Deception by Randy Alcorn; 2007; Multnomah Books, Colorado Spring, CO ; 490 pages; 978-1-59052-616-3; 9/28-10/3

I saw more of the message of this book, this time around.  I was very intrigued by the Portland setting the first time I read this, back in July of 2007.  This is a book that Josh McDowell would appreciate.

Ollie Chandler is a rumpled homicide detective who looks like a cross between a bulldog, Sam Spade and Mike Hammer.  He wants to be a detective out of Mickey Spillane or Raymond Chandler, but he comes across more as a lovable loser, good at his job, perhaps too good.  Ollies’ mantra is “follow the evidence”  no matter where it leads.  In this case it leads right back to several of the detectives he works with, possibly even back to himself.  He follows every bit of evidence, including several red herrings, tossed in for good measure.  Almost every character in the book is taking part in some sort of deception, even Ollie himself.  This deception is not only occuring on the physical level but also on a spiritual level, Ollie is confronted by the Christian faith throughout the book by two columnists for the Portland Tribune, all three of them have been confronted with death one way or another.  This is a book where the evidence demands a verdict, Ollies friends’ challenge him to examine the evidence and follow it wherever it leads, Ollie resists until the very end, questioning his friends as much as himself.  The Vietnam War, cancer, old age, Downs  syndrome and hypocriscy all figure into the subplots.  The question that this raises for me is not how am I being deceived by others but how am I deceiving myself?  The Portland setting made this interesting with Flying Pie Pizzeria and Dea’s In and Out being places I have been.  RRRR

No longer an official part of the Rebel Alliance, Rogue Squadron fights a guerilla war against Ysanne Isard  who has taken control of Thyferra, the center of Bacta production for the galaxy.  Central to the story here are the interactions among the members of Rogue Squadron and the interactions between Isard and her few followers.  The book is character driven than action driven, the way all the different members of the two groups in central, not to say that there is not lots of action in this book.   It is another great addition to the Star Wars canon.  RRRR

Davis Bunns’ books are so compelling and gripping that I have trouble putting them down to do those that I get paid to do or that need doing around the house.  I have to pick up a book by someone else that I can easily put down.

Brent Stark is an Oscar winner who watched someone else accept his Oscar because he was in prison for driving drunk and almost killing someone.  While he is in prison he comes to faith in God which dramatically changes who he is.  After he gets out he starts a landscaping business and acts in community theatre, never taking the main role and making those he is working with look exteremly good.  He is approached by a group who want him to direct and star in a movie, this group wants to make uplifting family movies of high quality.  After seeking out two people who he had hurt immensely and seeking their forgiveness and participation in the project, he decides to carry on.  Their is a major Hollywood Studio coming out with a similar project at the same time and they do everything in their power to derail the project Brent is involved in.  It is the power of God versus the power of the World, and you can guess who wins.  A real page turner, that was incredibly difficult to put down, I always want more of the story when I am done.  There are two passages in here that I will never forget, one about how a good director galavanizes his crew and the image of the production companys name and logo.  RRRR

Cowboy JayJay Parsons unexpectedly arrives in Hollywood and becomes the star of a TV show that seems to be a dramatization of his life.  Here is a hero for today, knows he is not perfect but has a strong moral compass.  As he lives his life the only way he knows how he exposes the corruption around him and enables those who wish to find the best in themselves.  Throughout the story there are portions that caused goosebumps and even moved me to get choked up.  JayJay is not sure why he is where he is but he gets advice from a pastor who reminds him to lean on his faith.  That faith enables JayJay to deal with what is going on around him and spreads to those around him.  This isn’t preaching but faith being lived out in a natural way on a day to day basis.  I didn’t think I was going to like this after the first two chapters and the plot device used to get JayJay to Hollywood, but the writing is so good that I didn’t to want to put the book down after that.  I believe that I stayed up too late reading and took some extended breaks to read this.  I am now on a Davis Bunn reading binge. RRRR

Reading this I would have thought it was written in the last couple of years.  I heard echoes of Ben Franklins’ remark that those who are willing to sacrifice freedom to have security deserve neither. There were sections that made me think of the Patriot Act, which is interesting since it was written 5 years before 9/11.

