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Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Monmouth Public Library | Fic (sf) Tyers, K. 2000 | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Exiled from her own world as a traitor, Lady Firebird must return and be confirmed as an heiress to her royal family is a bloody civil war is to be averted.
Reviews (2)
Booklist Review
YA mystery writer Baer turns to adult fiction with Jenny's Story, first in a series about three women who were childhood friends and featuring Jenny Owens, an average middle-class wife whose world is shattered when her husband of 12 years is accidentally killed. Tia Warden and Libby Morrison (the childhood friends) try to help, but then the other shoe drops: readers learn that Jenny's husband was a secret sinner, addicted to casino gambling and women. Fortunately, there's a new man on the scene, Michael, whom Jenny knew as a teenager but didn't trust. Michael draws lessons for life from gardening, and his wry, bashful courtship gradually wins Jenny over. On behalf of ChiLibris, an evangelical writers' group, Carlson gathered some 40 unformulaic stories with exotic locations for The Storytellers' Collection. The stories are uniformly excellent. Sigmund Brouwer offers a grim historical tale of Christian martyrdom, "At the Village Gate," but most of the stories have contemporary settings, such as Athol Dickson's moving tale, "Hannah's Home," about an unhappy adopted girl who returns to rural Mexico in search of her birth mother, and Sharon Ewell Foster's "A Trip to Senegal," about an African American woman's trip to Senegal and discovery of faith while getting her hair done. Other writers include Randy Alcorn, Angela Elwell Hunt, Jerry Jenkins, Terri Blackstock, Lauraine Snelling, Dave Jackson, and Gayle Roper. Cutrer's and Glahn's Lethal Harvest is a fine medical thriller centering on the apparent disappearance of one member, Tim Sullivan, of a partnership running a fertility clinic in Washington, D.C. Sullivan is related to the current U.S. president and, like him, carries a recessive gene for akenosis, a neurological disease that results in quick deterioration of motor function. When the disease begins to affect the president, Sullivan's death is faked by government operatives, and he begins accelerated research into akenosis using DNA implantation techniques. Meanwhile, one of Sullivan's partners confuses clones of discarded eggs (which, unknown to him, Sullivan was using for research) with the correct eggs for implantation, and twins that are clones of their mother result. A lawsuit arises, and the clinic is bombed, the mysteries of which fall to the third partner, Ben McCay, an obstetrician and chaplain, to unravel. Some of the thriller aspects of Lethal Harvest are shaky, but the authors' treatment of DNA research is so well informed and compelling that their novel should have wide appeal. Gulley's funny Front Porch Tales (1997) was much admired, selling a quarter of a million copies. Sometimes, the ironies of Home to Harmony rise to guffaws, but more often gentle and nostalgic would be better words to describe the anecdotal sermons of Gulley's alter ego, Quaker minister Sam Gardner of Harmony, Indiana. Typical is "The Aluminum Years," in which self-effacing Sam mulls over what aluminum item to give his wife for their tenth anniversary; he settles on diet soda--attached to a diamond ring. As funny but more cautionary is his tale of the World's Shortest Evangelist, a former pro wrestler who comes dressed in fatigues to preach of spiritual warfare. Gulley is one of a kind. Sprinkle's Remember Box is modeled on To Kill a Mockingbird, with 11-year-old Carley Marshall standing in for Scout and Carley's Uncle Stephen, a progressive Presbyterian minister in the podunk South Carolina town of Job's Corner, standing in for Atticus Finch. Like Atticus, Uncle Stephen rises to the defense of an innocent black man, and like Scout, Carley matures as she witnesses these dark events. Sprinkle, known for her mysteries with rich southern settings, competently evokes the 1950s hysteria over Communism and racism, and her characterizations, particularly of the sullen black servant, Raifa, are filled with wisdom. But it's hard to escape the feeling you've been here before. The tales of Lady Firebird conclude with Tyers' Crown of Fire, sequel to Firebird (1999) and Fusion Fire (2000). Firebird, from the decadent planet Netaia, was born a wastling, doomed to a glorious death in combat against the Ehretan Federate. But she's captured and falls in love with General Brennen, a telepath and leader of the Sentinels--the good guys. Firebird joins the Sentinel cause to subdue a renegade band of powerful telepaths called the Shuhr, whose defeat is also desired by the "Eternal Speaker," or God. Tyers is a busy writer with a confusing array of characters and settings, and she leans heavily on Star Wars. Firebird's rejection of Netaia's rigid religion and the idea of a culture based on ruthless eugenics prove intriguing, as do certain minor characterizations, such as that of Terza, a young eugenics technician who, in support of the war effort, is forced to bear a child the old-fashioned way. Not unlike Walter Wangerin's recent efforts to deliver the Bible in fictional form, Woolley's Pillar of Fire is a novelization of portions of the Book of Mormon, the first of a projected seven volumes. Set in 601 B.C., the novel centers on a brusque, unsavory character from 1 Nephi, Laban, who has come into possession of Hebrew ancient texts (brass plates) and a mystical sword symbolizing Jewish lineage. After the war with Babylon, Laban has risen to Captain of the Guard and has ambitions to become king of Israel; opposing him are Lehi and Uriah, leaders of a sect who prophesy the coming of a messiah. Woolley interweaves biblical, Mormon, and fictional characters in this sprawling though effective tale, of great appeal to Mormon readers but likely to seem obscure to non-Mormons. Wright's Velma Still Cooks in Leeway features stories and recipes from Velma Brendle of Leeway, Kansas, an aging widow who runs the town's only cafe. There's the shy girl date-raped by a popular boy; no one believes the girl except Velma, but, like the pastor and the boy's parents, Velma knows the disaster that will result if the girl's story is allowed to be true. There are the stories of the man who suddenly, inexplicably, leaves his wife and family; the trustworthy mechanic who gossips too much; and the loquacious busybody who falls down a flight of stairs and is reduced to incoherency. Characters crisscross, resulting in a novel composed of small sorrows, celebrating faith as a matter of course, quietly triumphant. Wright is a rarity on the Christian scene, a realist, and her Velma is in every way a worthy successor to her fine debut novel, Grace at Bender Springs [BKL O 1 99].
Library Journal Review
The only heir to the throne of Netaia able to guarantee the planet's stability, Firebird and her husband, Sentinel Brennen Caldwell, return home for her to be sworn in. Meanwhile, Brennen struggles to recover from his torture by the Shuhr on the planet Three Zed. After and assassination attempt of Firebird, a rebel Shuhr brings a terrible secret to the Caldwells that threatens the future of Brennen's family, prophesied to be the vessel of the Master Singer's (God's) return. In this stirring conclusion to the fantastic "Firebird Trilogy" (Firebird, Fusion Fire), Tyers continues her realistic portrayal of Firebird's struggle to come to terms with her developing belief in the Master Singer while providing even more thrills and adventure. For all collections. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.