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Before highlighting problems, it is only fair to note that several strengths contribute to the book's abiding appeal. Sanford focuses on the kingdom of God as "an inner, spiritual reality" - a creative process of growth into wholeness rather than a static thing, place, or afterlife - that persons can begin to experience here and now (pp. 42, 46). In combination with insightful and sometimes novel interpretations of Jesus' parables, this focus on a here-and-now kingdom makes Jesus' teachings relevant for daily life. The hermeneutic possibilities opened up by Sanford's Jungian perspective challenge the narrow-mindedness of biblical literalism and the religious reductionism of scientific materialism. Sanford's Jungian approach also entails pastoral implications. It provides a religious framework for understanding how depression, spiritual stagnation, and neurosis may actually be signs of God at work in a person's life.
In spite of its many strengths, Sanford's Jungian perspective suffers from a number of weaknesses that undermine the primary intention of the book: the revitalization of authentic Christian life in contemporary society. These weaknesses take four forms: performative contradiction, latent anti-Semitism, individualism, and religious reductionism. Before concluding, I will briefly touch on each of these points.
Sanford repeatedly criticizes what he regards as the dualisms of "traditional" Christian faith. In particular, he attacks the normative status of body/spirit or body/mind dualism in which the body is given a negative status and the spirit or mind is understood in positive terms. While there is much truth to this critique of "traditional" Christian thought's evaluation of the body and the passions, it suffers from a performative contradiction. In the very act of rejecting the binary oppositions of dualistic thinking for the sake of wholeness and integration, Sanford replaces traditional dualism with Jungian dualism. So, for example, Sanford's argument relies upon the normative status of an ethical dualism: the ethic of obedience in Judaism and "traditional" Christianity versus the ethic of creativity called for by the Jungian perspective. Sanford associates the ethic of obedience with the infantile and unenlightened properties of tribal consciousness, a consciousness supremely exemplified in the Ten Commandments and in the practices of the orthodox Jew or Pharisee (cf. p. 150). Echoing the language of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, Sanford diagnoses this condition as a "herd morality" that dooms persons to domination by "an inner darkness" (p. 149). The ethic of creativity, by contrast, represents spiritual growth, maturation, and individuation among persons who recognize the need to "go beyond following rules to the stage of consciousness where we become aware of our inner opposition and can thus hope to begin to live in light" (p. 150). Instead of tribal consciousness and herd morality, the ethic of creativity fosters individual awareness and personal morality.
By making this dualistic contrast, Sanford hopes to overcome tendencies towards legalism and Pelagianism in religious faith and practice. Sanford approximates this goal, however, by vastly oversimplifying the complex relations between law, grace, obedience, and creativity in biblical religion. Even more unfortunate, the close correlation established by Sanford's Jungianism between the infantile, the herd instinct, unenlightened consciousness, and inner darkness with a religion grounded in obedience to law injects a strain of anti-Semitism as a subtle but recurring motif throughout the book.
Closely related to Sanford's Jungian dualism is the book's uninhibited celebration of religious and moral individualism. "Christianity," Sanford writes, "is the religion of individuality" (p. 90). While this statement accords well with the rampant individualism of American consumer culture, it fails to do justice to the deeply social and communitarian character of biblical thought and Christian tradition. Sanford does not adequately take into account the fact that Jesus' kingdom language is inherently the language of community. In the process, Sanford renders conceptions of the kingdom as the Beloved Community of all persons in relation to God and the church as the body of Christ epiphenomenal to Christian faith.
This leads directly to the moral and religious reductionism of Sanford's Jungian perspective. Sanford reduces the social cause of Jesus - his loyalty to the kingdom of God to the point of willingness to die on the cross - to an individualistic ideal of self-actualization. As important as spiritual growth is for the Christian life, reducing the core of Christian discipleship to an individualistic drive for self-actualization trivializes Jesus' suffering and death. After all, the cross is the supreme symbol of the loss of self. The cross points to an absolute letting go of all aspirations for self-actualization for the sake of fulfilling God's will. Sanford's Jungianism renders the cross unnecessary.
THE KINGDOM WITHIN raises the following question for readers: does Sanford use the Jungian perspective to demonstrate the truth of Jesus' teachings, or does he use Jesus' teachings to demonstrate the truth of Jungianism? I maintain that the insightful character of Sanford's reading of Jesus' teachings depends upon the subjugation of the gospels to a psychological theory. In the Introduction, Sanford claims that "the teachings of Jesus do not depend upon any system of thought" (p. 21). Ironically, by the time the book reaches its concluding chapter, Jesus' teachings are inseparable from the system of Jungian psychology.
