The Ultimatum directly continues where A Steadfast Surrender left off. It follows Jared as he lives the cutthroat life of the streets and gets caught in the wrong crowd. Also, it focuses on the waitress Annie and her family.
Annie is a Christian, but her husband is not (yet). They frequently have fights about faith and money. The fights are juvenile and predictable because Annie always wins them. Annie is a ridiculously perfect character. She's a model Christian, always doing the right thing and saying the right words that will win the arguments with her husband.
Meanwhile, Jared is pursuing his dreams as a musician and ends up getting sweet talked into working with a criminal.
Both plots are propelled together in a dramatic string of scenes that involve Annie and her family in a hostage situation in their own home. Jared and his new friend are the instigators. The hostage scene drags on and ends predictably.
It would have been better if Annie had died during it, like Nancy Moser planned to do. Having her die would have made her husband learn a lesson about taking things for granted. As it was, she lived, and he became a Christian. They lived happily ever after.
Well, life does not live happily ever after. Stuff happens. People die. The faster Nancy figures this out and finally exits her sensational dream world, the better Christian fiction will be.
2 stars
Showing posts with label nancy moser. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nancy moser. Show all posts
Friday, August 28, 2009
The Temptation by Nancy Moser
She did exactly what I didn't want her to do. She wrote a third book in the Seeds of Faith series! Nooooooooooooooo!
The five, or however many there are now, are still doing their things. But this time, Arthur is back-and working for our new villain, a man posing as a pastor! No one knows but the reader!
The plot of this book is virtually the same as that of The Quest. There are many similarities. The two plots meld together in my head, and it's hard to pick them apart.
Not that I really want to remember.
The characters are just the same, if not getting increasingly worse. I know Nancy's choice in villains is getting worse.
The best character I can think of the compare our new villain to is the pastor from Deliver Us From Evelyn who's always changing his name.
Nancy preforms one desperate attempt to get this book back on the map, which is having a key character die in a bomb explosion the villain sets off. It's pretty obvious that she couldn't think of anything else to do.
I don't really know what else to say about this book except that the best thing Nancy Moser can do in her career is to stop this series and move on the something more interesting and original.
1 star
The five, or however many there are now, are still doing their things. But this time, Arthur is back-and working for our new villain, a man posing as a pastor! No one knows but the reader!
The plot of this book is virtually the same as that of The Quest. There are many similarities. The two plots meld together in my head, and it's hard to pick them apart.
Not that I really want to remember.
The characters are just the same, if not getting increasingly worse. I know Nancy's choice in villains is getting worse.
The best character I can think of the compare our new villain to is the pastor from Deliver Us From Evelyn who's always changing his name.
Nancy preforms one desperate attempt to get this book back on the map, which is having a key character die in a bomb explosion the villain sets off. It's pretty obvious that she couldn't think of anything else to do.
I don't really know what else to say about this book except that the best thing Nancy Moser can do in her career is to stop this series and move on the something more interesting and original.
1 star
The Quest by Nancy Moser
Thank you, Nancy Moser for cutting nearly two thirds of the original manuscript of this book. I don't think we could have standed any more spiritual warfare scenes.
Now that the five main characters have returned from Haven, they're all fired up and ready to change the world. Haven has produced the first female president of the US of A, one of the best writers on the market, a VERY famous artist, a street preacher, and an extremely popular TV host. The world just lavishes on them. But the supernatural isn't happy.
Demons are stalking them at every turn. But they don't know it! They can't even tell who they are!
So they have a showdown at the old bird pavilion. The demon standing up on the waterfall dangling the girl over the edge while the others shoot him down with Bible verses and prayer. Good wins in the end!
I'm not kidding.
Perhaps if Nancy had refrained from having our original five meet MORE people who went to different Havens that popped up all over the country, this book would have been more tolerable.
The replacement romances for Natalie and Kathy are cheesy.
The characters are worse. There are too many of them. Now can Nancy give any of them personal attention?
There are too many villains.
The plot is for the sensationalism lovers. This one makes them feel like they're reading suspense.
