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Thank you so much, my friend. Truly. I really appreciate the encouragement. I hope you have a great weekend! Happy reading!

You must not have listened to my review.....I DID oppose it on moral grounds.

@joshobrien4960 I was referring to other reviewers that didn't. Not sure why they oppose it only on the basis of it being "woke". I just don't understand the mindset

My bad, lol! I hope you have a great weekend!

@@harshrox2 I stayed away from it because another commentor said that it also had some same-sex stuff, but I never verified that claim. Can you share any insight on it?

@@sharonrose5134 Me too! I bawled at the end. It's my definition of a perfect book.

I'm with you. Definitely not for me. Do you have any recommendations that you think I'd like?

Oh my I have read so many good books, a great fantasy trilogy that I loved is called The Riyria Revelations. No bad language or sex scenes that I can remember. Just very enjoyable and great humour. There are so many more but hope you get to this trilogy 😀

@sharonrose5134 I actually have that on my list for this year! Now I may have to bump it up! Awesome! Thank you so much!

@joshobrien4960 Oh that's great 👍 hope you enjoy. Look forward to your review if you do read them😃

It means, "Did Not Finish"

Exactly! Sorry that you had a similar reading experience, but at least now we have more time for other books. I hope you have a great weekend! Thanks for watching!

I'm glad you liked it. I never want people to NOT enjoy what they're reading. Different people just have different palates. Have a great weekend! Thanks for listening, and happy reading!

@Finniganmydog Unfortunately, that seems to be the case. I highly recommend James Islington if you havent read him yet. Thanks for watching and happy reading!

My brother.....thank you so much. Your encouragement truly is appreciated. I was in the exact same situation where I kept picking up books based on a RUclipsr's recommendation and having to ultimately put it down, or worse, finishing it and feeling guilty that I had read it. I looked everywhere for the "Common Sense Media" of sci-fi/fantasy books and came up empty-handed, so I thought that someone should do it in order that our brothers and sisters in Christ have the most information to make the best decision for themselves and their convictions. I just stopped wishing for it and decided to turn the camera around, and maybe I can not only help those in Christ, but maybe even reach someone in an unorthodox way with the Gospel. Thanks again for watching, and I hope that I can help you find a few good books along the way! Also, James Islington is a Christian brother with some fantastic books if you haven't tried him. Also, my hoodie says, "You contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin that made it necessary." - Jonathan Edwards Blessings, my brother! I hope you have a fantastic week!

@@joshobrien4960 Thank you for the James Islington recommendation! I'm glad you turned the camera around to fill a need that wasn't being met. I have a similar perspective on writing my own novels. I think books have an incredibly powerful way of influencing people, especially when it comes to fantasy, where a reader can be so deeply immersed in a world and fall in love with characters on the page and in doing so become long-term exposed to the ideology of the author coming through in the writing and story elements. I want to begin increasing the number of fantasy series out there written with a Christian influence as opposed to a secular one. Last year, I wrote a 52-page outline for the debut novel of a series, and right after Christmas I began drafting the actual manuscript. I plan to have the first draft complete by the end of this year, and perhaps begin querying agents in two years, after revisions/editing/beta reading. Love that hoodie. I need to get one.

@ChromeVader That's awesome! Let me know when you finish it, I'd love to read it!

Larry, my friend! So good to hear from you again! This is my ALL-TIME favorite novel. The thing that made me sad is that there since this is set in 1964, there are some ties to people that dealt with some things in WW2 that they had to work through, and that's what got me emotional. I'm a huge WW2 history guy, and I have a special place in my heart for those men who went through that. I don't want to spoil anything, but that's what got to me, but it is so well worth it. You won't regret reading it. Message me anytime, my friend! I love hearing from you!

