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Book reviews for "Aluko,_Timothy_Mofolorunso" sorted by average review score:
Essential Piece, The Living Out Luke 14:26 in Everyday Life
Published in Paperback by WINEPRESS PUBLISHING (June, 2000)
Author: Timothy Williams
Amazon base price: $12.95
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The truth revealed
Wow! I have never seen the truth of the gospel laid out so clearly in a modern-day book. So many gospels out there do not spell out the truth, but this one gives a full understanding of what Jesus was teaching.

In reading this book, God opened my eyes to my own hypocricy. Since then, I have found so much joy in knowing what it means to surrender my life to Jesus. This book will certainly help anyone who is truly searching for the heart of God.

True Christianity
The Essential Piece is the first example I have had in my life of true Christianity written down. When this book was given to me I grabbed it up and read the first page or so and then just as quickly put it down. I knew then that when I did read it my life was going to change. Not too soon after my husband and I read it together and knew we had never known the true living God. I began to understand all the things I wondered about that Jesus said and did. I finally saw, like those in the Bible, that I CRUCIFIED JESUS and I began to cry out "What must I do to be saved?". And that was just the beginning. You can read this in Calvary Road or Humility , but this generation, in which the love of most has grown cold, needs The Essential Piece, the cross.

Something Missing?
For three years I attended a church every Sunday and participated in a couple of lukewarm, at best, cell groups in my area. I thought of myself as an "on fire" Christian because I was always there for my church to help when they needed it. When I read this book my heart dropped and my eyes looked up toward heaven (Daniel 4:34). Until that point I had never actually considered what Jesus Christ had to say, I just read and repeated His words (John 5:39-40). This book is not the Bible, no other book is THE Bible. But it just may be your Philip (Acts 8:30-31) in a time when the love of many has grown cold. Consider not the words of this author, but the Words of Christ, for He alone can put the piece in the puzzle where it belongs in your life.

The Faith of Jesus Christ: The Narrative Substructure of Galatians 3:1-4:11 (The Biblical Resource Series)
Published in Paperback by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (November, 2001)
Authors: Richard B. Hays and Luke Timothy Johnson
Amazon base price: $17.50
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Worth several readings
Richard Hays argues that Paul is telling or appealing to a story in his argument with the Galatians--the story of the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. There are many things of interest and value in this work. I will simply mention the provacative thesis that, many times, when our English Bibles translate "faith in Jesus Christ," Hays argues that Paul is actually referring to "the faith of Jesus Christ." Christ's own trust in God and his faithful obedience to the point of death on the cross is the crux of our salvation from the curse.

I still haven't decided if I'm sure Hays is right. As I have noted, the book is worth several readings. But for those looking for something meaty in New Testament theology, hermeneutics and/or literary theory, I think this should be at the top of your list.

Religious Experience in Earliest Christianity: Tagline: A Missing Dimension in New Testament Study
Published in Paperback by Fortress Press (January, 2003)
Author: Luke Timothy Johnson
Amazon base price: $14.00
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Religious Experiencing perspective on Christian origins
A clear, concise, much-needed perspective on the beginnings of Christianity. Critiques the limitations of the Theology perspective and the Historical Sociopolitical perspective, and explains why scholars are averse to looking at the origins of Christianity from the point of view of religious experiencing.

Central chapters cover glossalia and especially sacred meals, looking for the kind of experiencing that was common to the Mystery Religions and Jewish initiation. The convenient footnotes have valuable references to the books he praises and critiques. Ends with a call to start looking for religious experiencing as the main cause of Christianity.

The Last Command (Star Wars, Vol 3)
Published in Hardcover by Bantam Doubleday Dell Pub (Trd) (May, 1993)
Author: Timothy Zahn
Amazon base price: $21.95
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An extremely good book for SW fans or not - action packed

I rarely give out five stars, but this book raelly deserved it. Zahn did an excellent job from begining to end. Loads of action especially during the battle between Skywalker,Mara, and C'baoth.

