Dwellers

[guardianlunnaei]

Um....minor spoilers if anyone plans on reading the book named in the subject? And possible typo demons 'cause I'm at work and on the phone and so not going to read over this to make sure everything is okay...^,^;;

 

That...was a rather odd and disappointing ending to a rather odd and interesting book. >,o

 

Been reading a book called “Dwellers” by Roger Elwood.  It’s a Christian Fiction and it’s written in a really odd style.  I mean...in any given scene there really isn’t much of a “POV”, though most of it seems to be told....about a man named Matthew Kindred.  The narrative is....well....just that essentially.  It’s a narrative.  There’s times in a scene where something will be going on and suddenly with a simple sentence like: ““How many are left?” He would later ask the Dweller who identified himself as Zurth.”  (And yes...that /is/ a direct quote from the book.)  So one moment the man is talking to his son, we have that line above and we go right into the covo with the Dweller.  Again, it’s just a really odd writing style. 

 

But I can forgive it that, it was an interesting book, really was.  Early in Genesis there is a mention of a race known as the “Nephilim”.  It is believed that Goliath, from the famed story of a shepherd boy who faced a giant, was one of the Nephilim.  The Nephilim in the Bible are said to be the offspring of demons that raped and/or seduced human women.  I remember hearing that the Nephilim were all giants and usually had at least minor deformities like extra fingers or toes.  *waves a hand*  But that’s me getting carried away with trivial things that my brain tends to hang onto.

 

Anyway, this book takes the concept of the Nephilim, the idea that the Earth is really hundreds of millions of years old as scientists claim, and tosses an unlikely man into the mix of it.  The Dwellers are a race that live in cave systems deep in the Earth.  They have been around from the beginning and certain members of each little group have passed memories on from the time of creation to present.  (Some with memories of creation, memories of different biblical events, some with memories of Atlantis and when and how if fell, etc, etc.).  So due to some different events this human ends up in their midst experiencing their world (even meeting the Loch Ness Monster and swimming to the location of Atlantis (which is in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle of course, explains why no one’s been able to find it. =D), and then going back to his world with a couple to see if they can develop some friendly relations above ground so the Dwellers no longer have to live in the dank, oppressive caverns underground.

 

Quiet frankly all hell breaks loose and these once passive, and naively trusting creatures/people find out just how hellish humans can be...and they finally retaliate to defend themselves.  One in particular just /snaps/ and rallies other Dwellers to strike back.  They start to poison the earth with the very things that humans have been storing underground (i.e. nuclear weapons and waste, toxic dump, etc).  Matthew is seen as a trusted friend and even as the Dwellers try to wipe out humans so that they can take over the world above Matthew is still seen as a trusted friend and welcomed with open arms.  He’s able to talk some sense into them (after all...they’re poisoning the world that they share with humans, and killing themselves as much as their killing their “enemies”.  So some semblance of peace is restored, but there are still a lot of problems over the next couple years.

 

Honestly...though....it just.../ends/....seems like it’s going somewhere and then jumps into the epilogue that....almost seems to not fit with the rest of the book. >,o.  I dunno...maybe it was one of the two talking at the end that was telling the whole story?  A speculative discussion between philosopher and student?  Guess that could be it, but....but still...the end just feels so....disjointed.  I don’t really feel like I’ve finished the book and that kind of bothers me. 

 

Okay...M’done... *makes sure to grab her Body Trauma book for lunch time reading...*  .....Hmmm...I’ll be reading medical trauma while eating....great....^,^;;;

Comments

[myaibou.livejournal.com]

Personally, I avoid Christian fiction like the plague. The writers are usually SO focused on "I HAVE TO DELIVER MY MESSAGE OF SALVATION" that while they are beating you over the head with it, they don't pay attention to things like plot, writing, POV, character, etc. etc. You know those uber-popular Left Behind books? Worst. Books. EVER. Seriously. (And that's in writing alone. Don't even get me started on the horrible theology...)

Heh. Back in my much-more-conservative days, my first (and worst!) fic had a bit of that. I'm sooooooooo embarrassed about it now. And it features a Mary Sue character, another trait common to Christian fiction. ::shakes head:: The only good memory associated with that fic is that it featured triplets... and I wrote it a year before I got pregnant with triplets. Now, that's prophetic. ::g::

[dragondancer515.livejournal.com]

LOL - that'd be your Star Wars fic, right? XD And I'm sure /ALL/ of us have that, including well-known published writers - that first and /worst/ fic that now hides at the bottom of the underwear drawer (or some equivalent). ^_~

And . . . interesting, the points you bring up on Left Behind. I've not read them, have no interest in doing so . . . but both my parents LOVED THEM TO DEATH! And my dad does a lot of study-reading . . . or . . . whatever you'd call it. Books written /about/ books of the Bible, either as sort of "textbooks" for study groups or whatever. And I'm /sure/ he's got a series on Revelation (am pretty sure I've seen it at their house anyway).

I don't know enough to start a conversation, but I just thought I'd share the thought that crossed my mind when I read that - that part of me would love to hear a conversation between you and my dad on the series, just to get the differing viewpoints. I'm not arguing what you said about the theology, btw - again, I don't know anything about to /have/ an opinion - but...yeah.

shutting up now lol

[myaibou.livejournal.com]

that first and /worst/ fic that now hides at the bottom of the underwear drawer (or some equivalent). ^_~

Mine's still posted somewhere, I think. That was back when I was too stupid to use a pseudonym, too. It's under my real name (though I think I got the fic archive person to take my last name off so at least it shouldn't come up in a Google search of me anymore.) It actually was well-received, probably because it wasn't really badfic, despite the Bible stuff thrown in randomly and the Mary Sue OC. It was just... lame. But the triplet thing became an epic joke (in a good way). :)

Re: Left Behind. I read only the first of the series and was profoundly disturbed. I don't mean in a good, "Wow, that was disturbing and creepy" way, but in an "Okaaaaaaaay. If God is really anything like how God is portrayed in this book, I'm becoming an atheist." It just really, truly upset me at a core level to see God portrayed as this vengeful, narcissistic, nitpicker who only gives protection to those who say the right magic words prayer. I actually went to my pastor and had a lengthy discussion about it, I found it so upsetting. Fortunately, he LOATHED the book and explained exactly why that isn't the theology he preached at our church. That was very helpful.

My favorite site for a VERY thorough breakdown of exactly why these books are so awful is Slacktivist's Left Behind Archive. His analysis is much more thorough than anything I could do.

[guardianlunnaei.livejournal.com]

Depends on the author, and I never take anything as presented, some people just have a screwed up view of how God is supposed to be. I take the story as a story. Is the story good (forget any religious aspects of it...if possible)? Are the characters interesting? I remember liking such books as The Dragon King trilogy, I've enjoyed House, Monster, and others like This Present Darkness, and Showdown. House and Showdown are technically Christian fiction, but their focus is the strange and scary (both fall into the psychological thriller category). The Dragon King Trilogy takes place in a whole different world with different "gods" and "demons" and begins with a plot to kill the king and an unlikely boy the only one available to deliver a very important message to the Queen. If it's fun and adventurous, perhaps with an element with the magical though not required, I'll give it a try. A book usually has 2-5 chapters to catch me and if it doesn't...or I'm not liking what I'm getting...I drop it for something different...

Heh...I've got a handful of those fics...the ones that I just think about and cringe...and yet can't help laughing about, 'cause they really show how far I've come. XD