Corran Horan is presumed dead and Rogue Squadrons’ executive officer Tycho Celchu is on trial for murder and Treason.  The Empire is waging a guerilla war against the Alliance, and Rogue Squadron is running all over the galaxy fighting all the little battles.  Corran is being tortured to become a weapon of the Empire, and trying to escape from the prison where he is being held.  Rogue Squadron tires of the political games and offically becomes a Rogue Squadron. RRRR

In Controversy Creates Cash you get the autobiography of two men,  Eric Bischoff on camera in the WCW and the WWE and Eric Bischoff, family man and creative guide of WCW.  Bischoff more or less falls into wrestling and then slowly climbs the ladder of responsibility in wrestling circles as Vince McMahon did in the WWE.  When Bischoff takes the reins of the WCW it is a lowly part of Ted Turners’ corporate empire, in a few years Bischoff has made it into one of the most profitable pieces of the pie in the Time Warner-Turner-AOL pie.  What happens when you get too many cooks in the kitchen, especially people who have no idea how to cook?  Everything starts to fall apart and whatever is served is no longer appetizing.  That is what happened to WCW, people from other divisions starting Bischoff how things were going to be done, people who had no idea what wrestling was about and no idea about it’s audience.  Bischoff brought many things into pro wrestling that hadn’t been tried before, things that are taken for granted now.  Things like the luchadore style of wrestling, long term storylines, storylines based in reality (saw Triple H and Jeff Hardy do a promo like this last Monday on RAW) and many other innovations.  In a interesting development after WCW went bankrupt and was bought by WWE the McMahons have used Bischoffs’ character in some of their storylines.  An interesting insight into the Monday Night Wars.  RRR

From Mack Senetts’ Keystone Kops to Yak Cannutt in Ben-Hur to Debbie Evans and Ronie Rondell and Zoe Bell of Deathproof Kevin Conley presents a history of stunts and stuntpeople.  He profiles the early pioneers who were cowboys and more or less just did whatever was asked with little or no preparation and no safety equipment.  Then he moves onto people like Yak Cannutt who used a lot of rehearsal and safety precautions on movies sequences such as the chariot race in Ben Hur.  Then he profiles several current stunt people who are currently working on movies like The Punisher and Matrix.  These stuntpeople run the gamut from an uber crazed adrenadline junkie to those who are working to make what they do as safe as possible.  The author also pulls open the curtain and shows us what is behind it and how some of the stunts are done.  He even participates in a few stunts, including a full burn which he uses for his author photo.    This is an awesome look at the people who are just as, if not more important, than the actors.  I really enjoyed this look behind the scenes. RRRR

The followup to Heartsick, Gretchen Lowell and Archie Sheridan continue their dysfunctional dysfunctional (yes I meant to type that twice) relationship.  Gretchen is being held in the state pen in Salem while Archie continues as a detective on the Portland Police Force.  There appears to be a change in their relationship, but appearances can be deceiving.  As Archie and Henry are confronted with new bodies in Forest Park, a scandal is unfolding involving a sitting senator and his alleged statutory rape of his babysitter, (sound familiar Oregonians).  Gretchen manages to escape and engulfs Archie in her web.  In an unusual twist for today’s mysterys the two cases never come together.  Chelsea Cain has come up with a highly unusual killer and a great cast of characters.  No one is totally evil or heroic, every one is flawed but real.  I am looking forward to more fiction from Chelsea, especially with this cast of characters.  RRRR

I wanted to read this to see what I could discover about some differences I had observed amongst the various groups of people who volunteer at the bookstore.  The volunteers there range in age from their 80’s to their 20’s.  There are all sorts of differences in the way they look at work, the way they  deal with technology and the way they see work/life balance among other things.  This book is a comprehensive look at how generational differences affect how we work together and how we need to market our opportunities and how we may need to change to meet the culture of generations to come.  I will be buying a copy of this to write in and mark up.  RRRR