Van Til Tool

Using the Van Til Perspective as the tool to discover what life means and how it ought to be lived.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

BIOLOGY IS NOT BORING!! -- NOR IS ANY OTHER SUBJECT!! (BECAUSE GOD IS INTERESTING!!)


BIOLOGY  IS  NOT  BORING !!

NOR  IS  ANY  OTHER  SUBJECT!!

BECAUSE,  GOD  IS  INTERESTING !!!

Below I shall post my recently written book reviews of newly published science fiction stories based on very interesting stuff in biology.  These books are but two of many, many examples both in fiction and in biological studies showing how interesting biology is, something which is unfortunately often obscured by boring biology teachers and boring biology textbooks.

Without further ado, here are these reviews.  I highly recommend reading these stories.

Sincerely,

Forrest




NEW SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY REVIEWS
Reviews Of Recently Published Science Fiction And Fantasy Books
Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258

February 7, 2014
Jordyn Redwood Debuts With Excellent Medical Suspense Trilogy
A Review of
Jordyn Redwood Bloodline Trilogy published by Kregel in 2012 & 2013, each (paperback) volume priced at $14.99:
1. Proof     307 pp     ISBN: 978-0-8254-4238-4
2. Poison     310 pp     ISBN: 978-0-8254-4212-4
3. Peril     269 pp     ISBN: 978-0-8254-4213-1
Reviewer: Forrest W. Schultz
     Let me begin by bestowing my thanks upon Martha Ramirez for informing me of this great treasure. (C. S. Lewis once said that the greatest help a teacher can be is to recommend which books to read.) Jordyn Redwood's trilogy is excellent medical suspense, especially for those who like it blended with criminal suspense, particularly the subspecies of criminal suspense which focuses on the criminal mentality, similar to that of the Criminal Minds television series, which, by the way, celebrated its 200th show this week, so that this is a great time to write this review!!
     I am also excited about Jordyn Redwood's books because they deal with interesting medical phenomena, which are useful in refuting the popular notion that science is boring -- I remember in high school most students thought that biology was borology! Well, they would not think so if they read these books, especially about how DNA identification can be thwarted by strange embryological phenomena, and how recipients of heart transplants can sometimes pick up memories had by the donor, which is one the weirdest things I have ever heard of! These biological facts are crucial for the stories in the first and third books of the trilogy as the discussion of interesting stuff about spider venom is for the second one. Redwood is not only a good writer but also a very knowledgeable one, who has had two decades of ER & ICU Nursing experience. She writes what she knows!!
     I also wish to pay tribute to the beautiful cover photos -- these are among the best I have ever seen -- and of the beautiful websites of the author.
     About the only criticism I have is that sometimes, especially in the second book, the story becomes too complex, which is one problem a sophisticated thinker like Redwood sometimes has.
     I am now in the midst of writing about the flow of interesting things into my life. Jordyn Redwood's trilogy is the most recent of these interesting things!
     Information is available on these websites: http://jredwood.blogspot.com/ and http://www.jordynredwood.com/. Her email address is jredwood1@gmail.com




NEW SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY REVIEWS
               Reviews Of Recently Published Science Fiction And Fantasy Books
               Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258
           Blog Address:http://newsciencefictionandfantasyreviews.blogspot.com/

 March 10, 2014
Biology Is Not Borology

 A Review of

 Bonnie Doran Dark Biology (Harbourlight Books, 2014)
                        $15.99    333 pp    ISBN: 978-1-61116-277-6

 Reviewer: Forrest W. Schultz

      One of the benefits of establishing a habitat in outer space is the opportunity to conduct experiments in a zero-gravity environment. In the book under review the hero, Dr. “Hildi”Hilebrandt, a CDC vaccinologist, just happens to be in such a habitat, the International Space Station, when a cure is needed quickly to prevent an influenza pandemic on Earth, which was started by the villain of the tale, her brother Chet, from the vial of a super-deadly virus stolen from a CDC lab. His nefarious deed is the “Dark” referred to in Dark Biology, an excellent title and quite apropos since Chet was acting under the influence of the Prince of Darkness!

      This Prince has also, through the production of boring biology textbooks, succeeded in promoting the widespread notion that biology is boring, for which reason many of the students in my high school class called it “borology”. This fallacious notion has been amply refuted not only by the numerous accounts of interesting phenomena in biological studies, but also in interesting science fiction stories such as the one reviewed here. This story is also interesting in its portrayal of the relationships among the characters, especially in how they are affected by their relationship with God. And there are some interesting episodes in the trip to and from the ISS. And the story moves along at a good clip, so that the book is, to use my term, "notwannaputdownable"! Bonnie Doran is a welcome addition to the ranks of science fiction authors!

     Information is available on her website http://www.bonniedoranbooks.com/.
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