Another book that I recently finished that I found very intriguing was called “The Fall of Lucifer”, written by Wendy Alec.

The book is titled “The Fall of Lucifer”, written by Wendy Alec.

The book opens with the three Angelic brothers, Lucifer, Michael and Gabriel, in heaven before the fall. Over the course of the book, the essence of the angels is developed. The controversy arises when God created man to be higher than the angels, in that we are created in the image of God. Lucifer was embittered to the point of rebellion.

Various historical events are incorporated, and the plot offers the perspective of an angel into the events. The novel develops the beauty of heaven and the grotesque quality of hell, the depths of evil, and the beauty of grace. It communicates these themes through beautiful imagery and an intriguing plot. The beautiful imagery would make for amazing scenery!

This is a fast read, 300-page novel that is consuming to the imagination and penetrating to the heart. I hope they make this book into a movie. It would be amazing. If you have time, I hope you enjoy it!

My favorite?: Sandow Birk and Marcus Sanders’ translation of Dante Alighieri’s “The Divine Comedy”, because of the kickass paintings Birk did there.

“Great Maria,” by Cecilia Holland. I read this book years ago, and reread it periodically. Its historical fiction, about the Normans in Sicily, but it is NOT your mother’s bodice ripper historical fiction. Holland never stoops to that level, nor has her characters speak in stilted psuedo-Biblical style. No heroines fall in love with thier rapist. None of that garbage! Holland has obviosly done research worthy of professors of cultural anthropology, history, and psychology, as her characters, the time they live in, the conditions they live in, are probably so accurate, you can feel the drafty castles, the threat of starvation, a world without modern medical or technical marvels we take for granted. And woven amoung the historical details, is the story that is part love story, part constant confrontation, between two people. At the end, you want more of Maria and Richard and their times.

And, there’s “Paddywhacked,” by J.T. English. Who knew, that the Irish had a gang system as sophisticated and far reaching as the Mafia? I always thought all that ended with the end of Prohibition, but this book, a history of Irish gang crime in the USA, takes in the history of the Westies, and Whitey Bulger. The Irish controlled much more than booze-the history of how they controlled the politics for generations, in Chicago, New Orleans, Kansas City, NYC, and Boston, is fascinating. I only wish the author had come to Buffalo, NY, as the history of Irish controlled politics, and who knows what else, is just as fascinating as Boss Tweed’s machine in NY.