Thursday, 27 March 2025

The Second Skater of the Apocalypse - Fiorella De Maria - Skaters Book 2

The Second Skater of the Apocalypse
Skaters Book 2
Magnificat
ISBN 9781621645917
eISBN 9781639671229
ASIN B0DXCDYBL4


Wow, what a heart-warming, wonderful family story about life during the first lockdown! But I get ahead of myself. This is the eighteenth time I have read a work by Fiorella De Maria. I have read all of her works but one of her non-fictions and I have read a couple of them more than once. This is the second in a new series jointly published by Ignatius Press and Mangificat. The category lists it as good for readers 9-18 making it tween, teen and young adult. But to be honest it is a great novel for readers of any age. Both the first and second volumes are excellent, and I can only hope that de Maria writes many more in the series.

The description of the book is:

“With both realism and humor, this heartwarming novel describes the joys and the challenges of a modern English family. Like its prequel, My Family and Other Skaters, it features the ups, the downs, and the sometimes-hilarious mishaps of six figure-skating brothers and sisters. In this story, the family's joy and resilience are put to the test during the COVID pandemic.”

And the author bio states:

“Fiorella De Maria, was born in Italy of Maltese parents. She grew up in Wiltshire, England, and attended Cambridge University, where she received a Bachelor’s in English Literature and a Master’s in Renaissance Literature. She lives in Surrey with her husband and children.  A winner of the National Book Prize of Malta, she has published four other novels with Ignatius Press: Poor Banished Children, Do No Harm, We'll Never Tell Them and the first Father Gabriel mystery, The Sleeping Witness.”

This story continues the tale of a family of figure skaters. This story begins with New Year’s 2020. The family is preparing for the season’s skating events. The family has helped a friend get back on his feet. They have a lot on the good, with school, work, the mother’s writing career, and of course skating. But soon the first lockdown is announced and all their plans change. 

Reading this volume was heart-warming. Reading how this family dealt with this situation was awesome. Their faith and service to others is inspiring. This novel and series really remind me so much of Madeleine L’Engle’s Chromos novels. In that it is real time, realistic experiences of the somewhat old-fashioned family. This could be a family you know from school, church or the rink. It could also be your family or part of your extended family. 

The characters are masterfully written. You will fall in love with this family and rejoice in their victories and feel sorry for their difficulties. The family and family dynamics are wonderfully written. As the oldest of three there was much I could relate to. Except for 2 of us were the hockey players on the ice before the figure skaters. But I have known many skaters over the years and this book captures many stories I heard from friends.

I have a dual form of dyslexia and my son had eye tracking issues and we both greatly prefer digital books. I was very thankful the eBook and physical book released at the same time. Because of my dyslexia I did not read much when a child, I read a lot of Madeleine L’Engle’s works in my twenties, this book and series really have that feel to them.

This is a wonderful novel, about a very difficult time. This is a volume that would be an excellent edition to any church, school, or home library. It is story that I can easily recommend. And it will leave you wanting more. I can easily recommend this book. And keep your eyes out for future books from the masterful pen of Fiorella. 

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2025 Catholic Reading Plan! 


My Family and Other Skaters - Fiorella De Maria - Skaters Book 1
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Wednesday, 26 March 2025

Cross Over - Declan Finn - Honeymoon from Hell Book 4

Crossover
Honeymoon from Hell Book 4
Declan Finn
ISBN 9798305398601
eISBN 9798227373298
ASIN B0DJBDZWZY
 
Cross Over - Declan Finn - Honeymoon from Hell Book 4

This is the 51st volume I have read from the masterful pen of Declan Finn, I read most in under a year after first discovering his works. I read them at the pace of about a book a week. This is the fourth story in the Honeymoon from Hell series, and the eighth novel (there are some shorter works out there) featuring Marco Catalano and Amanda Colt and it is another amazing story. There are 5 planned in this series, or this part of Amanda and Marco’s story. At the ends of the previous story we knew where they are headed next and just the mention of joining Tommy Nolan of the St Tommy NYPD fame and man what a team they make. But I am getting ahead of myself, back to the volume at hand. 

