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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Black Death with a Twist (Written for BookPleasures.com), October 6, 2009
This review is from: In the Arms of Immortals: A Novel of Darkness and Light (Chronicles Of The Scribe) (Paperback)
The end of the Middle Ages came from the Black Death, a horrific plague that tore through Europe starting in Sicily, Italy, 1347. It destroyed the feudal system and led to more freedom for the average peasant from their lord and more freedom for thinkers from the church. It is in this heady time that the book, In the Arms of the Immortals, takes place.
The tale starts in the modern day with Mariskka Curtis, who has had an incredible stroke of luck. She has risen to superstardom by publishing a book she has stolen from a dying patient. Little did she know that she had stolen a book written by angels and in publishing it has called their attention to her. They realize she is without Blood, without Christ, and she is given an unusual punishment. She is thrown by in the past to witness the horror of the arrival of the Black Death and perhaps save her soul.
The majority of the book takes place in Sicily 1347, the believed starting point of the Black Death in Europe. A stranger arrives in a little sea side town, a rich man who is eagerly welcomed by the nobility of the town. Soon, people start dying horrifically from blood pouring from every opening and skin tainted with large, swollen boils. How could they know the stranger was Death and the battle for good and evil was being fought in the streets of their town, among the dying?
This story is an interesting take on the Black Death. Scientists have stated the Black Death or Bubonic Plague was caused by btites of infected flea, but many first hand reports tells of hemorrhaging and sudden death. This is not consistent with Bubonic Plague. Garrett incorporates both reports and creates a horrifying picture of the Plague that is quite similar to first hand reports. It was as if Death itself suddenly attacked and took almost everyone in a few horrible days.
Also, Garrett turns this tale into something deeper than just a story of death. She takes a little known fact, a stranger was often seen in villages just before the dying started, and creates a wonderful story about good and evil battling it out over the souls of the dying. Souls are struggled over and won and lost as humans suffer and call out for mercy. Its historical fiction kicked up a notch and infused with mysticism. Great stuff and a wonderful read.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another richly textured tale, September 17, 2009
This review is from: In the Arms of Immortals: A Novel of Darkness and Light (Chronicles Of The Scribe) (Paperback)
Normally when I finish reading a book I know exactly what I think about it. The opinion I formalize by writing a review rarely changes over the course of time. However, there are some few, rare titles that continue to dwell in my mind, and in my heart; changing both my perceptions of them, and of myself. One of these rare finds is Ginger Garrett's In the Shadow of Lions the first book in the Chronicles of the Scribe series.
To be honest, I wasn't entirely sure what to make or the first novel - Garrett's writing was much more ambiguous than is typical in Christian fiction, with permeable boundaries, and few lines drawn clearly in the sand. The worlds she creates are filled with characters that reek of the flesh - struggling with sin, their own misunderstandings, and life in general. Rarely are they likeable, but they are certainly authentic.
Despite my initial uncertainty, In the Shadow of Lions stuck to me like a burr. I found myself discussing it time and again with people, either the historical events, or the characters themselves. I couldn't rid myself of the novel; it kept digging deeper into me - lingering, and making a home for itself in my heart.
Naturally, I was overjoyed when the second installment in the series In the Arms of Immortals was released this fall. Easily read as a stand-alone novel, Garret shifts the focus of her new work to Marisska - the bitter, self-absorbed hospice nurse we met briefly in the first novel. The thread of the series is passed on to Marisska as she too encounters the Scribe and angelic beings. Sent back in time to the year 1347 in Sicily, Marisska is unable to communicate with those around her and is perceived as a mad woman as she tries to warn the local citizens of the plague about to befall them - the Black Death.
The theme of spiritual warfare is incredibly well developed in this novel; Garrett's hugely powerful angels are the best fictional depiction I've ever read. Her characters throb with life - excepting the honorable knight Armando, who was somewhat flat. The one character I wanted so dearly to like, if only there was more of him there to read. His relative underdevelopment and an epilogue that jumps to a previously unforeseen conclusion are my only complaints.
Readers who appreciate thoughtful historical fiction should avail themselves of Garrett's work immediately. Her words paint a beautifully, multi-textured story, full of rich emotions, vivid detail, and unforgettable characters. Though I rarely read a novel twice, I'm keeping my copies of the Chronicles of the Scribe series on the shelf - to lend out, and more importantly - to savour once again myself. With only one novel left in the series - In the Eyes of Eternity - I'm hoping that Garrett will continue to write absorbing historical fiction for many years to come.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A different kind of storytelling, November 3, 2009
This review is from: In the Arms of Immortals: A Novel of Darkness and Light (Chronicles Of The Scribe) (Paperback)
Having read three of Ginger Garrett's books, one thing I can say for certain is that her style of Christian fiction is quite unlike any other. She tells stories of women in historical settings, and in a manner that is unquestionably talented but at the same time strange. Her books are very similar to those of Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker, but with a more female slant.
Reading a Ginger Garrett book is like eavesdropping on a conversation where you know nothing about the people who are speaking, and you have to try and figure it all out just from their conversation. There is no "narrator" to fill you in, nor does she weave explanations or backstory into her characters' dialogue as authors often do. No, Ms. Garrett makes her readers work -- you are left totally on your own to try and figure out who these people are, what their relationships are to each other, and what is going on. When you add in the fact that most of the dialogue and characters' thoughts are disjointed and incoherent, and that there is a heavy supernatural element overlaying it all, it adds up to a pretty surreal reading experience. Which is probably the best word I can come up with to summarize Ginger Garrett's books in a nutshell: surreal, with a touch of dark.
This one is set in Sicily in 1347, at the outset of the bubonic plague. There's really not much to the plot, if you boil it all down: the plague sweeps into a little village, decimating the population, and just a few survive. And, like her earlier work In the Shadow of Lions, this book involves a woman who is sent back from the 21st century, as a way to expiate her sins and find redemption.
Although I wouldn't really categorize Garrett's books as historicals (To me they defy categorization. What do you call these books?), she does create a vivid sense of the time and place. Her depiction of the plague is pretty gruesome, but probably realistic. I don't necessarily agree with her interpretation of the supernatural elements, or the conclusions she draws in the epilogue, but I can still appreciate both for their entertainment value.
As in Shadow of Lions, she includes scenes with The Scribe and other angels. And as in Shadow, these beings are depicted as big, burly men. In both books she tries to insert bits of humor between the angels and the 21st century women, but the humor is rather silly and doesn't fit the mood of the books.
Ginger Garrett is without question a talented writer, and I plan on reading her third and final book in this Scribe series. That being said, her style is not my favorite. I read her books because I like variety; it is, after all, the spice of life. But with some spices, a little bit goes a long way!
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