Two very good books~By Kyle

Hi folks! Do you ever wonder how we "sheltered", homeschooling, Christian young people spend our free time? After all, we do not have Facebook (usually a dangerous waste of time), cellphones to text with (annoying waste of time), and we do not play video games (lazy, zero productive waste of time). Instead, we mostly read good books. This past week I have read two very good books that I received for my birthday. The are both written by a man by the name of John J. Horn, who is all of a sudden rising in my list of favorite authors, and the books are called The Boy Colonel, and Brothers at Arms. I read Brothers at Arms first, and enjoyed it quite a bit, but in the end The Boy Colonel topped even that. Thus I will start by reviewing my favorite first.

The Boy Colonel (just in case you are like me, colonel is pronounced ker-nel, like popcorn) drops you right from the start into the frozen wastelands of Siberia, smack-dab in the middle of a fierce battle between British Redcoats and Russian Cossacks. A young colonel leads the 42^nd regiment of Britain, a young Colonel without a name (affectionately called Colonel Nobody by his soldiers). This remarkably young, mysterious Colonel was never given a name, and warns others not to pry too deep into his strange lineage and story.  The 42^nd regiment he heads is a crack force with strategies and techniques all its own, respected by enemy and friend alike. It is the courage of this regiment that wins the day in this opening struggle. The General of the British troops is captured though, and the new general in his place despises and is jealous of the boy Colonel. This new general, drinking in his new-found authority, essentially commands Colonel Nobody and all of the 42^nd to march to their deaths.  They narrowly escape death, but Nobody is promptly sent to England to give a report to the King to be conveniently gotten rid of.  It is here, around the middle point of the book, that the story slows a bit. While he is before the King, Nobody meets a pretty, devout Christian ward of the King. They chat pleasantly that evening, but little did Nobody know that this young girl would be his betrothed wife two days later! In a political maneuver Nobody is paired with this girl, and likewise her lands that she had inherited essentially go up for grabs (thus the reason for the schemed out betrothal). Only problem is Nobody does not love Liana (the girl), or at least does not think he loves her, and even worse he believes that she arranged the betrothal. To make matters even worse, there is another young man that wants Liana’s hand . . . and he is not a very “polite” gentleman.  The awkward couple returns to Siberia, but there Nobody comes to believe that he is not fighting a just, God honoring war. He leaves the army along with all of his fiercely loyal soldiers of the 42^nd and Liana (who loves and trusts Nobody), and eventually they settle on an island and establish a trading business.  They live a happy year or so, but then old enemies stumble into their path again. In a tense stand-off the other young man tries to take Liana, and the truth comes out that Nobody does not really love her.  The girl is heartbroken (duh!), and it is only when Nobody sees the hurt in her eyes that he comprehends what he has done. He realizes that he indeed did love her; he just didn’t know what love really meant. Oh, the tangled webs of love (snort)! But is it too late to win back her heart? The last fifty pages of the book make all the tangledness worthwhile, culminating in a fierce sea-fight that will hold you hostage from normal life till the end. You will also learn near the end Colonel Nobody’s true identity, and that mystery in itself will keep you reading.

I highly recommend this book! It is full of gallant fights and noble characters, while its touch of romance (there is nothing inappropriate) will keep you young ladies interested. Valerie read it, and likened it to To Have And To Hold (a very high standard in her opinion).  She probably finished it in about two days; I finished it in four. If you guys are interested in reading the book, it can be found on Vision Forum (hint, hint, Aunt Heather), or I would be happy to loan the book to any of you folks that are nearby. Maybe it would be a good book to read in the hospital with Richie, Lydia?

 Well, my stomach is growling in regular teenager boy fashion, and I have other things to do. I will write about Brothers At Arms later. Farewell, comrades! Well, goodbye, anyway:0).