Two of my favorit scenes is when Trrawn sends out his elite forces after Leia and her twins. The other is when Luke and Mara battle the literally insane Jedi Master C'baoth.

Lando Calrissian one of the over looked character in the Star Wars books that I've read many has a very impotant part in protecting Leia, as well as the Noghri.I like this part< because it's awesome how Thrawn infiltrates the Rebel base located on Coruscant in the palace of the late emperor Palpatine.

I like the battle between Master C'baoth,Luke, and Mara, because it has a lot of action and an interesting plot turn lots of rock falling. There even a Luke vs. Luke battle. The ending is also very uique, some may say it's simple maybe those of you who like big explosions where the enemy could always survive. However Thrawn's end is pretty up close and personal.

The only thing I can find possibly bad about this series is that Tommothy Zahn and this series may be slightly over rated but I think it's well desrved.

Simply the Best.
This book, no, the entire trilogy, is worth far more than it's cover price. Each character comes alive on the pages, the plot is thick enough to need a knife. It draws the reader in from the start and doesn't let go until it's finished. You'll want to read this trilogy as fast as you can, yet wishing that it never ends. If you love Star Wars, (and anyone who doesn't is a fool) then you'll want to pick up these books! Zahn truely captures the essance of the Star Wars universe. He, like this trilogy, are simply the best!

THE BEST OF THE STAR WARS BOOKS
This is the one SW book that is worthy of being compared to the movie. If you don't read any other Star Wars books, read the Thrawn trilogy. Zahn has superb characterization. The characters feel like they did in the movie. The villains, Grand Admiral Thrawn & C'boath were brilliantly evil unlike some of the others I have seen in the other novels. I love the way Thrawn can figure out his enemies actions from a few scraps of evidence or from their artwork. They should make the trilogy into a movie. By far, this is the best of the Star Wars novels. You can't get any better than this.

Living Jesus
Published in Hardcover by HarperCollins (January, 1999)
Author: Luke Timothy Johnson
Amazon base price: $22.00
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EXCELLENT AND CONCISE
lt johnson is a moderately conservative catholic (in fact an ex-monk) who has written extensively on nt studies. this 203 page book can be read in a few hours and is not bogged down with scholarly jargon. essentially he is putting into perspective the value of historical Jesus studies. lt states that if Jesus is today alive for Christians, how then can we get a reliable picture of Him by using the means by which we study dead people! he has been gently criticised by some including ben witherington and raymond brown for separating the Jesus of history from the Jesus we worship - but i don't think that is the focus of johnson's argument. i think lt is simply pointing out (quite validly) that historical critical studies can give only a limited picture of Jesus. he uses as an interesting example adolf hitler. if we were to perform a study in "historical hitlerology" (attempting to construct a portait using what hitler thought of himself as well as the thoughts of his closest associates), we would indeed come up with a picture of hitler that would be quite different than what we know to be true. i would agree that this comparison is a little oblique, but johnson makes a good point. the first few chapters may seem a little fluffy to some but they move quickly into the meat of the work. all in all, this is a very readable work. not everyone will agree with johnson but all those interested in Jesus studies need to be exposed to his point of view!

Learning About Jesus
Luke Timothy Johnson does a masterful job at creating a book that engages the reader's mind and heart. Though this book is written from an ex-priest and still retains much Catholic tradition, the Protestant reader can also enjoy and gain insight from this well written text.

This book is not written for the skeptic or the Christian revisionist, like his previous book "The Real Jesus." Instead this material will penetrate the heart of the believer. As he wonderfully points out, "To be a Christian means to assert that Jesus is alive, is indeed life-giving Spirit." This book reminds the Christian that we should be learning from a living Jesus. To often, we look at Jesus as a piece of history. This is a wake-up call to Christians everywhere.

We are to learn from Jesus from great Christians, the church, and the New Testament. I find Dr. Johnson's book to be honest and forthright and appreciated his candor about the church and himself. This is a must read!

