The Great Divorce

"No, there is no escape. There is no heaven with a little of hell in it - no plan to retain this or that of the devil in our hearts or in our pockets. Out Satan must go, every hair and feather."

George MacDonald

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One of the books on my 2010 reading list was C.S. Lewis' The Great Divorce. I finished it yesterday, and all I can say is... WOW.

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Being a mere 146 pages, one might assume that The Great Divorce is one of those quick-reads one can sit down and finish in an hour or so. Right? Wrong. If there were an award for being able to skillfully pack 300 pages worth of information into 150, Lewis would get it. Think of an energy bar - it's small, but after you've eaten it, you feel like you just ingested a three course meal.

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That said, I must say I thoroughly enjoyed Lewis' novella about Heaven and Hell. His talent for fable and allegory is formidable to say the least. The premise is brilliant and original, and you're not likely to find another one like it.  In the story, the writer finds himself in Hell boarding a bus bound for Heaven. The amazing thing is this - anyone who wants to stay in Heaven, can. Thus begins a thought-provoking meditation on good and evil, grace and judgment. And the idea behind it all is that the gates of hell are locked from the inside.

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As usual, Lewis' writing is lucid, convincing, and eminently readable in The Great Divorce. I don't pretend to understand everything he wrote (one reason why I'll be reading it again). And there were things I did understand which I didn't necessarily agree with. Nevertheless, Lewis made some very profound points about human nature, heaven, and hell which I had never fully considered. Here are a few of my favorites:

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"I think earth, if chosen instead of Heaven, will turn out to have been, all along, only a region in Hell: and earth, if put second to Heaven, to have been from the beginning a part of Heaven itself."

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"Don't you remember on earth - there were things too hot to touch with your finger but you could drink them alright? Shame is like that. If you will accept it - if you will drink the cip to the bottom - you will find it very nourishing: but try to do anything else with it and it scalds."

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"The choice of every lost soul can be expressed in the words 'Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.' There is always something they insist on keeping even at the price of misery."

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"I know it has a grand sound to say ye'll accept no salvation which leaves one creature in the dark outside. But watch that sophistry or ye'll make a Dog in the Manger the tyrant of the universe.'

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"...a damned soul is nearly nothing: it is shrunk, shut up in itself. Good beats upon the damned incessently as sound waves beat on the ears of the deaf, but they cannot receive it. Their fists are clenched, their eyes fast shut. First they will not, in the end they cannot, open their hands for gifts, or their mouths for food, or their eyes to see."

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I read recently that Mpower Pictures and Beloved Pictures are teaming up to co-produce a film version of The Great Divorce. Nate Wilson (Leepike Ridge, 100 Cupboards) is supposedly attached to write. Hmmm. This is gonna be interesting. I honestly can't imagine a more difficult book to make into a movie.

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In conclusion, I simply give this warning: The Great Divorce is a masterpiece, but do not try to read it quickly. Seriously. You won't understand things well, and... your brain might combust.

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Persevero,

   

A Man For All Seasons

When I first saw Robert Bolt's A Man For All Seasons on my school reading list, I was skeptical. Very skeptical. Why? Two reasons.

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First, it was a play. A play, written for actors to perform on a stage. How could that be any fun to sit down and read through? I'm just not the type who heads for the bookshelf, and then drags down a volume of Shakespeare for pleasure reading. (this is not to say I do not appreciate Shakespeare - he's just not my favorite, that's all). Furthermore, the protaganist of the play is a... Roman Catholic. How can I possibly sympathize with or root for a hero who follows the very heresies which the Reformers fought against?

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These were my objections to A Man For All Seasons. And they were why I started reading it thinking, "This is not gonna be good." However, after several pages, I started rethinking things. I went on to enjoy one of the most engaging pieces of literature I have ever read. Period.

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Bolt's play is a masterful exploration of the tumultuous conflict between King Henry VIII and Sir Thomas More. More, a long-time friend and favorite of the King, rose to the position of Lord Chancellor in the year 1529. However, when Henry VIII boke with the Romish Church after the Pope denied him a divorce from Catherine of Aragon, More resigned. Then, in 1534, Parliament passed a bill requiring all subjects to take an oath, acknowledging Henry to be supreme above all foreign rulers, including the Pope. More refused, and after imprisonment and repeated interrogation, was executed in 1535.

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A Man For All Seasons scores high on several levels. The characters are vivid and convincing. The dialogue is superb. And the confrontations are about as intense as confrontions get. One of my favorite scenes is when More is being interrogated...