The description of this volume states:

“Amanda Colt and Marco Catalano's original honeymoon has been extended by an all-expense paid trip to Rome. After fighting off vampires, wendigos, elves, necromancers and mad scientists, the Vatican Ninjas have decided to add to their training.

There is one other students will cross their path: NYPD Detective Thomas Nolan. He has had his own share of nightmare encounters with the forces of darkness.

But devilish things are afoot in Rome. Noises are coming from the catacombs. A film crew is afoul with monsters.

When these three cross over to join forces, they just have to make certain they're not going to cross over for good.”

The chapters in this volume are:

An Offer We’re Going to Refuse
Tommy
Over the Hills and Far Away
Shoot First
Dead Inside
Arrival
Saint, Meet Monster
Controlled Environment
Tightly Wrapped
Unleash Hell
Out of the Dark
After Action
Gunfight at Saint Peter’s Corral
Time to Kill
Shoe Leather
Blind Alleys
Hot Gates
All Hell
Breaking Loose
Death Match
Delusions of Adequacy
Now You Coliseum
After Party

We have a convoluted cast of characters in this story and it ties to many of Finn’s other series in one way or another. And crossovers with more than one of Finn’s other series. For not only is Tommy Nolan and his family dropped in this story but one of their trainers is Sean AP Ryan. This story is the fourth in this series but according to Finn for fans of Saint Tommy, NYPD this story comes between book 6 Deus Vult and book 7, Coven in that series. It also contains some of the material from Principle Necromancy which was released as a short story in the world.

I an still surprised we have not seen either Father Richard Freeman or Father Michael Pearson appear, there are still the final volume to go. In an older edition of Madeline L’Engle’s Space Quartet there was a family tree that included her Kairos, Chromos Series as well as other volumes including her non-fiction. I am beginning to feel like someone needs to make such a character tree for Finn’s ever expanding canon of work. But back to the book at hand.

The events in this story take place over I believe just a few days. The main story is Marco’s and Amanda’s continued honeymoon. They are in Rome to train with the Vatican Ninjas, and train with Tommy a cop from New York. If the story had gone on much longer the city might not have survived. For they had battles with Etrucsan mummies, a necromancer, vampire, evil spirits, and much, much more. This story if even full of Finn’s action, adventure and battles a mix of improvised weapons, the normal weapons of Marco at Tommy’s batman like utility belt of sacred items. 

We have Marco, Amanda, and Tommy chasing down a new threat and racking up body counts even higher than John Wick. They are in a new place, and with new friends and backup, and yet trouble seems to find them again. It was almost impossible to put this book down. As the penultimate volume in the series it was amazing and leaves you desperate for the final piece in the series. 

It is another great read from Finn’s masterful. A book and series I can easily recommend.  

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2024 Catholic Reading Plan! 

Books by Declan Finn:
Love At First Bite Series:

The Last Survivors Series:
…

Convention Killings Series:
…

Pius Series:
A Pius Legacy
A Pius Stand
Pius History
Pius Tales (Anthology)
…
Pius Trilogy Short Stories:
...

St. Tommy Series:

Top Secret Service Series:

Dances with Werewolves Series:
…
…

White Ops Series:
…

Land&Sea Season 2:
...

Other books:
...

Anthologies contributed to:
Luna: Planetary Anhtology Series Book 2
Supernatural Streets
Starflight: Tales From The Starport Lounge
Tales of the Once and Future King
Mercury: Planetary Anthology Series Book 4
Venus: Planetary Anthology Series Book 5
Mars: Planetary Anthology Series Book 7
Places Beyond the Wild: A Z-Day Anthology
Shoot the Devil: Ten Tales of Humans Defeating the Demonic
Fantastic Schools, Volume 6
Fantastic Schools Staff 7 Staff
Shoot the Devil 2 Dark Matter
Beast Hunt Volume 1
...
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Tuesday, 25 March 2025