Spirit-filled.
While firmly rooted in Holy Scripture and Tradition, the author presents his broad vision of what it means to follow in the footsteps of the Lord - especially in His role of suffering servant and revealer of the Father.

Vision of the Future (Star Wars: The Hand of Thrawn/Timothy Zahn, No. 2)
Published in Hardcover by Bantam Books (01 September, 1998)
Author: Timothy Zahn
Amazon base price: $24.95
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Once again, Zahn conquers.
To put it simply, this is the best book in the Star Wars series of Novels. Zahn follows on with the Thrawn storyline that any avid Star Wars fan would love, and brings that story to a (finally) logical conclusion.

While many of the other authors who have delved into the star wars universe appear to have had no other goal that to provide us with constant contradictions, Zahn once again returns with a brilliant plot.

In a story that involves many of the major characters from past star wars novels, the New Republic is threatened both from within and without. The emergence of a certain document pushes the New Republic to the brink of civil war. At the same time, the 'reappearance' of Grand Admiral Thrawn worries the New Republic.

With Mara Jade lost on an unexplored world, and Luke Skywalker hot on her trail in a daring rescue attempt, we see the reunion of these two stars of the Thrawn trilogy.

This book brings back everyones favourite characters, and FINALLY ties up all those annoying loose ends... along with a few surprises along the way. VISION goes a long way to repairing the damage done by previous novels, and proves their is life, and a storyline, left in the star wars universe yet.

The redeemer of the Star Wars books
This book was truly amazing. It was beautifully written and portrayed the Empire as more than the one sided villain it has so easily become in the other books. It also shows Luke as less than perfect - something that pleased me no end, because I have always felt uncomfortable with his 'I can do no wrong, and falling to the dark side will never affect me again' status.

I also thought that the Mara/Luke relationship was dealt with well - it was a great plot twist at the end, but Zahn had so carefully laid the background that it was utterly believable. I also liked the suddeness of it, it made a difference from the slow saga of the Callista books (Children of the Jedi, Darksaber, Planet of Twilight).

I also feel compelled to point out what a stunning character Mara Jade is. She beats Callista any day (who although I enjoyed her, was obviously created specifically to be Luke's girl...if you ask me the fact that Mara wasn't only that plotline better!)

It's an amazing book. Read it. Zahn has managed to redeem my faith that truly amazing SW books can be written. Ones which deal with the flaws in the good guys and the redeeming features of the bad ones...books that go beyond a new superweapon appearing in every new Trilogy, and the ageing super heroes going off to save the day. This book rocks!

A Must-Read For All "Star Wars" Fans!
If you enjoyed Timothy Zahn's HEIR TO THE EMPIRE trilogy, you're in for a real treat with VISION OF THE FUTURE! This book is the brilliant, exciting, astonishing conclusion to the story that was begun in SPECTER OF THE PAST. Tim Zahn is a masterful storyteller! He takes his multi-dimensional characters and his rich plots and subplots through many unexpected twists and turns before he finally weaves them all together in his stunning finish. The characterizations are excellent and on-target. The author has truly captured the essence of all of our engaging, beloved, resourceful old friends from that Galaxy Far, Far Away, and introduces us to some interesting and compelling new ones. The reader truly connects with these characters who are very REAL, as they face countless dangers and tremendous obstacles. The villains are intelligent, cunning, and surprising; worthy opponents for our favorite heroes and heroines. There is something for everyone in this novel: action, adventure, intrigue, mystery, sacrifice, friendship, humor, politics, heroics, shocking revelations, and valuable lessons learned, all wrapped together in the wonderful surprise package that is this book. VISION OF THE FUTURE is a novel that no "Star Wars" fan should miss! This was without a doubt, the best "Star Wars" book of all, and my personal favorite. I strongly encourage you to resist the powerful temptation to jump ahead or to take a peek at the ending when reading this book. Many things happen all at once at the end and there are some very startling developments. You will be confused and much of the impact will be lost if you give in to the overwhelming desire to read ahead. Trust me: If you read VISION OF THE FUTURE cover to cover without skipping forward, you'll be very glad that you did! Someone shared that advice with me and I was very grateful that she did!