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CRANMER (Clears his throat fussily) Sir Thomas, [the Act] states in the preamble that the King's former marriage, to the Lady Catherine, was unlawful, she being previously his brother's wife and the - er - "Pope" having no authority to sanction it. (Gently) Is that what you deny? (No reply) Is that what you dispute? (No reply) Is that what you are not sure of? (No reply)

NORFOLK Thomas, you insult the King and His Council in the person of the Lord Archbishop!

MORE I insult no one. I will not take the oath. I will not tell you why I will not.

NORFOLK Then your reasons must be treasonable!

MORE Not "must be"; may be.

NORFOLK It's a fair assumption!

MORE The law requires more than an assumption; the law requires a fact. (CROMWELL looks at him and away again)

CRANMER I cannot judge your legal standing in the case; but until I know the ground of your objection, I can only guess your spiritual standing too.

MORE (For a second furiously affronted; then humor overtakes him) If you're willing to guess at that, Your Grace, it should be a small matter to guess my objections.

CROMWELL (Quickly) You do have objections to the Act?

NORFOLK (Happily) Well, we know that, Cromwell!

MORE You don't, my lord. You may suppose I have objections. All you know is that I will not swear to it. From sheer delight to give you trouble it might be.

NORFOLK Is it material why you won't?

MORE It's most material. For refusing to swear, my goods are forfeit and I am condemned to life imprisonment. You cannot lawfully harm me further. But if you were right in supposing I had reasons for refusing and right again in supposing my reasons to be treasonable, the law would let you cut my head off.

NORFOLK (He has followed with some difficulty) Oh yes.

CROMWELL (An admiring murmur) Oh, well done, Sir Thomas. I've been trying to make that clear to His Grace for some time.

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So, was I able to "sympathize" with More? Yes and no. Bolt's play is more than just a historical account set in 16th century England; it's the story of one man's determination to remain true to his convictions. By no means do I agree with all of More's convictions. To the contrary, I strongly disagree with him on many points. Yet I can still learn from him. Here was a man who recognized something that many people miss: that convictions aren't paltry things to be traded in when it's convenient. As a Christian young man, that's a truth I need to grasp as well. Wishy-washy people never accomplish anything worthwhile. People in this day and age hold onto their convictions way too loosely. Either that, or they have no convictions at all. They just have opinions.

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I highly recommend A Man For All Seasons as both a riveting historical drama and a thought-provoking play, though not for readers under 14 (due to mature themes and some language). Do yourself a favor and read it. You'll enjoy it. If you don't, well... that's another subject altogether.

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Persevero,

The Life of John Donne

"Adopted into God's family, and so,

My old coat lost, into new Arms I go.

The Cross, my Seal in Baptism, spread below,

Does by that form into an Anchor grow.

Crosses grow Anchors, bear as thou shouldst do

Thy Cross, and that Cross grows an Anchor too.

But He that makes our Crosses Anchors thus,

Is Christ, who there is crucified for us.

Yet with this I may my first Serpents hold;

God gives new blessings, and yet leaves the old -

The Serpent, may, as wise, my pattern be;

My poison, as he feeds on dust, that's me.

And, and he rounds the earth to murder, sure

He is my death; but on the Cross, my cure,

Crucify nature then; and then implore

All grace from Him, crucified there before.

When all is Cross, and that Cross Anchor grown

This Seal's a Catechism, not a Seal alone.

Under that little Seal great gifts I send,

Both works and prayers, pawns and fruits of a friend.

Oh! may that Saint that rides on our Great Seal,

To you that bear His name, large bounty deal."

John Donne

When people think of Izaak Walton (1593-1683), they usually think of the man behind the The Compleat Angler, the classic treatise on angling and joys of the English countryside. However, The Compleat Angler is not Walton's only gift to the world of literature. He also authored several biographies. I recently finished his The Life of John Donne, and it was absolutely superb. I cannot recommend it too highly. Walton's style is eminently readable, and he creates an amazing portrait of one of the greatest stylists of the English language. (It is interesting to note here that both Herbert and Donne were great friends of Walton. In fact, they often went fishing with him)  