Please Nancy, spare us a third book.
2 stars
Now that the five main characters have returned from Haven, they're all fired up and ready to change the world. Haven has produced the first female president of the US of A, one of the best writers on the market, a VERY famous artist, a street preacher, and an extremely popular TV host. The world just lavishes on them. But the supernatural isn't happy.
Demons are stalking them at every turn. But they don't know it! They can't even tell who they are!
So they have a showdown at the old bird pavilion. The demon standing up on the waterfall dangling the girl over the edge while the others shoot him down with Bible verses and prayer. Good wins in the end!
I'm not kidding.
Perhaps if Nancy had refrained from having our original five meet MORE people who went to different Havens that popped up all over the country, this book would have been more tolerable.
The replacement romances for Natalie and Kathy are cheesy.
The characters are worse. There are too many of them. Now can Nancy give any of them personal attention?
There are too many villains.
The plot is for the sensationalism lovers. This one makes them feel like they're reading suspense.
Please Nancy, spare us a third book.
2 stars
The Invitation by Nancy Moser
When four people are given invitations to come to Haven, Nebraska, they have no idea what they're in for.
A cancer patient, an struggling politician, an aspiring writer, and an undiscovered artist are all searching for the meaning of life. That's why they've been invited to the special town of Haven.
The funny thing is, four are invited, but five go because there was some kind of extra unknown invitation.
Anyway, when they arrive there, they encounter some strange events. Very strange events. A kidnapping by the only sinful person in town, miracles, and strange tornadoes are just the tip of the iceberg.
The main problem with this book is that it's overplayed and overly dramatic in some parts. The five people that are brought there are supposed to be being taught what their talents really are by perfect teachers.
Nancy could use some character development.
Also, some censorship on the dramatic scenes. The hostage scene at the end involving small children is a bit much. Everyone becoming a Christian, including the criminal, at the end is a bit much. The healing of the cancer patient really sends it over the edge of sensationalism.
There are multiple romantic subplots, too many to count, and they all work out in the end. By the last page, everybody's happy and Nancy has her emotional readers all pumped up and ready for the sequel.
Oh boy.
Needless to say, I didn't hate this book like I did some of her other books. I actually liked the idea. She just didn't use it right.
3 stars
A cancer patient, an struggling politician, an aspiring writer, and an undiscovered artist are all searching for the meaning of life. That's why they've been invited to the special town of Haven.
The funny thing is, four are invited, but five go because there was some kind of extra unknown invitation.
Anyway, when they arrive there, they encounter some strange events. Very strange events. A kidnapping by the only sinful person in town, miracles, and strange tornadoes are just the tip of the iceberg.
The main problem with this book is that it's overplayed and overly dramatic in some parts. The five people that are brought there are supposed to be being taught what their talents really are by perfect teachers.
Nancy could use some character development.
Also, some censorship on the dramatic scenes. The hostage scene at the end involving small children is a bit much. Everyone becoming a Christian, including the criminal, at the end is a bit much. The healing of the cancer patient really sends it over the edge of sensationalism.
There are multiple romantic subplots, too many to count, and they all work out in the end. By the last page, everybody's happy and Nancy has her emotional readers all pumped up and ready for the sequel.
Oh boy.
Needless to say, I didn't hate this book like I did some of her other books. I actually liked the idea. She just didn't use it right.
3 stars
Thursday, August 27, 2009
The Seat Beside Me by Nancy Moser
An airplane is yet another setting in which Nancy Moser can exhaust her recurring talent of writing about groups of four or five people.
Dora is a reporter who was supposed to be on a flight that crashes not long after takeoff. But since her mother was healed and didn't have to go to the hospital, she cancels her ticket.
The next day, the plane crashes.
The plot also focuses on a self-absorbed doctor, a young mother and wife, a bookstore owner, and a man contemplating suicide. All four survived the crash, but none of the people in the seats beside them. Beside the doctor was a woman he didn't care to save, beside the young mother were her husband and son, beside the bookstore owner was a Christian man who taught her the meaning of life, and beside the man contemplating suicide was another Christian man who made him change his mind about his decision.