The Letter of James: A New Translastion with Introduction and Commentary (Anchor Bible, Vol 37A)
Published in Hardcover by Anchor Bible (October, 1995)
Author: Luke Timothy Johnson
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ably and admirably argues against the critical consensus
No one to date has argued for the unity of the argument of the letter of James more systematically and more cogently than L. T. Johnson. While M. Dibelius' atomized reading of James continues to dominate the critical approach, Johnson's rejection of his basic premise that James is a series of unrelated moral exhortations is both fresh and appealing. Johnson's well-researched historical scholarship is balanced by his close reading of the text. Johnson discovers the overarching theme of the message of James in the antithesis between friendship with the world and friendship with God (Jas 4:4). The unity of James' argument is discovered in the injunction against "double-mindedness," the attempt to live according to two perceptions or measures of reality (or two "wisdoms": the world's measure and God's measure. James' discussion of faith and works fits this overall framework, directed against those who claim to embrace God's measure (faith), but whose works reveal another wisdom at work in their members.

Johnson could have followed through on a number of exegetical issues he just touches on. For example his identification of the OT prophetic idiom in James' call to covenant conversion (Jas 4:7-10) is a promising avenue which he fails to explore. Johnson is also inconsistent in his thesis that James is a protreptic discourse, an address to a community of profession (i.e. "the faith of Jesus Christ" (Jas 2:1)) calling for consistency of life with profession. Johnson fails adequately to take into consideration the particular address to "the twelve tribes of the diaspora" (Jas 1:1) governs the scope of the discussion as it limits James' audience. Where, however, he does remember his thesis, the commentary is very insightful and profitable.

As with the Anchor Bible series a familiarity with theological idiom and a basic understanding of Greek is requisite.

Thorough and Informative Commentary
A reader who encounters the Epistle of St. James without preconceptions is unlikely to see anything in it that would account for its position as one of the most disputed and problematic works in the New Testament canon. On the surface, the book is a series of apparently disjointed reflections and injunctions, emphasizing the absolute goodness of God, human responsibility for sin, the need to restrain intemperate speech and other passions, and the deadness of religious faith that does not lead to action on behalf of the poor and suffering. Both form and content reflect what one would expect from a very early Christian writing in the tradition of Jewish Wisdom literature.

If the same reader consults the typical modern commentary, he will get a very different picture: of a pseudonymous composition, dating from as late as 150 A.D., whose real point is to attack the theology of St. Paul (which is allegedly either misrepresented or misunderstood). This negative view goes back as far as Martin Luther, who branded James "a right strawy epistle" and only reluctantly included it in his translation of the Bible.

Luke Timothy Johnson's commentary ably defends the epistle against its detractors and reveals the profound beauty of its thought. In a lucid fashion, with almost (but only almost) no academic jargon and turgidity (he really ought to find synonyms for "rich" as an adjective and worry less about James' failure to use "gender-neutral" language), Johnson presents a wealth of information about the epistle's literary and historical background, its reception by the Church and its place in Christian thought and worship. Especially acute is his analysis of James' line of argument, which he shows to be remarkably coherent, albeit not linear and easy to grasp.

There has lately been a revival of scholarly interest in James, "the Brother of the Lord". Before turning to the solid but plodding John Painter ("Just James") or the wild-eyed Robert Eisenman, one would do well to absorb Johnson's thorough and informative study.