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John Donne was born in London in 1573, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.  As a young man, he was at first drawn towards the wealth and extravagance of Renaissance life, and even sailed as a gentleman adventurer at the time of England's war with Spain in the 1590's. Not long after that, he accepted a position as secretary to Lord Ellesmere, the Keeper of the Great Seal. It was a position which he eventually lost when he secretly married Lady Ellesmere's niece. He then entered the ministry (despite misgivings of his own unworthiness), and was appointed dean of St. Paul's in London in 1621. He went on to become one of the most eloquent and well-known preachers of his day. Today, we remember him for the beautiful poetry he penned. (It is from Donne that we get the famous lines "No man is an Island, entire in itself" and "For whom does the bell toll? It tolls for thee") 

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Donne's life was marked by sadness as well. In 1617, his wife died of exhaustion after bearing her twelfth child. She was only thirty-three, and had been her husband's faithful and ever-loving companion throughout their marriage. Her death impressed Donne with a greater sense of the fleeting nature of worldly happiness.

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Fourteen years later, at the age of fifty-eight, Donne himself lay dying. Walton remarks, "His speech, which had long been his ready and faithful servant, left him not till the last minute of his life, and then forsook him, not to serve another master - for who speaks like him - but died before him; for that it was then become useless to him, that now conversed with God on earth, as the angels are said to do in heaven, only by thoughts and looks. Being speechless, and seeing heaven by that illumination by which he saw it, he did, as St. Stephen, 'look stead-fastly into it, till he saw the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God His Father;' and being satisfied with this blessed sight, as his soul ascended, and his last breath departed from him, he closed his eyes, and then disposed his hands and body in such a posture as required not the least alteration by those that came to shroud him... thus excellent, thus exemplary, was the death of this memorable man." 

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John Donne was buried at St. Paul's Church. The day after his burial, an unknown friend wrote the following epitaph with coal on the wall over his grave:

Reader! I am to let thee know.

Donne's Body only lies below;

For, could the grave his Soul comprise,

Earth would be richer than the skies. 

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At the conclusion of his narrative, Walton leaves us with these observations about Donne:

"He was of stature moderately tall; of a straight and equally-proportioned body, to which all his words and actions gave an unexpressable addition of comeliness.

"The melancholy and pleasant humour were in him so contempered, that each gave advantage to the other, and made his company one of the delights of mankind.

"His fancy was unimitably high, equalled only by his great wit; both being made useful by a commanding judgment.

"His aspect was cheerful, and such as gave a silent testimony of a clear knowing soul, and of a conscience at peace with itself.

"His melting eye showed that he had a soft heart, full of noble compassion; of too brave a soul to offer injuries, and too much a Christian not to pardon them in others.

"He did much contemplate - especially after he entered into his sacred calling - the mercies of Almighty God, the immortality of the soul, and the joys of heaven: and would often say in a kind of sacred ecstasy, 'Blessed be God that He is God, only and divinely like Himself.'

"He was by nature highly passionate, but more apt to reluct at the excesses of it. A great lover of the offices of humanity, and of so merciful a spirit, that he never beheld the miseries of mankind without pity and relief.

"He was earnest and unwearied in the search of knowledge, with which his vigorous soul is now satisfied, and employed in a continual praise of that God that first breathed into his active body: that body, which once was a temple of the Holy Ghost, and is now become a small quantity of Christian dust:

"But I shall see it re-animated."

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Persevero,

The Voyage of the Armada: The Spanish Story

"Roughly one hundred and thirty ships and thirty thousand men made up the armada, dispatched by a royal fanatic who thought that 'he could organize a huge opreation of war without leaving his study'. As commander he appointed his ranking duke, the hapless, unmilitary, and gallant Medina Sidonia. Reluctantly and obediantly the duke set sail, to fight running engagements in the Channal, to meet disaster by fireship and battle, to be let down by his colleague on land, the Duke of Parma, and to flee to the cold, uncharted northern seas, only to face shipwreck and massacre on the Scottish and Irish coasts. Fewer than half the men and ships returned from this terrifying Anabasis." (From the inside flap of The Voyage of the Armada)

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David Howarth's The Voyage of the Armada: The Spanish Story easily ranks among my favorite history books. Period. Historical narratives truly do not get better than this. 

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Some writers are able to take history, and turn it into an apallingly dull affair. By the time they're finished, you'd think history was just a bunch of facts, numbers, names and dates. A dislike of history can indicate at least one or two things: one, you've got problems; or two, you've been reading poorly-written history books. 

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Thankfully, however, there are writers who are able to make history interesting, and David Howarth is among them. History books like his are the ones worth reading. They have the power to make you love history in a way you might never have thought possible. 