Dora eventually meets up with all of these to interview them, but all the while she is overwhelmed of how she missed the flight. The whole book is basically a journey of grief and searching for the meaning of life.
The characters are pretty good on the Nancy Moser scale. None of them are perfect except for maybe Dora.
Nancy Moser seems to be very impressed with this book. All authors pick out one book of theirs they really like. But this book does not top the Time Lottery series or Solemnly Swear.
However, it does warrant a read.
3 stars
Dora is a reporter who was supposed to be on a flight that crashes not long after takeoff. But since her mother was healed and didn't have to go to the hospital, she cancels her ticket.
The next day, the plane crashes.
The plot also focuses on a self-absorbed doctor, a young mother and wife, a bookstore owner, and a man contemplating suicide. All four survived the crash, but none of the people in the seats beside them. Beside the doctor was a woman he didn't care to save, beside the young mother were her husband and son, beside the bookstore owner was a Christian man who taught her the meaning of life, and beside the man contemplating suicide was another Christian man who made him change his mind about his decision.
Dora eventually meets up with all of these to interview them, but all the while she is overwhelmed of how she missed the flight. The whole book is basically a journey of grief and searching for the meaning of life.
The characters are pretty good on the Nancy Moser scale. None of them are perfect except for maybe Dora.
Nancy Moser seems to be very impressed with this book. All authors pick out one book of theirs they really like. But this book does not top the Time Lottery series or Solemnly Swear.
However, it does warrant a read.
3 stars
The Good Nearby by Nancy Moser
The Good Nearby is another one of Nancy Moser's absurd, cheesy, and sensational plots. It's about Gigi, a woman who's obsessed with the number 91. She bases her life decisions on whether the number appears or not. She married her husband because he was number 91 on the football team, she visits a certain woman's house because the number 91 was in the address.
Besides that, the plot also follows five other people in her town that each have something in common-a medical condition. What this has to do with Gigi is original enough. But this original idea is overshadowed by the general stupidity of the plot.
The characters are just average. Gigi, of course, is an absurd character. She acts half her age most of the time.
I can't believe Nancy did what she did at the end of the book, but it served her own sensational purpose to make everything work out right. By the end of the book, several of the other characters are also obsessed with the number 91.
Perhaps if she had cut out the number nonsense, this book would have been average. The number alone drags the whole book down.
Most people will like this book because it's "touching". Maybe it is, if you can forget about the 91 part.
1.5 stars
Besides that, the plot also follows five other people in her town that each have something in common-a medical condition. What this has to do with Gigi is original enough. But this original idea is overshadowed by the general stupidity of the plot.
The characters are just average. Gigi, of course, is an absurd character. She acts half her age most of the time.
I can't believe Nancy did what she did at the end of the book, but it served her own sensational purpose to make everything work out right. By the end of the book, several of the other characters are also obsessed with the number 91.
Perhaps if she had cut out the number nonsense, this book would have been average. The number alone drags the whole book down.
Most people will like this book because it's "touching". Maybe it is, if you can forget about the 91 part.
1.5 stars
Solemnly Swear by Nancy Moser
If anyone was going to invent a new kind of legal plot, it would be Nancy Moser. This is the first legal book I know of that puts it from the perspective of the jury. This setting also gives her freedom exercise her specialty in writing-groups of four or five people.
The case is the murder of a local rich man, who was killed in his own hot tub. The person being accused is his girlfriend.
The jury consists of an actress past her time, a workaholic father, a rich wife of a doctor, and a playboy with family troubles. One of the jurors knows who the culprit is, but is trying to cover it up.
The characters are better than most of Nancy's others. Most are actually believable. The plot is original because it focuses fully on the jury instead of on the lawyers. It makes the lawyers and the judge merely background characters.
The end is one of the more original ends Nancy Moser has ever written. I can't believe she did. It's completely against her norm.
But going against her norm is good because it breaks her out of her comfort zone as a writer and puts her in the Elite class.