Dark Force Rising (Star Wars, Vol 2)
Published in Hardcover by Bantam Doubleday Dell Pub (Trd) (June, 1992)
Author: Timothy Zahn
Amazon base price: $11.88
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The Force is with this book!
When I read this book, I have to say that it reminded me of the first book in this trilogy. Like the first book, it was one of the best books I have ever read. The author held the true personalities of the characters while adding new characters, ships, and aliens that almost every other Star Wars author used at least one thing that Timothy Zahn added{Does not include original trilogy or Splintor of the Mind's eye.} The authors don't relate to other Star Wars books except Barbara Hambly and Kevin J. Anderson. And Timothey Zahn and Michael Stackpole. Most of the people who did not like this book had to say something about how small the Imperial Fleet was. Any leader knows that the main bulk of your force should be to defending your territory. Zahn does not need to paint a picture for us about that. It is obvious that those 5 Destroyers are Thrawn's personal fleet for the most important missions. Like the Executer, the Super Star Destroyer was to Darth Vader. And by now, the Empire is broken up in fractions, with most of the Imperial fleet with individual warlords. I kind of remember that after Thrawn lost a Destroyer in Dark Force Rising, that he still had 5 destroyer in the Last Command. A great read for Star Wars fans and non-Star Wars fans!

The Empire Stirkes Back of Star Wars Novels
Dark Force Rising is the second book in the Thrawn trilogy. Rumors once circulated that the Thrawn trilogy was Star Wars Episodes 7, 8, and 9. Well, if the rumors weren't true, then they should have been. Though I believe Empire Strikes Back to be the ultimate Star Wars film, Dark Force Rising could easily be comparable in character, plot, pace, mood, and overall quality.

Through the voice of the narrative, the rich design of the worlds, and the intensity of the characters, Timothy Zahn recreates the Star Wars universe to absolute perfection. The character of the evil Grand Admiral Thrawn is drawn to show that he is quite distinct from Darth Vader, and could even possible rival Vader as a leader. Where Vader ruled with fear, Thrawn ruled with intellect.

Besides Thrawn, two of the best characters in Dark Force Rising are Talon Karde and Mara Jade. Talon Karde's struggle to escape the clutches of the Empire is shown right at the very beginning of the novel. With Mara Jade at his side, they watched his home in Heir to the Empire be taken away. Mara Jade continues to contain her inner struggle with wanting to kill Luke Skywalker. But, it seems she becomes more of a transitional character, as she begins to look to Luke for help to free Karde from Thrawn. The struggle to free Karde would remind anyone of the scenes in A New Hope when Luke tried to save Leia from the Death Star.

Dark Force Rising is the darkest of the trilogy. The term 'Dark Force' has two meanings. The first meaning represents the fleet of 200 abandoned Clone Wars Destroyers out in the middle of the universe, and the one who possesses the fleet has the chance to win the overall war. The second meaning is Thrawn's power rising in the universe.

The book carries three separate storylines. The first storyline deals with the moral conflicts of Luke and the insane Master C'baoth. The second deals with Leia trying to convince the loyal imperial Noghri to turn away from the Empire and join the new republic. Finally, the third storyline deals with Han and Lando, as they deal with the internal political uprising led by Councilor Fey'lya.

The end of the book contains a surprise that would compell the reader to grab for the last book in the series as soon as the second book is complete.

An excellent middle book to the trilogy
While this book isn't as exciting as Heir to the Empire, and not as immensly well written as The Last Command, it's still an excellent book that is essential to understanding the whole trilogy. Since I consider this trilogy to be the cornerstone of Star Wars fiction, I would therefor recommend it to anyone, even the casual fan who would just kind of like to know what happened next. I would defenitely also recommend reading Heir to the Empire first, since otherwise this book will make no sense what so ever. For those of you just getting into Star Wars fiction, this is a very good place to start. In fact, I would even recommend reading this series before the ones set before it, since that way it will give a better general perspective of the overall story. Several important things happen in this series that have a profound effect on everything that comes after it, Han and Leia have their first children, Jacen and Jaina, the New Republic meets it's match (once again) and for that matter so does Luke. Anyway, the story of this book in particular basically revolved around a bunch of space battles in which everyone is fighting over the Katana Fleet, or the Dark Force, which is a fleet of dreadknots (or however that's spelled) that was lost some time ago. The smuggler Talon Karrde and his second in command Mara Jade know where it is, and promise to give it to the New Republic, something that makes Mara Jade (a former imperial assasin/spy with an intense hatred of Luke, and also happens to be highly force sensitive) very displeased. Meanwhile, a pregnant Leia is on Honoghor trying to consolidate the Noghri into joining the New Republic. Though, while this book is full to the brim with vivid battles of all kinds, there is plenty of character stuff to satisfy also. Original and new characters alike are portrayed magnificently, both in their personalities and in their interactions with the other characters. Another excellent thing about this series is that it is the official introduction of Mara Jade, who is possibly the coolest and most interesting character in Star Wars. Her interactions with Luke especially were superb, very fun and interesting. When I read this book for the first time I found it hard to believe those two were going to end up together, even if it does happen ten years later, but now the second time around I can see the subtle attraction developing between them. I think this will be a relationship I will enjoy for once, much better than Luke's other relationships (Gaeriel, Callista(gagging noises)) Anyway, this is an excellent book that I would definitely recommend to any Star Wars fan, child or adult.