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The Voyage of the Armada is well-written, engaging, and stretches the mind. Set during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, it recounts the history of the Spanish Armada sent by the Catholic King of Spain to invade Protestant England. Until the publication of this book, the story of the Armada had been told primarily from the English viewpoint, which made the English victory into a puffed up tale of national heroism far from the truth. Howarth brilliantly redresses that imbalance. Drawing from a vast collection of previously unexplored Spanish sources, he tells the Armada's story from a different perspective - the Spanish perspective.

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From the book...

"... the soldiers were marched back to the quays and taken in boats and shut up in their ships again. They were the only people who were supposed not to know what the fleet was for. A few weeks earlier, the king himself had sent instructions that the soldiers and sailors had better be told they were going to the Indies.  But for once his instructions were ignored; it was too late for deception.  Everyone in Lisbon knew the truth.  All over Europe, indeed, everyone of consequence knew it: the fleet was bound for the conquest of England.  The men who manned it had not been told a lie, as the king proposed.  Officially, the had not been told anything at all.  But even the most dimwitted of them had been discussing it for months.  Without any information, their ideas of England, and of what they were in for, can only have been the vaguest: a cold, wet, windy and altogether unpleasant island for to the north - barbaric and said to be guilty of devilish heresies.  Rumor said the conquest would be easy."

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David Howarth, historian of Waterloo, the Norman Conquest, and other turning points in history, lives and writes in Sussex, England.

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Persevero,

   

Fear Is The Key

                                  

One of the books on my 2010 reading list was a novel by Alistair MacLean entitled Fear is the Key. I recently finished it, and I must say, reading it was an interesting and enjoyable experience.

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MacLean is probably best known for giving us the WWII thrillers The Guns of Navarone and Where Eagles Dare, both of which were made into movies. However, he is also the author of such lesser known works as Ice Station Zebra, Breakheart Pass, Night Without End, and of course, Fear Is The Key (apart from the latter, I've not read any of MacLean's other books, and therefore cannot recommend them one way or the other).

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Fear Is The Key is a page-turner, in every sense of the phrase. In the words of one reviewer, it "keeps tension at a screaming point". MacLean did an excellent job of creating an intelligent story that grabs you from the first page.  It's fast-paced, intense, and unpredictable. And I really mean unpredictable: you'll never know where your going until you get there. And, in the case of this novel at least, that's a good thing.

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The protagonist of MacLean's tale is John Montague Talbot. In the prologue, we find Talbot mantaining radio contact with a plane carrying his wife, son, and a valuable cargo worth millions. Thing take a nightmarish turn, however, when the plane is viciously shot down, and Talbot listens helplessly as everything which gave his life meaning is destroyed within seconds.

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When we next encounter Talbot, he is an embittered, convicted criminal on trial in a Florida court. In a rapid chain of events, Talbot turns the tables on the police officers guarding him, kidnaps the daughter of a millionaire, and after an intense car chase, makes his escape.

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The rest of the story is something I'll leave you to discover for yourself. Suffice it to say, the adventure carries on at breakneck speed, with shrewd characters, compelling plot twists, and a high stakes game where the good had better beat the bad - or else. The three villains of this story are some of the most memorable I've encountered: sharp, calculating Vyland, who runs the show; Royale, the hired killer, whose as cold, cool and conscienceless as bad guys get; and psychopathic Larry, a drug addict with an axe to grind.

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 While the story revolves around a very intense and serious plot, MacLean throws in enough dry (if sometimes grim) humor to keep the reader smiling. At one point, during a tense confrontation with another character, Talbot relates, "The first thing I noticed was the gun in his hand, and it wasn't the sort of gun a beginner carries around with him. A big dull black German Mauser 7.63. One of those economical guns; the bullet goes clear through three people at once."

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Although one of the best adventure yarns I've come across in a long time, I do not recommend Fear Is The Key for anyone under 14. The violence, though by no means gratutitous, is disturbing, and there are numerous references to drugs (including some slang phrases about drug addicts). Mild language is also used throughout.

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Be forwarned that Fear Is The Key is by no means written from a Christian perspective. As with all books, it should be read cautiously, and measured by God's All-Sufficient Word. I found it to be a very enjoyable read, and recommend it highly, especially for boys on the lookout for an intelligent novel that delivers action, suspense and adventure on a satisfying level. 