4.5 stars
The case is the murder of a local rich man, who was killed in his own hot tub. The person being accused is his girlfriend.
The jury consists of an actress past her time, a workaholic father, a rich wife of a doctor, and a playboy with family troubles. One of the jurors knows who the culprit is, but is trying to cover it up.
The characters are better than most of Nancy's others. Most are actually believable. The plot is original because it focuses fully on the jury instead of on the lawyers. It makes the lawyers and the judge merely background characters.
The end is one of the more original ends Nancy Moser has ever written. I can't believe she did. It's completely against her norm.
But going against her norm is good because it breaks her out of her comfort zone as a writer and puts her in the Elite class.
4.5 stars
Crossroads by Nancy Moser
Crossroads, to me, is one of the worst books in Christian fiction today (not as bad as The Dead Whisper On, however).
Crossroads was meant to be The Inheritance, the fourth book of the Seeds of Faith series. It think it would have been better placed in that series.
Anyway, the plot is about an old woman who currently owns a small town that is quickly becoming a ghost town. In order to save the town, she decides to sell off the property bit by bit to people out of state who want to move there. She advertises everywhere and they begin bidding for the property. As usual, Nancy uses this setting to exhaust her usual writing style of focusing on a group of four to five people.
As a nod to the Seeds of Faith series, she adds Kathy and her family to the plot with an extra piece of history none of the readers knew about.
The other token characters are a former deputy coming to see if his former girlfriend still loved him, a small family from the big city wanting a quieter pace, and an old couple also wanting the quiet of a small town.
The plot is pretty boring and the characters are average on the Nancy Moser scale.
The end of the book is ridiculous, having two of the characters get away with something immoral. There's lots of sensationalism and cheesy scenes and dialogue. It's beyond predictable. It's just sickening that this type of writing is allowed in the Christian market.
1 star
Crossroads was meant to be The Inheritance, the fourth book of the Seeds of Faith series. It think it would have been better placed in that series.
Anyway, the plot is about an old woman who currently owns a small town that is quickly becoming a ghost town. In order to save the town, she decides to sell off the property bit by bit to people out of state who want to move there. She advertises everywhere and they begin bidding for the property. As usual, Nancy uses this setting to exhaust her usual writing style of focusing on a group of four to five people.
As a nod to the Seeds of Faith series, she adds Kathy and her family to the plot with an extra piece of history none of the readers knew about.
The other token characters are a former deputy coming to see if his former girlfriend still loved him, a small family from the big city wanting a quieter pace, and an old couple also wanting the quiet of a small town.
The plot is pretty boring and the characters are average on the Nancy Moser scale.
The end of the book is ridiculous, having two of the characters get away with something immoral. There's lots of sensationalism and cheesy scenes and dialogue. It's beyond predictable. It's just sickening that this type of writing is allowed in the Christian market.
1 star
A Steadfast Surrender by Nancy Moser
To read the back of A Steadfast Surrender makes the reader eager to read it. Until it gets toward the end of the book.
Claire Adams is a rich artist who thinks God has called her to recklessly sell everything she has, and move off somewhere in order to become a living witness to people of not storing up for yourself treasures on earth. So she lets all her riches go, steps onto a bus with only the clothes on her back, and lets the bus take her to the small town of Steadfast, Kansas, which she chooses randomly. In Steadfast, she proceeds to live in the attic of the library with another girl who is running away from her former life.
I don't know about you, but this whole notion is a bit reckless and silly. Nancy is trying a bit too hard to be Biblical and comes off as being sensational.
I must pause here and say that I think it's a little obvious that Nancy's favorite book of hers is The Seat Beside Me. Why else would she have Merry living in steadfast?
And at the end of the book, it veers off the original point of the plot dramatically. The plot is a bit of a mess, and it looks like the editor slept through the end. By the end, Claire isn't even the focus character anymore. The whole second half of the book is used setting up the sequel.
The biggest problem is that this is not realistic and is plagued with Moser's typical amateur nonsense. This book is probably worth your time, however, if only for the interesting plot idea.
