Customer Reviews

Eclipse of the Sun

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Michael O'Brien continues his excellent Children of the Last Days series that began explosively with Father Elijah in this third part of the Delaney family trilogy (the first two books are Strangers and Sojouners and Plague Journal).

O'Brien is obviously an excellent writer, but he tends to be overly didactic in his novels. A better editor could have helped with that. O'Brien, as most talented writers do, also overwrote his novel. And, again, a better editor could have helped him pull out the extraneous material which could have been included in a collection of short stories in an additional book.

Having said that, O'Brien continues to show keen insight into issues that haunt Western society and the Western church. A committed Christian with traditional Catholic faith, he decries the secularization of the church, including the domination of our lives by television. He presents a bleak view of Western governments, filled with nefarious conspiracy theories that are both audacious and plausible at the same time.

As huge as this book is, O'Brien keeps his readers turning their pages because of his wonderfully human characters and intriguing plot.

True, this is a sprawling novel, and it could have benefitted by a bit more editing.

However, this series gives a more plausible -- and Biblical -- fictional treatment of the Second Coming of Christ than the LEFT BEHIND books, and that is a strength that editing or the lack of same wouldn't have touched, for good or bad.

Good writing is commendable, desirable. I've read better (and worse) plots. Yes, sometimes the dialogue seems to be a bit dramatic, almost as though written by a well-meaning high school student who just doesn't know when to be embarrassed by hocum.

But I find myself, as I read this, looking at my own relationship to God, and wondering how I would react if I found myself in the same diabolical circumstances. The novel -- and this series -- pushes me toward setting my own house in order, and seeking a closer relationship with Christ, and that ain't bad work.

Read this if you get half a chance.

This, along with Fr Elijah, is the best book I have ever read. There are many stories within stories, and so wonderfully written. I hate to even hint at what is in it, just to say if you are interested at all in contemplating man and our possible future, read it. Don't open the pages with any preconceived notions, just read.

After 911 some people said they would give up some freedoms for more safety. hmmmmmm

Eclipse Of The Sun, starting with the perspective of a child escaping danger at the hand of a run-away priest; set me absolutely riveted from the start. I read the book not long after reading Father Elijah. I have to say I've never been so duelly satisfied. Eclipse Of The Sun even tops Father Elijah on a certain level: that of structure. Like Father Elijah, this book also culminates something unseen, happening under, or outside the surface of things. But Eclipse Of The Sun does so with an even greater intensity as it goes along. I was reminded of something Chesterton wrote in The Everlasting Man about the boy at the hand of a priest always makes for the greatest adventure or journey. This book starts off with the boy Arrow, at the hand of a priest and then ends with him at the hand of another priest; in both instances escaping danger, and also being set in the very dark and wild terrain of the B.C. mountains.

The wild shapes in this book would make it too easy for one to toss aside as being a structured mess. It follows a definite thread while at the same time making huge accomodation for things along the way. Yet, these things along the way cannot be called subplots, for someone please tell me, which one is the main plot? With this said, the book is neither some kind of scattological telling of various stories. The book contains many levels coming to many different points, leaving the points as points in themselves and never becoming self-contained in its own fictional world.

Another thing I have to add is the factor of dreams in Eclipse Of The Sun. The dreams in this book(and other O'Brien books)are more vivid and relevant then I've read in any other book or seen in any movie. Michael O'Brien dreams are always so strong and awake, involving huge archangels touching peoples brows with grapefruit, or a sudden viscious growl in a garden in the daylight, or a priest staring at you from a desk: totally cold and uncharitable towards you, etc.

This is an orthodox Catholic novel, written by an orthodox author, published by the very orthodox Ignatius Press. Since I consider myself an orthodox Catholic, I was predisposed to treat this book sympathetically. But I also appreciate good writing and that's what we're critiquing here -- writing, not simply ideas. Structurally, this novel is a mess. It meanders all over the place in totally unnecessary side trips. The dialogue is right out of "Tom Terrific", often delivered by cartoonish characters. O'Brien doesn't seem to have put too much effort into revising and editing this very long novel. As a result, it lacks the tightness and coherence that his "Plague Journal" demonstrated. Moreover, one got the sense from "Plague Journal" that O'Brien was writing out of his own personal pain (as the provider for six children). This gave the book a genuine feel that is lacking in "The Eclipse of the Sun". Look, the 'good guys' have to write as competently as the 'bad guys'. Just because O'Brien is on the right side doesn't by default make this a good book.

I absolutely love all of Michael O'Brien's books. The Eclipse of the Sun is, however, probably my favorite of the series (followed closely by Father Elijah). I absolutely couldn't put it down the first time, and can scarcely put it down on my frequent re-readings. The social commentary is frightening, particularly if you keep up at all with what's going on with the UNN, Mikael Gorbachev, Ted Turner and the rest who want to create the very sort of governmental structures which Maurice and his cronies are creating in the book. The liberal religious are so close to some I have known that it is downright spooky. Consequently, the book can be quite frightening. However, the overall message of the book where love and faith overcome the culture of death is inspiring.

One of the things I really love about this book is that it actually gives positive pictures of ordinary homeschooling families (not huge ones, but clearly positive ones). They are shown in their ordinariness, even if one family is about to sail around the world. Michael O'Brien's references to Arthur Ransome books will hopefully get people reading them again.