10 Things Pope Benedict Wants You To Know - John L. Allen Jr. - CTS Books

10 Things Pope Benedict Wants You to Know
ISBN 9781860824616
CTS Booklet DO767

10 Things Pope Benedict Wants You To Know - John L. Allen Jr. - CTS Books

ISBN 9780764816727
eISBN 9780764865138
ASIN B079567T8K

10 Things Pope Benedict Wants You To Know - John L. Allen Jr. - Liguori

Over the last few years, I have read several of books by and about Pope Benedict XVI, many from the Catholic Truth Society. Of the popes in my lifetime, I find his writings of immense spiritual benefit. I would state that I underappreciated him until his resignation. And since then, I have read much. And with each piece I read I appreciate his wisdom, faith, and stand against modernism. And nearly every time I finish one, I find another I want to read. This one was mentioned at the end of a previous booklet, I had never heard of it. I tracked down a used out-of-print CTS edition but it was damaged and missing pages. So I picked up the Liguori edition and finished it with the eBook from them. This was another excellent read, it is about Benedict XVI’s thoughts and teachings. It is a wonderful little read. 

The descriptions of the book is:

“As leader of the world's largest Christian denomination, Pope Benedict wants modern men and women to recognize the teachings of the Catholic faith with new eyes. He wants us to look "back to the basics" but in an intelligent, provocative and attractive fashion. For the pope, Christianity is not merely a set of rules and prohibitions, but a resounding "yes" to human dignity and the embrace of a loving God.

In this concise piece, well-known Vatican inside observer John Allen, Jr. shares his observations on the ten most important things he believes Pope Benedict XVI wants all Catholics to know. The basis for his conjectures comes not from Allen's own personal perspectives, but from the writings and speeches of the Holy Father.”

The chapters in this volume are:

 Introduction
 1 God Is Love
 2 Jesus Is Lord
 3 Truth and Freedom Are Two Sides of the Same Coin
 4 Faith and Reason Need One Another
 5 The Eucharist Is the Heart of the Christian Life
 6 Christianity Is a Positive Message
 7 The Church Forms Consciences but Stays Out of Politics
 8 The Importance of Catholic Identity
 9 Christ and the Church Are Inseparable
10 The Virtue of Patience

I highlighted numerous passages while reading this booklet, and could have easily doubled the number. Here are some of them:

“THOUGH POPE BENEDICT XVI is one of the most accomplished Roman Catholic theologians of his era, the aim of his pontificate is not the construction of a new “grand theory” for Catholic theology. Neither is his goal to remake the Catholic Church according to the personal tastes and inclinations of Joseph Ratzinger.”

“Benedict’s top priority is to reintroduce the fundamentals of the Christian gospel and of Catholic tradition to the modern world, striving to illustrate their coherence with the deepest truths of human existence.”

“You won’t find a lot of complicated theological concepts or breathtaking new ideas, for Benedict isn’t interested in pushing the envelope of theological discussion. What’s creative about him is, rather, the fresh way he explains core Christian teachings.”

“Eros must be transformed through “a path of ascent, renunciation, purification and healing” into agape, meaning the complete gift of oneself for another.”

“Benedict wants to assure his readers that the gospels are reliable witnesses to Jesus. They teach us that the Jesus of history and the Christ of faith are one and the same figure: the Living Son of God, made flesh. Placing Christ at the center is Benedict’s modus operandi, and proper “Christology,” meaning teaching about Christ, is the dominant doctrinal concern of his papacy.”

“There can be no humane social order or lasting moral progress, he says, apart from a right relationship with God, and it is Jesus Christ who reveals God’s face to us.”

“Preaching Christ is not a distraction, he believes, from building a better world—it is building a better world.”

“Benedict realizes that many people unconsciously endorse this “dictatorship of relativism” because they want to be free, meaning that they don’t want to live on the basis of someone else’s truths.”

“Real freedom does not mean freedom to exploit the poor, to hate one’s neighbor, or to sacrifice unborn life; it means the freedom to realize our highest potential as sons and daughters of God.”

