Susan Hated Literature

She'd much prefer to read a good book

Tag Archives: religion




The light heart of stone

31 July 2012
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The light heart of stone by

Book one in the Promise of Stones series. Fox is a young girl growing up on the Stone Body, a land ruled over by the Compionarii. She is a member of an Indiginy tribe. A long time ago the Stone … Continue reading →

The black opera by Mary Gentle

23 June 2012
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The Black Opera by

Conrad Scalese’s latest opera was a great success. Unfortunately the theatre in which it was performed has just been stuck by lightening. And since the composer and many of the performers have fled Naples the church decides to blame him. … Continue reading →

26 August 2011
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God’s War by

War is hell. Especially on a planet torn up between warring religious countries. Nyx has done her time at the front, been a hero and had her body rebuilt. Then she joined the bel dame, government mercenary/bounty hunters to you … Continue reading →

25 July 2011
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Dune (round iii) by

Dune

The final questions for the Dune group read are:

  1. What is your reaction to finally learning the identity of Princess Irulan? Do you think that her convention added to the story?
  2. Were you satisfied with the ending? For those reading for the first time, was it what you expected?
  3. On both Arrakis and Salusa Secundus, ecology plays a major role in shaping both characters and the story itself. Was this convincing? Do you think that Paul would have gone through with his threat to destroy the spice, knowing what it would mean for Arrakis?
  4. Both Leto and Paul made their decisions on marriage for political reasons. Do you agree with their choices?
  5. What was your favorite part in this section of the book?
  6. One of the things I noticed in the discussions last week was Herbert’s use of the word “jihad.” What do you think of Herbert’s message about religion and politics?

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7 May 2010
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The good man Jesus and the scoundrel Christ by

by Philip Pullman

The back of the edition of this that I read has only the words: This is a story. Interesting. Is that because the publisher’s don’t want to offend the ultra religious in the Christian world. Or is it a message from the author that the life of Jesus is a story. That the bible is a story.

Pullman, of course, is known for his ever so slightly controversial views on religion, he has used them in his fiction before. In that case it involved a worn-out god, and power-hungry angels. Here he revisits the myth:”(is a myth a religion we dont believe in?)”: of Jesus Christ and weaves a new story out of it.

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15 February 2010
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A letter of Mary by

The more I read of this series the more I come to love the characters, and indeed the whole set-up. Mary Russell is such a believable character, and King’s Holmes is just perfect.

The mystery at the heart of this novel concerns the death of Dorothy Ruskin. An archaeologist working in Jerusalem, she met up with Russell and Holmes when they travelled the area back in book one. In this book she comes to visit them, bringing with her an exquisite wooden box which contains a parchment on which is written a letter, from Mary of Magdala to her sister. Was it really written by the infamous Mary Magdalen? And was the car accident that killed her really an accident?

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14 August 2008
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Purple Hibiscus by

Things started to fall apart at home when my brother, Jaja, did not go to communion and Papa flung his heavy missal across the room and broke the figurines on the étagére.

Kambili, the teenage narrator of the book, is a 15 year old girl. In many ways she lives a priveliged life in Nigeria. Her father owns factories; he is a “big man” in the community. A fact that is brought home to her when she visits her less well off aunt and cousins. But wealth doesn’t equal happiness. Kamibili and her brother Jaja live under the strict rules of their father and his fiercely religious beliefs.

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9 December 2007
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The Golden Compass [based on the book] by directed by

I read, and really enjoyed, Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials a while back, so I was really looking forward to this film, the first of three. Unfortunately it just isn’t very good. It should be. The story is a wonderful … Continue reading →