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If you're reading this, I assume you haven't read the series up to Night Prey. If you had, you wouldn't waste your time reading reviews. There would be no question. There would be no hesitation. You'd be reading Night Prey.
So since you haven't read the series to this point, start at Rules of Prey. Follow with Shadow Prey, Eyes of Prey, Silent Prey, and Winter Prey. Then it's time for this.
Night Prey is a solid addition to the series to this point. While it doesn't quite stand up to the level of excellence established in the preceding three volumes, it's still a compelling story with memorable characters. And while the main story is one of pure suspense, with any real element of mystery sacrificed to study the villain, Sandford weaves in a subplot which is classic "locked door" (as another reviewer puts it). It's nicely done.
A question for those who've read the book : If SSA is backwards, is SJ as well? What's the author's name?
Davenport, hired back by the new police chief to investigate their toughest cases, is pursuing one of the most violent killers he's ever encountered. The unknown perpetrator commits acts of extreme brutality against women, murdering with incredible force and viciousness.
As always, Sandford keeps the plot interesting and the action swift, leading us through the investigation along with Davenport as he unravels the Gordian knot of clues and evidence. At the same time, the author gives us the killer's viewpoint, showing us a glimpse of his twisted mind. Sandford excels at this type of parallel storytelling, upping the urgency of Lucas catching the nutcase before he kills again.
If you haven't yet had the joy of reading this excellent series, I recommend you start with the first book ("Rules of Prey") and enjoy some of the best writing in the genre.
The bodies were found naked, and hanging from a tree. The victims are Deon Cash and Jane Warr, a black man and a white woman, and they were lynched.
Lucas gets the call to investigate the double murder and bring a killer to justice, but soon he realizes the murders are not exactly what they appear to be, and far worse is about to happen.
'Naked Prey' is not the best entry in the Prey series. While Davenport's character remains strong and interesting, and the creepy back-woods setting sustains an eerie presence, the plot becomes confusing veering off into many different directions, and the large cast of characters becomes too tedious to keep track of.
John Sandford continues his Prey series with original plots, and smooth writing style, but there hasn't been a tension-filled plot since 'Mind Prey'.
Fans of this series will surely rush out to read this, and there's no doubt it will be a bestseller, but it's one of the weaker entries.
Nick Gonnella
Sandford set the stage for change at the conclusion of his last book, letting the reader percolate on what would be the differences in Lucas when he becomes an active father, and when he leaves the police department for a quasi-bureaucratic governmental position in a new state department headed by his old boss, Rose Marie Roux. Wisely, although Sandford went forward with these changes, the impact was streamlined by having 90% of the book's action happen in rural northern Minnesota, in the fictional small town of Broderick. Family man Lucas still has his best sidekick, Del, gainfully employed with him -- and married or not, he still can spot and appreciate a great looking woman. Some things never change!
The first two murders may be motivated by racial hatred - one victim is black, and his significant other is white...they are found brutally slain and hanging from a barren tree in the frosty Minnesota winter. There's so much odd and unusual "stuff" going on in Broderick, it's difficult for Lucas & Del to pin down the any information about the murders, and the killings continue.
Sandford manages to deftly interweave his social viewpoints -- his lack of respect for the media, his vague unsettlement with the way that federal, state and local authorities sometimes impede each other to solve a case that has generated media attention, and most importantly, his support of a little known grass roots campaign that is quietly smuggling prescription drugs from Canada to US patients who need and can't afford them.
Unlike many other writers of this genre, Sandford can keep both his tale of the crime and his social commentary moving in the same direction -- one does not eclipse or slow down the other.
The book is also notable in that it provides a lot of insight into tribal casinos...a staple of the Minnesota scenery in the last decade. Tribal casinos have changed rural Minnesota in many ways, and Sandford captures this contrast of big city activity with the rural tundra.
The prize of the novel, as many readers have commented, is new character Letty West, who will doubtless appear in future instalments. A precocious 12-year old, Letty's like many rural kids that come from dysfunctional single parent families....in the cities, kids from these homes tend to run with gangs...in the country, they tend to be loners, with old souls. Letty is such a character, and she's the best addition to the series in a long time.
This may not be the finest of Sandford's series, but its darn close! Don't wait for the paperback!
