Michael R. Phillips

I was really excited when I was offered the chance to review The Inheritance by Michael Phillips. This novel looked exactly like books that I enjoy most — multi-generational, interesting setting, complex characterization and written by an author known for literary excellence. Then . . . I started hearing a buzz of negative reviews. Note to self: don’t read reviews! Just kidding! However, I did face the reading of this book with trepidation. But from the first page I was captivated. show more Phillips’ prose is lyrical, his characters are compelling, the setting is magnificent. I loved The Inheritance!

Whales Reef is a remote island in the already remote Shetland Islands. Fierce winds and waves create a daunting landscape for the hardy people that cling to tradition, both Celtic and Norse. Survival is always tenuous, but with the death of the laird, the future for the citizens of Whales Reef and the Tulloch Clan is in doubt. With greedy North Sea oilmen, feuding cousins and an unknown American claimant to the inheritance, uncertainty abounds and a rich heritage may come to an end.

The Inheritance has a complex structure — multiple settings, multiple time periods and multiple characters’ perspectives. And while a little daunting to a reader expecting to breeze through the novel, it provided this reader a rich reading experience. Phillips is a master at conveying the people and place of The Shetlands. I could almost feel the mist on my face and the smell of the sea in the air. His writing is a bit dense, but I found myself lost in David’s rambles across the island of Whales Reef. And while it took some time to get used to the patois of the native speech, I got the hang of it and enjoyed the local flavor. Characterization is strong. I loved David’s strong sense of duty to his people and his home. Loni struggles with identity and a yearning for a family. The villains of the novel were easy to dislike, but also are well-drawn. Dependence on a sovereign God is an underlying theme.

The Inheritance is just the first book in a planned series. A lot is accomplished in the story, but there is so much more to come. I eagerly await revisiting Whales Reef.

Highly Recommended.

Audience: adults.

(Thanks to Bethany House and LitFuse for a review copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.) show less

First in a series about Scotland, although as of this date, only one additional book has been published.

Positives: interesting juxtaposition of modern story and prehistory/history of Scotland; exhaustive research; overall, written in a good “story-telling” voice.

Negatives: heavy-handed doses of Christianity-slanted perspectives and the probably unintentional diminishment of the history of the Celts (or any other people) as mere reflections of the stories of the Hebrews/early Christians; show more role of women in the story largely relegated to mother, whore, nun, or damsel in distress.

I chose to read this book and will read its sequel because of an upcoming trip to the Scottish highlands. show less

Anna, a young woman of the peasantry. Katrina, a young woman of the aristocracy. And pre-revolutionary Russia, feeling the heat of political conflict, imminent war, and inevitable change to the empire in The Crown and the Crucible by authors Michael Phillips and Judith Pella.

If I'd read this novel, first published in 1991, back in my adolescence, it might have been nigh on perfection to me.

Indeed, the story is vivid in its detail, particularly in the areas of religion, politics, and war. The show more simmering of social unrest is palpable, as is the layered tension between an older generation that doesn't fully understand the discontent, ire, and passion of a younger generation hungry for a new social order. The landscape is ripe for revolution, and the historical and ideological complexities of the novel had me engrossed.

However, if I'd been younger when I'd read it, I might not have noticed what seems to be a dichotomy of tones and styles in the book.

The story goes from something rich and serious to something that's overdramatic and almost juvenile in its quality. The narrator and characters alike begin to essentially "shout" maybe forty-five percent or more of what they say, complete with excessive exclamation points and italics. The opinionated narrator spells out pretty much everything about humble, tearful, timid Anna and spoiled, self-centered, willful Katrina. The characterizations of the two young women and other people in the story, as well as the story's development, are rather simplistic with a lack of nuance…until the style and tone settle down and shift back to something richer and more serious. Such shifts seem to happen several times throughout the novel.

Perhaps the tell-all, commentating narrator is a throwback to classic literature. Perhaps the stretches with a more juvenile flavor are meant to reflect some of the characters' immaturity. Perhaps the style will smooth out or shift completely one way or the other as the saga continues, or when the novels switch to only one author. I'm not sure.

Nevertheless, even with its parts that were fluff to me, the novel built a substantive and intriguing foundation overall that has me interested in seeing what happens next in the series. show less

Confession: I did it again. I read Book 2 of a series first, not knowing there was a Book 1. Ha!

(I did that with Irish Meadows and A Worthy Heart earlier this year.)

Once I clued in that The Cottage is Book 2 of the Shetlands saga (after The Inheritance), I kept reading. Because I chose this book to review based on the author alone ... Michael Phillips. :) I first read his The Russians series (written with Judith Pella), which fueled my almost-20-year obsession with that country. There was no show more way I was going to turn down an opportunity to read one of Phillips' books!

Like I mentioned earlier, you'll see some familiar characters from Phillips' other works pop up in The Cottage. (None from The Russians, FYI!) I haven't read some of them in years, but reading The Cottage makes me want to revisit them.

The Cottage's plot is gripping, and I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next. Its twists and turns kept me guessing throughout the story!

This book is also one that could stand on its own. I don't feel like I missed anything starting with Book 2, though I still added Book 1 to my (ever-growing) To Be Read pile.

Phillips has a way of making the reader fully present in a place; I could almost smell the Scottish sea air, and feel the wind whipping in my hair, as I read. I visited Scotland several times, though not any of its islands, and would be more than happy to visit them now!

The Quaker faith, something I'm not very familiar with, permeates the book and intrigued me very much. I may look up some of the authors mentioned for future reference.

It was truly a pleasure reading The Cottage, and I'm looking forward to reading any future books in the series!

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of Michael Phillips' The Cottage in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. show less