4 out of 5 stars ****
An enjoyable look at life through the eyes of a college football athlete known for his remarkable role in a miraculous play. This protagonist is played by John Cena who is very appropriate for the part. The 64th man is the last player cut from a professional roster and it sends this dejected individual into years of discovery that life is more than football. A love interest spices up the action along the way with an on-again-off-again relationship. The humor works because of the apt portrayals by supporting characters. That cast comes from a background in comedy, mainly Saturday Night Live (SNL) alumni. This listen is actually a reading from a 10 episode series that could be enacted on the TV airwaves but instead is an audio performance.
5 out of 5 stars *****
The study of Ephesians tells Christians to be the child in Christ, born again. More specifically, Paul writes the Ephesians in this letter explaining what "in Christ" means. Paul has plenty of time to think and inspire with his pen, approximately 2,000 years ago, because of his incarceration during its writing. The beauty of this circumstance is how the man is in prison but God's word is boundless influencing millions across time ringing as true today as it was then. Ephesians tells us about God's great love for fallen mankind and how Christ's teachings, death, and resurrection redeems those who have faith in Him. It comes at a time when keepers of the word use it to further their status and maintain their station in the world. Christ tells Jew and Gentile that through God's grace they can achieve eternal life but not by worshiping any man nor worldly object. Paul relates the teachings of Christ and its significance so people can use Jesus as an example to live their new life. This is what it means to be "in Christ." Paul also refers to this condition as being "alive in Christ." The challenge is to incorporate this worthiness in one's daily life. Paul points to prayer, to be in contact with God, for victory over the battles that wage in the world and in the flesh. It is in Ephesians that Paul teaches for people to don the armor of God daily: the belt of Truth; the chest plate of Righteousness; the footwear of the Gospel of Peace; the shield of Faith; the helmet of Salvation; the sword of the Spirit, the word of God.
4 out of 5 stars ****
Well written and professionally narrated, Professional Integrity is a delightful spin of the werewolf stories. The characters are presented with enough background to keep mystery alive until the climax of this short story. The book stands by itself as an entertainment opportunity and an introduction to Michael J. Sullivan's Riyria Chronicles series.
4 stars out of 5 ****
A terrible rifle range accident leaves a married young soldier, Dean, in a vegetative state who is sent home to his mother and wife in Pine Cone, Alabama. The two women have an estranged relationship. The mother, Jo Jo, blames Sarah, Dean's wife, as well as the other workers at the gun manufacturing plant, for her son's gruesome existence. The man she blames most is her son's older friend, Larry, who could have hired Dean to work in his factory and avoid the fateful draft that leads to his accident. Larry feels guilty and hires Sarah for an assembly line job that helps the two women care for the total wreck of humanity Dean is.
Stage set, enter the amulet. Jo Jo gives Larry the strange piece of jewelry for his wife. She says that Dean wants her to have it. Sarah does not believe Jo and feels odd when the amulet passes from Jo to Larry.
Death, not simple passing but an horrendous, demonic demise occurs to whomever possesses the strange amulet. Sarah figures this out by following the inordinate number of deaths associated with the presence of the amulet. She plans to stop it before more die. She convinces her friend, Becca, to help her on this fatal quest, one that open ends a macabre finale.
4 out of 5 stars *****
This book is an episode of Fantasy Science Fiction Dystopia, a world in the throes of war. The characters are mundane or magical but their problems are curiously human. This is not a children's book but an explicit story where mixed breeds struggle to survive using sex and loyalties as tools for status.
This short narrative changes when the protagonist's relationships and popularity create a good life for her. She becomes renowned as a gifted poet inspired by her muse, another female fae. The greater her success, becoming the Poet Laureate of the kingdom, the greater her temptation to seduction that leads to an interlude with the princess of the realm.
The beginning of the end starts with this disloyalty and eventually leads to her escaping, alone, on a ship to avoid the superior army of men and their allies from a nearby kingdom. Her muse is left behind who has another love interest, a man this time, in her life. Obviously, there is more to follow.
