, of books and they all have more or less helped shape my thinking, but in considering which ones really impacted my thinking, only a handful stand out distinctly. Some are thoroughly Christian, such as The Pilgrim's Progress, and some are classics, like Ben Hur. A few are comparatively unknown, or like The Heir of Redclyffe, were once bestsellers, but now receive only a passing mention in some encyclopedia and are almost entirely out of print. Please note that I do not recommend all these books for all readers; this is simply a list of the books that rise above the crowd when I mentally review the literature I have read. They are not listed in order of importance, because I could not decide on which were the most important. Read them, and see for yourself.

Fantasy Series: Fantasy is Addictive

Frankly, I did not mean to write this entire blog post in the style I did, but as it turned out, I felt led just to publish almost the whole thing in story format instead of as an article.  Maybe it will at least be easier to read...

*************

     "Susie, have you completed that assignment on the French Revolution?"
     Susie hastily slid The Return of the King into her desk, picked up her pencil, and was bent over the history book which lay before her, resting her left forefinger beside the paragraph which she was reading, when Mom opened the bedroom door. Mom was pleased to see her being so diligent, but repeated her question as Susie looked up from her book, apparently surprised by her mother's appearance.
     "No ma'am," she answered, pushing away the guilty feeling which told her she should have been working on her research paper instead of reading Tolkien's classic. But that book was just impossible to put down...

My First Book: A project which most of my readers have probably forgotten...

Have you ever had a project that just sort of lingered on and on, and you could not get it quite right?  Well, my first book has been just such a project...

Perhaps a few of you still remember my first attempts at writing, which were dutifully published here on this blog.  What began as a short story turned into a full-length novel, and and it took me about three years to write it.  In the process, I learned a lot about writing, but I also learned that my skills as a writer have lots and lots of room for improvement.  So...  All of that to say, part of the reason I haven't posted the whole book since I "finished" it several months ago, is because I have been wanting to go back through it and re-write the whole thing.  The reason I'm sharing it now is because I hate unfinished projects, and this one feels unfinished until I actually take the leap and share it.

So, please forgive the mistakes, only laugh at the parts that are supposed to be funny, and then let me know if you liked it, and what you think could be improved!

And may the Lord use this for His glory.  (Truly, it doesn't have any of its own!)  :)

Journeying in the Light (full length PDF)

*Please forgive the footnotes being scattered throughout the pages, instead of just at the bottom of pages.  I tried to fix this problem but just couldn't get it right.  :(

Book Review: Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, by Kate Douglas Wiggin

Just in case you can't tell, I'm trying to catch up on posting about various books I have read or listened to recently. If you want to learn about family life, I think you will have to check our family blog.

Maybe sometime I will find time to post some pictures of us...

:)

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm

By Kate Douglas Wiggin

Rating:  6 out of 10 stars

    Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm is a humorous story about a young, imaginative, poetic girl whose lively personality is suddenly superimposed upon her elderly aunts’ strict, sober minded, and extremely practical and thrifty lifestyle.  Similar to Anne of Green Gables in that it is a story about a child with very little in common with her guardians, and focuses more on daily life and small struggles than on any great climax, this book follows Rebecca as she grows, matures, and finally graduates college and inherits her aunts’ home.