@joshobrien4960 I too like WW2 history and my Dad was one of the men who was right in the middle of it. He was one of the hundreds of thousands of American troops deployed to Britain as part of the build up prior to D-Day. One incident he told me about was that the group he was with took a break for lunch and during that time they saw a large explosion pretty close to where they were. They found out later that the explosion was the second V2 rocket that landed in England. As you know the V2 was one of the Wonder Weapons that Hitler hoped would save the day. One other thing. After landing on the beach his unit headed in the direction of Germany and they entered one of the concentration camps right after it had been liberated. He saw it up close and personal, as they say. Fast forward many years and we were driving in the car. By now he was in his 80's and I guess this subject came up and I asked him what those people in the concentration camp looked like. I could tell he was sort of struggling to come up with a way to describe it. It just so happened we were driving through this wooded area in south Alabama and he said they looked like, they looked like stripling trees. We've seen the pictures of the camps and that seems like a pretty good description. Anyway, I hope you have a good day and I look forward to your videos.

@dab505279 That is absolutely incredible. Band of Brothers, the book about the 101st Airborne Infantry is one of my favorite books, and that story is probably my favorite group in history to read about, and not just the 101st, but all of those men. It is amazing to get to hear these stories from men like you. I'm so grateful for your father and your family, for the sacrifices you all made for the sake of others. Thank you. On another note, that makes me think that you'll love Boy's Life even more.

@@joshobrien4960 Josh, I promise I'm not going to bug you all day long but I do enjoy communicating with you. I think I'm right that you aren't that far from Anniston. One of my dad's brothers settled in Anniston after the war. But while he was in Germany he had a pretty interesting experience. I'm going to say it the way we would say it in Alabama. "He was blown clean off a tank" while he was in Germany". He had a sense of humor and he probably would have said something like those Germans had no idea how hard his head was. My dad's family lived in Roanoke and many of them worked in the cotton mills. You may have seen some shows about the textile mills and the conditions they worked in. I sure am rambling. But as WW2 kicked off my Dad said that in Roanoke the Draft Board had draft notices delivered by taxis. Some of the boys on the receiving end actually tried to run from the taxis. But the saying "you can run but you can't hide" eventually held true. God bless.

​@@dab505279 My friend, if anyone is rambling it is me. You are correct, I am only about an hour and a half from Anniston. That story about your Uncle is amazing. I bet he told some really good ones. That's really interesting about the draftees because it seems like everything I've read tries to portray young men as doing everything they can to get enlisted. I guess that was painting with a broad brush and reality tends to be a little more nuanced. Bring on as many stories as you've got, my friend. I love it!

Exactly. Thank you for watching, my friend! I hope you have a great week!

@@joshobrien4960 Thank you man! God be with you!

@itsYTYogi While I largely agree with some of what you're saying, I also disagree with many others. Ultimately, I'm not overly concerned about what most other Christians think on this issue, I'm concerned about what the Bible articulates. I wouldn't phrase any of this in the same manner to a non-Christian, but you seem to be claiming to be Christian, so the standard is different for us. As an example, can you answer these questions: 1. Is homosexuality a sin against God? 2. Could Sanderson have written this book without the inclusion of same-sex characters and still gotten a similar or better result? 3. When should we expose homosexuality as a sinful act vs. when we should just accept it as part of the fallen world?

Jesus's love and mercy can not be appropriately expressed without His condemnation of sin. Also, not all sins are treated equally. All cause separation from God, but some are more detestable than others.

@@joshobrien4960 I mean that is your interpretation. When you get to heaven and Jesus asks you why you didn't follow his commandment to love your neighbor, is your excuse going to be to point out the verse in the Bible that told you not to? There are too many contradictions in the Bible to follow it word for word without straight up ignoring parts you don't agree with. I'm good with following the empathy God gave me. Also, why would any sin not listed in the 10 commandments be a greater sin than those that are? Did God not think to call out homosexuality when he gave them to Moses? Seems like a strange oversight on his part.

@AnneAbbey I'm not interpreting the text, I'm just reading the text. When I get to Heaven, I will bow my face before the Almighty God, deserving Hell, just like everyone else. The only difference is that I will plead for His great mercy by pleading that I trusted Christ with my salvation and that I am utterly unworthy by my own works, but I trust the work of Christ who bore the wrath for me on the cross. Homosexuality is covered in the commandments when referring to adultery, then Jesus Christ even makes it more specific by teaching that if you lust for someone, you've committed adultery already. The point isn't, "Follow these things, and you'll be declared righteous". The point is, "You are condemned in unrighteousness already because we are incapable of following the law". That's why Christ came: to fulfill the Law so that He would be worthy to pay our sin debt for us. If that's not true love, that God would condescend to Earth in the form of a man to lay down His life for us, then nothing is. True Christianity is love. The problem is that people have perverted and distorted the definition of love.