I also love the way that O'Brien puts orthodox Catholics and Protestants together in the common fight against the bureaucrats. As a convert to Catholicism I found his portrayal of faithful Protestants to be a very accurate one. I absolutely love his portrayal of Father Ron. I hope that we have lots of Father Ron's out there who are hearing the call that he heard.

This book does such a wonderful job of showing how ordinary people with just a bit of courage can fight against a system that is threatening to destroy the common man. There are casualties, but there are also triumphs. If even part of the things O'Brien is talking about come true, I hope that there will be lots of us ordinary people fighting against the controllers.

I wait with great anticipation for the last two books in the series to come out.

"Eclipse of the Sun", Michael O'Brien's third novel in the trilogy which began with "Strangers and Sojourners" and continued with "Plague Journal" is an outstanding conclusion to this excellent series. It picks up from where "Plague Journal" leaves off, but from a different perspective. Fortunately there are enough characters which appear in all three novels, allowing for a more or less seamless transition of perspective.

O'Brien continues his tale of the Delaney family and their friends and acquaintences and their trials and tribulations at the turning of the 21st century in British Colombia. There are two main themes: One theme concerns the eschatological prophecies in the book of Revelation, and their relevance to the dawning of the 21st century. The other theme concerns the quiet evaporation of personal and civil liberties which have been gradually occuring in the Western "democracies". These themes are knit so closely together, one is not always sure whether Revelation is a vehicle for O'Brien's political concerns or whether O'Brien's political concerns are a vehicle for his eschatological theories.

Regardless of which it is, the reader will have a difficult time putting this book down.

O'Brien's deeply held Catholicism shines forth brightly in this book -- and frankly, it is refreshing. It is unusual in this day and age for a Catholic to write "End-Times" novels -- such is usually the provence of fundamentalists (who usually hate the Church). His Catholicism is traditional, conservative and uncompromising, yet very human and full of compassion. The religious one meets in his books (including this one) are the very sort that one wishes there were more of! (In my experience, as someone raised in a traditional Anglican background, one of the major reasons that Catholicism has not made the inroads into my former denomination that it could make is due to the progressive hogwash that all too frequently passes for Catholicism in North America. A few more priests like Father Andrei, and a few more bishops like the Archbishop of Vancouver in "Eclipse" would go a long way in attracting converts from a slowing dying Anglicanism. But I digress)

For me, this book rates 4.25 stars. 5 for story content, and 3.5 for character development. One flaw in the book (or perhaps it's merely a flaw in my personal taste) is O'Brien's tendency to develop a character, then suddenly drop them, never to be seen again. He also does not, to my way of thinking, always sufficiently explain how a character develops from when he/she is first presented to how he/she ends up. One is left wondering why such and such a character changed so radically.

Finally, this book shows an interesting respect for conservative, yet non-Catholic clergy. O'Brien is not nearly as hard on his "seperated brethren" as many conservative Catholics tend to be. And he is equally hard on liberal Catholics as he is on liberal Protestants.

I would very much like to meet Mr. O'Brien some day. I have enjoyed his novels; I have enjoyed his non-fiction; I appreciate and respect his faith; (and I have an enormous respect for his understanding of JRR Tolkien). I know a wonderful Irish pub where we could light up the pipes, raise a pint or two, and discuss literature and theology for hours on end.

Using real events and facts from Canadian society, Michael O'Brien paints a frightening picture of a possible future where the government is no longer accountable to the people and religious tolerance takes a giant leap backwards. I loved this book, it's exciting and thought-provoking. It never avoids the issues, but tackles them head-on. The author isn't afraid of disaster. An excellent read.

Strangers and Sojourners is a good read and stimulates one to think about life, love, death, religion , meaningful and not so meaningful, relationships,marriage, sex,culture, society--- in other words what it means to be a human being and why we make the choices we make. Because it forced me to think deeply about these things, I consider it to be a well-written novel. However, I found the protaganist Anne Delaney to be a very frustrated and frustrating individual. Just when I think she has figured out what is really important in life, she falls back into self-pity and negative ruminating on her life. I wanted her to find herself and to grow in self-knowledge, but because she never REALLY reaches out to another human being in trust and love, she fails in my opinion. She is surrounded by people who love her, but she can never overcome her lonliness. She may have sudden realizations and her awareness level grows, but she keeps it to herself and misses the mark. I kept waiting for her to just tell ONE person how much she loves them and how her life is made meaningful because of their existence. She expects so much from the the people in her life, but isn't there for them emotionally. She takes too much pride in the intellectual and this leads to much of her frustration. She never figures out how to achieve a balance between her heart and her head. Her head dominates because she is unable to deal with the inevitable pain life eventually shows all human beings. She cannot accept grief as the price we pay for loving. But joy is also a part of our existence. And she does not concentrate enough on the joy. She can never let go and allow her heart to answer many of her questions. She does not trust that side of her being. She would have found much more happiness had she allowed that to happen.

What a page turner this one is. A priest is called out of seclusion at a monastery by the Pope (a thinly disguised Pope John Paul II) for a spiritual mission.

The book follows his re-entry into a world that has strayed far from the one he abandoned when he entered the monastery.

The Count Smokerev section of the book is like a novelette within the novel and tells an unforgettable, beautiful story of sin and mercy and redemption.

This book is an apocalypse. Not the apocalypse, but a fictional apocalypse. The ending in some ways is a little bit unsatisfactory in that the story is so compelling you want it to keep going on and on.

A brilliant piece of fiction. Word has it that it is currently being adapted into a screenplay.