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Persevero,

   

The Betrayal: A Novel on John Calvin

A friend recently loaned me a copy of Douglas Bond's latest book - The Betrayal: A Novel on John Calvin. I cannot praise it too highly. It ranks as one of the best historical fiction novels I have ever read, or probably ever will read. It's a book that begs to be read more than once. Anyone studying Church history, specifically the Reformation, should have this book on his shelf. I'm already planning on getting a copy for my own personal library...

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The Betrayal chronicles the life of French reformer and scholar John Calvin, from his birth in 1509 to his death in 1564. One facet of this book instantly sets it apart from other similar novels - the story is told from the perspective of a sworn lifelong enemy of Calvin, Jean-Louis Mourin, a man who takes it upon himself to utterly destroy and ruin Calvin. To borrow the description from the back of the book, "this fast-paced biographical novel is a tale of envy that escalates to violent intrigue and shameless betrayal."  

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I've read other books by Douglas Bond, including The Crown & Covenant Series and Hostage Lands (both of which are highly recommended). However, in my opinion, The Betrayal is Bond's best work yet. Not only is it written convincingly, and with all the elements of a page-turner - suspense, intrigue, and constant danger - but Bond has also woven tons upon tons of factual, educational material into the story, making it historical fiction in the truest sense of the term. The Betrayal makes Calvin real to the reader, instead of a dry, ancient reformer of the long ago.

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To order your own copy of Douglas Bond's The Betrayal, click here

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Recommended for ages 14 and up: 

Mature content and graphic material (relating to martyrdom and persecution)
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Watch an interview with Douglas Bond on The Betrayal...
  

"Anything Doug Bond writes is, almost now by definition, a fascinating read. But to have his skills attached to the life of John Calvin is a double treat." - Joel Belz, founder, World magazine

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"If you enjoy reading the fictional works of C.S. Lewis, you will love this book." - Burk Parsons, editor, Tabletalk magazine

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"An exciting read, almost effortlessly and implicitly undoing caricatures about Calvin along the way... Calvin and his times brought to life in a page-turner!" - Joel R. Beeke, president, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary

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Persevero,

Scribe

Of Pigs, Farms, and Freedom

George Orwell's biting satire Animal Farm is one of those books that leaves a lasting impression on those who read it. Powerful lessons can be learned from it, and even though Stalinist Russia was its target when it was first written, its message is still crystal clear and relevant today. I do recommend that you have at least a basic understanding of Soviet Russia, certain major figures (such as Stalin, Lenin, Trotsky, etc.), and the fundamentals of socialism before reading Animal Farm, as there is much symbolism that is too important to be missed.

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Orwell's story is written very engagingly, like a fairy tale, but with a razor-sharp lesson underneath. A group of overworked, mistreated animals rebel against their human master and suceed in taking over the farm. Led chiefly by the pig Napolean, they set out with stirring enthusiasm and passion to create Animal Farm - a place of justice, equality, and progress. The result of their misguided labors, however, is a totalitarian society just as terrible as the former tyranny of their former human master, if not worse.

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I thoroughly enjoyed reading Animal Farm, and it is now on my list of favorite books. Orwell did an amazing job combining a readable story with a disturbing message about socialism and totalitarianism. One of my favorite points that Orwell made in his book was this: our liberties are seldom blatantly attacked. Rather, the attack is disguised as something for our good, something that will ultimately benefit us. Napolean the pig uses this kind of lie on many occasions during his career as "leader" (translation: totalitarian tyrant) over Animal Farm. Devious politicians (and devious presidents, like Barrack Hussein Obama) use this tactic as well. They wag their smooth, forked tongues at us, trying to worm their way into our confidence, trying to convince us that this new bill they're attempting to pass won't really be an infringement on our rights and freedoms. Wrong. Careful study and examination of such things too often shows that we have liars in high political offices.

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One line in Animal Farm which so reeks of socialist propaganda comes when one of Napoleon's cronies is "explaining" to the other farm animals that "Comrade" Napoleon is making a "sacrifice" by assuming more responsibilities (translation: taking away freedoms and gaining power) around the farm. He says, "Comrades... I trust that every animal here appreciates the sacrifice that Comrade Napoleon has made in taking this extra labor upon himself... No one believes more firmly that all animals are created equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?"  So, it's okay to deprive people of their freedom to make their own choices simply because they might make a mistake? C'mon! We are human beings! In the words of Gary Demar, "To be human... means the ability to act freely. To make mistakes. To clean up your own mess. To take responsibility for your own actions." Therefore, why in the name of all good sense would we hand our liberties over on a silver platter to some high and mighty, tyrannical nincompoop, who is no less able to mess up than we are?

