Monday, September 01, 2003

Biblical Equality Rebecca's Pocket brings an interesting story from the Christian Science Monitor on equality of women in the Chrisitian Church. It seems that even some conservative Christian denominations are finally seeing that women are equal and should not  be "subject" to men.  I'm happy to say I attend a church that is "conservative" in its view of the gospel (probably a good deal more conservative than I am) yet has women active in all roles in the church. For me there has never been any difference between my feminist leanings and my view of the gospel...I've always seen Paul's admonitions that women take secondary roles to men as being strictly first century cultural artifacts. I was especially amused by one quote in the article from a conservative church leader who said his wife was concerned about equality between sexes in the church twenty years ago, but he "never paid any attention" until the last few years. Unfortunately, his fellow conservatives seem to be digging in their heels on this one... 5:56:53 PM    comment []

A Ray of Light in Baghdad? In today's Seattle Times, Ayad Rahim gives a look at what's going right in Baghdad. Rahim is an Iraqi expatriate living in Cleveland, and if we believe him, the media is telling us only the bad news (but what else is new?). I remain opposed to the war (and Mr. Bush), but there was no doubt Saddam had to go, if only for the sake of the people. If Rahim's assertions are true, it's good news.  12:15:10 PM    comment []

Ebook Reviews: Hunt Club Most of my reading these days is in electronic format, so in an effort (albeit small) to promote ebooks, I'll review them as I finish them. I reserve right to review paper books, too! The first book on my list is a "pure" ebook, "Hunt Club," by Ed Howdershelt. Ed has thirteen ebooks for sale on his Abintra Press website in most of the major ebook formats, including Acrobat, Palm, MS Reader, Gemstar and Franklin. Some of Ed's work is fiction, some semi-fiction, with what appears to be a tendency to use his own experiences as a soldier, mercenary and science fiction writer. He even has a disclaimer saying nothing he writes is clear of security problems. Hunt Club is a vampire story, set during the Viet Nam conflict. The first person narrator, a combat medic, has been transformed by a virus into a vampire. He needs to drink blood, but in return he can make himself invisible, fly, and heals so quickly he's immortal. Along with two Army nurses, the "hunt club" of the title, he regularly heads out into the bush to kill Viet Cong, fulfilling his need for blood and secretly helping American forces at the same time. Feeding seems to make vampires terminally horny, so the fraternization is quite intimate. As the author says, it's not porn! Howdershelt's an engaging writer, though I had some problems with his story. The ending was a complete dud...I prefer an ending with a bit of punch to it, but in this story the characters simply go their own separate ways. True enough in life, but fiction isn't life. The prologue, though it grabbed my attention, was not tied to the rest of story, raising questions that remain unanswered. Howdershelt was an Army medic during 'Nam, and I trust the detail of Army life is accurate. The level of Army life minutia might be tedious for some, but I found the storytelling overcame that. I'm reasonably sure he wasn't a vampire, but his details of vampire life are well thought out and consistently presented. I do wonder how realistic it is to have a buck sergeant fraternizing with two nurses (commissioned officers) as much as the protagonist does, but everyone else in the story wonders, as well, and there are plenty of justifications given. Being vampires certainly required ingenuity on the part of the hunt club's members, and the threat of being questioned too closely about time off-base is a constant thread through the novel. I wrote to Howdershelt and found out he's doing all right with his e-publishing business. With the figure he's given me for his online sales I'm sure he's not making his living off his ebooks, but sales in five figures since 1999 is nothing to sneeze at. He markets heavily, making appearances at science fiction conventions and selling through several online partners (the Abintra Press website has a page on marketing). It'll take reading at least one more of Howdershelt's books to see if "Hunt Club" was a fluke. It wasn't too much of a financial burden to buy up the whole lot, however -- he'll sell you a CD of all his stories in the format of your choice for $15, or give you unlimited download rights for $10. Grade: B+ 12:00:19 PM    comment []