Specter of the Past: Star Wars (Star Wars (Bantam Books (Firm): Unnumbered).)
Published in Hardcover by Bantam Doubleday Dell Pub (Trd) (December, 1997)
Author: Timothy Zahn
Amazon base price: $23.95
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"Specter of the Past" is truly spectacular!!
This is one of the best Star Wars book out. It contains all you ever want from Star Wars. Lots of action, each character getting invovled in differnt things. Timothy Zahn has written some of the best plots for Star wars. All of Zahn's plots have had one thing in comman, they have delt with Admiral Thrawn, one of the worst enemies out there. This book is a two part saga and Thrawn is already dead. Luke, Leia, and Han describe Thrawn as one of there hardest foes to defeat. "Specter of the Past" takes place some fifteen years after "Return of the Jedi." In this book, the empire is rebuiding and a Moff desides to take matter in his own hand and create an Admiral Thrawn look alike. The New Republic hands a document contain some information that the some Bothan Clans were invovled in helping the Empire distroy a race. they also find a blank document titled "The Hand of Thrawn," which is what this two book series is called. This unvailing of what happen to Caamas is hurting the republic and could rip them apart enough so the Empire could riegn supreme once again. If you want to know the rest, read it for your self, then read the sequel "Vision of the Future," and what the future holds may be surprising. Other Star War novel Timothy Zahn has wrote are "Heir to the Empire", "Dark Force Rising", and "The Last Command."

THE BEST EVER STAR WARS NOVEL
AMAZING - Thrawn is back! When I first picked up this book I could hardley put it down. Zahn writes in a style matched by no one. The story is that it turns out the Bothans were the ones responsible for helping Palpatine destroying a long lost world. The news comes out and everyone wants to either kill the Bothans or save them. Then Thrawn comes back from the dead ready to lead the Imperials to victory while the Republic destroys itself. Zahn includes all the classic charactars whom other authors have seem to forgotten - Mara Jade, the Noghri, Pallaeon. On top of this he mixes Stakpoles Rougue Squadron and Booster Terrik. All in all this action packed novel has you eating out of it's hand. Buy it at all costs. Oh yeah, Just try working out who or what the Hand of Thrawn actually is - when you do read the next book you'll be in for quite a suprise.

The Saga Continues with style
At last a new star wars book, that justly deserves its place in the universe. Timothy Zahn has taken us back to the suspense and drama, he first displayed with the "Heir to the Throne" trilogy. I love the fact that the "Tonnika twin story" in Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina relates to this story and that one of my favourite characters is now a part of the usual group (Shada the mistral, of course).
The plot and subplots are filled with political intrigue and plenty of action, unfortunatley luke is not a major player in this story, but encompassing this fact, two other players have larger roles (Mara Jade and Talon Karrde.)
Could it be possible that these two could have their own adventures retold by Timothy Zahn. All in all I am gasping for the next episode....May the force be with you all

The Writings of the New Testament: An Interpretation
Published in Paperback by SCM Press (10 January, 2003)
Author: Luke Timothy Johnson
Amazon base price: $

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