@@joshobrien4960 You state that then go on to make a huge interpretation. No where anywhere in the Bible does adultery have anything to do with homosexuality. They are even called out separately in Leviticus, the book all Christians point to when they talk about homosexuality being a sin. I'm also not sure why pointing out that you are a sinner makes any difference whatsoever. So it is ok for you to sin by not loving your neighbor because you are already a sinner, but being gay crosses the line for that guy over there even if he is also already a sinner? Also, the bible describes what love is. It doesn't need anyone to distort it. Let me know which part of the below involves condemning gays: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs."

​@@AnneAbbey 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 LSB 9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor [a]effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Romans 1:26-32 LSB 26 For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions; for their females exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the males abandoned the natural function of the female and burned in their desire toward one another, males with males committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. 28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to an unfit mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 having been filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, violent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and although they know the righteous requirement of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

@@JKSwiftWrites Yes! Exactly! Thanks for watching, my friend! Have a great week!

@@marjoriedonnett5467 Yeah, the people here are really second to none. I live in a small town where almost no one is a stranger, and I love it. If nothing else, at least his books can transport you back there from time to time. Thanks for watching!

Lol, that's awesome! This book is just so good. I wish more people would pick it up.

@@TheArtfulBrittani thanks so much! Yeah, saying that I was disappointed would be an understatement, but nowadays, I'm not surprised. At least now I have plenty of extra time for other books, lol! Have a great week, and happy reading!

@JKSwiftWrites Man....thank you so much. Truly. It can sometimes be quite discouraging when things like my Goodreads review have an OVERWHELMING amount of hateful comments thrown at me, simply for articulating my opinion. Surprisingly, RUclips has been the opposite. Most people on here have been very kind (or at least respectful),even if they disagree with me. I think it is difficult to be exhaustive in my explanations when I'm just talking to the camera and not having true dialogue. Thanks again for the encouragement, my friend. I hope you have an excellent week!

@@joshobrien4960 Definitely try not to get discouraged! I know very well from experience how tough Goodreads can be but don't let it get to you. Have yourself a good week too!

No, him saying he hates gay people isn't "not offensive." "I'm not offending you. I'm just saying that your very existence is pure evil and you should be ashamed."

@@silvertongue.242_99 I thought it was excellent!

I was in the same boat, for the most part. Mike over at Mike's Book Reviews gave a good analogy when he said that he sees this like Avengers Endgame. This is just the end of the cosmere story for me, and im perfectly OK with that.

Thank you, my brother! Yeah, that Goodreads review really went south quickly. I have posted a review for every book I've read for the past 2 years, and this is the first one that was even commented on. I get the fandom is protective of that series, but some people really hate Christians. Shouldn't surprise me, I guess. Some of those comments were hilarious though, like one guy just said, "Soft", and that owned me, lol! Thanks again for your encouragement and for watching, my friend! I hope you have an excellent week!

Yeah, Blackwater hurt because I was very invested. I heard a friend of mine mention some content that was in one of the Dresden books that I already read, and I didn't remember any of it. Part of it is that I listened to the audiobooks, so I missed some of that being preoccupied. The other is that I was not as selective 2 years ago as I am now, and I am willing to bet that there are that I'll recommend now, that I won't in a couple of years. It was part of my reservations starting the channel because I know that there's a strong possibility that I won't be able to support some things in a few years, but it'll still be on RUclips. But I hope that is the case, which means I'm being sanctified over time rather than not growing at all in my faith.

@joshobrien4960 oh yeah for sure! It's hard to find more modern fantasy (or books in general) that are "safe". When I read Hobb, i would skip over a few lines/paragraphs when things were getting too close to my line. That's what I generally do with any that contain content i don't want to read. I don't have kids at home any more and no readers in my life so I don't mind keeping some books on my shelves, but I have Hobb put in a cabinet and I'll probably end up reselling. Also I've found my tastes have changed after reading the writing in classics. Or like Tolkien. So I've just become rather picky overall. Maybe the Lord has been working on my "tastes" to make the choices easier for me. 😊

I'm just hoping we get some more good Christian authors who are able to turn out some great stories without them being cheesy, lol 😆

Look up The Flame of Ram by Israel Cooley. He's a Christian fantasy author. His son Micah Cooley has a Booktube channel he posts on sometimes and is editing his first book. I've not read them but I'm watching for more from them. Authentic Storymaking is the channel

Fantastic! I absolutely will!