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"Political language... is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind."

~George Orwell, Politics and the English Language

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"To protect humanity, some humans must be sacrificed. To insure freedom, some freedoms must be sacrificed. To insure your future, some freedoms must be surrendered. We robots will insure mankind's continued existence. You are so like children. We must save you from yourselves."
~ A pack of lies from the tyrant computer V.I.K.I., in the film I, Robot (2004)

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Persevero,
Scribe

Balancing the Sword

"You have to know what the Bible says before you can know what it means."

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I've been doing Balancing the Sword for over a year now, and have thoroughly enjoyed it. These books are must-have resources when it comes to studying the Scriptures, enabling you to easily work through all 66 books of the Bible comprehensively.

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Balancing the Sword comes in two large volumes, each one covering the entire Bible in detail. To give you a little bit of an idea of just how detailed these books are, here are some stats. There are...

• over 7,000 questions with almost 13,000 parts (with answer keys) targeting every 2.7 verses on average
• almost 54,000 carefully chosen cross references (averaging 7.6 references per question)
• over 1,000 quotes and from famous figures who spoke of the Bible's greatness
• over 1,000 images: artistic illustrations, literal depictions, charts, and maps

The Balancing the Sword study package includes two books, software (which allows you to design a totally customized reading schedule within minutes), and Web support. You can learn more about the books here, at www.balancingthesword.com.

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"And take...the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

Ephesians 6:17

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"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword..." Hebrews 4:12

Persevero,

Scribe

The Adventures of Richard Hannay

John Buchan's The Thirty-Nine Steps, Mr. Standfast, and Greenmantle rank among my favorite historical fiction books of all time. Anyone even slightly interested in spy networks, World War I, or just war history in general will find these adventure stories fascinating. They are fast-paced, realistic, and hard to put down. Buchan interweaves the historical and the fictional so well that you can almost believe that his novels are entirely factual accounts of events that took place during the first World War. His writing talent is simply amazing.

Born in Scotland in 1875, and the son of a Presbyterian minister, Buchan was what you might call a 'jack-of-all-trades'...

"He was by turns a successful barrister, respected scholar, popular journalist, trusted diplomat, prolific author, efficient colonial administrator, innovative publisher, progressive politician, relentless reformer, and active churchmen... Best known for his historical romances and thrilling spy novels - he practically invented the genre - he was also the author of more than a hundred nonfiction works, including an authoritative multi-volume history of the First World War and biographies of Oliver Cromwell, Caeser Augustus, Lord Montrose, and Walter Scott... He helped to establish the British spy network... between 1922 and 1936 he wrote five books a year. For much of that time, he was ranked among the world's best-selling authors alongside his friends and acquaintances Rudyard Kipling, G.K. Chesterton, and Hilaire Belloc. Several of his books were made into full-length motion pictures." (The Christian Almanac by George Grant & Gregory Wilbur)

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The Thirty-Nine-Steps is the first in a series of books following the adventures of Englishman Richard Hannay, a mining engineer turned spy... During his stay in London, Hannay befriends a mysterious man named Skutter, who claims to be in possession of a vital secret concerning the looming war (WWI has not begun yet). But when Skutter is tracked down and murdered by German government agents, Hannay is thrown into a world of plots, intrigue and danger. He must elude his enemies, and discover Skutter's secret before time runs out. This is a classic spy novel.

Note: the book is nothing at all like the film version directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It is much, much better...

Recommended for ages 12 and up.

Greenmantle continues the adventures of Hannay. With World War I raging, he is sent on a secret mission across war-torn Europe to find and expose a dangerous German plot and an Islamic messiah. He is joined by friends, and together they work tirelessly to solve a mystery which could effect the outcome of World War I.

Recommended for ages 13 and up.

In Mr. Standfast, Richard Hannay poses as a pacifist, while secretly engaged in relentlessly trailing a cunning German spy. Danger is ever present in this fast-paced story, and Hannay's enemies are out to catch him at all costs before he ruins their carefully laid plots. In the words of Nathaniel Bluedorn, "Sometimes we wonder how a person can get into so many jams."

Recommended for ages 13 and up

There is a fourth book following the adventures of Richard Hannay (The Three Hostages), but I haven't yet had the opportunity of reading it. I have little doubt, however, that it's just as interesting as its predecessors...

Persevero,

Scribe