Jeffrey Overstreet

I received The Ale Boy's feast (4th in the series) in the Early Reviewers. Because it is the 4th in the series I decided I wanted to read the ones before it. So while I read all 4 books directly after each other I'm going to review all 4.

The first book is Auralia's Colors. I only sort of liked this first book. While a lot of the descriptions were quite lovely I found it a bit shallow. It was only meh.

The second book is Cyndere's midnight. As I read this one I realized how wrong I was about show more Auralia's colors. The author has in no way created a shallow world. The farther I got into the story the more impressed I was at how he dropped subtle tid-bits into the first book that were developed more in the second book. Here I began to truly develop an attachment to the characters and their stories and struggles.

The third book is Raven's Ladder... again, I was floored at how complex and compelling this story has become. The history and myth of everything evolves in such an organic way. The characters define themselves more and more as the story goes along. It's like I got to know them as one would in real life... not how many stories are where everything is laid out before you right away. I never would have believed as I was reading Auralia's colors that this story could become so rich and complex.

And finally is the ale boy's feast. The conclusion of the books... not necessarily the conclusion of the story. (Which I always love.) 80 pages from the end I had no idea how the author was going to give me the satisfying ending that I wanted. I had so many questions that needed to be answered, I was terrified I was going to be massively disappointed that he has created bit off more than he could chew and he had tangled this story so tightly that there was no way he could connect all the pieces back together in the end... well I should have known... it was perfect. Beautiful even.

I loved these books. It was a rich, compelling, suspenseful, beautiful, and enlightening world. I'm happy I was able to spend some time there.

I'm glad I know how Krawg's story ended. :) show less

This smart, lively cautionary tale chronicles the strange history of a kingdom destroying itself over a fundamental misunderstanding about the purpose of Beauty. The first volume in a new epic, Overstreet's novel often feels like a fantasy counterpart to Fahrenheit 451. And in terms of storytelling, it reads like a surprising intersection between the styles of Bradbury, Patricia McKillip, and Kate DiCamillo. - Adam

A movie reviewer from Christianity Today writes a book extolling the virtues of film which mirror the virtues of book reading. Not from the school of pious movie reviews only, Overstreet wants people (adults) to see challenging films even if they are categorized as "not good" or "evil". Examples would be Taxi Driver, Requiem for a Dream, or Alien for films which seem to show violence and evil actions but have a deeper message if considered alongside other films to draw out the common film show more techniques used. This is a book which lauds films and film-makers. Films can reveal the director's growth as an artist at work in visual language. Overstreet says that he always wanted to write about films the way C.S. Lewis wrote about books. That's a high bar since Lewis was a genius. This book is interesting for a discussion leader of a film discussion group. Overstreet gives you his personal list of movies for church group discussion at the conclusion of the book. I was impressed by his list which had many I had not seen yet (mostly foreign). I was at a church which had a film club which was incredible. Once a month we watched a film (with refreshments and obligatory license royalties paid) and then had a discussion for anyone who wanted to contribute their own reflections after a short summation by an expert in film. Luckily we had a beautiful gathering hall with large screen and excellent sound system, comfortable chairs to sit through a film. People always got so much more out of the film than initially thought. Film is a vehicle for the imagination and the personal discovery process. Films are creative acts captured on film for an audience and Overstreet wants the reader of his book to appreciate the craftsmanship of the film through enjoyment and biblical story revelation. show less

DNF at pg. 62.

Glad I only paid $.99 for this. While I can agree with the author that there are lessons that can be learned in the portrayal of real life issues when watching a film or tv show, his determination in issuing a license for Christians to watch everything and anything really bothered, and even angered me. His many excuses for watching films that try to normalize evil are in direct conflict with Scripture. Christians that are shielding their eyes from garbage entertainment are not show more "weaker" than their brothers and sisters. Their purpose is not to avoid sinful people; it is to keep their hearts pure. Avoiding evil in entertainment formats does not equate avoiding hurting and lost people in real life. We do not need to see someone in graphic and gratuitous detail murder or rape someone in a film to know what is going on. Using the example of Jesus "spending time in the homes of sinners and sin" (pg. 62) with modern day Christians watching depraved films as entertainment is ridiculous. Of course Jesus spent time with sinners... who else would He spend time with? We live in a fallen world and we are all sinners, but He was reaching out to us and teaching us, not condoning the sinful behavior, and He most certainly didn't have a desire to watch it. show less