“Truth, for Benedict XVI, is the doorway through which one must walk in order to be “free” in the fullest sense of the word.”

“Benedict’s desire is to lead contemporary Catholics back to the fundamentals of our faith, to remind us of that deep “yes” that lies beneath our specific “no’s” on hot-button cultural debates.”

“In other words, the pope wants Christians to let the “good news” of their faith shine through their own lives, so that its inner beauty can again become clear in a world accustomed to thinking of Christianity as little more than a fussy legal system. That doesn’t make the law less important or valid, but Benedict realizes that one doesn’t stir hearts with law, but with love.”

“IN A MARCH 20, 2007, address to Italian businesspeople, Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone, the Vatican’s Secretary of State and a longtime intimate of Pope Benedict XVI, said that the “overall goal” of Benedict’s papacy is to defend authentic Christian identity in a world marked by religious relativism.”

“Benedict worries, in too many areas the Catholic Church has gradually assimilated to this ethos, absorbing its worldview like secondhand smoke. The result is that some Catholics, and some Catholic institutions, are shaped more by the values of secular modernity than the tradition of the Church.”

I hope those quotes give you a feel for this volume. It is an excellent little read an primer on the thought and teachings of Pope Benedict XVI. I can’t help but wonder if Allen were to update this volume, especially now as all of Pope Benedict’s works are being released in English if he would pick the same 10 or expand the list to 15.

This volume was an excellent little volume and easy to engage with. If you have not read much by Benedict XVI you will come away with a list of items to read. It is well worth a read. Another excellent volume based on the writings and teachings of Pope Benedict. I can easily recommend it.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2025 Catholic Reading Plan! For other reviews of books from the Catholic Truth Society click here.


Books by Benedict XVI:
Jesus, the Apostles and the Early Church and Church Fathers 
...                

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Monday, 24 March 2025

Madness of Worlds - Karina Fabian - Madness of Kanaan Book 3

Madness Of Worlds
Madness of Kanaan Book 3
Karina Fabian
Laser Cow Press
ISBN 9781956489200
ASIN B0DZ54QB8Y

Madness of Worlds - Karina Fabian - Madness of Kanaan Book 3

Wow! What an incredible story. It is my great loss that it took me so long to get around to reading this series. More about that below. Each time I read a book by Fabian, no matter the series, I think ‘it can’t get better than this’ and yet somehow it almost most often does. This story amazed me, yet again! I had had the eBooks of the original edition since 2011 and 2013 but had not got around to reading them. Last year I reached out to Fabian and was informed that the series was being republished this year, more on that below. For some reason I kept skipping over this series even though I have read almost everything Fabian has in print, and some out of print I tracked down. That was my loss, after reading the first 3 I can’t wait for the final instalment which I know is a bit of a side story. This was an excellent read! 

The description of this volume states:

“Deryl isn't crazy; he's psychic.

Deryl has mastered his psychic abilities, escaped the asylum on Earth where he was being studied, and thwarted the alien Master who would have forged him into a weapon. He has gained a new home among the psychics of Kanaan and, with the coming birth of his daughter, a family as well.

But darkness still looms, as the enemy prepares to invade Deryl’s new homeworld. With planets set to collide, Deryl will have to accept his role as savior of both worlds, and push his mind’s powers to the limit in order to save those he loves.”

I said volume one was an intense powerful story, book 2 took it to a whole new level. This volume changed it both in size and scale. And All 4 of our key characters grow and go through some incredible experiences. This book was so terribly hard to put down, but due to a crazy week at work and three teenagers at home I had to several times. I read it over 5 few days, which is much longer than a novel normally takes me. Every time I had to put it down, I wished I was not in that position. 

I have to admit I loved Deryl’s story and plot but also greatly appreciated the story arcs for Joshua and Sachiko. The start of this story really threw me off kilter. Where the last story ended I was expecting this to go a very different direction; but to start with the turmoil in Joshua, both with Sacjiko and his mother’s illness. Then to have Deryl just zap in and pick them up. It was crazy. Intense! And it worked so well. And I have met more than a few personalities in life that would be close to Dr. Malachai, and it was great to see the encounter with him towards the end. 