Davenport's domestic scenes with his wife Weather are kept to a minimum in this yarn, with almost all of the action focused on the crimes. Letty West takes center stage, and she proves more than a match for Davenport. She traps muskrats, totes a rifle, drives pickups, swears a lot, and helps pick up the pace of the book whenever she appears (which is often). There is strong rapport between Davenport and Letty, and the foundations are set for the making of a good team in future editions of the series.
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A Minnesota socialite is murdered in a parking garage, by what seems to be a professional killer. But why? As the story unfolds, and more corpses turn up, we follow these two women on their twisted mission.
I found myself feeling some empathy for Clara Rinker, while Carmen left me cold. It's a testament to Sanfords writing, that he can arouse such strong feelings about his characters. The chief protagonist: Lucas Davenport himself, is a conflicted man. Feared by many, but respected by most of his colleagues, he is a natural born cop with a taste for killing.
As he tracks Carmen and Clara through the many twists and turns of the case, we can sense the developing affinity he has with Clara Rinker.
Both females are very deftly drawn and their characters are well developed. This was a thoroughly enjoyable book, and I'm looking forard to Lucas's next encounter with the emotionally compelling Clara.
The constant of the series is of course central character Lucas Davenport. Millionaire cop? Sure. But once you get past this, show me one man out there who wouldn't want to be Lucas. Smart. Sexy. Rich. Adventurous. I know I'd like to be him.
All this of course leads to this entry in the Prey series - CERTAIN PREY. Much like Eyes of Prey, this story gives Lucas two antagonists to deal with. One is a smart, rich, borderline psychopath. The other is a strong, skilled, borderline sociopath. Killings happen. Clues are left. And the characters match wits...and keep the reader turning the pages.
I recommend this book. It is definately one of the stronger entries in the series.
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This polysemous quality of John's gospel makes Sanford's book possible. Such a rich and mysterious religious book is bound to attract the interests of Jungian scholars, and this collaboration between Jung and John is wonderful. Both are allowed to say what they need to say. Sanford, a well-known Jungian expert and writer, avoids the unfortunate mistake of many Jungians in saying that "what the text REALLY means is this..." Sanford exegetes the passages well, in a way that shows his willingness to familiarize himself with the literature on John out there. In other words, he doesn't come at the gospel in an ad hoc fashion that turns it into a springboard for Sanford's own spiritual agenda. Sanford's touch here is light: he tells us, not what the text MEANS, but what the text says to someone who approaches it from the standpoint of Jungian analysis and scholarship. This means that the book ought to be read by profession biblical scholars as well as interested laymen, because it brings another honest and intelligent reading of John's gospel to the table.
If you are interested in a fresh reading of a gospel that may be over-familiar to you in many ways, one that will (I promise) give you new things to think about in the midst of stories you may have been reading since Sunday school, you ought to pick up a copy of this book. You don't need to know anything about John or Jungian psychology to enjoy this book. You only have to want to learn something new about the way this gospel talks about God, and what that means to us. Sanford has written a unique and lasting book.
I enjoyed throughout Sanford's use of references to groundbreaking works by both theological masters and psychological pioneers that helped justify his narratives. Key and pivotal alternate translations of the original Greek were, in my opinion, much of the power of the work.
Perhaps the one weakness of the work is that the author, obviously a gifted and keenly intelligent man, might have forgone some of the background material to provide additional comments and insights into the relationship of the indwelling Holy Spirit that John describes with our own day-to-day life (John 16 5-33)
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At the Gravity Company, Mortimer ensures that the machine always works. He watches its dials, gauges, switches, levers, and buttons--and thus sees to it that the folks in Cayuga Ridge have enough gravity. But every afternoon, when Mortimer goes out to lunch, he puts the gravity machine on automatic. And while he's out, Gloria comes in to clean, with her mops, buckets, rags and soap.
But on one special (or infamous) day, depending on whether readers are up or down, Gloria was cleaning the Gravity Company with all those mops, brooms, brushes, buckets and soaps. Her mop hit the automatic switch, turning the machine off. All over Cayuga Ridge funny things started to happen.
I won't spoil 24 pages describing the drama that followed--or how Mortimer came to the hapless town's rescue--but children learn from these hysterical antics all about gravity and why it is so important to Earth.
Our copy of this 1988 classic is falling apart. I'd stop before calling the book priceless, though, as even Gravity has its limits. Alyssa A. Lappen