Scarlet Thunder

Wednesday, December 26, 2012
“Yeah, I thought. It is more than just another piece of work. If we get it done on time, Uncle Mike gets a million dollars. If we don’t, it could cost him a million – or more. As for me, if we finished on time, my work might get aired on prime-time television. My name might show up on film credits for the first time. I couldn’t think of anything I wanted more than that.”

Book: Scarlet Thunder (Orca Sports) by Sigmund Brouwer, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1998


Genre: Adventure/Sports Fiction
Target Audience: Boys 11-18
Subjects: Crime, Death, Careers
Summary: Someday the name Trenton Hiser will appear in the film credits of a Hollywood movie. Not Trent, but Trenton, someone important. And this summer is his chance to make that happen. For the first time in the five years he has spent working for his uncle, Trenton is being given the chance to film instead of gopher. In the meantime, his uncle is in the midst of big plans himself. Plans that will launch his career into huge success. Plans worth millions of dollars. However, it seems they’ve picked the wrong summer to achieve their goals. A distraction ruins their commercial. Their filming equipment gets sent to the wrong city. Their cameraman misses filming key scenes. Nearly dead batteries are placed in cameras. If all that weren’t enough, even their health is threatened when someone poisons them! It seems as though all their big dreams are going to fail and they’ll get disaster instead of success!
Notes: As with many of the other book in the Sigmund Brouwer’s Sports Mysteries, more recently titled Orca Sports series, there is not a large amount of spiritual emphasis in the book, mostly just adventure. An interesting element comes into play twice in this one though. At one point, a race car driver is asked whether or not they fear death and discusses how “knowing God is waiting” makes death much easier to face. The other occasion is when the bad guy, knowing he is found out, and having things under control, tells Trenton’s uncle that he and Trenton are no different than the bad guy himself. The only difference is whether or not they admit it. Both Trenton and his uncle place filming above every other priority in life. It is revealed that Trenton’s uncle tore apart his family by putting his career first and Trenton never talks about his family, just about his future goals. The bad guy claims that since his motive for his crimes is advancing his career, he is no different than they are. This statement greatly challenges Trenton to place more importance on his family.
Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 3/5
Reviewer: J:-)mi

Colossian 1:10 – And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God

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