This week’s review is a bit different than usual. A fellow author, Stephen Benefield, who’s also my cousin, wrote this review of The Lost and Found Journal of a Miner 49er, Vol. 2. He’s written on my blog before—you can find his other review here. But with that said, let’s get to the review!
“Every man, woman, and child sheltered indoors after dark, with candles snuffed and pillows atop their chests to muffle their pounding hearts. They feared the charioteer would visit their shacks and exact a heavy toll from them — yea, even their very lives!”
Where to even begin with this book…it’s…an amazing read, but not for the skeptical, history buff, or faint of heart. Combining history and fantasy in a twist I’ve never seen before, author Jack Dublin delivers a collection of short stories that will leave you wondering if perhaps history as we know it was written incorrectly…
Table of Contents
Plot
In 2017, Jack Dublin released the first volume of Christian-themed folklore in The Lost and Found Journal series. Now, the Miner 49er returns in Vol. 2, revealing a past that may force historians to rewrite their books! Brace yourself for adventures stretching from the Sea of Job to a vast world beneath the American continent where life is familiar but nothing is what it seems. Meet Dino Garosello, a carnival barker bound to a ghost town with a terrible secret; and Jason Kittridge, a bandit so ruthless his name was blotted out of every history book. Is it truth stranger than fiction, or fiction stranger than truth? You decide on this epic quest!
Taken from Amazon
Characters
Not much to say here.
Cody Kirschenbaum, the miner 49er, is the main character of this book. In a few stories his wife and daughter make an appearance, but Cody is in every story and they all center around him.
Being as this is written entirely in a journal format, the characters are not necessarily deep or emotional. But that does not in any way make them unlikable.
Theme & Content Warnings
This book is violent, but not graphic. Blood and gore don’t come into play but several characters are eaten, fall from high places, are shot with arrows, and have a variety of other most distasteful fates befall them.
It is not glorified, but simply stated bluntly and to the point.
At the end of every story is a moral or point, sometimes containing a Bible verse, or just a few words of wisdom to keep in mind.
Overall
These short stories are great to read if you don’t won’t to get into an elaborate novel. Simple and straightforward, the plots are intriguing and the Biblical messages clear.
As you may have noticed, this is a volume two. There are only two books in this series and the third has yet to come out. It doesn’t matter which you read first, being as they don’t really connect.
I hope you enjoyed! If you’d like to read more from Stephen, you can check out his other guest review, and stay tuned for announcements regarding his blog that should launch in an unknown amount of months. Thanks for reading, and I’ll write you in the next one!
1 Comment
Two Years of Blogging + A Peek At The Past // Announcement - The Benefield Bookmark · April 15, 2022 at 10:06 am
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