Exactly. When I saw his editor, Peter, for the first time rocking a blue-haired skullet, I knew we were in trouble, lol.

Thank you so much! You just saved me a ton of time. I only own Farseer and Liveship. I so I'm not super invested and can easily switch to something else. Thanks again!

@joshobrien4960 it's sad because she's one of the best more modern fantasy authors I've read. Tad Williams is one of the next ones I'm going to try at some point since I own them. I did start Dragonbone chair but then got busy reading classics. 😅

@Thecatladybooknook_PennyD Me too! I've got the Broken Binding editions, and started Dragonbone Chair on audio and just never got around to finishing it. I'm going to start it back up in the next few weeks.

Thank you so much for the encouragement! Yeah, I could see he was beginning to lean into it little by little, so I just had to give up on him as well. I hope you have a great week!

Thanks so much for watching! I hope you enjoy the videos!

@GardnerGoldsmith Thank you so much for the encouragement! So glad to meet fellow brothers and sisters who love reading!

I'm not saying that it's unsafe for a Christian to read ABOUT a same-sex relationship, but we shouldn't be entertained by it, especially regarding a piece of work where the author is promoting such a relationship. The scriptures instruct the Christian to dwell on whatever is good, and it is explicitly stated that homosexuality isn't. There are many reasons why we are instructed to do this, one of which is that people are influenced by what they dwell on. What I mean is that if we are constantly exposed to same-sex relationships to the point where it becomes commonplace, we are slowly being desensitized to a particular sin (and we see numerous examples of this with a myriad of unrighteousness). In a very similar sense, this is part of the reason why divorce is so prevalent today: because society has accepted that it is ordinary, so then people no longer see it as morally wrong. Also, Sanderson does go more explicit in this book with Shallan and Adolin, which I don't want to be entertained by either.

Yes, it is. But I guess I now have more time for other series that I've been putting off. Thank you for the encouragement and for listening! I hope you have a great weekend, my friend!

@@anangryscorpion5838 Yes, I agree that he is just pandering to a particular group, so I don't see how people can get upset when people outside that group don't enjoy that. Thanks for listening, and have a great weekend!

Yeah it does feel like it's more to please the masses. I can ignore same sex relationship existing in books not being so prominent and focused on tho. It can be distracting

​@@joshobrien4960that's what I was thinking even non Christians have issues with the woke pandering. For different reasons but still

Thanks so much! Consider me a subscriber as well! Yeah, unfortunately, I've been disappointed on a few of the series I read this past year, but opens me up to some new ones. I'll be checking out your channel to get some recommendations! I hope you have a great weekend!

@@joshobrien4960 Thanks so much, Josh! :) I'll add you on Goodreads as well.

It was Ready Player One. He showed me that in the first chapter where the main character is describing how society got this point, he goes on a rant for a few pages about "the whole 'God thing' being B.S.", and a few other lines that I must've just overlooked or not really payed much attention to

@@joshobrien4960I get that. The main character of RP1 is deeply insufferable

@NevsBookChannel Yes! I love his channel. I'm not very well-versed in sci-fi, so I normally go to his channel for recommendations. Thanks so much for the support! Have an awesome week, my friend!

@ excellent! I also think you’ll like my number one book of the year in my top 10 video…

Watching now!

Dude it's been in the book ever since the two met

@@danielbroome5690 I said (read carefully): "I don't mind the gays being in stuff, as long as it's organic and adds to the actual story in a meaningful way. When it's inserted as a woke way for 'representation' purposes, then it's 100% going to be trash. Brandon must've gotten his ESG paycheck to force it into the story if it's as prevalent as I keep seeing others say."

​@@danielbroome5690I don't see that at all. They were both outsiders in bridge four and don't really interact much outside of that until they got the same Spren

I think you'll really like it. It's truly a unique story. Plus, now I'm just a huge fan of Islington in general.