2 stars
Claire Adams is a rich artist who thinks God has called her to recklessly sell everything she has, and move off somewhere in order to become a living witness to people of not storing up for yourself treasures on earth. So she lets all her riches go, steps onto a bus with only the clothes on her back, and lets the bus take her to the small town of Steadfast, Kansas, which she chooses randomly. In Steadfast, she proceeds to live in the attic of the library with another girl who is running away from her former life.
I don't know about you, but this whole notion is a bit reckless and silly. Nancy is trying a bit too hard to be Biblical and comes off as being sensational.
I must pause here and say that I think it's a little obvious that Nancy's favorite book of hers is The Seat Beside Me. Why else would she have Merry living in steadfast?
And at the end of the book, it veers off the original point of the plot dramatically. The plot is a bit of a mess, and it looks like the editor slept through the end. By the end, Claire isn't even the focus character anymore. The whole second half of the book is used setting up the sequel.
The biggest problem is that this is not realistic and is plagued with Moser's typical amateur nonsense. This book is probably worth your time, however, if only for the interesting plot idea.
2 stars
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
The Time Lottery by Nancy Moser
What would you do if you could back up to a certain time in your life and try again?
That's the question The Time Lottery asks and answers, in three different ways.
Scientific research has given scientists the ability to tap into any one's mind and send them into a parallel universe in which they can try to fix their mistakes. But if the person decides to stay in that alternate universe and their new future, the body on this side will die.
Now these scientists want to test this ability on humans, so they're selling the privilege off in the form of lottery tickets. Time Lottery tickets.
There are three winners: a businesswoman wanting a new husband, a doctor wanting to wanting a boyfriend she never had, and a street pastor who dies before getting to start over. His ticket is stolen by his murderer, who pretends to be him.
Once these three go into their past, it's obvious who's going to return and who's not. The only thing interesting about this book is the originality behind it, not the end.
But this book still warrants a read.
3 stars
That's the question The Time Lottery asks and answers, in three different ways.
Scientific research has given scientists the ability to tap into any one's mind and send them into a parallel universe in which they can try to fix their mistakes. But if the person decides to stay in that alternate universe and their new future, the body on this side will die.
Now these scientists want to test this ability on humans, so they're selling the privilege off in the form of lottery tickets. Time Lottery tickets.
There are three winners: a businesswoman wanting a new husband, a doctor wanting to wanting a boyfriend she never had, and a street pastor who dies before getting to start over. His ticket is stolen by his murderer, who pretends to be him.
Once these three go into their past, it's obvious who's going to return and who's not. The only thing interesting about this book is the originality behind it, not the end.
But this book still warrants a read.
3 stars
The Second Time Around by Nancy Moser
With the success of the first round of Time Lottery tickets, the owners of the company are going to give it a second time around and draw three more tickets from the pile.
The first is an actor wanting to see what life would be like without her acting career in her face, and the second is a woman wanting to find out the truth about her mother, and the third is a man wanting to keep his fiancee from dying this time.
There's nothing clear cut about this one.
I thought I had it all figured out about who was going to stay in the past and who wasn't. But I was dead wrong.
I'm surprised that Nancy Moser is showing this kind of originality in this book. It was unprecedented and welcome at the same time.
The only downside of this book is the inevitable romantic subplot that Nancy can't seem to depart. But this aspect of the book is overshadowed by the deeper originality.
This is one of her only three Elite books for a good reason.
4.5 stars
The first is an actor wanting to see what life would be like without her acting career in her face, and the second is a woman wanting to find out the truth about her mother, and the third is a man wanting to keep his fiancee from dying this time.
There's nothing clear cut about this one.
I thought I had it all figured out about who was going to stay in the past and who wasn't. But I was dead wrong.
I'm surprised that Nancy Moser is showing this kind of originality in this book. It was unprecedented and welcome at the same time.
The only downside of this book is the inevitable romantic subplot that Nancy can't seem to depart. But this aspect of the book is overshadowed by the deeper originality.
This is one of her only three Elite books for a good reason.
4.5 stars
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