This story is high fantasy written incredibly well. Strange worlds, strange powers, special abilities. And throughout it all a weaving of faith and finding our path even if it means going through very difficult forgiveness. This is Christian fiction written incredibly well. It reminds me so much of L’Engle’s works, or a more modern version of them. 

In the acknowledgements at the end of the first story Kabian informs us this story was based on a shorter work originally written in 1986. It was first published in 2010 by Dragon Moon. She states:


“Fast forward to 2010, and Dragon Moon. Gwen Gades loved the book, but hated the title (which was Asylum Psychic.) She held the contract hostage until I had a better title. I went to my great friends at The Writers Chat Room (writerschatroom.com) who brainstormed with me until we came up with Mind Over… Mind Over Mind was the first; then Mind Over Psyche and Mind Over All. I couldn’t squeeze the Joshua/Sachiko wedding in, and some readers complained, so I completed the set with Hearts Over Mind.” 

and also:

“In 2023, I got the rights to the Mind Over trilogy back, just as an editor friend was telling me how much she’d loved the books. Thus encouraged by Rebecca Martin, I decided to republish them. I was never sold on the title, especially Mind Over Psyche, so I asked my friends at the Catholic Writers Guild for suggestions. Mark Baker came up with Madness of Kanaan: Madness Bound, Madness Unbound, Madness of Worlds, and Madness of Love.

So much love and adventure went into this book. Thanks again to all my supporters and to the gracious God who led me to this calling.”
 
This book is another amazing read from the masterful pen of Karin Fabian. I regret not having read this series earlier. Do not make my mistakes pick this up and read the book and series. It is certain to entertain. Another amazing read well done Karina well done.       

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2025 Catholic Reading Plan!


Dex Hollister Series:
The Old Man and the Void
Dex's Way
...

Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator Series :
Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator
I Left My Brains in San Francisco
Shambling in a Winter Wonderland
…

DragonEye PI Series:
DragonEye PI Novels:

Space Traipse Series:
Space Traipse: Hold My Beer, Season 1
Space Traipse: Hold My Beer, Season 2
Space Traipse: Hold My Beer, Season 3
Space Traipse Stories
…

Madness of Kanaan Series:
(formerly The Mind Over Series)

Edited by: Karina Fabian:
Infinite Space, Infinite God I
Leaps of Faith
Infinite Space, Infinite God II
...


Contributed to:
Firestorm of Dragons
The Zombie Cookbook
The Book of Tentacles
Twisted Fayrie Tales
FRIGHTLINER: And Other Tales of the Undead
Mother Goose is Dead
Word by Word: Slowing Down with the Hail Mary
Image and Likeness Literary Reflections on the Theology of the Body
Corrupts Absolutely? Dark Metahuman Fiction
Weird Noir
The Complete Guide to Writing Paranormal Novels
Manifesto UF
Avenir Eclectia
Planetary Anthology: Jupiter
Planetary Anthology: Pluto
Planetary Anthology: Luna
Planetary Anthology: Uranus
FlagShip Science Fiction and Fantasy v2i5
My Little Book of Headdesks
To Be Men: Stories Celebrating Masculinity
...


Madness of Kanaan Series Covers:

Madness Bound - Karina Fabian - Madness of Kanaan Book 1

Madness Unbound - Karina Fabian - Madness of Kanaan Book 2

Madness of Worlds - Karina Fabian - Madness of Kanaan Book 3

Madness of Love - Karina Fabian - Madness of Kanaan Book 4

Original Mind Over Series Covers:

Mind over Mind - Karina Fabian - Mind Over Book 1

Mind over Psyche - Karina Fabian - Mind Over Book 2

Mind over All - Karina Fabian - Mind Over Book 3

Hearts Over Mind - Karina Fabian - Mind Over Book 4


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