I sent him an email after I read it, just to thank him for a good story and to hopefully encourage him as a brother to press on. He actually emailed me back (a few months later because he is writing like a madman for the sequel to Will of the Many) and was so kind. He thanked me profusely and said that it's rare that another Christian messages him about his work. He said he often wonders if his work is meaningless, but every time that he gets to that point, a Christian brother will message him and encourage him, and it recharges him. Such a nice guy.

@ so I have all his books on my shelf but haven’t got to them for whatever reason. This will change immediately! Thanks for sharing this!

Do you know any of them? I don't really know any fantasy authors who are Christian, other than Lewis and Tolkien, but I'd love to support them.

@ Well Josh, I’m glad you asked… From what I remember Islington followed Stephen R. Lawhead who’s a Christian historical fiction and fantasy author known for The Pendragon Cycle, Song of Albion trilogy and The King Raven trilogy among many others. (I just made a video about his most recent novel, Aurelia if you want to know a bit more about him.) But if you want to know some other Christian authors… Gene Wolfe has got to be one of my favorites. Very weird and dense author who often combines really out there scifi ideas with very pulpy fantasy. His Book of the New Sun series is a masterpiece and my favorite scifi series of all time. Often the Christian elements in his books aren’t blatantly obvious, you need to look, you need to meditate on them to find it. Christopher Ruocchio author of the Sun Eater series is also a believer and the Christian themes come out really strong in the later half of the series. This is probably my favorites science fantasy series being written now. Brent Weeks author of the Night Angel trilogy is also a believer and that trilogy has strong biblical themes. Though the series is not grimdark it’s set in a VERY grimdark world so there’s a lot of content warnings (not infrequently against children) that one should be aware of going into it. Tim Powers is a believer and writes secret history fantasy. It tends to read like urban fantasy meets historical fiction. I’ve been reading a book of his lately and it’s been fantastic. Poul Anderson is a contemporary of Tolkien who wrote both sci fi and fantasy and has some good stuff. Not the deepest but still some good stuff. And finally I’ll say A. C. Wilson is an indie author who wrote the Gwambi Tetralogy. The first two have been released and they’re FANTASTIC. It’s colonial inspired flintlock fantasy. It’s got some excellent spiritual themes in it as well. Lawhead, Ruocchio, Wolfe and Wilson are the biggest recommends from me! Hope that helps and let me know if you check any of them out.

@@iSamwiseooh, thanks for this list Sam!

I have yet to read The Road. I have a copy of it, and watched the movie, and MAN, that was hard to watch just because of how grueling their journey was. It was so good, but SO brutal. Do you have any recommendations on how to approach the book? Like, should I pick up something more light-hearted before, and if so, what would you recommend?

@@joshobrien4960 I just recommend going into it understanding it’s going to be about as dark and depressing as possible. However, it’s the small father/son moments along the way that makes it so great. Something different but positive would be the Drizzt books if you are into that style of fantasy. It’s heroic and noble bright fantasy.

@@geauxreadbooks Awesome, I've got the first 3 Drizzt books, so I'll definitely do that. Thanks, my friend!

Lol! I haven't read any Tchaikovsky yet. What's the best place to start?

@@joshobrien4960 Cage of Souls is probably my favorite of his - it's just a crazy wild ride from start to finish. i often find standard fantasy/scifi boring because they can be predictable, but i couldn't predict anything that happened in that whole book. on the edge of my seat the whole time. i also just finished the Children of Time series, which I think is a really really great - some very interesting thoughts about the nature of the mind and the "soul". you don't need to read that series in order to enjoy it, i started with the second book and loved it. Spiderlight is also really fun and challenges a lot of assumptions about who we are and our power structures as humans. very worth reading.

@@joshobrien4960 another couple of fantasy books i would recommend to Christian readers are Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, and Piranesi, both by Susanna Clarke. Jonathan Strange approaches magic in a way that really weaves in historical Christianity, and Piranesi is just a gorgeous, deeply moving novella about forgiveness and the human spirit. I'd also recommend Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn, a very short and lovely but very powerful book about innocence and greed and heroism and the Christ spirit and the "true" self.