reviews

An Unexpected Teenage Savior: Coming of Age in a Medieval Nunnery Author: Lauren Groff The year is 1158, and 17-year-old Marie, who comes from France, has just been banished to a damp, destitute abbey in England, where she is to assume the role of prioress. (The reason for her banishment is a disturbing story unto itself, centering on rape, jealousy, and great desire.) After she arrives on horseback, tall, sharp-featured Marie finds that the work awaiting her at the abbey is not for the faint of heart. With 14 nuns dead from the plague in just one week, and inadequate [...]

A Raistlin Adventure Author: Kevin Stein After reading the Dragonlance Chronicles series and following that with the Twins trilogy, I was firmly enthralled by the sardonic, tricky mage with the golden hourglass eyes: the unforgettable and slightly romantic, deliciously conflicted Raistlin. Not to say that the other characters weren’t also unforgettable and poignantly relatable: Tanis with his complicated choices and divided loyalties, Riverwind and Goldmoon with the staff and a tumultuous destiny, Strum with his unshakable sense of honor, Raistlin’s happy-go-lucky brother Caramon, the grumpy Flint with his longing for the caverns, and even the often times annoying Kender, Tas. But [...]

An Insightful Beginner's Text Author: David T. Lamb I’ve recently started to indulge in apologetic texts, specifically focusing on the Old Testament. Many of us (Christian or otherwise) have been inundated with the New Testament and are familiar with its themes, but the Old Testament remains a bit of a Wild West. It often gets forgotten, even though Jesus’ teachings are directly based on the foundation set in the Old Testament. The authenticity of his being the Christ directly corresponds and is verified by the prophesies of Isaiah, among others. Because the Old Testament gets forgotten so much, we often [...]